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Joshua Chapter 18
The tabernacle was a reminder that God was with them and they needed
to always take time to remember the Sabbath and worship the Lord
receiving both physical rest for from their labors and spiritual
rest for their souls as well.
This is important for us today. Just as a person needs rest
for their physical body, and never work 24/7, we also need a rest
for our souls. Faith in Jesus is like a Sabbath in a way for
we come to Him for forgiveness of sin and also a release or freedom
from sin. This is like a Sabbath rest for the body. Also
when we finally enter into eternity, our rest in Christ is complete.
Right now though we need a spiritual as well as a physical rest and
taking one day of the week is very beneficial. If God had not
have made the Sabbath, there would be no rest from those in slavery
and bondage. God made the Sabbath for us. He never
intended for mankind to work 7 days a week and starve spiritually or
have no rest physically.
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Joshua 18:2 And there remained among the children of
Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their
inheritance.
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3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel,
How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD
God of your fathers hath given you?
Joshua wanted them to get a move on and complete the receiving of
their inheritance before any more time passed lest they forget to
claim it and get lazy. We do this spiritually. Sometimes
when we find salvation through faith in Jesus, we get lazy and do
not continue seeking Him, walking in the spirit, studying His word
and growing in the love of God toward Him and toward other
believers. We stop growing at times and that can lead to
apathy and even back into the sin Jesus saved us from.
Idleness can lead to apathy and sin. Perhaps the remaining
tribes were tired and just wanted to stay in one place. I
guess after 40 years of wandering, and several years of war, any of
us would be quite tired and would just want to stay put.
- Joshua 18:4 Give out from among
you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they
shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according
to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
- 6 Ye shall
therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the
description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here
before the LORD our God.
As he did before he sent out scouts or surveyors to report on the
land, divide it and bring the description of it back to Joshua.
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Joshua 18:7 But the Levites have no part among
you; for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance: and
Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received
their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the
servant of the LORD gave them.
The Levites were to be set apart for service to the Lord sort of
like those that go into the ministry and give up their secular jobs
to serve the Lord. It is a great responsibility and should
never be done unless one is called into the ministry like the
Levites were.
One difference though in they way the Levites ministered and the way
the pastors do today is that pastors are like leaders to teach and
guide but they are not intercessors like prophets and priests.
Through Christ we all have access to the throne of God and can do
our own praying and seeking after God. Others can agree with
us in prayer and pray with us but not in our place. We all can
come to God after we first come to Christ for remission of sins.
Before the sacrifice for our sins that Jesus did when He died for
our sins and paid the price for our salvation, they had to come
through the priests before they could approach God. They had
to bring sacrifices and offerings to atone for sin as an act of
faith in the final pure sacrifice that was to come. Animal
sacrifices could not really take away sin but it pointed to the one
who did take away sin for those that believed and trusted in the one
God sent, Jesus God's Son who became our Christ (Messiah). Before Christ they looked
forward to the one to come just as we look back to the one that did
come to save us from sin.
- Joshua 18:8 And the men arose,
and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the
land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and
come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the
LORD in Shiloh.
- 9 And the men went and
passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven
parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
- 10 And Joshua cast lots
for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the
land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions.
- 11 And the lot of
the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their
families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the
children of Judah and the children of Joseph.
We can see Benjamin wedged between Dan,
Ehraim, Gad and Judah with the Dead Sea at the southwest.
- Joshua 18:12 And their border
on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the
side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the
mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the
wilderness of Bethaven.
- 13 And the border went
over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is
Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near
the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.
- 14 And the border was
drawn thence, and compassed the corner of the sea southward,
from the hill that lieth before Bethhoron southward; and the
goings out thereof were at Kirjathbaal, which is Kirjathjearim,
a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter.
- 15 And the south quarter
was from the end of Kirjathjearim, and the border went out on
the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah:
- 16 And the border came
down to the end of the mountain that lieth before the valley of
the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on
the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of
Jebusi on the south, and descended to Enrogel,
- 17 And was drawn from
the north, and went forth to Enshemesh, and went forth toward
Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and
descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben,
- 18 And passed along
toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down
unto Arabah:
- 19 And the border passed
along to the side of Bethhoglah northward: and the outgoings of
the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south
end of Jordan: this was the south coast.
- 20 And Jordan was the
border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the
children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about,
according to their families.
- 21 Now the cities of the
tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families
were Jericho, and Bethhoglah, and the valley of Keziz,
- 22 And Betharabah, and
Zemaraim, and Bethel,
- 23 And Avim, and Parah,
and Ophrah,
- 24 And Chepharhaammonai,
and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages:
- 25 Gibeon, and Ramah,
and Beeroth,
- 26 And Mizpeh, and
Chephirah, and Mozah,
- 27 And Rekem, and Irpeel,
and Taralah,
- 28 And Zelah, Eleph, and
Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen
cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the
children of Benjamin according to their families.
This concludes the dividing of the lot for the tribe of Benjamin.
DC
Joshua
chapter 19
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