Highlights from the Historical Books , JUDGES, RUTH – SUMMER 2019 JOSHUA 11-19 – “CONQUEST AND POSSESSION”

Intro:

➢ You may recall the verse I read last week in comparing the supernatural events of the battle of Beth-horon with the future 6- 19..

o It reads, “For the LORD will rise up as at Mount Perazim, He will be angry as in the Valley of Gibeon - that He may do His work, His awesome work, and bring to pass His act, His unusual act.” Isaiah 28:21 o In the Valley of Gibeon God did indeed display “His awesome work” and “His unusual act” – we studied it in Joshua 10. o It’s not everyday that the sun and moon stand still in sky. o It’s not a regular occurrence that Israel’s enemies would get wiped out by rocks falling form the sky o God may’ve worked directly by His own hand to produce the phenomena. Or He might’ve employed some celestial mechanics – perhaps a planetary fly-by of the Red Planet [SEE LAST WEEK] o Either way it was an awesome work, an unusual act. o And he did it in answer to a man’s prayer. Phenomenal>

➢ Now, we turn to the more mundane work, the normal, day-to-day operations of a war of conquest…

o The remaining chapters of the detail a much more common routine; no more miracles, no more falling walls or rocks from the sky!

o Life is like this as I’m certain you have discovered on your own ▪ At times God works in miraculous ways that are exciting and get you pumped up! ▪ But, other times, He calls us to certain basic duties. ▪ Life in service of God’s Kingdom is a mixed bag unusual, awesome work AND the daily, regular, mundane!

➢ Today we will witness General Joshua leaving behind those thrilling victories to entangle himself in a more mundane work.

o He works his Conquest Strategy of Central, Southern, Northern ▪ He does so by going town by town, people by people slowly taking possession of the land God granted them ▪ It takes them 7 years to accomplish this ▪ It ends after chapter 12 o But then, he has to put his sword down and pick up a transit and range rod, to do the routine job of a surveyor ▪ In chapter 13, God tells him that he’s too old to fight and he needs to delegate the remainder of the possession to the individual tribes ▪ Joshua’s job in chapters 13-24 is to divide the land among the tribes of Israel by Divine Right

➢ The title of today’s message is : “Conquest and Possession”

o We’re going to work our way through chapters 11-22 ▪ Normally we make our way through every verse ▪ However, in these next several chapters we’re going to just summarize each chapter, though that isn’t our normal practice here o This is NOT to say that the content is less important or less valuable

▪ It’s that the narrative portion has come to a close and it goes into a detailed list of defeated kings, place names, and the details of the distribution of the land to the 12 tribes… ▪ … and this is not the right kind of message for a Sunday Morning ▪ We could cover every verse of this at a Sunday Night or Wednesday night gathering where we could dig deep into the details ▪ For this study we’re going to hit the highlights… o Let’s dive in…

Chapter 11

Verse 1-5 …

1 When , king of Hazor, heard of this, he sent to Jobab king of Madon, and to the king of Shimron, and to the king of Achshaph, 2 and to the kings who were in the northern hill country, and in the Arabah south of Chinneroth, and in the lowland, and in Naphoth-dor on the west, 3 to the Canaanites in the east and the west, the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, and the Jebusites in the hill country, and the Hivites under Hermon in the land of Mizpah. 4 And they came out with all their troops, a great horde, in number like the sand that is on the seashore, with very many horses and chariots. 5 And all these kings joined their forces and came and encamped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel..

➢ You may recall from last week this map which shows Joshua’s conquest strategy

o In Ch. 10 we saw the conquest start to gain full momentum ▪ After the miraculous defeat at Beth Horon… ▪ … General Joshua fully defeated the southern peoples ▪ So, on this map, he’s now completed the Central Campaign and the Southern Campaign

o In Ch. 11, he sets his sights on the Northern confederates and the victories continue

➢ Notice that Verse 2 says “Chinneroth” [SEE ON THE MAP]

o This word means “harp-shaped” and It speaks of the Sea of ▪ This of course would become a very important lake in the life and ministry of Jesus in the New Testament – some 1500 years later ▪ And it is still an important water source for Israel to this day ▪ But it all started right here as Joshua conquered these Kings for the first time ▪ If you go with us to Israel on our next trip, you will see it for yourself! • It’s a beautiful area that is surprisingly very undeveloped even to this day so that it still looks very similar to the way it did back it Jesus’ day • Our next trip opportunity is February 2021 – Please let me know if you’re interested

o This shows us on THE MAP that they made their way all they up to the area NORTH of the ▪ They had been down in the south near and the Dead Sea ▪ Now they are way up in the northern area of Israel

➢ In Verse 5 it mentions the waters of Merom where they gathered for battle

o The armies of this northern coalition were all under the command of Jabin, king of Hazor

o And this was a formidable army… ▪ The Jewish historian, Josephus, says Jabin gathered 300,000 infantry, 20,000 cavalry, and 10,000 chariots. ▪ Each chariot crew consisted of 3 soldiers – a driver, a bowman, and a javelin junker ▪ Jabin’s army of was the equivalent of a modern war machine ▪ If not for great courage and faith, Joshua and his team would be greatly intimidated… ▪ But they knew the promise that God had given Joshua since the beginning of his leadership, “5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with , so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them… 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”” Joshua 1:5-6,9

➢ Don’t forget that you have the very same promises of victory in Jesus!

o Towards the end of this book it says, “Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.” Joshua 21:45 ▪ Romans 11:29 says that God’s call and his gifts are Irrevocable! ▪ Hebrews 13:5 says that he will never leave or forsake you! ▪ In your dark days, when you’re facing those battles of a different kind, remind yourself of these promises!

o Even more so, remind yourself of these promises by Jesus: ▪ “10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” John 10:10-11 ▪ “2 Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 ▪ “1 “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many DWELLING PLACES. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” John 14:1-3

o God is Good. All the time. Praise the Lord.

➢ And so in Ch. 11 they gained victory over these evil Canaanite peoples as the Lord had said they would

o Once again, I’d like to remind you that the reason they killed them all is that they were an incredibly evil people ▪ They literally burned their children alive on the altars of their false gods ▪ These guys were the equivalent of an entire nation (7 actually) of Charles Manson’s or Ted Bundy’s or ISIS even ▪ They were an entire group of evil people who needed to be taken out by Divine Judgement

▪ God, as their Creator and Righteous Judge, has that divine right

Let’s look down at verse 15…

Verse 15 …

Just as the LORD had commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and so Joshua did. He left nothing undone of all that the LORD had commanded Moses.

➢ This is the KEY to Success – Joshua DID everything he was commanded!

o He was obedient in every detail. ▪ Joshua did not leave anything undone that God has commanded him to do ▪ This is the difference between victory and defeat in the Conquest of the Land ▪ As we’ve already seen, Victory could very quickly become Defeat ▪ All it took was a little straying to the Left or the Right off the path of God’s commands

o In OUR spiritual struggles, we ALSO need to stay on the path of obedience! ▪ Jesus said, ““Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.” Matthew 7:13-14 ▪ It’s very easy to STRAY from the path of obedience ▪ Remember that Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;”

▪ FOLLOW the Great Shepherd… know his voice, listen to his voice and make no provision for STAYING off the path and into sinfulness! ▪ As you struggle and fight… Is there anything that you’ve left undone that God has asked you to do?

And the last few verses of Ch 11…

Verse 21-23 …

21 And Joshua came at that time and cut off the Anakim from the hill country, from , from Debir, from Anab, and from all the hill country of Judah, and from all the hill country of Israel. Joshua devoted them to destruction with their cities. 22 There was none of the Anakim left in the land of the people of Israel. Only in Gaza, in Gath, and in Ashdod did some remain. 23 So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had spoken to Moses. And Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal allotments. And the land had rest from war.

➢ The Anakim were those giants who were descendants of the Nephilim in Genesis 6

o We don’t have the time to get into this subject today, but suffice it to say they were an evil, formidable enemy

o Joshua drove out those Giants with confidence

o The only ones that remained were in the Gaza strip ▪ Those are the cities on the coast that became the cities of the Philistines: Gaza, Gath, Ashdod

▪ Goliath, the Giant man whom would eventual fight and kill was a descendant of these Anakim ▪ And he had 4 brothers that David’s men also defeated

➢ Verse 23 is the summation of the next 11 chapters

o Joshua took the whole land ▪ This is the end of the conquest ▪ All of chapter 12 is a list of 31 kings that he defeated in this land ▪ So the 7 nations as a whole were defeated by Joshua’s campaigns

o This was the end of the Conquest, but not the possession ▪ Verse 1 of Ch. 13 says, “1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.” ▪ The 7 nations have been defeated overall, but there were still pockets of resistance and Canaanites who need to be driven out or destroyed ▪ It’s like when the American forces defeated Saddam Hussein and his Republican Guard in a matter of weeks, but then there were insurgents that plagued the occupation for more than a decade ▪ In like manner, Joshua had won the war, but not the occupation so that these remnants of the Canaanites are going to plague the for centuries for those tribes that don’t drive them out!

o Israel was given a glorious inheritance ▪ God promised them a huge portion of land all the way back to Abraham

▪ He confirmed it to his descendants all the way down to this generation, the generation of the Conquest ▪ The land of Israel was God’s gift to His people. ▪ This is why the land is so important to Israelis today. o It’s more than a political bargaining chip… It’s land that has been given to them by the Creator of the Universe ▪ To give up Gaza, or the West Bank, or the Golan Heights is to reject a GIFT God intended for them ▪ It’s spiritually and morally wrong not to mention disobedient o It’s the sad tale of history that the Hebrews never fully possessed the land God promised them ▪ They only ever possessed a small portion of the entire ▪ They were supposed to possess the land from the Euphrates to the Mediterranean ▪ They talk about the West Bank today… but the real west bank should be all the way over to the west bank of the Euphrates River, not the Jordan! That’s a big shortfall of possession! ▪ Even during the great reign of King Solomon did they even come close o When we make our way through the books of Judges and Ruth in our next Old Testament break, you will see that after Joshua the Israelites found compromise easier than combat. ▪ A policy of tolerance replaced faith and courage.

▪ Ultimately, tolerance was replaced by acceptance as thy began to intermingle and even marry the Canaanites ▪ Proverbs 13:20 “He who walks with the wise will become wiser still, but the companion of fools will suffer harm.” o Yet Bible prophecy proclaims that one day Israel will indeed possess all the land that God has promised them ▪ Complete occupation is still future ▪ Obadiah 17 says, “The house of shall possess their possessions.” ▪ Its going to happen one day… and they will also recognize Jesus as the true Messiah and they will weep! o But for now, We’re going to see that ONLY Joshua and actually completed the work of possessing their possesion ▪ You should remember that when they sent the spies out from Kadesh-barnea 40 years prior it was only Joshua and Caleb who were faithful in Numbers 13 ▪ The other 10 spies convinced the people that they could not take the land ▪ And they ended up in the wilderness for 40 years ▪ Except for Joshua & Caleb… Even Moses didn’t make it! o What about us? Do we fully possess our possessions? ▪ As we studied in our Ephesians study recently, We’ve been given every spiritual blessing in Christ Jesus in the heavenlies ▪ And yet are we possessing all of our possessions?

▪ Ephesians 1:11-14 says, “11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will … 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” ▪ We have an eternal inheritance that does not spoil or fade, where thief cannot steal and rust cannot destroy ▪ If so, then why does our life lack power over temptation – boldness in our witness – joy in our disposition? ▪ Because Most of us, most of the time, are living far below our inherited privilege in Christ Jesus! ▪ Like Israel of old, we need to rise up in faith and possess our possessions – lay hold of all that’s ours in Christ Jesus, YO! ▪ Marines Illustration – When you’re in the military and you’re running in formation as a platoon, the corporals and sergeants take turns yelling out the cadences. Like “C-130 roaming down the strip, 2nd Plattoon gonna take a little trip…” etc… When one guy gets tired of calling cadence, he calls out another corporal or sergeant from the platoon to take over. He does so by saying something like, “Sergeant Wheeler come on out, We wanna hear your motivated shout!” Then I would come out of formation and run along side him and he would say, “Take it!” and I would respond with “I got it!”… “Take it!” “I got it” • So church, you need to with courage and faith TAKE the possessions of God in your life! • I say “Take it” and you say “ I got it” Ready?

• TAKE IT! I GOT IT. Take it…. I GOT IT!

o As we move fwd let’s make every effort to emulate Joshua & Caleb, who through Faith and Courage drove out the Giants and Possessed God’s gift of inheritance! ▪ We need to Possess all of our Possessions! ▪ God has great plans for you and I! ▪ He wants us to possess certain things in our lives and to NOT be distracted by temptation and the cares of this life! ▪ He wants us to go after them with confidence ▪ When we face those Giants of opposition, he will fight for us! ▪ Amen? Amen.

Now, let’s look at a quick summary of the next chapters before we take

communion together…

Chapter 12

➢ Verses 1-6 are the kings that Moses defeated on the Eastern side of the Jordan

➢ Verses 7-23 are the kings that Joshua defeated in the lan – 31 in all

➢ Thus the Conquest of is complete

Chapter 13

Verse 1 …

1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess..

➢ Here Joshua lays down his sword and picks up his transit and range rod

o He begins to do the routine job of a surveyor

o His job in chapters 13-24 is to divide the land among the tribes of Israel. ▪ You might remember that there were 12 sons of Jacob ▪ These men became the fathers of 12 Tribes ▪ It is these 12 Tribes that are confederating together to make the new nation of Israel ▪ Much like the original 13 colonies in America! ▪ When I taught at CCBC in Mountlake Terrace, I had my students memorize the 12 sons, in the order of their birth, who their moms were and what their names meant! P Tucker did a fabulous job! He was valedictorian!!

o Property lines, boundary markers, and a good survey are important things especially when you’re divvying out land after a conquest

▪ Land allotment was – and still is – an important issue in Israel – as you may notice when you’re watching the news ▪ Two passages in Deuteronomy speak of the importance of not disturbing landmarks… Deut 19:14 & 27:17

o But God would’ve known that the best way to motivate Israel to drive out the remaining Canaanites … ▪ … would be to divvy up the land to the different tribes ▪ … and give them EACH the opportunity to INDIVIDUALLY finish the work that Joshua started! ▪ If each tribe knew the borders of their possession it would give them the incentive to take up arms and fight to occupy all that belonged to them

➢ Then Joshua began to lay out the markers for the tribes:

o The Levites ▪ No inheritance; serving at the / Temple ▪ They facilitated the sacrificial offerings and then ate a specific portion of the offerings ▪ They lived in Cities of Refuge scattered around Israel ▪ The LORD was their inheritance (verse 33) ▪ Wow!

o Reuben, Gad, ½ Manasseh – east of the Jordan, Numbers 32

▪ The - verses 15-23 • Settled east of the Jordan.

• They occupied the land east and a little north of the Dead Sea.

▪ The - Verses 24-28 • They inherited the land of the Ammonites – east of the Jordan. • The modern city of Amman, Jordan derives its name from the Ammonites.

▪ ½ - Verses 29-32 • Settled to the east and northeast of the Sea of Galilee • The land of Bashan.

That’s Ch. 13…

Now a quick look at Ch 14 & 15 together…

Chapter 14 & 15

Verses 1-5 …

➢ These Verses speak of the 9 ½ tribes on the West bank of the Jordan

➢ Reminder that Levi received no earthly inheritance (the LORD was theirs) but Joseph received a double portion

o Take Levi out, add Ephraim and Manasseh, you still have 12 tribes ▪ This happens regularly in the Bible

▪ There are actually 14 names to choose from ▪ But it always breaks down to 12 in one way or another

Verses 6-15 …

➢ Caleb the man of courage and faith!

o “7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land… … 10 And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses… And now, behold, I am this day eighty- five years old. 11 I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me… 12 So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”” Joshua 14:7,10-12

o This old man was 85 years old. ▪ He would’ve been eligible for social security for the last 20 years! ▪ But rather than assisted living – he wanted to fight. ▪ Rather than Geritol he was ready to give-it-all on the battlefield.

o What a man of Faith and Courage! ▪ Three times “wholly followed the Lord” Verses 8,9 & 14 ▪ He was a man who knew no compromise. No partial obedience. No half-hearted devotion ▪ Caleb assured his brothers Forty-five years earlier that God would’ve given them victory over the giants.

▪ Now, he’s still Ready to Rock! ▪ It’s been said of Caleb that “A faith that never wavered produced a strength that never weakened.”

o He asks Joshua to give him Hebron, home of the Anakim. ▪ That’s those Giants of Men from Genesis 6 ▪ Rather than ask for an easy place so he could RETIRE… ▪ … Caleb asked for the land of the Giants! ▪ Not only that, but the land of ARBA, the biggest, baddest giant! ▪ [VS 15 “greatest man among the Anakim”] ▪ NO FEAR! This guy was more like a Spartan Warrior! ▪ What a way to serve God in his older years!

o The name of Caleb’s city? Hebron. ▪ It became a very important city in Israel… TO THIS DAY! ▪ It’s meaning? “communion” • As we’ve said all along in this survey of Joshua… • … The Greatest Victory comes with the Presence of the LORD ▪ We’re going to partake of Communion at the end of Service today because we BELIEVE that to be true!

Chapter 15 …

➢ Caleb’s allotted inheritance was in the

o Chapter 15 describes this allotment

o Including how Caleb not only defeated the land of Arba, but 3 of his grandsons, too! [VERSE 14] ▪ He gave his daughter Achsah in marriage to Othniel who defeated Kiriath-sepher…

▪ The name “Achsah” means “to jingle”. • It probably referred to the anklets worn by oriental women • Could’ve implied that Caleb’s little girl was a good dancer. • She could jingle an ankle bracelet. • So, the deal was… “Win a victory for God by jangling with a giant, and you can come home to Achsah jingling her bracelets.”

▪ … they RENAMED Kiriath-sepher as Debir, meaning “sanctuary” ▪ You can read about this same event again in ▪ You can read about Othniel, who became the 1st judge, in Judges 3

➢ The remainder of chapter 15 lists the cities of Judah – 106 different cities.

o Check out Verse 63, “But the Jebusites, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the people of Judah could not drive out, so the Jebusites dwell with the people of Judah at Jerusalem to this day..”

o Jerusalem would remain a Jebusite city for the next 400 years – until the armies of King David made Jerusalem Israel’s capitol city.

That’s 14 & 15…

Let’s take a look at 16 & 17…

Chapter 16 & 17

➢ These two chapters are about the allotments of the sons of Joseph: Ephraim and Manasseh

Chapter 16 …

➢ The

o This chapter details the borders of Joseph’s son, Ephraim ▪ The mountains of Samaria – in the heart of Israel – went to Ephraim. ▪ The City of Shiloh was here ▪ The Ark of the Covenant was to rest in the Tabernacle by command of Moses – Deut 12:10-11 ▪ IT did for nearly 350 years.

o Joshua will receive his inheritance here – 19:49-50

Chapter 17…

➢ The Tribe of Manasseh

o This chapter details the borders of Joseph’s other son, Manasseh ▪ This would be only ½ of Manasseh because the other ½ settled on the eastern of Jordan ▪ This included another important city historically, Shechem

▪ Later the city is renamed, Samaria and has a big part in the New Testament: Samaritan woman at the well, Good Samaritan etc o Verses 3-4 speak of the Daughters of Zelophehad saying, READ… “3 Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of , son of , son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers.” So according to the mouth of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.” ▪ In oriental cultures property was passed down from fathers to sons – not fathers to daughters. • Moses could’ve assumed, and ruled according that custom • However, what’s customary isn’t always what is God’s will. • Moses was such a good leader because he kept an open mind and consulted the Lord and the Lord agreed to give the daughters an inheritance with their brothers!

▪ And here God ruled in favor of the girls. • Godly men need to be reminded that God has daughters, too! • Just because God ordains male leadership doesn’t mean His daughters have no rights. • Women have a HIGHLY FAVORED status in the kingdom of God • Here Joshua carries out his Moses’ command

▪ The redemption of Christ REST on this decision!

• IN MT 1 & LK 3, the genealogy traces from Adam/Abraham to Joseph, the step-father of Jesus • But, because the lineage actually goes through the virgin birth from Mary, who was herself of the house of David, she passes the inheritance on to her son Jesus • Wow. God’s Grace is truly amazing!

Verses 12-18 …

Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out. Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the LORD has blessed me?” And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” The people of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel.” Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, “You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.

➢ Ephraim and Manasseh didn’t drive out the Canaanites

o Rather than rise up and make every effort to rid themselves of the Canaanites, these guys settled ▪ They settled for a partial victory

▪ And in verse 14 they had the audacity to complain about their allotment of land to Joshua ▪ They thought they deserved a larger territory equal to their honorable status as the sons of Joseph

o They complained about the Iron chariots ▪ The Canaanites had a serious military advantage – Iron Chariots, the equivalent of the modern battle tank! ▪ This gave them the advantage in the plains but not in the hill country ▪ Ironically, it is the Israeli’s today who have the world’s best main battle tank • It is called the Merkava • Which means, Iron Chariot. LOL<

➢ Joshua answered with a tone of sarcasm

o Hey, if you want more land take it from the Perizzites ▪ Clear out those trees! ▪ Drive out those giants ▪ Get to work!

o “Why would God give you more land when you’re not possessing what you’ve already been given?”

➢ Guys, we can be just like Ephraim and Manasseh…

o We ask for more, when we haven’t taken possession of what we’ve already been given

▪ Zechariah was told not to despise the day of small things [ZECH 4:10] ▪ Jesus said if you are faithful in little, he will give you much! [LK 19] ▪ When you want more opportunity to serve the Lord, be faithful in what you already have been given! ▪ IF you are tasked with seemingly SMALL things remember: • Every part of the body of Christ has the same value • Though they may have different functions • The ear needs the eye, the eye needs the hand, the whole body needs the not-sp-pretty parts! o Tadd Scheffer Illustration – Many of you know Tadd Scheffer. He helped to plant this church with Ken years ago. When Ken and I were on staff together at the CC in Lynden, WA and Tadd felt the desire to do join the ministry, Ken sent him to oversea the nursery. The nursery was the last thing he wanted to do, but he was faithful and He’ll tell you now that he learned a lot during that time. Now, he’s the lead pastor of Calvary Ellensburg. ▪ Ironically, we have a need right now in the nursery, if anyone would like to step up to the plate. LOL> ▪ And lots of other opportunities at the Pregnancy Resource Center, The Mission, Young Life, our youth ministry and more… ▪ But, remember… • Don’t ask for more territory until you fully possess all that you’ve been given. • When they are no more giants in the land you currently occupy, then talk about expanding your territory.

• Faithfulness to God begins right where you’re at! • And you can do “all things through Christ who gives you strength!” Philippians 4:13

That is 16 & 17…

And now 18 & 19…

Chapter 18 & 19

Chapter 18…

➢ In verse 3 Joshua says, ““How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land?”

o He tells the seven remaining tribes to get off their haunches and get to possessing!

o So they put together ANOTHER spy plan ▪ They gather 3 men from each remaining tribe to spy out the remaining land ▪ Twenty-one representatives walk the remaining land, and survey it into seven parcels, writing it down ▪ They bring the plats to Joshua, and he casts lots to make the allotments

➢ In verses 11-28, the first lot fell to the

o They received the tract of land between Ephraim and Judah.

o Benjamin stretched from the northern suburbs of Jerusalem to Bethel

o King Saul and Saul of Tarsus were Benjamites in the future!

Chapter 19 …

➢ In Verses 1-9, The second lot fell to the

o They received the southernmost section of Judah, ▪ Within the territory of Judah ▪ Like an island in the middle of Judah ▪ Apparently, the original allotment to Judah was larger than they could fully occupy - and an adjustment was made ▪ Even these guys didn’t know everything all the time!

o Beersheba was a famous city within the borders of Simeon

➢ In Verses 10-16, The third lot fell to the Tribe of

o They received the heart of Galilee ▪ Jesus’ hometown of was inside the territory of the tribe of Zebulun. ▪ Notice, verse 15 lists one of the cities of Zebulun as “Bethlehem”.

▪ This was not the birthplace of Jesus.

o Matthew 2:1 says, “Now after Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king,” ▪ Notice Matthew specifies, “Bethlehem of Judea” ▪ There were 2 Bethlehems • One was in the North in the territory of Zebulun • The other was in the south in the territory of Judah • The southern Bethlehem was where Jesus was born, the house of the lineage of David!

➢ In Verses 17-23, The fourth lot fell to the Tribe of …

o Issachar stretched out across the lower Galilee just west of the Jordan River

o It included the southwest shoreline of the Sea of Galilee

o The currrent Roman city of Tiberias is in territory of Isaachar

➢ In Verses 24-31, The fifth lot fell to the Tribe of …

o The territory allotted to the was along the Mediterranean coast, northward toward the cities of Tyre and .

o It stretched southeast to .

➢ In Verses 32-39, The sixth lot fell to the …

o The tribe of Naphtali was allotted the territory north of the Sea of Galilee - near Mt. Hermon. ▪ Asher was north of Zebulun, east of Asher. ▪ Today its territory borders on southern Lebanon. ▪ The famous city of Hazor was within Naphtali’s borders.

o The southeastern boundary of Naphtali was the northwestern shore of the Sea of Galilee - where Jesus chose His disciples and performed many of his miracles. ▪ Matthew 4:13-16 says, “And leaving Nazareth, He came and dwelt in Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the regions of Zebulun and Naphtali, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: ▪ Matthew goes on to quote Isaiah 9:1-2… "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, by the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles: The people who sat in darkness have seen a great light, and upon those who sat in the region and shadow of death Light has dawned." ▪ Naphtali was forever blessed as the territory to host a majority of the ministry of Jesus and his disciples around the Sea of Galilee. Sweet>

➢ In Verses 40-48, the seventh and final lot fell to the

o Dan was given a strip of land between Ephraim and Judah ▪ West of Benjamin toward the Mediterranean coast. ▪ Dan included the port of Joppa

• Where later Jonah boarded a boat to Tarshish • Where a kosher Peter received a vision from God letting him know that Gentiles would now be included in God’s kingdom. ▪ The territory of Dan included Philistine country. Samson was a Danite

o Later, in Judges 18, the Danites go about 100 miles north and take over the city of Laish (or Leshem) and rename it Dan ▪ This area has one of the headwaters of the Jordan River ▪ IT is known as Tel Dan today ▪ You can see it on our next Israel Trip! A beautiful place! ▪ Unfortunately, they introduced Idol worship there ▪ The pagan altars of Jeroboam were there (you can see the unearthed remnants of one at Tel Dan) [1 KINGS 12:29-30]

➢ In Verses 49-50, once everyone had received their portion, Joshua received his

o After 45 years of waiting from the time he first saw this land, he gets his retirement village

▪ Joshua’s life began in the slave pits of Egypt and ended on the beautiful mountains of Ephraim ▪ In between, perhaps no one ever saw more of God’s amazing miracles and grace

o He built a city there and called it Timnath-serah, or “The Abundant Portion” ▪ You can see it again in Judges 2 ▪ But he finally gets to settle down after a long, successful, godly, life of service to God and his people

o In John 10:10 our Joshua said, “I have come that you might have abundant life.” ▪ Joshua received his abundant portion after a life of faithful service ▪ We, too, will receive an abundant life HERE and abundant reward to come ▪ If we lay our lives in service at the Master’s Feet ▪ He will say, “Well done, good and faithful servant. You have been faithful over a little; I will set you over much. Enter into the joy of your master.” Matthew 25:23

Verse 1 …

These are the inheritances that Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel distributed by lot at Shiloh before the LORD, at the entrance of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.

In conclusion…

Conclusion

➢ highlights …

➢ Pithy Ending – Illustration

o That we all think, say and do things that are contrary to the standards found in the scriptures… The Bible calls this SIN. And every person does it. RM 3:23 o That sin SEPARATES us eternally from God RM 6:23; IS 59:2 o The ONLY REMEDY for that separation is the CROSS where he took our sin and offers us HIS righteousness. COL 2:14 o WE must CHOOSE to receive this salvation and YOU can choose to follow him today! JOHN 1:12; ACTS 2:38; ACTS 16:31 o Say a simple prayer of faith…