JOSHUA "Division Boundaries of
Tribes. [14:1 - 17:18]"
There were thirty one kings over thirty one
nations that the children of Israel had fought and destroyed and
taken their land. Remember that each of those people and heathen
nations were a filthy religious mess. It would be some three hundred
years for this time of Joshua that Jebus would be taken, and
cleansed of it's idolatry, and renamed Jerusalem. Ezekiel 16 tells
us that God loved that city and location so much that He took that
city to wife. God made an everlasting covenant with Jerusalem with
her, and that is were Jesus Christ's headquarters will be when He
returns at the seven trump; at the start of the Millennium age, and
throughout eternity.
Of course Jerusalem means, city of peace, but there will not be a lasting peace there until the Prince of Peace, Our Lord Jesus Christ comes to set up His kingdom there. Well Joshua was getting very old in years, God reminded Joshua that just because you are old and stricken in years, there is still a lot of work to be done in dividing up the land. Chapter thirteen records the land that had not yet been taken, but was necessary in order for each of the tribes to receive their allotment, as stated by Moses. Each of these nations of people had mixtures of the children of the Nephinim in them, and were practicing their heathen forms of religion, these heathen were Baal worshippers. Now as we read into the next six chapters of Joshua, we will see where first the boundaries are established, then the names of the cities and towns within those boundaries are listed. That conquered land is the inheritance of the Israelites, as is their cities that they took and the spoils within those cities. In most cases the people within those towns were completely destroyed, but in many cases there were people that escaped and were not killed. Later, many of them returned and lived amongst the Israelites, and paid tribute or taxes to the tribe that controlled the area where they lived. Joshua 14:1 "And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Num, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them." Joshua 14:2 "By lot was their inheritance, as the Lord commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe." Joshua 14:3 "For Moses had given the inheritance of two tribes and an half tribe on the other side Jordan: but unto the Levites he gave none inheritance among them." Joshua 14:4 "For the children of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim: therefore they gave no part unto the Levites in the land, save cities to dwell in, with their suburbs for their cattle and for their substance." Manasseh and Ephraim are the sons of Joseph, and thus Joseph received a double portion for his faithfulness to God. Joseph was sold into Egypt by his brothers at a young age. He served in the house of Potiphar, an high ranking Egyptian officer, later to be elevated to second in command under the Pharaoh. Joseph had a dream, and in that dream God revealed to him that there would be a great famine in the land, and this dream later was revealed to the Pharaoh. Pharaoh gave Joseph charge over the preparation for that famine: the collection and care of supplies for the people. This famine hit the land of Canaan also were Jacob [Israel] was living with his eleven sons, and daughter; and and their families. The lack of food cause Jacob to leave Canaan and move to Egypt, where brother Joseph could provide for their needs. Joseph married the daughter of the On priest, Potipherah. Joseph had two sons by Potipherah, and these sons were named Ephraim and Manasseh. Before Jacob died, Joseph brought his two sons to His father to be blessed by him, and at this time Jacob, or Israel blessed the two children, and passed that Abrahamic covenant blessing promised by God that was given to him by Isaac, on to these two children of Joseph. So Joseph now has received two blessings, a double portion from God through his father Israel, and Jacob has adopted Joseph's sons to be his sons, with equal inheritance rights. Genesis 48:17 "And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father's hand, to remove it from Ephraim's head unto Manasseh's head." Manasseh was the first born of Joseph, but Jacob was going to pass on the blessing of Abraham to the younger son. Remember that Jacob was the younger son of Isaac, but Easu sold his birthright to Jacob for a bowl of soup. Here Jacob is going to pass the birthright on to the youngest son. Genesis 48:18 "And Joseph said unto his father, "Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head." Genesis 48:19 "And his father refused, and said, "I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations." We see by the time that the children of Israel reached the promised land some 470 years later, Manasseh had grown into a tribe far greater than all the others had, and half the tribe was given land on east side the Jordan, and the rest of the tribe on the western side. Ephraim however would continue to grow and would be the tribe that would become greater in time. Today the United States is this blessed tribe of Manasseh, with the wealth and blessings to give support to the entire world. While England and her union of nation that once spread around the world, is the tribe of Ephraim. Of course as we will see later, the Scepter belonged to Judah, and to this day the seed of David, of Judah, sits on the throne of England, and Queen Elizabeth II or her descendants will be there unto our Lord Jesus Christ returns. Genesis 48:20 "And he blessed them that day, saying, "In thee shall Israel bless, saying, `God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh:' " and he set Ephraim before Manasseh." God did bless Manasseh, and this tribe grew so large it was give double the land of any of the other tribes. Later when the kingdom split, after the death of David, it will be the tribe of Ephraim that the leadership for the house of Israel is taken from. The tribe of Levi was the priest tribe, and they had certain duties and responsibilities to lead all the tribes. The Levites would be scattered amongst all the tribe to teach and offer sacrifices before the Lord. They would be provided for by all the people, thus they were not given land for providing for themselves. The tithe that you give the Lord is the provision that God has set up to run both His House, and the people that take care of it. The tithe is the Lord's. Joshua 14:5 "As the Lord commanded Moses, so the children of Israel did, and they divided the land." Joshua 14:6 "Then the children of Judah came unto Joshua in Gilgal: and Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite said unto him, "Thou knowest the thing that the Lord said unto Moses the man of God concerning me and thee in Kadesh-barnea." Joshua 14:7 "Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh-barnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word against as it was in mine heart." Joshua 14:8 "Nevertheless my brethren that went up with me made the heart of the People melt: but I wholly followed the Lord my God." Joshua 14:9 "And Moses sware on that day, saying, `Surely The Land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the Lord my God.' " Joshua 14:10 "And now, behold, the Lord hath dept me alive, as He said, these forty and five years, even since the Lord spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old." Joshua 14:11 "As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in." Joshua 14:12 "Now therefore give me this mountain whereof the Lord spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fensed: if so be the Lord will be with me, Then I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said." Joshua 14:13 "And Joshua blessed him, and gave unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance." Joshua 14:14 "Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the Lord God of Israel." Joshua 14:15 "And the name of Hebron before was Kir-Jath-arba; which Arba was a great men among the Anakims. And the land had rest from war."
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