2 Samuel 5:1-13: David’s Breakthrough

David, even after becoming king over entire Israel, refused to be complacent. He decided to take on one of the most difficult missions – driving out the Jebusites from the stronghold of Jerusalem. Empowered by his audacity and faith in God, he succeeded. In response, a foreigner, Hiram King of Tyre, sent his skilled men to build a palace for David. Although he showed himself to be a great king and military leader, he may not have been a great husband or father in his household. David took many wives and concubines, going directly against the command of God given through Moses (Deuteronomy 17).

Summary

After the death of Ishbosheth, all the tribes of Israel and their elders came to anoint David as king over all Israel. David made a covenant with them before the LORD at Hebron.

In the first mission as king of Israel, David led his men to capture Jerusalem through the water channel by defeating the Jebusites, who were very confident that they could fend off David and his men. David lived in the stronghold and became greater and great because the Lord God was with him.

While he was becoming greater and greater, Hiram king of Tyre sent cedar trees and carpenters and stonemason to build a house for David. David realized that the Lord had established him as king over Israel. Meanwhile, David took many concubines and wives.

The Philistines mobilized to attack David when they heard the news that David had been anointed King over Israel. However, David defeated the Philistines twice by inquiring of the LORD and following His direction. In the first battle, David experienced the LORD breaking through the Philistines, and then he burned their abandoned idols. In the second battle, David circled around the Philistines to attack to repel them from Geba as far as Gezar.

Three Anointing Ceremonies – Steadfastness of God

David went through three anointing ceremonies before becoming king of the entire Israel. The first one was a private event by Samuel when David was just a teenaged, shepherd boy. The second one was a tribal-level ceremony by the people of Judah after the death of Saul. This was the third one by the elders from the entire Israel (2 Sam 5:3).

Although David was anointed to be king and that promise was made by the LORD God, who alone is sovereign, it still took many years. Why did it take so many years and three ceremonies? Many years might have been necessary in order to mold David into a person after God’s heart suitable to be king over God’s people. Although the fulfillment of God’s promise may look slow in our perception of time, the fulfillment of His promise is certain.

King like Shepherd under Covenant before the LORD God

Covenant is one of the crucial differences between the Israel kingdom and other kingdom – especially the covenant made between the king and the people, which was made before the LORD God. In other words, David was to know that he was the representative of the LORD (before the LORD) and to implement fair, righteous rules and laws for governing God’s people (establishment of covenant). In many other nations, the king considered himself/herself a deity to be above the rule of law. Partly as a result, pagan kings developed a governance in which a small minority tended to dominate and oppress the rest of the population. However, David subjected himself to the rule and desire of the LORD God by making a covenant before the LORD and with the Israel people.

Shepherding is a great example of how God’s king is to rule His people. A good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep, said Jesus (John 10:11). Likewise, David was to be a ruler like a good shepherd, willing to lay down his life for the sake of God’s people.

A Major Breakthrough based on Faithful Audacity and Intelligence: Jerusalem

After many years of running away and hiding from King Saul, becoming king over the entire Israel was a great feat for David. David could have taken some time to bask in and enjoy this glory given from the LORD God. Yet, he refused to be complacent with the status quo, especially regarding the inheritance that was given to the Judah tribe by God – all the way back to Joshua’s time. He was hungry – not for self-gain or self-elevation – to fulfill and walk out God’s promise given to Moses and Joshua that the LORD God would drive out seven nations, including the Jebusites (Deut 7:1-2).

There was a portion – a stronghold – of Jerusalem still occupied by the Jebusites. David identified this as his first mission as king. The stronghold portion of Jerusalem had been a perennially remaining major conquest task for the Israelites, especially the Judah tribe – for at least more than 500 years. Not even Caleb, a great past leader of the Judah tribe, and his men were able to drive the Jebusites out (Joshua 15:63). The sons of Benjamin failed to drive out the Jebusites (Jdg 1:21). God’s promise given to Moses and Joshua that He would give the entire land by driving out seven nations, including Jebusites, had not been fulfilled. This must have been a burden that bothered David, and David resolved to fulfill this task once and for all.

Jerusalem was a formidable fortress. The stronghold, surrounded by sturdy walls, was constructed on a steep hill. Therefore, the Jebusites were very confident that they could fend off any attack from David, mocking that even lame and blind would turn him away (2 Sam 5:6). The Jebusites were right – only until the day when David (with Joab) made a breakthrough by capturing this stronghold (2 Sam 5:7; 1 Chron 11:5-7).

The success was a combination of his audacity based on his faith in God and of, also, possibly all the intelligence gathered from his forefathers, including Caleb and various leaders of Judah and Benjamin after their numerous failed attempts. With his faith plus all the accumulated intelligence from his forefathers, he was able to locate the water shaft through which Joab was able to make a sneak attack.

Then, how did the Israelites actually defeat the Jebusites? Joab probably infiltrated into the stronghold of Jerusalem by climbing through the water shaft covertly (picture below). Once Joab was inside the stronghold, he opened the gate for David’s army to come within the stronghold and defeated the Jebusites. It was like a Trojan horse, which was brought into Troy after they thought the entire Greek army retreated. The hidden Greek within the Trojan horse opened the gates at night to let their comrades in, and together they destroyed Troy.

https://www.adefenceofthebible.com/2015/11/04/davids-capture-of-jerusalem/

David pulls out an incredible breakthrough with the help of his God, finally fulfilling the last remaining mission from the days of Joshua, at least regarding the inheritance given to the Judah tribe. This breakthrough was crucial. Not only did this allow David to establish the capital of Israel in the middle part of the country, but also a motivation and home to bring the ark of God (1 Samuel 6) to establish a national worship system around the ark of God

Acknowledged by a Foreign King

After defeating the Jebusites and capturing the stronghold of Jerusalem, we see a “strange” action by Hiram king of Tyre. He suddenly sent messengers to David with the best materials and expert labors to build a cedar house for David (2 Sam 6:11). Why did Hiram king of Tyre decide to build a house for David?

His decision might have been prompted by David’s defeat of the Jebusites and capturing their stronghold, which had been known as “the impregnable fortress” in that region. So shocking and so swift was the victory by David over Jerusalem, his fame seemed to have reverberated throughout the region, including Hiram. Being impressed, Hiram might have realized that a powerful deity must have been with David. As one of the responses, Hiram king of Tyre sent messengers to David with materials and labor to build a house for David – voluntarily.

Then, it is said “David realized that the LORD had established him as king over Israel (2 Sam 6:12).” Interestingly, the text does not indicate that David realized that he was king when he was anointed by the Israel elders. It was when a foreigner, a king of a different nation, sent a messenger and other material to build a house for David, David realized that he was established as king over Israel and his kingdom had been exalted for the sake of God’s people.

We see a virtuous cycle. David became king of Israel. David, in his faith and action, captured the stronghold of Jerusalem. In response, Hiram King of Tyre sent a messenger to build a house (palace) for David. Then, David realized that he was established as king.

However… too Many Wives and Concubines

So far so good. David became king under the covenant relation before the LORD and His people. David defeated the Jebusites to establish Jerusalem as the new capital of Israel.

However, David “took more concubines and wives from Jerusalem (2 Sam 5:13).” Although this was a normal practice of the kings of other nations, this was not to be done by kings before the LORD God. God clearly said through Moses that the king “must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray (Deut 17:17).”

We see that David was an excellent king and military leader. However, he may not have been a great husband/father within his household, possibly due to taking many wives and concubines. David’s many wives and many sons eventually caused him a few major griefs in his later life – to be seen in later chapters of 2 Samuel.

Judges 1: Diverging Paths and Deteriorating Heart

Joshua passed away. The path between Judah and the rest of the tribes began to diverge. Judah fought, conquered, utterly destroyed the inhabitants of Canaan. Judah led and partnered with the weak and demonstrated meek leadership. On the other hand, the other Israel tribes were not very “successful” as they did not drive out the inhabitants. The chapter describes the falling condition of the heart of the Israelites not long after Joshua passed away.

Judah Fights, Fights and Fights

The Judah tribe (Judah) was very active. As Caleb, the leader of Judah, showed his insatiable desire to fulfill the LORD’s promise before Joshua (Joshua 14:12), Judah was zealous to actively inherit the land that the LORD promised. Unlike other tribes of Israel, Judah actively fought against many nations in Canaan.

Judah fought against the Canaanites and Perizzites, defeating ten thousand men at Bezek (Judges 1:4). Judah fought against Jerusalem and captured the city (Judges 1:8). Judah defeated the Canaanites in the hill country, in the Negev, and in the lowland (Judges 1:9). Judah went against the Cannaanites in Hebron (Judges 1:10) and against the inhabitants of Debir (1:11). Judah struck down the Canaanites in Zephath (1:17). Judah drove out three sons of Anak from Hebron (1:20).

Judah Partners

We see that Judah partnered with Simeon twice in fighting against the Cannaanites. First, Judah went with Simeon against the Cannaanites and the Perizzites and defeated Adoni-Bezek (1:4-5). Also, when fighting against the Canaanites in Zephath, Judah partnered with Simeon.

This partnership was not that necessary from Judah’s point of view because Judah was already the largest and the strongest tribe with 76,500 people. On the other hand, Simeon was the weakest and the smallest with 22,200 people. Judah demonstrated leadership by partnering with the weakest tribe so that Simeon can inherit their allotted land. This is “meek” leadership – the strong used its power to help the weak.

We also see that the descendents of the Kenite, Moses’s father-in-law, went up with the sons of Judah to the wilderness of Judah and lived with them (Judges 1:16). Although it is difficult to know the exact reason for the Kenite’s decision to live with Judah, yet, it was possible that the Kenite saw what Judah had (their God) and Judah was willing to take in aliens to be incorporated within its boundary as commanded by the LORD in Leviticus 19:34 (The stranger who resides with you shall be to you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were aliens in the land of Egypt; I am the Lord your God)

Judah was a warrior. Yet, they took good care of the weak, such as the Simeon tribe, and the aliens, such as the Kenite.

Judah Pursues and Destroys

There is a notable word in Judges 1:6, “pursued.” When Adoni-bezek (king of Bezek) fled, Judah pursued. That Judah pursued is very important for us to note. Winning a battle is one task. Pursuing and capturing a fleeing king is even more a difficult task, which takes an enormous amount of effort and will. Judah ensured that justice was done to Adoni-bezek, and this event shows the heart of Judah to fully obey the LORD’s promise and commands regarding the enemies. In addition, Judah utterly destroyed the cities (1:8, 1:17) as commanded by the LORD through Moses (Deut 20:17).

Judah faithfully obeyed the LORD. Unfortunately, we will soon see that this was not the case by the other tribes in Israel.

Ultimate Success

Let’s acknowledge the ultimate source of the victory. Although Judah did well in actively fighting and inheriting the land, it was ultimately the LORD’s presence that enabled Judah’s success (Judges 1:19).

Failures of the Others Tribes: Condition of their Hearts

With the exception of some successes by the sons of Joseph with the presence of the LORD (1:22), the rest of the Israel tribes were not successful in contrast to Judah. They neither actively fought the Canaanites, nor utterly destroyed inhabitants. The author of the book listed failures, from minor to major ones, for the rest of the tribes (Ephraim, Zebulun, Asher, Naphthali, and Dan). The common phrase in this section was “they did not drive out the inhabitants of Canaanites” in their allotted land. Was the failure to drive out attributable to their inability or unwillingness? The phrase “did not” indicated their unwillingness, rather than inability, to drive out the inhabitants.

Why weren’t they willing to drive out the inhabitants? For some tribes, such as Zebulun, Naphtali, instead of driving out the inhabitants, they made inhabitants become forced labor for them. In other words, they made an “economic decision” to use them as forced laborers. For their well-being, this decision might have been rational. Driving them out completely and utterly destroying was not only difficult, but less economical than forcing them to work and labor.

Then, we wonder why didn’t they obey the LORD’s commands to utterly destroy the inhabitants as Judah did? Perhaps, the answer lies in the condition of their hearts. Let’s jump forward to the very last verse of the book of Judges: everyone did what was right in his own eyes (Judges 21:25). That’s what these tribes did. They did what was right in their own eyes, according to their standards and eventually implemented their decision, not the LORD’s commands – by making inhabitants forced labor, instead of utterly destroying them.

In the rest of the chapters of Judges, because of these remaining inhabitants, Israel was oppressed militarily and influenced to worship their gods.

Tribes that were not mentioned.

Although most tribes were mentioned in the first chapter, a few of them were not even mentioned. None of the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh) were mentioned. Isacchar was the only tribes on the west side of the Jordan not be mentioned.

Although the reason for their absence in this chapter is not exactly known, their absence seems to be an ominous sign that they became no longer relevant to the story of God – in other words, they might have become not distinguishable from other nations, no longer suitable to represent the holiness of God.

Chapter 2 continues to draw out depravity of the Israelites.

Joshua 16-17: Ask not what your God can do for you – ask what you can do for your God

After distributing land to the Judah tribe, the next in line were the Manasseh and Ephraim tribes, sons of Joseph.

Summary

Chapters 16 and 17 provide a detailed contour of the land given to the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim. Unlike chapter 15, however, chapters 16 and 17 did not list all the cities to be inherited to tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.

In addition, the author highlighted the episode of five Zelophedad’s daughters and how they inherited land. The land distributions to these two tribes concluded with a slightly heated conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua over the size of inherited land. These two events will be the focus of this post.

Zelophedad’s Five Daughters (Joshua 17:3-6)

This is a notable event that Joshua deliberately recorded in the land distribution to the tribe of Manasseh. Let’s take a closer look.

Five daughters of Zelophedad came before Eleazor the priest and before Joshua to remind them of Moses’s command to give them an inheritance (land) although Zelophedad had no sons (Joshua 17:3-4). Joshua and Eleazor honored the command given by the LORD through Moses to ensure the families preserve their father’s name.

This special request by Zelophedad’s five daughters was brought up, first, in Numbers 27, about 7 to 8 years before Joshua 16-17, right after the second census took place to number the total men for the second-generation Israelites. Subsequently, the LORD commanded Moses to assign inherited land according to the number of families (Numbers 27:1-2). Because the census counted only males who were 20 years or older at that time, Zelophedad’s household, with no sons and Zelophedad having passed away in the wilderness, would receive no inheritance. Five daughters, spotting this “gap” in the land inheritance procedure, brought up the issue immediately to Moses and asked for a possession to preserve their father’s name. Because this was an unprecedented case, Moses brought this case to the LORD (Numbers 27:5) and the LORD agreed with the five daughters’ logical request and complemented the “gap” in the land inheritance process to account for special situations if the family had no sons (Numbers 27:6-11).

From this Zelophedad’s daughters’ request and subsequent grant, I would like to draw out three specific insights. First, humility in the Israel leadership led by Moses. When he received this request, Moses did not automatically dismiss their request in a male-dominated world that time. Because of the unprecedented nature of this case, Moses brought the case before the LORD and was willing to totally submit to the guidance of the LORD – and he did. The next leaders, Joshua and Eleazor the priest did not hesitate to honor this command. The Israel community had quality leadership back to back to obey the LORD’s command.

Second, very related to the first point, Moses and the leadership must have created a safe environment for anyone, including minorities, such as women, aliens and others, to speak up. Moses was described as the most humble leader (Numbers 12:3) and If the top leader had shown humility in leadership, the rest of the leadership was very likely as well. Under this kind of open environment, the Israelites must have felt comfortable to speak up to be heard in a just manner. This could have facilitated five daughters of Zelophedad to boldly point out a potential “gap” in the land distribution process without any fear.

Third, I would like to pose a question. Was there a gap in the law of the LORD? Why didn’t the LORD ensure that the “original” law of Moses addressed the situation of families with no sons in the land inheritance process? Although the Bible does not provide an explicit answer, the LORD may have allowed this “gap” to test the Israel leadership and increase awareness of this potential “gap” to the whole community. From this event, the people of Israel would be aware of this exceptional situation and the rights to inherit would be equally applied to daughters as well. Indeed, God shows no favoritism.

Sons of Joseph and Sons of Judah

The second notable episode was the conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua. As the sons of Judah drew near to speak with Joshua (Joshua 14:6), so did the sons of Joseph drew near to Joshua (Joshua 17:14) in this chapter. However, that’s where the similarity between the Judah Tribe and two tribes of Joseph ends. Please refer to the table below to compare and contrast two tribes on how they viewed the land to be conquered.

	Sons of Joseph	Sons of Judah
Source of Confidence	Their number and the fact that they are blessed by the LORD (Josh 17:14)	The LORD their God. The promise of the LORD to give the land which the foot of the Israelites trod upon (Josh 14:10-11)
Obstacles	Canaanites have chariots fitted with iron in both Beth Shean and the Valley of Jezreel (Josh 17:16)	Anakites and their large, fortified cities (Josh 14:12)
Attitude	We cannot do it because of the obstacles ! (Josh 17:16)	Despite obstacles, we can overcome (Josh 14:12)
Main Point	The hill country is not enough for us (give us easier land) – Give us more land! (Josh 17:16)	We will drive them out with the help of the LORD (Josh 14:12)

Table 1: Contrast between sons of Joseph and sons of Judah

The main attitude difference between the Judah tribes and two tribes of Joseph stemmed from the different degrees of acknowledging the presence of the LORD their God. When Caleb came to Joshua, he cited the promise of the LORD. Based on the promise of the LORD, Caleb and Judah expressed their confidence in victory with the LORD in driving out large, fortified cities of Anakites. In contrast, the sons of Joseph demonstrated the entitlement mentality ( Josh 17:14) that they deserved more land because they are blessed by the LORD. Despite obstacles like fortified cities of Anakites, Caleb showed the courage to surely drive them out with the help of the LORD (Joshua 14:12). The sons of Joseph complained that because of iron chariots by the inhabitants, they would not be able to expand their territories (Joshua 17:16). Noticeably, the LORD God was absent in the conversation from the sons of Joseph, but the LORD God was the central force in Caleb’s and the Judah tribe’s confidence. What a difference between the two!

Joshua did not seem to be pleased with the request of the sons of Joseph. Although Joshua was part of the Ephraim tribe (second son of Joseph), he did not grant any land, and told them that they themselves needed to take the initiative to clear the forest and develop extra land – and they were dismissed.

Lessons

Five daughters of Zelophadad were brave. Moses, Joshua, and Eleazor were all leaders of humility to listen to their request attentively and granted it. LIkewise, Jesus, our Lord, has created a safe environment for us to pray and plead before Him.

The heated conversation between the sons of Joseph and Joshua reminded me of John F. Kennedy’s famous speech: “ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can for your country.”

Just swap “your country” with “your God.”

Joshua 15: Manifestation of God’s Promise – Land to Judah Tribe

The book of Joshua can be broadly divided into three parts: 1) entering the land; 2) conquering the land; and 3) the distribution of the land. Starting from chapter 15 began the third part of the book. From this chapter to chapter 21, Joshua provided a detailed description of the land and cities inherited to the twelve tribes and the Levi tribe.

As a reader, one of the most difficult challenges associated with these chapters on land distribution is drawing out applicable messages. The details of geographic and cities, if you are not familiar with the Israel geographic, would be difficult to follow and to extract appropriate meanings.

Thankfully, the most important message that we, the reader, need to obtain from the land distribution chapters is nicely summarized by the last three verses in chapter 21, as summarized below:

“43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they possessed it and lived in it.
44 And the Lord gave them rest on every side, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers, and no one of all their enemies stood before them;
the Lord gave all their enemies into their hand.
45 Not one of the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel failed; all came to pass.
Joshua 21:43-45 [underline added by the blog author]

Joshua 21:43-45 provides a key summary of both conquering and distribution of land chapters. God is the subject of all the accomplishments. The phrase, “the LORD gave,” is repeated three times, along with two repetitions of “He had sworn.” As the LORD loved the Israelites, He had sworn to give the land to their fathers. The LORD is the main promise keeper and enabler of all the promises.

Detailed descriptions of land, territories, and cities are a manifestation of God’s faithfulness. Faithful God is always the central message of the entire Bible. These detailed accounts of borders, territories and cities are one of the manifestations of God’s goodness and promises to the Israelites.

Now let’s go over the content of chapter 15.

Chapter Summary

Chapter 15 provides a detailed description of the land and the cities given to the tribe of Judah.

The effective first born

Let’s note that the lot allocation started with the tribe of Judah. In terms of biological order, Reueben was the first born of Jacob. In terms of the number of lots inherited, Joseph was considered the first born as he received two lots, one each for his son, Manasseh and Ephraim. In terms of land allocation order, however, the LORD seemed to have chosen Judah, biologically the fourth born, as the first born. Why was Judah the first? Perhaps, they were the most actively obedient among the twelve tribes?

Description of the border and cities (v. 1-13, v. 22-63)

The Judah tribe inherited the southern part of Canaan, the detailed conquest of which was described in chapter 10 (Joshua 10:29-43). Compared with other tribes, Judah received an expansive area of land and many cities as they were numerous and the most dedicated tribe to fulfill the promise of God with their active obedience. However, even the Judah tribe was not able to drive out the Jebusites in Jerusalem. The Jebusites were driven away much later by the second king of Israel, David (2 Samuel 5:6-10).

Caleb and Othniel (v13-21)

A more description of a military exploit by Caleb was given in these verses. Approximately 45 years ago, the descendants of Anak placed a fear into the first-generation Israelites (Numbers 13:32-33). In contrast, verse 14 pointed out that Caleb drove out three sons of Anak to emphasize the victorious aspect for Caleb, who represented all those who followed the LORD fully.

Othniel, along with his wife, Achsah (Caleb’s daughter), were introduced in verse 17. Joshua might have highlighted this event to introduce Othniel, who would be the next leader of Israel as a judge. Othniel was described as a man of God filled with the Spirit of the LORD, who delivered Israel from an adversary (Judges 3:9-10).

Lesson

Land distribution was one of the major manifestations of God’s faithfulness to the Israelites, and He provided the land and the cities abundantly. The first lot was allocated to the Judah tribe, who under the leadership of Caleb, showed a full heart to follow the LORD and fulfill His promises.

What are some manifestations of God’s faithfulness in your life?

Joshua 13-14: Inheritance; Active Inheritance; and True Inheritance

Summary

The LORD directly told Joshua that he was old and advanced in years and reminded him that very much of the land remained to be possessed. The LORD reinforced His promise that He would drive out the rest of inhabitants from before the sons of Israel, and commanded Joshua to apportion the land to the nine and a half tribes. Then, the author recounted all the land which was on the east side of the Jordan that was inherited to the two tribes and the half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh).

The sons of Judah and Caleb, the leader of the tribe, drew near to Joshua in Gilgal to demonstrate their insatiable desire to fulfill God’s promise by asking for one of the most difficult lands to conquer, Hebron in the hill country. Joshua was pleased and blessed Caleb and gave Hebron to Caleb for an inheritance.

Remaining Land

Why was still very much of the land remaining to be possessed (Joshua 13:1)? Joshua probably exerted his best effort with the help of the LORD to make the most of his ability to conquer a large portion of the Canaan region. Not every tribe was likely to be as fully engaged as Joshua was in fulfilling the promise of God, however.

First, two and a half tribes already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Although they did send their men of war to the west side of the Jordan River, it would have been very difficult for them to sustain their best effort in every battle for the land that would be for other tribes. Therefore, over the long period of war of seven years from chapters 10 to 13, their enthusiasm for this conquest was almost inevitably to decline over the time.

Second, because the two and a half tribes already inherited the land on the east side of the Jordan, there might have been other tribes that were jealous over them or to some extent demonstrated discontent. Instead of focusing on the land that they could acquire in the future through the battles, some tribes might have longed for some land in the east side of the Jordan River.

Third, a varying degree of God-aligned leadership across the nine and a half tribes would have played an important factor in how much each tribe exerted its effort in fulfilling the promise of God in possessing the land.

For example, the Judah tribe had a leader who followed the LORD fully like Caleb, who in chapter 14 demonstrated his insatiable desire to fulfill God’s promise as much as possible even at an old age of 85. The Judah tribe under the leadership of Caleb, who followed the LORD fully (Joshua 14:14), would have had many followers who were motivated to fulfill the promise of God. On the other side of the spectrum, one of the leaders among the Simeonites, Zimri played the harlot with the Midianite woman in the sight of Moses and all the congregation of Israel while they were at Shittim (Numbers 25), only a few months before entering the land of Canaan. Zimri was soon killed by Phinehas the son of Eleazor (Numbers 25:7-15), who righteously demonstrated the zeal of the LORD. Given that Zimri, who prioritized his sexual pleasure over the holiness of the LORD, was one of the leaders of the Simeon tribe, it would be hard to imagine that the Simeon tribe would have had a leadership quality commensurate with that of the Judah tribe. Therefore, as a whole tribe, it would be hard to imagine that the performance of the Simeon tribe was anywhere near that of the Judah tribe.

Perhaps for the aforementioned three reasons, it was a difficult task, even for Joshua, to conquer all the land of Canaan. Therefore, some land remained to be possessed.

Reset

Despite the land that remained to be possessed, God reminded of His promise to Israel again that He would drive the inhabitants of Canaan out. Then, He commanded Joshua to apportion the land as an inheritance.

This was a call to reset. The LORD acknowledged that Joshua did well in spite of a difficult task of uniting the diverging interests of the twelve tribes over the past seven years. God was encouraging Joshua to reset to start again to motivate each tribe again to conquer the remaining land.

Inheritance

In chapters 13 and 14, the word “inheritance” appeared very often. Although the land was taken after defeating the inhabitants, inheritance, not conquest, was the main principle that guided how the land was given.

The use of the word “Inheritance” reveals a few important aspects of God. The first important aspect is the relation between the LORD God and Israel. Inheritance is typically defined as a transaction of properties from parents to children. Even in the midst of fierce wars, the word “inheritance” implicitly reveals an important relational aspect between the LORD God and the Israelites – a father and sons, and a father and daughters. The second important aspect of the word “inheritance” points out the ownership of the land. The ultimate, true owner of all land, including the land of Canaan, is the LORD God – as mentioned in the book of Leviticus (Leviticus 25:23). Notwithstanding however many years the Canaanites had occupied the land, the true owner of all the land is the LORD God.

“Active” Inheritance

The land was not just given to the Israelites to each tribe in a “supernatural” way, with no action from the Israelites. Although the LORD promised to give the land as an inheritance to the twelve Israel tribes, the role of the Israelites was to obey the LORD. They had to step on the land that God promised and drive out the inhabitants (Joshua 1:3). They had to actively proclaim the promise of God.

Fulfilling the promise of God requires active obedience.

True Inheritance

For the Levites, land was not given to them because the LORD Himself is their inheritance. This was repeated twice in Joshua 13 (Joshua 13:14 and 13:33).

Land is one of the most important topics in the book of Joshua. Inheritance was mainly manifested as land from the LORD God to the Israelites. However, these two verses in Joshua 13 emphasize a very important message, not just to the Levites, not just to the other twelve tribes and Joshua, but to all the followers of Christ. The true inheritance, the true portion and wealth, is the LORD our God Himself. In addition, many psalmists also expressed this truth.

Let’s not forget. Let’s remember that gifts – in this case the land – mainly serve as a sign that points to the giver – our God. Our Lord Jesus Christ is our most valuable possession. He is our true portion and inheritance.

Caleb and His Identity

The latter part of chapter 14 exclusively focused on Caleb. Caleb was described as “the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite.” So, who was Caleb in the Bible?

His father Jephunneh was a Kenizzite. Genesis chapter 15 shows that the land of Kenizzites was one of the many nations in the land of Canaan (Genesis 15:19). This indicated that Caleb was not a direct descendant of Abraham. It might have been that his father was integrated to the Israel society when Israel was under slavery in Egypt. As a gentile, his family might have easily been marginalized in the community. Besides, the name of Caleb also possibly indicated his humble background as it meant dog.

Although we do not know exactly how he rose to become a leader of the Judah tribe, one thing that was clear in this chapter was that the LORD God showed no partiality in ethnicity as long as the person was fully dedicated to the LORD. He actively obeyed the LORD to claim the promised inheritance by the LORD. Because Caleb knew the LORD, the true inheritance, he was able to actively obey to claim the promised inheritance, land, by the LORD.

Lesson

Caleb and Judah knew the LORD, the true inheritance. Therefore, Caleb was able to actively claim the promise of the LORD’s inheritance, which in this case manifested as the land in Canaan.

I pray that you will be able to actively follow our Lord Jesus Christ to claim all the promises and blessings that He has granted. More importantly, I pray that all these promises and blessings will allow you to have greater intimacy with our Lord Jesus Christ, the true inheritance.