Please open your Bibles to Joshua 18…. We noted from the first part of Joshua 18, the importance of God’s Word. It is the norm for us to read an entire Bible passage for our worship; but for the sake of time, we will stray a bit from the norm this morning and highlight main points in Joshua 18-19.
Many of you likely responded to the email I sent last Tuesday to read Joshua 18-19 prior to today. Again, it is good for all of us to read all of God’s Word; so, if you did not read Joshua 18-19 last week, please read the entire chapters during the week and be reminded of what God desires to apply to our lives.
So, follow along with me as we learn from God’s Word; let’s start with Joshua 18:9-11………
- Men scouted the land to be taken by the 7 Tribes of Israel
- Joshua “cast lots” in the presence of the Lord to distribute the land
- The first “lot” went to the Tribe of Benjamin
We will comment more on these truths as we look at applications for us.
Joshua 18:12 – describes the land for Benjamin which includes Jerusalem.
Joshua 19:1-8 – Second lot went to the Tribe of Simeon and the towns and villages they had were listed
Joshua 19:9….. We don’t read any complaining from Judah. What can we learn from this??
Share willingly; don’t hoard!
Joshua 19:10-16 – third lot went to Zebulun and the inherited land were described
Joshua 19:17-23 – fourth lot went to Issachar and the inherited land were described
Joshua 19:24-31 – fifth lot went to Asher and the inherited land were described
Joshua 19:32-39 – sixth lot went to Naphtali and the inherited land were described
Joshua 19:40-48– seventh lot went to Dan and the inherited land were described
Look again at v47 with me…. The Israelites of course knew exactly what happened here; does God give us clues? We don’t have to go far…. Turn with me to Judges 1:34-35….
And so, what we actually note here in Joshua 19:47 – The Tribe of Dan sinned against God by not overthrowing the Amorites AND taking the easiest way to take land; they picked on someone weak for their benefit!
Do we see this today?? – all we have to do is turn on the news! Sadly, this type of greed also happen in Christian communities.
We will note in the ending chapters of Joshua, a land of refuge and where the priestly Levites would live. At the end of Joshua 19 we note the place where Joshua ended up… Read along with me Joshua 19:49-51…..
- Joshua was given land of his choosing; why did Joshua get special treatment??
- Was everything provided for Joshua??
- The Promised Land was finished; What were the major components of getting to that finish line??
There are at least 4 biblical principles from this passage we can apply to our lives today:
First of all, the Israelites “cast lots” (it does not tell us exactly how they did it, but it was somewhat left to chance) to divide the land. Should we be doing the same today with our lives, rolling the dice, quija ball, gambling, everything by luck or chance?? How are Christians to live??
1. Christians are to live by faith and faith comes from the Word of God!
The Word of God must always be our foundation for living. Of course, just like with Joshua, not everything we are to do in life will be directly instructed by God. Yes, Joshua and even the first Christian disciples cast lots, but what went along with their choices by chance??
Always check the Bible how to live, but also always pray first before making any decisions!
Rolling the dice for a decision? Gambling your resources? Before making a decision by chance, make sure you pray first, then it is in God’s hands, not necessarily by chance!
Some just randomly poke their finger in a Bible and call that verse for their decision making – Pray first!!
You gonna poke a Pokemon? – Pray first and ask God what He thinks of what you are doing!
Talking to God and asking God for decisions in all our life’s activities is a must for every Christian!
2. Share willingly what you have in abundance. Hoarding is a sin!
3. Do not compromise with God’s instructions, just because it’s easier or more fun.
4. Know the components of how to finish a task in life with God!
