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Day 85: Fighting for Each Other
Chapter 12: Review of the Conquered Lands
Moses killed only three kings, but Joshua killed thirty. [Moses] persevered in prayer, made supplication, but did not enter [the Promised Land]. It was Joshua rather who entered and shared out the inheritance. Likewise, Samuel was greater than Eli, and Elisha received a double portion of his master's spirit after his ascension, like the Lord our Savior, for his disciples effected twice through their signs.
Joshua 12:1-6 ~ Review of the land God conquered with Moses and the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan River
The list of kings begins in verses 1-6 with the defeat of the two Amorite kings on the east side of the Jordan River, drawing a parallel to the faithfulness of Moses in the eastern conquest and the faithfulness of Joshua as Moses' successor in the conquest in the west. The list continues in verses 7-24 with the kings killed under Joshua's leadership during the three campaigns to conquer Canaan.
Question: What is the purpose of enumerating the kings killed by Israel in chapter 12?
Answer: By enumerating the conquered kings, the inspired writer is testifying that these earthy kings, who had united to defeat the people of God with all their armies, were not stronger than Israel's king, Yahweh, the One True sovereign God Almighty.
Verses 1-6 is a review of the lands taken on the east side of the Jordan River (called the Transjordan) prior to the death of Moses. The Wadi/River Arnon and the Arnon Valley is the deep gorge on the southern border with Moab (verses 1-2) while Mt. Hermon is in the far northern part of the Lebanon mountain range. The Sea of Chinneroth (verse 3) is the Sea of Galilee (also called the Sea of Tiberias in the first century AD), and the Sea of the Arabah (verse 3) is the Dead Sea.
Question: What were the boundaries of Israel's Transjordan territory?
Answer: The Valley of Arnon on the border of Moab in the south and extending along the Jordan River to Mt. Hermon in the north. The eastern border was the land of the Ammonites.
Question: How were the Moabites and Ammonites related to the Israelites? See Gen 12:5; 13:10-11; 19:30-38.
Answer: They were the descendants of Abraham's nephew Lot and his daughters who had incestuous relations with their father.
God allowed the inclusion of the Transjordan based on the petition for the land by the tribes of Reuben and Gad after the defeat of the Amorite kings Sihon and Og (Num chapter 32). It was a request that did not turn out to be good for the tribes who settled on the east side of the Jordan River. The physical separation from God's Sanctuary across the river became a spiritual separation, and those eastern tribes eventually became absorbed into the pagan, Gentile population.
Joshua 12:7-24 ~ Review of the land God conquered with Joshua and the Israelites on the west side of the Jordan River
Chapter 13: Distribution of the Land
After dividing the land among the tribes and appointing cities of refuge and towns for the Levites" the Lord gave to Israel all of the land which he swore to give to their fathers, and having taken possession of it, they settled there. God gave them rest from their enemies, "not one of all the good promises which the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass." Essentially this marks the fulfillment of the first part of the threefold promise. They are numerous, they have the land, and they have God's law. Israel is now a nation. It is only a matter of time before they will become a royal kingdom and a blessings to the entire world.
Chapter 13 is the beginning of Part II of the Book of Joshua: The Allotment of the Tribal Lands.
Joshua 13:1-7 ~ The lands that remained to be conquered in the future
Verses 1-7 recount God's command to Joshua to distribute the land. The conquest of the land was not completed when God told Joshua his mission was completed and it was time to divide the land among the tribes. This is not surprising news for Joshua. God told Moses that the occupation of the Promised Land would be a gradual process: I shall drive them out little by little before you, until your numbers grow sufficient for you to take possession of the land (Ex 23:30).
Caleb was 40 years old when he and Joshua were sent as spies into Canaan (Num 13:1-1-16; Josh 14:7). It is now 45 years later, and Caleb is 85 years old. It is possible that Joshua was even older (Josh 14:10). They were the oldest men in Israel.
Question: If there are lands still to be conquered, why is God not ordering Joshua to continue the conquest?
Answer: God is graciously relieving His faithful servant of the responsibilities of being a military commander and is giving Joshua rest and peace in the last years of his life.
Question: What promise did God make concerning the lands remaining to be conquered in Joshua 13:6 and where is this land located in relation to the Jordan River?
Answer: God promised to drive out all the remaining the inhabitants on the west side of the river. However, it is a promise based on the tribes' willingness to carry out God's will to expel them.
Joshua 13:8-14 ~ A general survey of the lands of the Transjordan tribes
Verses 8-33 are a review of the distribution of the Transjordan lands. The return to this topic is probably to stress the intended unity of the people of God on both sides of the river. At Gilgal Joshua confirms the Moses' Transjordan settlement of the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the two clans of Manasseh (13:8-13). The narrative of the conquest of the Transjordan is found in Numbers 32. The conquered Transjordan territory extended from Mt. Hermon in the north to the River Arnon in the south on the border with Moab.
Question: How did God provide for the material support of the Levites? See Ex 2:19-20; Lev 1:9, 13, 17; 6:7; 7:32-34; Num 18:20-24; 35:1-8; Dt 18:3-24; Josh 13:33; 21:1-42.
Answer: God provided for the Levites heritage. The Law required that the other tribes had to provide for the Levites through all the tithes collected in Israel. A tenth of the total tithe received by the Levites was to be set aside and given to the chief priests. The people also had to offer a portion of their sin and communion offerings to the chief priest who presided over the altar sacrifice. The tithes included the first-fruits tithe and the first-born sons' redemption tax (Num 18:15). The Levites also received towns in which to live and associated pasture lands that were scattered throughout Israel on both sides of the Jordan River (Num 35:1-8; Josh 21:1-42).
Question: What prophecy by Jacob/Israel was fulfilled in the Levites not receiving a portion of the land but being scattered throughout Israel? Why did Jacob make this deathbed prophecy/judgment? See Gen 49:1, 5-7 and read in light of the events in Gen 34:25-31.
Answer: In his deathbed prophecy, Jacob's sons Simeon and Levi were excluded from a full inheritance in the Promised Land and because of their malicious actions which included the bad treatment of animals and their murder of the men of Shechem who had entered into a covenant treaty with Jacob. Their descendants were to receive no inheritance in Promised Land and were to be scattered among the tribes of their kinsmen.
Joshua 13:15-23 ~ The lands allotted the tribe of Reuben
Question: Who is the patriarchal father of the Reubenites? See Gen 29:32; 35:22; 49:3.
Answer: Reuben was the first-born son of Leah and Jacob. He lost his status as the first-born for sleeping with his father's concubine.
Joshua 13:24-28 ~ The lands allotted the tribe of Gad
Gad's territory extended north of Reuben's tribal lands to the south point of the Sea of Chinneroth, which is the Galilee.
Joshua 13:29-33 ~ The lands allotted the half-tribe of Manasseh
The land allotted to the half-tribe of Manasseh extended from the border with Gad and included the entire conquered kingdom of king Og "the entire region known as the Bashan.
Question: The allotment of land to the half-tribe of Manasseh is based on whose authority?
Answer: This allotment was based on the authority of Moses.
The tribe of Manasseh will be separated by the Jordan River "half the tribe on the east and the other half settled in the west. That Levi would not share in the land is repeated in verse 33 (also see Josh 13:14, 33; Num 18:20; Dt 18:2).
Chapter 14: Description of the Three Large Tribes to the West of the Jordan
Chapters 14-19 contain the description of the allotment of the lands of Canaan to the tribes living west of the Jordan River. Chapter 14 is divided into two parts:
- The allotment process as administered by a divinely appointed committee (verses 1-5).
- An outstanding example of faith and courage as demonstrated by a Gentile convert (verses 6-15).
Moses' name is repeated five times in this chapter (verses 6, 7, 9, 10 and 11).
Joshua 14:1-5 ~ The allotment process
The Israelites' promised inheritance in Canaan is the land on the west side of the River. The east side is never referred to as Canaan. The land is an "inheritance" based on God's Divine promise made to the Patriarchs (Gen 15:18) and His promise at Sinai (Ex 23:31).
Question: What men formed the commission whose divinely appointed task was to allot the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel?
Answer:
- Eleazar
- Joshua
- Heads of the families of the tribes
Question: What different offices within the nation of Israel did these men represent?
Answer:
- Eleazar represented the priesthood/religious authority
- Joshua was the military commander
- The heads of families were the elders who were the governing civil authority
Question: Who is Eleazar? See Ex 6:23; 23:23; Num 3:4; 20:23-29; Dt 6:10.
Answer: He was the third son of Aaron; he succeeded his father as Israel's anointed high priest.
The High Priest Eleazar has priority in the decision of the distribution, followed by Joshua and the tribal elders. Together they have the responsibility of allotting the land to the tribes on the western side of the Jordan River. The three-fold division of responsibility reflects God's instructions for the allocation of the land in Numbers 34:16-29 and reinforces the point that the civil authority does not operate independently from the religious authority that has priority (named first in the three-part commission). The process will be determined by the casting of lots, perhaps High Priest Eleazar's Urim and Thummim (Ex 28:29-30), which would make sense if the High Priest was the one casting the lots. However, the lots will be directed by divine guidance: In the fold of the garment the lot is thrown, but from Yahweh comes the decision (Prov 16:33).
Question: How many tribes have already received land on the east side of the Jordan River? See 13:8.
Answer: Two and a half tribes: the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe (2 clans) of
Manasseh.
Question: How many tribes will receive allotments of land on the west side of the river? See 13:14 and 14:4.
Answer: The remaining tribes and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh, with the exception of the tribe of Levi. Since the tribe of Joseph will be divided into the two separate tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim, the tribes of Israel occupying the land will still number twelve tribes.
It was important for the number "twelve" to be maintained; twelve is the symbolic number of perfection in government.
Question: How was the number twelve important in the New Covenant Church and what is the connection to the twelve sons of Jacob? See Acts 1:15-26.
Answer: The twelve sons of Jacob/Israel were the physical fathers of the children of Israel just as the twelve Apostles were the spiritual fathers of the New Covenant children of God. When Levi was not allotted land, the tribe of Joseph became the two separate tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh to maintain the number of twelve tribes. In the same way, when the defection and death of Judas left only eleven Apostles, another was chosen to take his place.
Yahweh's instructions to Moses concerning the allocation of the land were given in Numbers 33:50-35:15. In those instructions Moses was told that the men who had the responsibility for dividing up the land were the priest Eleazar, Joshua and one leader from ten of the tribes. God also named those leaders in Numbers 34:19-29.
Joshua 14:6-15 ~ Caleb's reward
The "sons of Judah," led by the chieftain Caleb, come to Joshua at Gilgal. It seems the tribal chieftains of Judah have accompanied Caleb to give both their support and their approval of his request. Caleb holds a unique position within the tribe of Judah "he is a Gentile convert who has become a trusted chieftain. He is also one of the few men in the Bible that God calls "my servant" (see Num 14:24). While many men were called "the servant of God," up to this point in the salvation history, God only personally called Abraham (Gen 26:24), Moses (Ex Num 12:7, 8; Josh 1:2, 7), Job (Job 1:8; 2:3; 19:16; 42:7, 8), and Caleb "my servant." Later it will be a title frequently used for David.
In Joshua 14:7-9, Caleb speaks of the episode 38 years earlier when Israelite spies were first sent to reconnoiter Canaan at the oasis of Kadesh-Barnea. Kadesh was an oasis situated at a strategic point in northern Sinai at the crossroads of major trade routes coming out of Egypt and Arabia.
In recounting the event in Joshua 14:8, Caleb calls the other spies "brothers," a reference to God's covenant which bound Caleb and the other Israelites spies as kinsmen. It was a tie that was stronger than a human blood tie and was forged in the sacrifice at Mt. Sinai when the blood of the sacrificed victim was sprinkled on the people and on God's altar. That symbolic act united the Israelites who swore the oath of obedience to Yahweh as one family when Moses said "This is the blood of the covenant which Yahweh has made with you ..." ( Ex 24:6-8).
Question: How does the inspired writer of Acts refer to the 120 men and women disciples of Jesus gathered in the Upper Room in Acts 1:15? What is the significance of that unity in the light of Jesus' actions at the Last Supper in Luke 22:20?
Answer: The disciples are called "brothers" because they are united in the blood of Christ as one family, as Jesus told them at the Last Supper when He said, offering them His Body and then the cup of His Divine Blood: "This cup is the New Covenant in my blood poured out for you."
In the New Testament Greek, the only word used for "brother/brothers" is the Greek word adelphos/adelphoi, literally meaning "from the womb" and referring to brothers united by a blood tie (delphos means "womb" in Greek), whether referring to siblings like St. James and St. John Zebedee or to those united in the covenant tie of kinship in Christ or in the old Sinai Covenant (as Peter did in Acts 2:29 and the Jews responded to Peter and the Apostles in Acts 2:27).(3)
Caleb recounts in verse 7 how he spoke "from the heart" (literal Hebrew) when he gave his honest assessment that, if the Israelites were obedient to God, that God would give them the land of Canaan. Caleb also reveals an oath Moses swore personally to him that is not recorded previously in Scripture but which was witnessed by Joshua (verse 9). Caleb's account is both factual and emotional. He has not only been completely faithful and obedient to Yahweh, but he heroically makes the pledge to drive out the fierce giants called the Anakim that the Israelites so feared (Num 13:28, 32-33), having confidence in God's promise that the Israelites will be successful if they have faith. Thus, the story of Caleb's part in the conquest begins and ends with the fearsome Anakim. Joshua honors the promise Moses made to Caleb and gives Hebron and its surrounding territory to Caleb and his family. You will recall that the field and cave at Hebron/Kiriath-Abra is the only land Abraham ever owned in the Promised Land, and it is where the burial cave of the Patriarchs is located (Gen 23:1-2, 17-20).
At this point in the narrative, Caleb is 85 years old. Since he is still willing and able to carry on the fight it is possible that he is younger than Joshua who has retired from fighting. Caleb reports in verse 10 that 45 years have passed since the events at Kadesh-Barnea. He was 40 years old at Kadesh-Barnea when the Israelites were condemned to another 38 years in the wilderness (the Israelites were at Mt. Sinai for two years so the number of years in the wilderness totaled 40 years).
Jimmy Akin, A Daily Defense: 365 Days (Plus One) to Becoming a Better Apologist
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