Joshua 17-19
What I Noticed Today (Joshua 17-19)
Joshua 17
Joshua 17 announces the inheritance of Manasseh, Joseph’s firstborn.
In verses 1-2, Makir, Manasseh’s firstborn son received his inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan River. The rest of Manasseh’s sons received their inheritance on the western side of the Jordan River.
In verses 3-6, the daughters of Zelophehad are called out because their father had no sons. The daughters had been promised an inheritance by the Lord through Moses (Numbers 36:1-13). They appeared before Eleazar the priest and Joshua who gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers.
Note: Zelophehad was a great-great-grandson of Manasseh.
In verses 7-11, the towns and villages of Manasseh are listed.
In verses 12-13, within the borders of their allotment were some Canaanites who they did not drive out but did submit to forced labor (Beth Shan, Ibleam, Dor aka Napoth, Endor, Taanach, and Megiddo).
In verses 14-18, Joseph’s descendants complained that they did not get an inheritance large enough for the size of their tribe, so Joshua told them to also take the forest lands of the Perizzites and Rephaim and drive them out.
Note: The people of Manasseh seem to have little faith that they could drive out the remaining Canaanites in their land. This is quite a contrast to the courage and faith displayed by Caleb!
Joshua 18
In Joshua 18, the entire Israelite community gathered at Shiloh, and they set up the Tent of Meeting. Shiloh which was the center of the land that had been acquired so far.
In verses 3-10, The inheritance for seven tribes had not yet been allotted. Joshua ordered three men from each of the seven remaining tribes to go scout out the land. They returned with descriptions of the cities and countryside.
- In the presence of God at the Tent of Meeting, Joshua cast lots for the remaining tribe’s inheritance. Benjamin’s, Simeon’s, Zebulun’s, Issachar’s, Asher’s, Naphtali’s, and Dan’s inheritances were given based on the casting of lots.
In verses 11-28, the first lot fell to Benjamin. The borders of the tribe of Benjamin are described along with a listing of 14 of their major cities (including Jerusalem, fulfilling Moses’ prophecy in Deuteronomy 33:12).
Joshua 19
Joshua 19 describes the inheritances of the remaining six tribes of Israel.
In verses 1-9, the second lot fell to Simeon. They were given an inheritance in the southern section of Judah’s territory along with 17 towns and villages.
Note: The people of Simeon were eventually incorporated into the territories of Ephraim and Manasseh. This is why in the time of Solomon there were ten tribes described in the north and two (Benjamin and Judah) in the south.
In verses 10-16, the third lot fell to Zebulun who received their inheritance along with 12 towns and villages.
Note: The Bethlehem listed in verse 15 is not the Bethlehem in Judah where Jesus was born.
In verses 17-23, the fourth lot fell to Issachar who received their inheritance.
In verses 24-31, the fifth lot fell to the tribe of Asher who received their inheritance along with 22 towns and villages.
In verses 32-39, the sixth lot fell to Naphtali who received their inheritance.
In verses 40-48, the seventh lot fell to the Danites who received their inheritance along with 17 villages and towns.
In verses 49-51, Joshua accepted his inheritance last. Joshua was given the city of Timnath Serah which lay within the mountainous region of his tribe of Ephraim.
Note: According to Jewish tradition, the distribution of the lands by lot was accomplished by placing the names of each tribe in a clay pot, and a description of the separate lands in another clay pot. A tribal name was drawn at the same time as a land description was drawn. This was not considered a blind chance but controlled by God.
Some thoughts for further consideration:
- Caleb and Joshua were the faithful spies of the original Exodus generation, and the only ones allowed to pass into the Promised Land. Both Caleb and Joshua received a special inheritance from God. Caleb took possession of his inheritance first (Joshua 14:6-15), and Joshua took his inheritance last (Joshua 19:49-51).
- Caleb, though old, was fully committed to leading his tribe into the Promised land. Joshua, in particular, demonstrated his commitment to completing the work that God had given him, and humbly waited until everyone else had received their inheritance before accepting his own.
- We could use a few more leaders with these traits today!
What did you notice in your study today? Feel free to visit the website and leave a question or a comment.