How ironic: “This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, that the inheritance may be ours” (Lk 20:14). “Their inheritance was by lot” (Jos 14:2). What seemed to be random was the way God used men to enact His will: “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the […]
As Willie McVey put it, “Woe betide any son of Anak who crossed Caleb’s path that day!” With all the provisos regarding the tribal territories out of the way, we read, “Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: ‘You know the […]
As much as we like to plan our lives, God’s unexpected adjustments tune things to the best outcome. At long last, after 400 years, God’s promise to Abraham at Mamre was to be fulfilled: “But in the fourth generation they shall return here” (Gen 15:16). So we read, “These are the areas which the children […]
Look at a tribal map of Israel. Nowhere does it say, “Levi.” How could they possibly have the best part? Joshua 13 lays out the territory still to be cleared of the Canaanite demon-worshipers, then describes the land holdings of the two-and-a-half tribes east of the Jordan. But before we survey the land disbursed to […]
You may not have been much of a landowner down here, but wait till the Lord divvies up the universe! “Now Joshua was old, advanced in years. And the Lord said to him: ‘You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed’” (Jos 13:1). God was certainly keeping […]
On the record: “These are the kings of the land whom the children of Israel defeated” (Jos 12:1). Did you think we would just skip all those names in Joshua 12? I daresay many of us do. But why are they here? Scripture is all inspired (2 Tim 3:16), but isn’t it also all profitable? […]
We must believe that the extent of God’s judgment on Canaan was both deserved and necessary. Reading Joshua 12, we come to the pivot point of the book. Behind us are the stories of defeating the inhabitants; ahead, we see the disbursing of the inheritance. The first half of the book focuses on God’s power […]
“Someday you’ll hear God’s final call to you…This could be it, my friend, if you but knew; God’s final call.” J.W. Peterson The battle of the north against Jabin and his confederates was the last of the major campaigns. Here is Joshua’s report card: “As the Lord had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded […]