JOSHUA CHAPTER 12:1-13:33, “Lands Conquered / Lands To Conquer

By

Jim Bomkamp

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1.      INTRODUCTION

 

1.1.   In our last study, we looked at Joshua and the children of Israel who having defeated the peoples in the center of the land of Canaan, then began to divide and conquer the land of Canaan.  First, they conquered the kings and peoples in the southern part of Canaan.  Next, they conquered the kings and peoples in the northern part of Canaan.

 

1.1.1.      In that study, we saw that Joshua and the children of Israel went on an all out attack against all of their enemies and that they pressed on in dividing up and conquering of the land of Canaan, until they had conquered every one of the strongholds cities of their enemies.

 

1.2.   In our study today, we are going to look at chapters 12 and 13.

 

1.2.1.      We will see that chapter 12 gives us a list of the kings and cities conquered by the children of Israel since leaving Egypt, some under Moses in the wilderness, and the rest under Joshua. 

 

1.2.1.1.            We will consider the importance of occasionally looking back in time at the things that the Lord has done in our lives since we have been saved.

 

1.2.1.1.1.                  We know that in the Christian life that there is just one battle after another which we as Christians go through. 

 

1.2.1.1.1.1.                        We get victory in one area of our life only to be challenged in another area that we thought that we had contained. 

 

1.2.1.1.1.2.                        We have victory over the direct assault of the enemy only to have him come in the back door and cause us to be deceived with his subtlety.

 

1.2.1.1.1.3.                        With the Lord’s help we get through one dry time in a valley He leads into and we think that we have learned what God has for us, and then not too long afterwards we often find ourselves in yet another valley and learning the same lessons yet again.

 

1.2.1.1.1.4.                        Sometimes it seems as if the Lord has forgotten about us and that we are going to spend our entire life in a position of having to wait upon the Lord to work and perhaps lead us into that next arena that we have long known that we have been called to enter.   

 

1.2.1.1.2.                  Yet, looking back in this way on the previous victories that the Lord has for our lives gives us courage and confidence in the Lord that helps us to persevere and to trust the Lord for victory in our present battles that we are going through.

 

1.2.1.1.3.                  Looking back in this way from time to time also helps us to remember the things that the Lord has saved us from, and where our sins were really leading us, and thus it also helps us to be humble as we see that it was only the grace of God that has triumphed in our life.

 

1.2.2.      Chapter 13 then gives us a list of the areas within the land of Canaan that weren’t conquered by Joshua and the children of Israel.

 

1.2.2.1.            Though the strongholds of the land of Canaan had been brought down, there was much of the land yet to be conquered, for there were probably more peoples still living within the land given to the children of Israel even than the number of those whom they had killed so far in their battles.

 

1.2.2.2.            We have seen in our study in the book of Joshua that the land of Canaan symbolizes for us as Christians the blessing and victory that is our inheritance in Christ as Christians, and that receiving the fullness of that involves many battles and our stepping out and apprehending those promises that the Lord has given us, and in our stepping out and reaching people for Christ, taking back what the Devil has stolen.

 

1.2.2.3.            However, now that the land of Canaan has had its strongholds conquered by Joshua and the children of Israel and that the various tribes will now have to go and take possession of the lands that will be allotted to them, and conquer their own battles against the people left within the territory allotted to them, I want us to consider that the land of Canaan also symbolizes “Christ” for us as Christians.  We ought to then consider how much of “Christ” Himself we have appropriated in our own life:

 

1.2.2.3.1.                  How much of the love of Christ have you appropriated for yourself in your life and allowed yourself to become a channel of?

 

1.2.2.3.1.1.                        Paul wrote to the Ephesians in chapter 3 of that Epistle a beautiful prayer for them, and in that prayer he prayed that they would be enlightened so that they might be able to understand the breadth, length, height, and depth of Christ’s love, and then he spoke of Christ’s love and said that it even surpasses knowledge.    Christ’s love is a well, you see, that is deeper than any man has the ability to draw from…

 

1.2.2.3.2.                  How much of the knowledge of God have you availed yourself of? 

 

1.2.2.3.2.1.                        Paul wrote of Christ in Colossians chapter 2, and he said, “in whom are hidden all of the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

 

1.2.2.3.2.2.                        Knowledge of God comes from His word, and we have to carefully and thoughtfully study God’s word in order for us to really grow in our knowledge of the Lord.   How much of this land do you have yet to conquer?

 

1.2.2.3.3.                  How much have you been availing yourself of the wisdom and discernment that the Lord promises to give us if we will just ask for it in faith (see James 1:5) ?

 

1.2.2.3.3.1.                        I remember as a young believer when I had realized this promise in the book of James that the Lord will give us wisdom if we ask Him for it, that there were so many nights that I laid in bed praying and asking the Lord to give to me His thoughts and wisdom concerning decisions that I would make, and in discerning His leading.  I would ask the Lord to reason with me and give me insights.

 

1.2.2.3.4.                  Paul wrote that we have been given the mind of Christ, and I just wonder how much of the Lord’s mind you might have availed yourself of, how much are you truly thinking His thoughts (see 1 Cor. 2:16) ?

 

1.2.2.3.4.1.                        I believe that the thought life of many Christians is not too different from that of non-Christians and that it is their own flesh and sinful nature that dominates in the thoughts of their minds.

 

1.2.2.3.5.                  I wonder how many of the resources of heaven you have been availing yourself of?

 

1.2.2.3.5.1.                        Jesus taught us that “whatsoever” we ask for in prayer we will receive (providing we are doing some other things like asking in faith, keeping His commandments, and praying according to His will), but I wonder how much you have been availing yourself of the resources of heaven by your praying?

 

1.2.2.3.5.1.1.      Jesus used “limitless language” when He taught His disciples about prayer, just as He does here saying “whatsoever.”

 

1.2.2.3.5.1.2.      Remember, James wrote that we have not because we ask not (see James 4:2).

 

1.2.2.3.5.2.                        I heard the story once of a man who bought a ticket to take an ocean liner across the Atlantic Ocean to Europe.  Having bought the ticket, he then proceeded to go and to buy all of the food and water that he would need for the trip and get together all of the bedding, towels, etc. that would also be needed.  Then, he boarded the ship.  As soon as he got on the ship he headed straight down into the boiler room where the temperature was hot and the air was foul.  He survived the journey staying there in the boiler room living off of his own food and water and sleeping on the floor.  When he got off of the boat, he was met by a steward who asked him why he looked so disheveled and which of the cabins he had stayed in.  The man told him that he didn’t have a cabin to stay in and that he had been staying down in the boiler room where he had been eating the food and drinking the water he had brought, and that he had been sleeping there on the floor.  The steward looked very puzzled at him and then told him that his ticket had included a fine cabin arrangement with fresh linens provided daily as well as three delicious meals a day in the ship’s elaborate cafeteria. 

 

1.2.2.3.5.2.1.      Like this man, many Christians likewise live their life by their own resources instead of apprehending those which are their inheritance in Christ.

 

1.2.2.3.5.2.2.      A person once remarked that many Christians live their lives as “practical atheists.”   They trust the Lord for their eternal life, however they cannot trust Him to provide for them in the here and now.

 

1.2.2.3.5.3.                        So much of the time, we Christians end up being self-sufficient, you see, instead of relying upon the sufficiency of Christ.  Yet, the word of God teaches us that Christ is “our sufficiency” (2 Cor. 3:5; 9:8) and tells us that we are “complete in Him” (Col. 2:10).

 

1.2.2.3.6.                  Finally, the scriptures teach us that we are to be conformed to the very image of Jesus Christ, God’s Son.  This is God’s will for us.  How much have you allowed the Lord to conform you into the image of Jesus?

 

1.2.2.3.6.1.                        The Lord takes broken lives and turns them into a work of art as He builds the character of Jesus into them, for He does an incredible work in giving us “beauty for ashes” (Isaiah 61:3).

 

1.2.2.4.            So, we see then that just as was the case with the children of Israel, there is much land left for each of us as Christians yet to conquer.   Our inheritance is “all” of Christ, not just part of Him!

 

1.2.2.4.1.                  The question then for each of us to answer is whether or not we will be satisfied with less than “all” that God has for us?

 

1.2.2.5.            We have to realize as Christians that we cannot begin to appropriate all of the things that we have been given to us in Christ until we have first surrendered ourselves to the Lord. 

 

1.2.2.5.1.                  We have to yield our lives and place ourselves unreservedly at His disposal in order to truly apprehend Christ.

 

1.2.2.5.2.                  We saw this principle originally in the fact that the children of Israel had to cross the Jordan River to enter the land of Canaan, and this crossing symbolized our dying to self and the sinful nature and being raised up to walk in the newness of life.

 

1.2.2.5.3.                  Is there some area of your life that you have refused to let the Lord into?  Refused to surrender to Him?  Something that you insist upon controlling or using for your own personal benefit? 

 

1.2.2.5.3.1.                        You must let it go and let the Lord have it if you are to have all that God has for you in Christ.

 

1.2.2.6.            When we have finished this race that we are in, completed all of the battles, some surely of which we have lost ( nobody has won all of their battles as a Christian ), we want to be able to meet Christ and be able to say along with the apostle Paul in 2 Tim. 4:7, “7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith.

 

2.      VS 12:1-6  - “1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel defeated, and whose land they possessed beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the valley of the Arnon as far as Mount Hermon, and all the Arabah to the east:2 Sihon king of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon, and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, both the middle of the valley and half of Gilead, even as far as the brook Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon;3 and the Arabah as far as the Sea of Chinneroth toward the east, and as far as the sea of the Arabah, even the Salt Sea, eastward toward Beth-jeshimoth, and on the south, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;4 and the territory of Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei,5 and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan, as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and half of Gilead, as far as the border of Sihon king of Heshbon.6 Moses the servant of the Lord and the sons of Israel defeated them; and Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh as a possession.” -  Joshua tells us of the land and the peoples who were conquered under Moses’ leadership during their wilderness wanderings after leaving the country of Egypt

 

2.1.   In our study in this book, we have already seen how that the tribes of Rueben and Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh (one of the two sons of Joseph) had requested that they be able to take their inheritance on the wilderness side of the Jordan and that this had been conceded to by Moses as long as they agreed to help their brothers in Israel conquer all of their own lands.

 

2.2.   These verses then tell us that after Moses’s successful conquests on on the wilderness side of the Jordan River, that he gave the conquered lands to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh.

 

3.      VS 12:7-24  - “7 Now these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated beyond the Jordan toward the west, from Baal-gad in the valley of Lebanon even as far as Mount Halak, which rises toward Seir; and Joshua gave it to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their divisions,8 in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, and in the wilderness, and in the Negev; the Hittite, the Amorite and the Canaanite, the Perizzite, the Hivite and the Jebusite:9 the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;20 the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;23 the king of Dor in the heights of Dor, one; the king of Goiim in Gilgal, one;24 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.” -  Joshua details for us the cities and 31 kings whom the Lord gave Joshua and the children of Israel victory over in battle

 

3.1.   As was mentioned in a previous study, the cities and kings that were conquered in these campaigns in the land of Canaan were just the strongholds of their enemies. 

 

3.2.   The children of Israel still probably had more people in the land of Canaan who were unconquered than those whom they had conquered to this point. 

 

3.3.   It would now be up to each of the individual tribes to conquer all of the rest of the peoples who reside within their allotted territories which they will receive.

 

3.4.   Thinking of all of the cities and kings whom the children of Israel had conquered brings to mind the fact that for us as Christians that it is a good thing for us periodically to take into account and ponder the work that the Lord has done in our lives up this present. 

 

3.4.1.      Recalling past victories gives us courage to trust the Lord in our present battles.

 

3.4.2.      As we have seen in the book of Joshua, the setting up of the many memorials to the things that the Lord had done in their life was done for this very purpose of remembering and passing on to the next generation the great things that God had done.

 

3.4.3.      Recalling what victories we have already had also helps us to never forget where we came from and the things that the Lord has saved us from.  It is so important to never lose sight of where we came from, never to glory in the sin, but to remember what the Lord graciously and gloriously saved us from.

 

4.      VS 13:1  - “1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.” -  Joshua tells us that the Lord spoke to him and told him that he was now old and that that much of the land of Canaan remained to be possessed

 

4.1.   This word from the Lord was not a rebuke to Joshua, for Joshua had been faithful to the Lord and very zealous for Him, but simply a statement from the Lord to tell Joshua that now at this point in time that the Lord had another responsibility for him to perform.

 

4.2.   Joshua was at this point in time somewhere between 90 and 100 years old, but probably closer to 100. 

 

4.3.   Joshua wasn’t being sent by the Lord into retirement at this point in time.  It would appear that Joshua was now going to be slowing down a bit however.

 

4.3.1.      We Christians should never think of retiring from Christian service as we get older, for as we age we may slow a bit but we are just to enter yet another phase of Christian service. 

 

4.3.2.      Remember, there is much Biblical precedent for God’s people being used in a greater way in their elderly life than during the rest of the years of their life:  Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joshua, Caleb, etc. 

 

4.4.   Joshua could no longer be the general of God’s people leading them to battle.  Now, he would be in charge of making sure that each tribe was given the land that the Lord desired for it to have as its possession.

 

4.5.   After the incredible things that the Lord had done through Joshua, he needed to be the one to oversee the apportioning of the land of Canaan to the various tribes, for none in Israel would question his leadership and decisions or the fact that the Lord was with Him. 

 

4.5.1.      The people could never forget for instance that Joshua was the man who had spoken to the sun and moon and caused them to stop in their place in the skies.

 

5.      VS 13:2-6  - “2 “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites;3 from the Shihor which is east of Egypt, even as far as the border of Ekron to the north (it is counted as Canaanite); the five lords of the Philistines: the Gazite, the Ashdodite, the Ashkelonite, the Gittite, the Ekronite; and the Avvite4 to the south, all the land of the Canaanite, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek, to the border of the Amorite;5 and the land of the Gebalite, and all of Lebanon, toward the east, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon as far as Lebo-hamath.6 “All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you.” -  Joshua details for us all of the lands that were yet to be conquered in the land of Canaan

 

5.1.   As was mentioned at the outset, the land of Canaan symbolizes “Christ” for us as Christians, and the land that was yet to be conquered symbolizes how much of Christ we Christians have yet to appropriate in our lives.

 

5.1.1.      It is good for us as Christians regularly to consider how much we have not yet appropriated of Christ into our lives.

 

6.      VS 13:7 - “7 “Now therefore, apportion this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” – The Lord tells Joshua to apportion the lands mentioned in verses 2 through 6 above to the 9 ½ tribes who were to receive their inheritance on the Canaan side of the Jordan River

 

6.1.   We saw in our very first study of the book of Joshua that the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the ½ tribe of Manasseh ( the other descendant of Joseph was Ephraim ) obtained a concession from Moses so that they could take their inheritance on the wilderness side of the Jordan River if they helped their brothers conquer the rest of their inheritance in the land of Canaan.

 

6.2.   Though Moses conceded to the tribes of Reuben and Gad having their inheritance on the wilderness side of the Jordan River that this wasn’t God’s perfect will for their lives.  It was His permissive will.  We also saw how that these tribes paid a huge price for settling there:

 

6.2.1.      They were the first to always be attacked by Israel’s enemies.

 

6.2.2.      They were  also the first tribes to go into captivity to Assyria, and after going into captivity they were never heard from again. 

 

6.2.3.      It was also the case that their children were heavily influenced by the paganism of the nations surrounding them outside of the land of Canaan, so they were the first tribes to go into apostasy and to stray away from the Lord.

 

6.3.   There is a huge price to pay for a Christian who compromises and learns to be content having less than that which the Lord has for him, one who chooses to be in God’s “permissive will” instead of His “perfect will.”

 

7.      VS 13:8-13 – 8 With the other half-tribe, the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses the servant of the Lord gave to them;9 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley, and all the plain of Medeba, as far as Dibon;10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the border of the sons of Ammon;11 and Gilead, and the territory of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan as far as Salecah;12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); for Moses struck them and dispossessed them.13 But the sons of Israel did not dispossess the Geshurites or the Maacathites; for Geshur and Maacath live among Israel until this day. -  The Lord gives orders concerning places and  boundaries for the tribes of Israel and how the land is to be divided up

 

 

8.      VS 13:14 - 14 Only to the tribe of Levi he did not give an inheritance; the offerings by fire to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance, as He spoke to him. -  This is the first time of many in the next couple of chapters where it is mentioned that the tribe of Levi did not receive their own inheritance of land, but the Lord was their inheritance

 

8.1.   The tribe of Levi were not given a specific territory within the land of Canaan which would be their possession because of the fact that they were given the most prestigious privilege of having the Lord their God as their inheritance and serving Him in the worship of the people.

 

8.2.   We will see later that the tribe of Levi were given specific cities in which to dwell throughout the lands occupied by the various tribes of Israel, even those on the wilderness side of the Jordan River.  From the cities where they lived the Levites had a very important ministry to the people of teaching God’s ways and helping the people to interpret the law of Moses.

 

8.3.   Why was Levi chosen for this task, to be dedicated to the Lord and have Him for their inheritance?  Was it because they had always been more faithful to the Lord than the other 11 tribes?  The answer to these questions is a very interesting tale and an object lesson that should give all of us tremendous encouragement:

 

8.3.1.      In Gen. 34:25-31, we read the story of how that brothers Simeon and Levi had committed a very egregious murder of a bunch of Hivite men because of the rape of their sister Dinah by one of the young men of the city, “25 Now it came about on the third day, when they were in pain, that two of Jacob’s sons, Simeon and Levi, Dinah’s brothers, each took his sword and came upon the city unawares, and killed every male.26 And they killed Hamor and his son Shechem with the edge of the sword, and took Dinah from Shechem’s house, and went forth.27 Jacob’s sons came upon the slain and looted the city, because they had defiled their sister.28 They took their flocks and their herds and their donkeys, and that which was in the city and that which was in the field;29 and they captured and looted all their wealth and all their little ones and their wives, even all that was in the houses.30 Then Jacob said to Simeon and Levi, “You have brought trouble on me, by making me odious among the inhabitants of the land, among the Canaanites and the Perizzites; and my men being few in number, they will gather together against me and attack me and I shall be destroyed, I and my household.”31 But they said, “Should he treat our sister as a harlot?””

 

8.3.2.      Later on in Gen. 49:5-7 when Jacob was issuing blessings on each of his sons and their descendants, he uttered only a curse upon the descendants of Levi and Simeon because of this murder which they committed, “5 “Simeon and Levi are brothers;  Their swords are implements of violence.  6 “Let my soul not enter into their council;  Let not my glory be united with their assembly;  Because in their anger they slew men, And in their self-will they lamed oxen.  7 “Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce;  And their wrath, for it is cruel.  I will disperse them in Jacob, And scatter them in Israel.”

 

8.3.3.      After this point in time, the tribe of Simeon sort of dissolved into the tribe of Judah after receiving as their inheritance in the land of Canaan only a parcel of Judah’s territory.  (see Joshua 19:1).  The tribe is believed to have dissolved because of their being unrepentant towards the Lord.

 

8.3.4.      Years later we read in the scriptures that the Levites regained the Lord’s favor.  Years later in the history of Israel, we read from the book of Exodus that when Moses was up on Mt. Sinai receiving from the Lord His Law that the people became impatient waiting for him to return, and that they convinced Aaron to design and make for them a golden calf for them to worship the Lord.  After the calf was made the people began to worship and a big party as well as an orgy broke out.  Then, when Moses came down and found the people in rebellion against the Lord, he told the people in Exod. 32:26 to either choose the Lord and join with him or turn away, and it was the Levites who first came to his side, “26 then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, “Whoever is for the Lord, come to me!” And all the sons of Levi gathered together to him.” 

 

8.3.4.1.            Because of this act, the Levites were given this privilege of having the Lord for their inheritance and ministering before Him.

 

8.3.4.2.            Unlike Simeon, the Levites had repented and turned towards the Lord.

 

8.3.5.      From this story, we can learn that it is not how we start out in our Christian walk that really matters, but rather how we finish. 

 

8.3.5.1.            Though we may fail the Lord horribly and become deeply backslidden such that for many years we suffer in our lives the grave consequences for our sinning, when we repent and turn back to the Lord He begins to restore the years eaten by the canker worm and He does an incredible work in and through our life.

 

8.3.6.      Also, the Levites had no earthly inheritance and there are many Christians for whom all of their great hopes in life of having a wonderful marriage, raising a family, having a successful career or business life, have fallen by the wayside.  They too have no earthly inheritance.  There is much loneliness and loss in many Christians lives because they have lost their dreams and hopes for the future.  However, the Lord can now be their inheritance and they can find even a greater fulfillment in having their lives dedicated to His service as they are not distracted as are others by many of the affairs and concerns of life.  If these people will be dedicated to serve the Lord and busy about His affairs and the ministry He gives to them, as the Levites were to be, then they can have they greatest privilege also of serving before the Lord and having Him as their inheritance.

 

8.3.6.1.            The blessings of the Lord always out-weigh by far all of the things in this life that we may lose because of following and serving the Lord with our life.

 

8.3.6.2.            In Mark 10:29-30, Jesus promised we would receive back 100 fold even in this life of whatever we have lost or given up as a result of following Him, “29 Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel’s sake,30 but that he shall receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life.”    

 

9.      VS 13:15-23 - 15 So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families.16 And their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba;17 Heshbon, and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon,18 and Jahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath,19 and Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley,20 and Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth,21 even all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land.22 The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain.23 And the border of the sons of Reuben was the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages. -  The Lord describes places and borders of the inheritance that was to be given to the tribe of Reuben on the wilderness side of the Jordan River

 

9.1.     Notice in verse 22 that a reference is made to the fact that in the battle that ensued for the capture of this land for the inheritance of Reuben, that the diviner Balaam, who was hired by the king of Moab to curse Israel, was killed in that battle (see Numbers chapters 22-24).  This is included because Reuben’s inheritance included part of the land of the nation of Moab, the nation who had hired Balaam to curse the children of Israel in the book of Numbers.

 

9.1.1.  In the scriptures, we see that Balaam was this strange diviner who also managed to prophesy for the Lord.  He was hired by the king of Moab to curse the children of Israel, however whenever he prayed to the Lord for a curse to pronounce on Israel the Lord told him that he could not curse them because God was going to only bless Israel.  However, instead of giving up the notion of cursing the children of Israel, and because the king of Moab was offering him lots of money, Balaam continued on trying to find some sort of way to pronounce a curse on Israel.  Finally, we find in the scriptures that Balaam led the people of Moab to give their daughters to the children of Israel in marriage, and it was in this way that Moab was able to subvert and gain an advantage over Israel.  Balaam is mentioned in the New Testament as a bad example to follow, for he was one who used ministry to gain financial profit for himself.

 

10.  VS 13:24-28 - 24 Moses also gave an inheritance to the tribe of Gad, to the sons of Gad, according to their families.25 And their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the sons of Ammon, as far as Aroer which is before Rabbah;26 and from Heshbon as far as Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim as far as the border of Debir;27 and in the valley, Beth-haram and Beth-nimrah and Succoth and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, with the Jordan as a border, as far as the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth beyond the Jordan to the east.28 This is the inheritance of the sons of Gad according to their families, the cities and their villages.” - The Lord describes places and borders of the inheritance that was to be given to the tribe of Gad on the wilderness side of the Jordan River   

 

11.  VS 13:29-32  - 29 Moses also gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh; and it was for the half-tribe of the sons of Manasseh according to their families.30 And their territory was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities;31 also half of Gilead, with Ashtaroth and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were for the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh, for half of the sons of Machir according to their families.  32 These are the territories which Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan at Jericho to the east. - The Lord describes places and borders of the inheritance that was to be given to the ½ tribe of Manasseh on the wilderness side of the Jordan River

 

12.  VS 13:33 - 33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses did not give an inheritance; the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as He had promised to them. -  The Lord again tells us that the tribe of Levi is not to receive an inheritance of land, for the Lord their God is their inheritance (see remarks concerning verse 14 of this chapter)

 

13.  CONCLUSION:     

 

13.1.                    I would have you consider this morning how much of Christ you have left to apprehend in your life…  

 

13.1.1.  How much have you truly apprehended your inheritance in Christ?

 

13.1.2.  How much of Christ’s love have you understood and allowed yourself to be a channel of?

 

13.1.3.  How much of the knowledge of God from His word have you gained?

 

13.1.4.  How much do you seek His wisdom, discernment, and resources?

 

13.1.5.  Will you determine today to not accept less for your life than all that God has to give you?

 

13.2.                    Is there anything in your life which you have not surrendered to Jesus?  

 

13.2.1.  You cannot begin to apprehend your inheritance in Christ without first surrendering all of your life, your hopes, your gifts, talents, and resources to Him.

 

13.3.                    I ask you today to commit to making it a life goal for yourself to apprehend “all” of Christ into your life today, all of what your inheritance consists of in Him.  I know that in this life we will never be able to fully apprehend all of Him, however this ought to be our goal in life as Christians…

 

 

 

 

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