10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said,
these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while
Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five
years old.
Beginning in Joshua 13, through chapter 21 Joshua and the
leaders of Israel distribute the inheritance to the various tribes of Israel. And
just in case you might not remember, these tribes are from the twelve sons of
Jacob. They are also named after them. As we can see from the above passage,
God had made this promise to the people earlier through Moses and now God is
keeping His promise.
From Joshua 13:1 through Joshua 17:18, the assignments of
the tribal inheritance are made at Gilgal. Throughout the conquest of Canaan,
Gilgal had been the center of operations for Israel. Later, Joshua moved the
camp and the tabernacle to a more central location at Shiloh (Joshua 18:1).
We don't know Joshua's exact age at this time in Israel's
history, although he could well have been 100. From Joshua 14:7, we learn that Caleb
was 40 years old when Moses sent him to spy out the land. Because of the unbelief
of the people and their disobedience and refusal to go enter the Promise Land
at that time they were forced to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. This
means that Caleb was 80 years old when they did enter and begin their conquest
of the land. Caleb tells us in Joshua 14:10 that he is now 85 years old, which
means it must have taken at least five years for the conquest of the major
kings and cities of Canaan. It is also likely that Joshua was the older of the
two. According to Joshua 24:19, Joshua lived to be 110 years old. This would mean
that the events described in the last half of the book could well have taken
over ten years.
The system for assigning the territories in Canaan is given
in 14:1-2. Eleazer the high priest, Joshua, and one representative from each of
the tribes (Numbers 34:13-29) cast lots before the Lord and in this way
determined His will (Proverbs 16:33). When Joshua relocated the camp at Shiloh,
they changed the system (Joshua 18:1-7).
We also are reminded that two and a half tribes had already
received their inheritance on east side of the Jordan River (Joshua 13:1-33).
Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had agreed to help the other tribes
conquer the land before they returned to the east side of the Jordan to enjoy
their inheritance (Numbers 32). They had asked for this land outside the
boundaries of Canaan because it was especially suited to the raising of cattle.
The fact that these two and a half tribes would not be living within God's
appointed land didn't seem to worry them. Moses graciously agreed to their
choice and let them settle across the Jordan. When we study the twenty-second
chapter of Joshua, we'll learn that while their choice may have been good for
their cattle, it created serious problems for their children.
Over the next few days, we will be looking at least seven
spiritual lessons that we can apply to our spiritual journey from this section
of Joshua 13-21. We will learn that we have a glorious two-fold inheritance in
Christ, and like Paul we can say, “For I consider that the sufferings of
this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
God bless!
