Introduction
Joshua 12, which we studied last week, brought to a close the narrative of Israel’s conquest of the Promised Land which began in chapter 5 with the fall of Jericho. And in chapter 12, the narrator listed the kings they had defeated and the territory they had conquered.
And since chapter 12 was really a list of kings and a list of places, I said there wasn’t much in it. And the same can be said of today’s chapter which marks the beginning of the third major section of the book of Joshua. So, the first part of Joshua — chapters 1 to 4 — was about entering the land. The second part — chapters 5 to 12 — was about conquering the land. And this third part — chapters 13 to 21 — is about allocating the land among the tribes.
And our narrator begins the third part by telling us how the land on the eastern side of the Jordan was allocated among the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh. And in the following chapters, we read how the land on the western side of the Jordan was allocated among the other tribes.
And so, throughout this part of the book of Joshua, all we have is a list of place names that don’t mean much to us. In fact, one of the commentators suggests that the allocation of the land can be ‘quite daunting and tedious’ to the modern reader. Another suggests we might find these things dull. And when I looked on a website of sermons to see what other preachers did with these chapters, I was intrigued to see that whereas there were 27 sermons on chapter 7, which tells the story of Achan’s sin, there were only 5 sermons on chapter 13. And of those 5 sermons, four of them were not really sermons on chapter 13, but they were sermons on chapters 13 to 21. And the fifth sermon on chapter 13 was not really a sermon on chapter 13, but it was a sermon on chapters 13 and 14.
So, who knows? Maybe after today I’ll do something similar and I’ll take chapters 14 to 21 together. But today we’ll focus on chapter 13 alone.
Verses 1 to 7
In verse 1 we read that Joshua is now old and well advanced in years. The narrator doesn’t give us a precise age. However, we read in the next chapter that Caleb, who was with Joshua in the wilderness, was 85 years old. And Joshua was probably a similar age to that. And perhaps Joshua’s old age was the reason why the Lord spoke to him at that time and commanded him to allocate the land among the tribes of Israel. Since he was the leader of God’s people and since everyone recognised his authority, then it was important that the allocation take place before he died.
The Lord says in verse 1 that there are still large areas of the land to be conquered. This seems to contradict what we read in chapter 11, for instance, where it says that Joshua took the entire land. So, in one place we read that they took over all the land. And in another place we read that there were still large areas to take. However, I made the point before that while some of the cities remained in the hands of the Canaanites and others, the land as a whole belonged to Israel. So, in one sense they had taken the whole land. In another sense, there were still places they needed to take.
And the places which they still needed to conquer are listed in verses 2 to 6. I’m not sure why the NIV begins a new paragraph at verse 6, because the first half of verse 6 is really part of the same list of unconquered places.
Even though there are many places yet to be conquered, Joshua should not be alarmed or afraid, because the Lord reassures him in the second half of verse 6 that he himself will drive their enemies out of the land. Just as the Lord helped them against Jericho and Ai and against the coalition forces they faced in previous chapters, so he will help them to conquer their remaining enemies. There’s no need to be afraid, because the Lord their God is with them to help them.
And what the Lord wants Joshua to do now is to allocate the land to Israel for an inheritance. It was the Lord’s gift to them which they were then to pass down from one generation to another. And in particular, the Lord commands Joshua in verse 7 to divide up the land to nine and a half of the tribes of Israel.
Verses 8 to 13
What about the other two and a half tribes? That is to say, what about the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of Manasseh? Doesn’t Joshua have to allocate them any land? Well, Joshua doesn’t have to allocate any land to those tribes, because they have already been given land on the eastern side of the Jordan. So, we’ve talked about this before. Back in the days of Moses, when the Israelites were making their way to the land of Canaan, Sihon king of the Amorites and Og king Bashan attacked Israel. Israel defeated them and took over their land. The people of the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of Manasseh, who had large herds and flocks, looked at the land they had taken and saw that it was suitable for their livestock. And so, they asked if they could settle there. And the Lord agreed to their request.
So, our narrator refers to that arrangement in verse 8, which was agreed in the days of Moses. He then outlines the territory which those tribes received in verses 9 to 12. You’ll see that he mentions Sihon in verse 10 and Og in verse 12. And you’ll also see from verse 13 that while they took over most of that land, there were still some places in that territory which they did not conquer.
Verses 15 to 31
We’ll come back to verse 14 in a moment. In verses 15 to 23 the narrator tells us which parts of that land were given to Reuben. And you’ll see that he mentions Balaam in verse 22. We read about Balaam in Numbers 22 to 24. He was some kind of prophet and the king of Moab hired him to curse Israel. However, the Lord prevented him from doing so. Later, though, he caused Israel to sin against the Lord. And so, because he led them astray, we read in Numbers 31 that they killed him with the sword. And our narrator refers to that here.
In verses 24 to 28 our narrator tells us which parts of that land were given to Gad. And in verses 29 to 31 he tells us which parts of that land were given to the half tribe of Manasseh.
Verse 32
And in verse 32 the narrator sums up what he’s been telling us. So, this is the inheritance Moses had allocated to Reuben and Gad and to half of Manasseh. Joshua didn’t have anything to do with this arrangement. This was agreed when Moses was still alive.
Verses 14 and 32
And in verses 14 and 32 the narrator refers to the tribe of Levi. And the people from that tribe did not receive any of the land on the eastern side of the Jordan. In fact, they didn’t receive any of the land on the western side of the Jordan. They didn’t receive any of the land because they were not to live as farmers. They were to serve the Lord in the tabernacle and later in the temple.
So, the priests came from the tribe of Levi. And the men who were not priests were given other roles in the worship of the Lord. And since they weren’t to live as farmers, they didn’t receive any land. Certain cities were allocated to them to live in. And according to verse 14 they were to receive their income from the offerings made by fire to the Lord. In other words, they received a portion of the meat the people sacrificed to the Lord. And we know from Numbers 18 that they also received the tithes which the people brought to the Lord. So, the people were to bring to the tabernacle a tenth of everything they produced. And it was given to the Levites as their income for the work they did to serve the Lord. And in verse 33 it says that the Lord himself was their inheritance. So, whatever the people gave to the Lord went to the Levites.
Our narrator includes these two verses to make clear to his readers that the Levites didn’t receive any of the land on the eastern side of the Jordan. That land went to the tribes of Reuben and Gad and to half of Manasseh.
Application
One of the commentator says we might find these lists of place names dull. After all, these places don’t mean much to us. But they meant a lot to the Israelites, because this was their inheritance. This was where they would live and they would make a living from this land. And so, it meant a lot to them and it was a sign of God’s kindness to them, because the land was his gift to them. He was under no obligation to help them conquer it and he was under no obligation to give it to them. But he helped them to conquer it and he gave it to them because of his overflowing love for his people.
But it doesn’t mean much to us, because the land of Israel is not our inheritance from the Lord. What the Lord gives to us is not life in the land of Canaan, but life in the kingdom of God, which we enter through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And life in the kingdom of God is everlasting life, because even after we die, and our bodies are buried in the ground, our souls will be made perfect in the presence of God in heaven. And when Christ comes again, he will raise our bodies from the dead and reunite them with our souls. And in body and soul we will live in the presence of God in the new and better land to come, where there is fullness of joy for all of God’s people as we gaze upon the glory of our God.
The Israelites received an earthly inheritance from the Lord. And it was a sign of his kindness to them and it was evidence of his overflowing love. But through faith in Christ, we receive a heavenly inheritance. We receive eternal life in his presence. And there will be nothing there to disturb our peace and happiness. The Israelites had to put up with the Canaanites for years and years. And the Canaanites who remained often made their life miserable and their presence in the land of Canaan was a source of trouble and frustration and fear for God’s people. But in the presence of God in the new and better land to come there will be nothing to disturb our happiness.
And while we wait to enter God’s presence in the new and better land to come, God has promised never to leave us or forsake us. He has promised to be with us always to help us and to strengthen us and to keep us. And so, we can always look to him for the help we need.
