Again this morning our study will encompass a large portion of the book of Joshua -- 9 chapters! For this reason I encourage you to read these chapters at home during the coming week. Some of the material may seem, quite frankly, mundane, in that a great deal of it consists of geographical details applied to the division of the Promised Land among the tribes of Israel. We should not, however, be bored with such an account. On the contrary, we should celebrate further evidence of the accurate record contained in God's Word regarding the flow of history. God exists in space and time and He moves in and through the lives of His people in that continuim.
Interspersed throughout the unfamiliar references in these chapters to rivers, mountains and cities are interesting asides, intriguing details and intense confrontations.
1. Is it not interesting that Joshua divided the land before it had been fully conquered? God , we see, commanded him to do so. (13:1-7)
a. In v.6 God repeats His promise to drive out the dispossessed inhabitants of Canaan.
b. In 13:13, however, we learn that not all the peoples had been driven out at the time of the writing of this book. This will play an increasingly critical and tragic part in the history of the nation of Israel.
2. We might be surprised to learn of the ages of C __ __ __ __ (85) and J __ __ __ __ __ (probably around 100) at the time of these events.
3. The splendid of Caleb in 14:6-13 should stir our souls.
a. He asked for the original "Land of the G __ __ __ __ __" as his inheritance (v.12).
b. The brief account of his victory there is recorded in 15:13-19.
c. Note that one of his sons-in-law, O __ __ __ __ __ __, became the successor to Joshua and ruled as Israel's first j __ __ __ __ for 40 years.
ref: Judges 1:13
Judges 3:1
Judges 11
1 Chronicles 4:13
1 Chronicles 27:15
4. In 13:14 we learn that the tribe of L __ __ __ received none of the inheritance of land.
a. This had already been decreed by M __ __ __ __ in Deuteronomy 18:1-8.
(1) Their inheritance was the L __ __ __ Himself (v.2).
(2) They were not to be burdened with the details of establishing and maintaining a jurisdiction of land. They were to devote themselves entirely to the responsibilities of m __ __ __ __ __ __ in the tabernacle.
(3) They would receive the "firstfruits" of the t __ __ __ __ __ of the other tribes. See v.3-5.
(4) In addition, the Levites were given cities to live in -- 48 of them -- in the midst of each tribe's lands (Joshua 21:1-41). See also Numbers 35:1-5 for God's ordained dimensions of each of their cities' ("villages" might be a more appropriate term in our understanding) dimensions and their "suburbs."
5. The concept of the so-called "Cities of R __ __ __ __ __" (20:1-9) is fascinating, since we have no point of reference in western history.
a. Six of the 48 Levite cities were so designated.
b. They had already been established in principle by Moses. See Numbers 35:6.
c. Their existence was an outgrowth of the Law of God which, in this new theocracy, would also be the law of the land.
(1) God's m __ __ __ __ law -- the Decalogue -- was established in Exodus 20:1-17.
(2) "Immediately after this the civil law was given. As the race became a nation they needed a civil law, so God gave them one. The civil law for the Jews was based as much on the command of God as was the moral law. One of the civil laws God gave was this: 'He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall surely be put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, but God deliver him into his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee.' (Exodus 21:12-13) If a man was a real murderer, he was to die; but a system was to be set up whereby a man who had slain somebody by mistake would not be put to death but would have a place of escape." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History )
(3) To fully appreciate the careful attention to detail God applied to this concept, see Deuteronomy 19:1-13 and Numbers 35:6-34.
B. NARRATIVE
Joshua 21:43-45 [ NKJV ]
So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies sttod against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.
This passage seems, at first glance, to be inaccurate. As we read further ahead in the book of Joshua we will learn that not all the enemies of Israel were vanquished. We must be careful, then, to re-read what v.44 declares:
...the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.
While stating bluntly that God's promise of "nationhood" -- a promise first made to Abraham more than four centuries before -- was fulfilled, this passage serves as an introduction to the "rest of the story." His inheritance was given by God to Israel, but not in the way we ourselves might expect to be "given" something.
We want in the rest of our time together this morning to considier three "Great Possessions" given by God to the heirs of Abraham but which, nonetheless, would have to be "possessed" by them through obedient faith.
1. GREAT POSSESSION #1: The I __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __
a. When the land was divided by Joshua, Israel was little more than an island in the midst of a
turbulent sea of those who were not God's people and had yet to be driven out.
b. Israel had experienced first-hand the promises of God being fulfilled by the exercise of His mighty p __ __ __ __ through His o __ __ __ __ __ __ __ people. He further promises at this juncture to continue doing that in the future.
Joshua 13:6b [ NKJV ]
...them I will drive out from before the children of Israel...
c. However, in Joshua 18:3 we learn that the people were no longer moving obediently to "p __ __ __ __ __ __ their p __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __."
Then Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?
d. The reason for Israel's failure to complete the task of "possessing their possession" is given in Joshua 17:12-13.
Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were determined to dwell in that land. And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
(1) At first not all the individual tribes had sufficient organization and armed might to drive out the inhabitant of their inheritance.
(2) Later, however, when they were strong enough to do so, their "practical materialism" stopped them. "Practical materialism" (Schaeffer's term) manifests itself two ways:
- the desire for p __ __ __ __ at any cost
- the desire for w __ __ __ __.
e. Francis Schaeffer reminds us that present-day Christians, too, must move in faith to fully "possess" our inheritance.
(1) the power of the H __ __ __ S __ __ __ __ __
(2) the f __ __ __ __ __ of the Spirit
"What are God's promises to Christians? We could follow several veins, but I would like to follow this one: the promises of the fruit and power of the Holy Spirit. As Jesus was preparing to leaven his disciples, he promised, 'I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you' (John 14:18). Here is the promise of God: 'I am going to send the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity, to live within every true Christian from Pentecost on.' Romans 8 emphasizes that the Holy Spirit is the agent through which the power of the victorious, resurrected Christ brings froth fruit in a Christian's life.
Christ has not left us orphans. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. And this fact has great implications. Jesus promised his followers: 'But ye shall receive power [from the same Greek word which gives us our word dynamite], after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Sammaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth' (Acts 1:8). The Holy Spirit will be Christ's agent in us -- producing dynamite power so we can be witnesses to this rebellious world.
The Holy Spirit also gives us the fruit of the Spirit, which is described in Galatians: 'But the frist of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit' (Galatians 5:22-25). If we have accepted Christ as our Savior, we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Isn't that fine? All right, then, let us walk in the Spirit. Let us possess our possessions." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: op cite )
2. GREAT POSSESSION #2: Spiritual U __ __ __ __
a. The Spiritual unity of the people of God has as its source the p __ __ __ __ __ __ of God in
their midst.
(1) For Israel it was the incredible privilege of having God as their king. This fact set them apart from every other nation on earth.
(2) For Christians today it is the presence of the H __ __ __ S __ __ __ __ __ indwelling each individual believer. When we come together as a church, then, we become a united and visible "outpost" of the k __ __ __ __ __ __ of God.
b. If we attempt to continue this unity in any other way -- such as "organization" or "hard work" or "good intentions" -- we will fail with a resounding "thud."
3. GREAT POSSESSION #3: T __ __ __ __
a. Joshua 22 ends the record of the "conquest era" of Israel.
(1) The tribes of R __ __ __ __ __ and G __ __ and the half-tribe of Manasseh are finally permitted to return to their portion of the inheritance, east of the Jordan River.
(2) Their f __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ __ is acknowledge publically and they are
b __ __ __ __ __ __ by Joshua (v.3-6).
(3) They decide to build a separate a __ __ __ __ east of the Jordan (v.10).
(4) When the rest of the nation hears of this, they think the worst and mobilize for w __ __ against their brothers (v.11-12)!
(5) Before going into battle, however, r __ __ __ __ __ is exercised (v.13-15).
(6) Still, an honest confrontation is undertaken in which plain speech is used (v.16-20).
(7) The response of the accused tribes is no less honest and frank (v.21-24).
(8) A great tragedy is avoided , and the people r __ __ __ __ __ __.
(9) Please note that this chapter also contains the most curious name ever given to an altar: "E __." This has always been a source of great amusement to your pastor, and stands as another excellent reason for continuing to use the KJV.
b. The lesson: the people of God are called upon to exercise courage in their responsibility to protect and defend the truth of God, which is rooted in His holiness.
(1) We must be courageous in standing for t __ __ __ __.
(2) We must be courageous in acting in l __ __ __.
"What is a Christian's duty in life? He has only one basic duty: to exhibit the existence of God and to exhibit his character in the midst of a rebellious world. What is the character of God? God is holy and God is love. Christians -- both individually and corporately -- have a duty to stand for God's truth with no compromise which simultaneously dealing in love with brothers and sisters in Christ -- yes, and with men and women outside the church. Joshua 22 is not just history; it is a rule in the continuity of God's commands to his people through the flow of history. It is an example for the people of God in dealing with each other for all time." ( Francis A. Schaeffer: op. cit. )
C. APPLICATION
1. First we must understand and acknowledge that the Great Possessions given to Israel are also extended to God's people in this age -- His Spiritual heirs. A most excellent apologetic for this fact is presented by the Apostle Paul in Romans 4:1-25.
2. Next, Christians -- like believing Jews of Joshua's day -- must not act as though God, once He has brought us across the threshold of our inheritance, has lost His power to continue acting powerfully on our behalf. Salvation is a free gift of God -- we have nothing whatever to do with possessing it. But the rest of our inheritance must be "possessed" by us. God has delivered it "into our hands," but each of us must then "labor" to "close our fingers" around God's promises to us and, thereby, "possess" them.
Is your life missing the full benefit of your inheritance? Then, dear brother and dear sister, POSSESS your GREAT POSSESSION by living of life of powerful obedience to God!
D I S C U S S I O N G U I D E________
1. Read Joshua 14:6-12 and 15:15-19 regarding the faith of old Caleb.
a. V.8 contains the secret of Caleb's faithful success: he "w __ __ __ __ __" followed God.
b. Discuss the implications for today's believers in Caleb's bold statement in v.12: "..give me this mountain..."
2. Read Joshua 20:1-9, the account of the establishment of the Cities of Refuge, then read Numbers 35:6-34 for an understanding of the original decree for these cities proclaimed by Moses.
a. Read Genesis 9:1-9.
(2) What is meant in v.5: "From the hand of every man's brother I will require the life of
man."?
(3) How did this aspect of Israeli civil law necessitate the concept of Cities of Refuge?
b. Getting back to Joshua 20, what do you suppose the death of the high priest had to do with the end of the killer's exile in a City of Refuge (v.6)? Could this in any way be a reference to the physical death of our great Chief Priest, Jesus Christ? Explain.
c. Read Hebrews 6:13-18.
(1) What (Who?) is the "hope set before us" to which we have fled for refuge?
A:__________________
(2) How is Christ like and unlike a City of Refuge?
LIKE:
UNLIKE:
d. The civil law of Israel was rooted entirely in the moral law of God. Francis Schaeffer in his book Joshua and the Flow of Biblical History states:
"In reformation countries the Old Testament civil law has been the basis of our civil law.
We are not a theocracy, it is true; nevertheless, when Reformation Christianity provided
the consensus, men naturally looked back to the civil law that God gave Israel, not to carry it out in every detail but to see it as a pattern and a base."
(1) Is the civil law of the United States still seen in this light? ________ Why, or why not?
(2) What, in your opinion, is the essential difference in civil law that is rooted in the existence and character of God and civil law that is rooted on a culture's "social contract."
3. Read Numbers 18:21-32 for the account of how God established the "portion" for the Levites in the Promised Land.
a. Denied an inheritance, how were the Levites to live?
b. Some Christians believe that the concept of tithing was intended by God only for the Old Testament period, since it seems to have been established for the support of the Levites and the upkeep of the Tabernacle. Do v.25-30 refute this argument? Why, or why not?
c. Our text passage this morning indicated that the Levites were given 48 cities in which to live. These cities were scattered all over the Promised Land; there were Levite cities in land held by every tribe. Why do you think God wanted cities in each tribe inhabited by students of His Word and men devoted to His worship? Why didn't He put all the Levites in one place?
5. Read the account of the return of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh to the land east of the Jordan in Joshua 22.
a. What was the primary cause of this near tragedy: a foolish gesture by the eastern tribes or over- reaction by the western tribes? Explain your answer.
b. Read the following: 1 Corinthians 5:1-2 Hebrews 12:14-17
Colossians 3:12-14 Ephesians 4:1-16
In the light of these New Testament passages about unity in the church, were the actions of the
newly-formed nation of Israel a good model for us? _______ Why, or why not?
c. What lesson for the church is contained in this chapter?
