Today, we will begin to look at a new section of the Book
of Joshua in chapters 13-21. We need to remember that the Book of Joshua is an
historic record of the people of Israel under Joshua’s leadership, conquering and
taking control of the Promise Land and then dividing the land as an inheritance
to the twelve tribes of Israel. At the same time, Joshua is a spiritual lesson
book teaching us how to conquer our enemies by faith, and also how we can claim
the inheritance that we have in Jesus Christ as believers.
In chapters 10-12, Joshua had successfully completed the
first half of his divine commission. He had conquered the enemy and was in
control of the land and the cities (1:1-5). Now he had to fulfill the second
part of that commission and divide the land so that each tribe could claim
their inheritance and enjoy what God had given them (v. 6). (See Num. 34-35.)
The word inheritance is found over fifty times in these
nine chapters and is a very important word. The Jews inherited their land. They
didn't win their land as spoils of battle or purchase their land as in a
business transaction. The Lord, who was the sole owner, leased the land to
them. "The land must not be sold permanently," the Lord had
instructed them, "because the land is Mine and you are but aliens and
My tenants" (Lev. 25:23). Imagine having God for your landlord!
The "rent" God required was simply Israel's
obedience to His Law. As long as the Jewish people honored the Lord with their
worship and obedience, He would bless them, make their land productive, and
keep their nation at peace with their neighbors. When Israel agreed to the
blessings and curses at Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal (Josh. 8:30-35), they accepted
the conditions of what is called "The Palestinian Covenant."
Their ownership of the land was purely the gracious act of
God; but their possession and enjoyment of the land depended on their
submission and obedience to the Lord. (See Lev. 26 and Deut. 27-30 for the
details of the Palestinian Covenant.) The Promised Land was a gift of God's
love; and if the Israelites loved the Lord, they would want to obey Him and
please Him in the way they used His land (Deut. 4:37-39). Unfortunately, they
eventually defied the Lord, disobeyed the Law, and defiled the land; and God
had to chasten them in the land of Babylon.
As we look at this section of Joshua, we will find that there
were four main stages in the distribution of the land. And in each of these
stages, we will discover spiritual lessons for God's people today who want to
enjoy their spiritual inheritance in Christ.
Jesus, begin His first recorded message in Matthew 5-7 with
these words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of
heaven” (v. 3). “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth”
(v. 5). We can begin to claim the “riches of our inheritance in Christ”
(Ephesians 1), when we humble ourselves by admitting that we are a sinner and
accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. And then by yielding the ownership of our
life and possessions to the Lordship of Christ. When we humbly give up
everything to Him, it is then that we will discover that we can truly
experience life and enjoy living the abundant fulfilled life on earth that
Jesus promised in John 10:10. “… I have come that you might have life and
that you might have it more abundantly”.
God bless!
