Tag: Joshua 13

Joshua 18-19: Land Division to the Rest; Judah vs. Dan

Summary

The whole congregation of Israel assembled at Shiloh. At that place, Joshua urged the rest of the tribes to proactively take possession of the land which the LORD the God had given to them. To facilitate this process, Joshua commanded the remaining seven tribes to send three men from each tribe to survey the land for the lot. After the land survey, they came back and Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the presence of the LORD. The rest of the land was divided and given to the remaining seven tribes (Benjamine, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphthali, and Dan).

Before the LORD

Casting lots may be considered a strange way to discern how the land would be distributed to each tribe. However, there is a key phrase that was continually repeated in these two chapters, “before the LORD” (Joshua 18:6, 18:8, 18:10, and 19:51). The LORD commanded Joshua to distribute the land by lot, and Joshua and Eleazar the priest did this before the presence of the LORD. Casting lot in itself may not be a valid method, but it being conducted before the presence of the LORD was the most important aspect. 

Reset by Joshua: Bite-sized Tasks

Chapter 18 goes in tandem with Chapter 13. Back in Chapter 13, the LORD reminded Joshua of the remaining land that needed to be possessed and of the promise that the LORD had made that He would drive out the inhabitants (Joshua 13:6). In Chapter 18, Joshua himself urged the remaining seven tribes to enter to take possession and gave them a concrete mission – to select three men from each tribe to survey the land and report back to him. 

A modicum of wise leadership by Joshua can be noted here. Perhaps, the seven tribes were afraid and were lost in the grand purpose of conquering the vast land area, or the thought of possessing a remaining large size land paralyzed their next actions. Therefore, Joshua broke down the task for them. First, select three men from each tribe. Second, dispatch those selected men to survey the land. Third, divide the remaining land into seven parts. By taking a few small steps, Joshua gave a digestible concrete mission for the tribes to the next step. By leading them to see and survey the land themselves, Joshua made the task more concrete for the remaining tribes. By dividing the whole land into seven areas, Joshua directed them to engage in a divide and conquer strategy to reduce their mental burden and facilitate their action. 

The order of Lot Allotment

During the bible study, there was a question about how the lot order was determined. Although not explicitly stated in the text, upon some pondering, we found that the allotment order was roughly the reverse of the birth order of the seven remaining tribes – the only exception was Simeon. 

Birth order for the remaining tribesSimeon, Dan, Napthali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin
Allotment order for the remaining tribesBenjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan

Benjamin was the youngest, and his tribe received the first allotment located in between Ephraim and Judah. Simeon, although he was the oldest of the seven, received next probably because Simeon tribe was the fewest in numbers of all tribes.

Although the order may not be of significant importance, if we assume that the youngest roughly equates to the weakest, this may show that God’s intricate care of the weak first. 

Meek Leadership: Judah and Simeon 

*Side note: Biblical definition of meekness is “power under control.” 

Let’s take a closer look at the inheritance given to Simeon (Joshua 19:1-9). Inheritance given to the Simeon tribe stood out because unlike other six tribes, Simeon received thirteen cities within the Judah’s inheritance. Although the explicit reason was that Judah inheritance was more than they needed, some things may have been ongoing behind the scene. 

First, we may wonder why Simeon was not given the land for themselves on the northern territory. Was it possible that the Simeon tribe was not liked by the others? The leadership in the Simeon tribe committed a huge sin at Shittim (Numbers 25), and as a result, many people, probably those in the Simeon tribe, died, reducing their size significantly. It was possible that the Simeon tribe was not looked upon favorably by the other tribes due to this incident and the three dispatched men were not able to do a proper survey of the land. 

Second, perhaps, Simeon, having nowhere to settle, Judah took them in and voluntarily provided 13 cities. In Judges 1:3, we also see that Judah helped Simeon to fight together against the Canaanite and the Perizzites, defeating 10,000 men at Bezek to claim the territory allotted to Simeon. Judah was not required to help Simeon to claim his lot. However, from this episode, we see that not only Judah voluntarily provided 13 cities for Simeon, but also helped the Simeon tribe (about 22,000 men compared to 76,500 men in Judah) to claim the allotted territory. 

The strongest tribe helped the weakest tribe and fought alongside with them to claim the allotted land. This is a meek leadership – using power appropriately to serve the weak. 

Colossal Failure: Dan Tribe

Varying degrees of “success” across each tribe was pronounced. Most of them were not able to drive out 100% of the inhabitants in their allotted land. Even Judah was not able to drive out Jebusites and they remained in Jerusalem until King David. However, the contrast between Judah and Dan drew our attention. 

The Dan tribe was a prime example of a colossal failure in inheriting the land. Although the size of the Dan tribe was second only to that of the Judah Tribe (64,400 to 76,500), they were humiliated by the Amorites (Judge 1:34). The Amorites were determined to stay in the land allotted to the Dan tribe, and Dan tribe was driven out, instead of driving out the inhabitants. As a result, the Dan tribe had to meander toward the very north of the Canaan region until they settled in Leshem, which was named Dan (Joshua 19:47).

What a difference between Judah and Dan!

Conclusions

Joshua continued to demonstrate his leadership over the seven tribes who needed a nudge to take action to take possession of the land. Most importantly, however, Joshua submitted before the presence of the LORD when he cast lots for the land inheritance. 

We see that the way in which the land was inherited to each tribe varied greatly. Judah not only settled well, but also used its strength to help Simeon to settle. Dan, despite having the size, was overpowered by the Amorites and was pushed out of its land to settle in the very north of Canaan area. 

The contrast between Judah and Dan gives us something to think about claiming the promise of God.

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.