Joshua 13:1-33
1 Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.
2 This is the land that yet remaineth: all the borders of the Philistines, and all Geshuri,
3 From Sihor, which is before Egypt, even unto the borders of Ekron northward, which is counted to the Canaanite: five lords of the Philistines; the Gazathites, and the Ashdothites, the Eshkalonites, the Gittites, and the Ekronites; also the Avites:
4 From the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearaha that is beside the Sidonians, unto Aphek, to the borders of the Amorites:
5 And the land of the Giblites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrising, from Baalgad under mount Hermon unto the entering into Hamath.
6 All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon unto Misrephothmaim, and all the Sidonians, them will I drive out from before the children of Israel: only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee.
7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
8 With whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them;
9 From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;
10 And all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, unto the border of the children of Ammon;
11 And Gilead, and the border of the Geshurites and Maachathites, and all mount Hermon, and all Bashan unto Salcah;
12 All the kingdom of Og in Bashan, which reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei, who remained of the remnant of the giants: for these did Moses smite, and cast them out.
13 Nevertheless the children of Israel expelled not the Geshurites, nor the Maachathites: but the Geshurites and the Maachathites dwell among the Israelites until this day.
14 Only unto the tribe of Levi he gave none inheritance; the sacrifices of the LORD God of Israel made by fire are their inheritance, as he said unto them.
15 And Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families.
16 And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba;
17 Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal,b and Bethbaalmeon,
18 And Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,
19 And Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley,
20 And Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah,c and Bethjeshimoth,
21 And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.
22 Balaam also the son of Beor, the soothsayer,d did the children of Israel slay with the sword among them that were slain by them.
23 And the border of the children of Reuben was Jordan, and the border thereof. This was the inheritance of the children of Reuben after their families, the cities and the villages thereof.
24 And Moses gave inheritance unto the tribe of Gad, even unto the children of Gad according to their families.
25 And their coast was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the children of Ammon, unto Aroer that is before Rabbah;
26 And from Heshbon unto Ramathmizpeh, and Betonim; and from Mahanaim unto the border of Debir;
27 And in the valley, Betharam, and Bethnimrah, and Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, Jordan and his border, even unto the edge of the sea of Chinnereth on the other side Jordan eastward.
28 This is the inheritance of the children of Gad after their families, the cities, and their villages.
29 And Moses gave inheritance unto the half tribe of Manasseh: and this was the possession of the half tribe of the children of Manasseh by their families.
30 And their coast was from Mahanaim, all Bashan, all the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, threescore cities:
31 And half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan, were pertaining unto the children of Machir the son of Manasseh, even to the one half of the children of Machir by their families.
32 These are the countries which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.
33 But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he said unto them.
LAND REMAINING TO BE CONQUERED
(vv. 1-7)
Joshua became "old and advanced in years" (v. 1). In fact, he was not a young man when he led Israel across the Jordan, at least in his sixties. If, as we rightly consider, he is a type of "Christ in you," his aging would indicate that the spiritual energy of God's people, though it may be fresh and vigorous at first, nearly always begins to wane with time. We see this in Israel and we see it in the Church, and sadly in many individual believers.
Yet there was "very much land to be possessed." How much of the truth of scripture do we really possess? There have been godly, faithful men who have led the way in giving us possession of much scriptural knowledge that might otherwise have remained of no value to us. They have certainly not exhausted scripture, but have passed off the scene. Where is the energy of faith now to gain possession of land that has not been possessed? Should not every believer be stirred in heart to apply himself to the diligent study of the Word of God, not only to gain knowledge, but to thereby know the Lord better, to be filled with all the fullness of God?
The first unpossessed land mentioned is "all the territory of the Philistines" (v. 2). The Philistines had originally come from Egypt by way of the north, not having to cross the Red Sea, so they are a picture of those who have come into Christian profession without facing the truth of the death of Christ for them, -- not redeemed, but religious. Their name means "wallowers," for they wallow in the mire of empty forms and ceremonies, and have always been a thorn in Israel's side. In the history of the Church too this same evil has continually opposed the simplicity of the truth of the gospel of grace, and only faith can overcome it. In David's day the Philistines were largely subdued, though never expelled from the land.
Geshurites are mentioned along with the Philistines. Their name means "proud beholders," speaking of those who take the place merely of spectators, well able to criticize, proud of their ability to tell what should be done, but not involving themselves in the work of the Lord at all. We all know people of this kind, but let us not be like them: rather let us fully judge this kind of evil, triumphing over it by the faith of spiritual energy.
Verse 3describes the territories of these nations in more detail, including the five major cities of the Philistines, and adding "the Avites." Gaza, a city of the Philistines, means "strong," for ceremonial religion seeks the greatest power in the world and boasts of the strength of its numbers. Such strength means nothing to those who walk by faith. Let us never be intimidated by it. The harlot city Babylon may be so strong as to reign over the kings of the earth (Revelation 17:18), but "her plagues will come in one day -- death and mourning and famine. And she will be utterly burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God who judges her" (Revelation 18:8). We may now defeat such evil by trusting in the strength of the Lord God.
Ashdod means "the spoiler," for such formal religion as we see in the Philistines becomes a spoiling, desolating thing to its victims, leaving no positive blessing for them. This negative, harmful character of religious pretense is again only to be overcome by the positive energy of faith in the living God.
Askelon has a strange meaning for a city, "the fire of infamy." But false religion often strongly attacks those who will not submit to it by putting them in the worst light possible. Through the middle ages many were branded as heretics by the professing "Church," who were godly, devoted believers. But we must not be intimidated by this kind of enmity, rather let us overcome it by faith.
Gath means "the winepress." The winepress speaks of the wrath of God's judgment (Revelation 14:19), and again in the middle ages it was often seen that the professing "Church" claimed to be the executor of the judgment of God against those she called "heretics." Only faith can capture Gaza, so that the winepress will be truly in the hand of God alone, not in the hands of perverters.
Ekron means "rooting out." Various false religions have tried hard to root out all who do not submit to them, but this is a dreadful evil when that religion is clothed with a Christian name. They want complete domination, but again Ekron should be captured
for the Lord. For it will be right for Him in His own time to fulfill His own words, "Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted shall be uprooted" (Matthew 15:13). Thus the energy of faith will give Him His rights.
The Philistines were in the south, then northwest were the Canaanites (v. 4)and various peoples connected with them. Canaanites means "traffickers," so that this northern area seems to symbolize the evil principle of using Christianity for monetary gain. Israel was responsible to subdue such enemies, just as the Lord Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple (John 2:14), but though the Canaanites were in general conquered, yet there remained pockets of resistance. Joshua was told by the Lord to divide the land between Israel's tribes (vv. 6-7), then each tribe had the work remaining of subduing and banishing every enemy in their territory, just as today all believers are to fight against and subdue the spiritual evils that threaten their enjoyment of our spiritual blessings in heavenly places (Ephesians 6:10).
LAND DIVIDED BETWEEN THE 2 & 1/2 TRIBES
(vv. 8-14)
While half the tribe of Manasseh was included in the inheritance of property west of Jordan, the other half tribe is now seen connected with Reuben and Gad on the east of Jordan (v. 8). They had asked for this before and Moses had granted it to them (Numbers 32:1). This land was divided between these 21/2 tribes. "Nevertheless the children of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites (v. 13). They still had the evil principle of the "proud beholder" (the meaning of Geshur) to contend with, just as believers today must contend with the pride that can observe and proudly criticize without being involved in the testimony of the Lord. This is an evil not easily banished! Yet, let us have serious exercise not to allow any such attitude to surface in our own personal experience.
Verse 14 reminds us that the tribe of Levi was given no inheritance for themselves, for they were scattered among the tribes to serve the Lord where they were placed, and were dependent on God's providing for them by the sacrifices and offerings of the people. They were therefore simply to look to God for their support, as is true for any servant of the Lord today who engages his full time in the Lord's work.
THE LAND GIVEN TO REUBEN (vv. 15-23)
The land of Reuben on the south adjoined Moab. On the west of it was the Dead Sea and a little further north the River Jordan. The north border was the south border of Gad. Heshbon is the farthest north city mentioned in Reuben's territory. The east border is not so well defined, perhaps because of desert toward the east, but Reuben inherited all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites (v. 21).
It is noted here, because Reuben is so close to Moab, that the children of Israel killed Balaam the soothsayer, who had been hired by Balak to curse Israel, then had counseled Balak to have his people mingle with Israel to corrupt them (Numbers 31:16).
GAD'S INHERITANCE (vv. 24-28)
The land given to Gad was north of that of Reuben, including the territory of Jazer (evidently just north of Heshbon) and continuing north to include Succoth which was near the Jordan River. Jordan was again the west border of Gad, and the east border is once more apparently indistinct. In this territory and the meaning of the names of cities there is without doubt spiritual instruction to be found if we were diligent and discerning enough to find it.
THE EASTERN PORTION FOR MANASSEH (vv. 29-33)
Manasseh's inheritance (for its half tribe) was north of Gad's, including the territory taken from Og king of Bashan, its west border being also the Jordan River, though the other half tribe of Manasseh was given its portion on the west side of the river, opposite the half tribe on the east. Again we are reminded that it was Moses who had given this inheritance to Manasseh (v. 32), and again we are told that the Levites were not given territory of their own, for the God of Israel was their inheritance (v. 33).