October 11, 2025
2 weeks ago we concluded the conquest section of Joshua.
11:23 - So Joshua took the entire land, just as the LORD had directed Moses, and he gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
The remaining chapters are dedicated to the division of the land even though there were large areas of Canaan yet to be conquered:
• All the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites: the territory of the five Philistine rulers in Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron – as well as the Avvites
• From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, from Arah of the Sidonians as far as Aphek, the region of the Amorites,
• The area of the Gebalites; and all Lebanon to the east, from Baal Gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo Hamath.
Reuben, Gad and ½ Manasseh received the inheritance that Moses had assigned to them east of the Jordan and the rest of chapter 13 describes the territories that were given to them.
Joshua 13:33 - But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he promised them.
The remaining 9 ½ tribes would divide the land by casting lots.
Before the divisions began, Caleb went to Joshua with a request:
“You know the story. I was 40 years old when Moses sent me to explore the land. I brought back a report according to my convictions, but the men who went with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed Yahweh with all my heart. As a result, Moses swore to me, ‘Because you followed Yahweh, the land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance forever.’ Yahweh has kept me alive these 40 years, just as he promised. And here I am today, 85 years old! I am still strong and just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Give me the hill country that Yahweh promised me. You know the Anakites live there and that their cities are large and fortified, but with Yahweh helping me, I will drive them out just as he said." {Joshua 14:6-12}
Joshua blessed Caleb and granted his request – giving him Hebron as his inheritance. From Hebron, Caleb drove out the 3 descendants of Anak -- Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai. From there he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher).
Then the land had rest from war.
Dividing the Land
• Judah received 112 cities with their villages
Joshua 15:63 - Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites….
• Ephraim:
Joshua 16:10 - They did not dislodge the Canaanites….
• West Manasseh:
At this point the 5 daughters of Zelophehad reminded Joshua that Moses had promised them their father’s inheritance from among the tribe of Manasseh. “So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to Yahweh’s command.”
So far –
• Judah received territory in the South.
• The sons of Joseph {West Manasseh and Ephraim} received territory in the North.
• Reuben, Gad and East Manasseh received territory East of Jordan.
• Levi received no territory.
Joshua 18:1-2 - The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.
The leaders of the remaining 7 tribes were instructed to survey the land and write a description of it.
After bringing the information back to Joshua, lots were cast to determine which tribe would get which territory:
• Lot 1 - Benjamin: Their territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph – 14 towns and their villages.
• Lot 2 - Simeon: Their territory lay within the territory of Judah – 17 towns and their villages.
• Lot 3 - Zebulon: 12 towns and their villages
• Lot 4 - Issachar: 16 towns and their villages
• Lot 5 - Asher: 22 towns and their villages
• Lot 6 - Naphtali: 19 towns and their villages
• Lot 7 - Dan: 18 towns and their villages were named
Joshua 19:49-51 - When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as Yahweh had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for -- Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there…. And so they finished dividing the land.
Cities of Refuge
Joshua 20:1-6 – Yahweh to Joshua: Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge… for anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally… "When he flees to one of these cities, he is to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state his case before the elders of that city. Then they are to admit him into their city and give him a place to live with them… they must not surrender the one accused to the Avenger of Blood... He is to stay in that city until he has stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then he may go back to his own home in the town from which he fled.”
• Kedesh in the Territory of Naphtali
• Shechem in the Territory of Ephraim
• Hebron in the Territory of Judah
• Bezer in the Territory of Reuben
• Ramoth in the Territory of Gad
• Golan in the Territory of East Manasseh
Cities of the Levites
After the cities of Refuge had been determined, the heads of the households of the Levites came to Joshua: “Yahweh commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock.”
• Sons of Aaron: 13 cities in the territories of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin
• Kohathites: 10 cities in the territories of Ephraim, Dan and West Manasseh
• Gershonites: 13 cities in the territories of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and East Manasseh
• Merarites: 12 cities in the territories of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun
What we just reviewed may be boring to us, but it was super important in the history of the Children of Israel. Nearly 500 years before, Yahweh had called Abram out of his ancestral land to go to a land unknown. Along with that call came some promises:
Genesis 12:4-7 - So Abram left, as the LORD had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Haran. He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Haran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there. Abram traveled through the land as far as the site of the great tree of Moreh at Shechem. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. The LORD appeared to Abram and said, "To your offspring I will give this land." So he built an altar there to the LORD, who had appeared to him.
Genesis 15:18-21 - On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram and said, "To your descendants I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates -- the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites and Jebusites."
Genesis 17:7-8 – “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God."
Genesis 22:17-18 – “I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because you have obeyed me."
To Isaac:
Genesis 26:3-6 – “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you. For to you and your descendants I will give all these lands and will confirm the oath I swore to your father Abraham. I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and will give them all these lands, and through your offspring all nations on earth will be blessed, because Abraham obeyed me and kept my requirements, my commands, my decrees and my laws." So Isaac stayed in Gerar.
To Jacob:
Genesis 28:13-16 - There above it stood the LORD, and he said: "I am the LORD, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, "Surely the LORD is in this place, and I was not aware of it."
Genesis 46:3-4, 26-27 - "I am God, the God of your father," he said. "Do not be afraid to go down to Egypt, for I will make you into a great nation there. I will go down to Egypt with you, and I will surely bring you back again. And Joseph's own hand will close your eyes." …. All those who went to Egypt with Jacob -- those who were his direct descendants, not counting his sons' wives -- numbered 66 persons. With the two sons who had been born to Joseph in Egypt, the members of Jacob's family, which went to Egypt, were 70 in all.
Numbers 1:45-46 - All the Israelites 20 years old or more who were able to serve in Israel's army were counted according to their families. The total number was 603,550.
To Moses:
Exodus 3:16-17 - "Go, assemble the elders of Israel and say to them, 'The LORD, the God of your fathers -- the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob -- appeared to me and said: I have watched over you and have seen what has been done to you in Egypt. And I have promised to bring you up out of your misery in Egypt into the land of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites -- a land flowing with milk and honey.'”
Reminder on the Border:
Deuteronomy 7:6-8 – “For you are a people holy to the LORD your God. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession. The LORD did not set his affection on you and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples, for you were the fewest of all peoples. But it was because the LORD loved you and kept the oath he swore to your forefathers that he brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you from the land of slavery, from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt.”
Which brings us to the closing verses of Jushua 21.
Joshua 21:43-45 - So Yahweh gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. Yahweh gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; Yahweh handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all Yahweh’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.
Until Next Time......
