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 4:4.
ML 05/10/1953