Bible Talks

Listen from:
• BibleTruthPublishers.com
Joshua 11:15-14:515As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses. 16So Joshua took all that land, the hills, and all the south country, and all the land of Goshen, and the valley, and the plain, and the mountain of Israel, and the valley of the same; 17Even from the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir, even unto Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon under mount Hermon: and all their kings he took, and smote them, and slew them. 18Joshua made war a long time with all those kings. 19There was not a city that made peace with the children of Israel, save the Hivites the inhabitants of Gibeon: all other they took in battle. 20For it was of the Lord to harden their hearts, that they should come against Israel in battle, that he might destroy them utterly, and that they might have no favor, but that he might destroy them, as the Lord commanded Moses. 21And at that time came Joshua, and cut off the Anakims from the mountains, from Hebron, from Debir, from Anab, and from all the mountains of Judah, and from all the mountains of Israel: Joshua destroyed them utterly with their cities. 22There was none of the Anakims left in the land of the children of Israel: only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod, there remained. 23So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war. 1Now these are the kings of the land, which the children of Israel smote, and possessed their land on the other side Jordan toward the rising of the sun, from the river Arnon unto mount Hermon, and all the plain on the east: 2Sihon king of the Amorites, who dwelt in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and from the middle of the river, and from half Gilead, even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon; 3And from the plain to the sea of Chinneroth on the east, and unto the sea of the plain, even the salt sea on the east, the way to Beth-jeshimoth; and from the south, under Ashdoth-pisgah: 4And the coast of Og king of Bashan, which was of the remnant of the giants, that dwelt at Ashtaroth and at Edrei, 5And reigned in mount Hermon, and in Salcah, and in all Bashan, unto the border of the Geshurites and the Maachathites, and half Gilead, the border of Sihon king of Heshbon. 6Them did Moses the servant of the Lord and the children of Israel smite: and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it for a possession unto the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. 7And these are the kings of the country which Joshua and the children of Israel smote on this side Jordan on the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even unto the mount Halak, that goeth up to Seir; which Joshua gave unto the tribes of Israel for a possession according to their divisions; 8In the mountains, and in the valleys, and in the plains, and in the springs, and in the wilderness, and in the south country; the Hittites, the Amorites, and the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: 9The king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Beth-el, one; 10The king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one; 11The king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one; 12The king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one; 13The king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one; 14The king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one; 15The king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one; 16The king of Makkedah, one; the king of Beth-el, one; 17The king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one; 18The king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one; 19The king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one; 20The king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one; 21The king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one; 22The king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam of Carmel, one; 23The king of Dor in the coast of Dor, one; the king of the nations of Gilgal, one; 24The king of Tirzah, one: all the kings thirty and one. 1Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the Lord said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed. 2This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri, 3From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites: 4From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites: 5And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baal-gad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath. 6All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephoth-maim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee. 7Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, 8With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the Lord gave them; 9From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon; 10And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon; 11And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah; 12All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out. 13Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day. 14Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the Lord God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them. 15And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. 16And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba; 17Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, 18And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, 19And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zareth-shahar in the mount of the valley, 20And Beth-peor, and Ashdoth-pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, 21And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country. 22Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer, did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them. 23And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof. 24And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families. 25And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah; 26And from Heshbon unto Ramath-mizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir; 27And in the valley, Beth-aram, and Beth-nimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward. 28This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages. 29And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families. 30And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities: 31And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families. 32These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward. 33But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the Lord God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them. 1And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. 2By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe. 3For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them. 4For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance. 5As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land. (Joshua 11:15‑14:5)
Joshua did not stop to recount his victories until he had fulfilled the Word of the Lord, and executed His judgment upon all the people of the land. This was not an easy task, however, for there was war for a long time with all the kings of the land, and Joshua did not make peace with the enemies of the Lord, except in the case already mentioned with the Gibeonites. All too often we settle down to recount our victories, instead of pressing on. We weary of the strife, thinking the power of the enemy is too great for us—and indeed so it is, if we try to meet it in our own strength. But we may be well assured that anything we allow to remain that is not according to God, will only cause us trouble later.
The end of the conflict was by no means the easiest part of it, for last of all Joshua encountered the giants who dwelt in the land. The spies who had seen these giants said they felt like grasshoppers before them, but in the strength of the Lord, Joshua destroyed them utterly. Sometimes we think that as we grow older our battles have been won, and now we can relax a little, but alas it is not so. The giants were the last enemies Joshua overcame. We need to walk in dependence upon the Lord all the way. Our time of resting is yet to come, as with Joshua in our chapter.
How precious it will be when we get home to glory to be able to rest, and look back upon all the way the Lord has led us, just as we find Joshua recounting all the victories the Lord had given them from their victory over Sihon king of the Amorites, till the very last one. Joshua was now old, and although he had been mightily used of the Lord, there still remained much land to be possessed. And so it is with us. We may enter into and enjoy many of our blessings in Christ, but our apprehension is feeble at best. Indeed the more we enter into them, the more we will feel how small our measure really is, just as Joshua realized more than any of the people, how much of the land there still was to conquer.
In dividing the land we first read of the possessions of the two and a half tribes who had their inheritance on the other side of Jordan. They received theirs first, but being removed from God’s center which was in the land, they were soon suspected of departure, and, later on were the first to go into idolatry. They received their portion from Moses too, while those in the land received it from Joshua, who, as we remarked before, typifies Christ in the power of the Spirit who seeks to lead our souls into the enjoyment of our heavenly portion. Many dear Christians are like those of the two and a half tribes, who, while rejoicing in the fact that they are the people of God, do not want the conflict with walking as heavenly men on earth.
We now come to the dividing of the land to the other nine and a half tribes. First we notice that the Levites did not have any inheritance, except their cities and suburbs, for the Lord was their inheritance. How good it is, when serving the Lord, to know that He undertakes to care for the needs of His servants, through His people, but we are not to set our hearts upon things here. The Lord is our inheritance—precious portion! May we heed the exhortation of Paul, written from the Roman prison, “Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:44Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. (Philippians 4:4).
ML 05/10/1953