Joshua was no armchair general. He had experienced the real parry and thrust of active warfare. Joshua knew this world was no place for rubber swords and playroom rocking horses. And his speech was as decisive as his blade. Calling for the leaders of Israel, “for their elders, for their heads, for their judges, and […]
When we hear that fellow Christians have done wrong, let’s pause long enough to hear their side. Here’s the King James version of Joshua 22:34, “And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.” Did you ever […]
The spiritual and practical unite in our lives when God’s will is done on earth as it is in heaven. To be spiritual does not mean to be impractical. The Lord’s promise to the Levites, the families of the priests, that He would be their inheritance was not the end of it. With all due […]
“Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us” (Ps 62:8). At last were distributed “the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an inheritance […]
There are two pictures of the tribe of Dan, fraught with danger, like warning signs along the road. Jacob said, “Dan shall be a serpent by the way” (Gen 49:17). Moses wrote, “Dan is a lion’s whelp; he shall leap from Bashan” (Deut 33:22). Sometimes a slithering serpent; at other times, a leaping lion. Watch […]
I never leave Naphtali’s land, skirting sweet Galilee, without a deeper longing for the Great Galilean. Inland and parallel to Asher’s mountainous region was the territory given to Naphtali (Jos 19:32-39). Coming south from Mount Hermon, a second range of mountains looks down from their heights upon the azure Sea of Galilee. High in these […]
When baby Asher was born, Leah was happy. When baby Jesus was born, Anna from Asher was happy. Asher means “blessed” or “happy,” and the territory given to this tribe was a blessing indeed (Jos 19:24-31). Both Jacob and Moses spoke of a potentially bright future for this tribe. “Bread from Asher shall be rich, […]
Issachar, with a fighting male census of 64,300, was the third most populous tribe in Israel. When you look at the region given to Issachar (Jos 19:17-23), it isn’t hard to imagine that “Issachar is a strong donkey, lying down between two burdens” (Gen 49:14). The Jezreel Valley is composed of three parts. The city […]
Zebulun, numbering 240,000 fighting men, was nevertheless given one of the smallest regions. Of Zebulun, the only landlocked territory, it was prophesied: “Rejoice, Zebulun, in your going out…for they shall partake of the abundance of the seas” (Deut 33:18-19). Just 300 square miles, the small size is deceiving. Like Benjamin, who controlled the northern approach […]