Moving the Ark of the Lord to Jerusalem

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(2 Samuel 6:1) Again David gathered together all the chosen of Israel, thirty thousand.

David had become established as king of all Israel.  He had just defeated the Philistines in and around Jerusalem.  He had proposed to all the people that they should bring the ark of the covenant to them in Jerusalem.  He now gathered thirty thousand of the choicest men of Israel.

(2) And David arose and went with all the people who were with him from Baale of Judah to bring up from there the ark of God, whose name is called by the name of the Lord of hosts who dwells between the cherubim.

David went with the thirty thousand men he had gathered to him to Baale of Judah to bring the ark from there.  This was the same as Baalah in Judah that was also known as Kirjath Jearim according to Joshua 15:9.  God's name is Jehovah which is the original Hebrew for Lord.  He dwelt between the cherubim that overshadowed the mercy seat which was above the ark.

(1 Chronicles 13:5) So David gathered all Israel together from Shihor of Egypt to the entering of Hamath to bring the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim.

1 Chronicles 13 also told of the event.  Rather than all the people, it was likely the thirty thousand representatives of them whom David gathered together from the southern border at Egypt to the northern border at Hamath as seen on this map borrowed from JesusWalk:

Shihor is believed to be the Brook of Egypt.  David had gathered the thirty thousand men from all over Israel for the purpose of bringing the ark of God from Kirjath Jearim, which was said to be located about 7–9 miles west-northwest of Jerusalem.

(6) And David went up and all Israel to Baalah, to Kirjath Jearim, which belonged to Judah, to bring up from there the ark of God the Lord who dwells between the cherubim whose name is proclaimed.

David and the 30,000 representatives of all Israel went to Kirjath Jearim in Judah to the ark of God the Lord, Jehovah, whose name was proclaimed there where He dwelt between the cherubim above the mercy seat.

(2 Samuel 6:3) And they set the ark of God upon a new cart and brought it out of the house of Abinadab that was in Gibeah, and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the new cart.

The people brought the ark out of the house of Abinadab in Gibeah, which was a prominent hill in Kirjath Jearim.  They set the ark of God on a new cart, thinking to honor the ark of God by placing it on a cart never before used for anything else.  However, the priests were to have carried it on their shoulders, according to Numbers 7:9.  They should not have put it in a cart, even new, like any common thing.  Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, drove the cart.

(4) And they brought it out of the house of Abinadab, which was at Gibeah, accompanying the ark of God, and Ahio went before the ark.

They brought the cart out of the house of Abinadab which had held the ark of God, and it appears that Ahio actually went before the ark while Uzzah drove the cart.

(5) And David and all the house of Israel played before the Lord on all manner of fir wood, even on harps, and on psalteries, and on timbrels, and on cornets, and on cymbals.

David and all the house of Israel with him played before the Lord on musical instruments made of fir wood, on harps, on other stringed instruments, on tambourines, on cornets, and on cymbals. Once again, they thought they were honoring God, but even David who would seem was well versed in the law of God, had failed to properly honor the ark.  

(1 Chronicles 13:7) And they carried the ark of God in a new cart out of the house of Abinadab, and Uzzah and Ahio drove the cart. (8) And David and all Israel played before God with all their might, and with singing, and with harps, and with psalteries, and with timbrels, and with cymbals, and with trumpets.

1 Chronicles 13 told of the same incident.  Rather than finishing the story, my chronological study takes me to Psalm 78:

(Psalm 78:1) (Maschil of Asaph) Give ear, O my people, to my law; incline your ears to the words of my mouth.

This psalm was already studied in full in this chronological study by Skip Andrews, so I'm not sure why it would be repeated now.  Asaph was a Levite, appointed by David as one of the chief musicians responsible for leading worship before the Ark of the Covenant.  I suppose that is why it might be relevant at this chronological time.  Asaph wrote a few of the psalms, and he wrote this maschil, an instructive psalm.  He called on the people to listen to the doctrine he was about to deliver.

(2) I will open my mouth in a parable; I will utter dark sayings of old, (3) Which we have heard and known, and our fathers have told us.

Asaph would speak freely and openly with analogies, metaphors, and examples.  When you think about it, the entire Old Testament was purposefully analogous to the lives of believers after the coming of Jesus.  "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness..." (2 Timothy 3:16).  Those who want to discard the Old Testament because it is not relevant anymore are very much in error as God intended it to be used for teaching us.  

This scripture actually was prophecy referring to Jesus and why He spoke in parables as it says in Matthew 13:34-35, "All these things Jesus spoke to the multitude in parables; and without a parable He did not speak to them, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, saying, 'I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter things which have been kept secret from the foundation of the world.'"  Asaph would speak of dark sayings, or perplexing things, of old, from the foundation of the world, things they had only heard of, such as the fall of man by means of Satan, and how he continued to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10).  Perhaps he would speak prophetically of the Gospel which was kept secret until the Messiah came but had been ordained even before the world (1 Corinthians 2:7). 

(4) We will not hide them from their children, showing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and His strength, and His wonderful works that He has done.

The people of that present time would not hide those mysteries from their children and from their children's children but would pass on their knowledge of such things to future generations.  They would demonstrate to them how praiseworthy their Lord was, how strong He was, and all the wonderful things He had done for His people.

(5) For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers that they should make them known to their children.

The Lord had established a testimony in the house of Jacob, or Israel, as Jacob was the patriarch.  He had appointed a law in Israel which He commanded fathers to teach their children (Deuteronomy 6:7).

(6) That the generation to come might know them, even the children who should be born who should arise and declare them to their children.

Then the next generation would know those mysteries of old and would pass them on to any children they would have who would, in turn, pass them on to their children.  I believe that is what has become lost in this world; so many people do not know the real truth of God because they have never heard the truth.

(7) That they might set their hope in God and not forget the works of God but keep His commandments.

By teaching every generation, they would continue to set their hope in God and never forget His wondrous works, and they would keep His commandments.  Once again, I can't help but think how this has become lost, and that is the reason why so many people are without hope in our day and age.

(8) And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation that did not set their heart aright and whose spirit was not steadfast with God.

If the future generations were taught the wonders of their Lord, they would not have to be like their forefathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation like those Israelites in the wilderness and those who rejected Christ, those who did not set their hearts to seek after their Lord to walk in faithfulness with Him.

(9) The children of Ephraim, armed, carrying bows, turned back in the day of battle. (10) They kept not the covenant of God and refused to walk in His law. (11) And forgot His works and His wonders that He had showed them.

The children of the tribe of Ephraim, although armed and well equipped with the best weapons of the time, failed in faith and courage and retreated before the enemy, possibly referring to the failure of Ephraim to drive out the Canaanites from their promised land (Judges 1:29).  It may be that Ephraim here means all of Israel just as Jacob did.  In that case, it might refer to the time the Israelites fled before the Philistines and the ark of the Lord was taken.  That might be the most appropriate meaning here.  They had failed in their faith and did not keep the covenant of the Lord, forgetting all His wondrous works that proved He would always be there for them.

(67) Moreover, He refused the tabernacle of Joseph and chose not the tribe of Ephraim, (68) But chose the tribe of Judah, the Mount Zion which He loved.

The chronological study then skips forward to verse 67.  If this refers to the ark, the Lord refused the tribe of Ephraim, the son of Joseph, therefore also refusing him, where the ark had formerly been in Shiloh.  He now chose the tribe of Judah, specifically Mount Zion, the city of David, for His ark to dwell.

(69) And He built His sanctuary like high, like the earth which He has established forever.

The Lord built His sanctuary exalted, as if it were on a high hill, prominent and permanent, not to be moved from place to place as the tabernacle had been but established as firmly as the earth itself.

(70) He chose David also His servant and took him from the sheepfolds, (71) From following the ewes great with young He brought him, to feed Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance.

The Lord had chosen David out of the sheep fields; from tending to pregnant ewes, the Lord brought him to rather tend to His people Israel.

(72) So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

David led the people according to the integrity of his heart, striving to be upright and pure in the administration of his government, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands, which represented his power and actions.

Once again, I feel like this chronological order is rather disjointed and even disruptive of the historical event unfolding here.  While David led the people according to the integrity of his heart, in this case, he had forgotten the law of the Lord as we will soon understand in the coming study.

The Continuing Conquest of Canaan

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Judges 1:1) Now after the death of Joshua, it came to pass that the children of Israel asked the Lord, saying, "Who shall go up for us against the Canaanites first, to fight against them?"

Joshua had died in the last chapter and post.  As he left no successor, no commander in chief, the people inquired of the Lord, either by prayer or the Urim and Thummim, which were some sort of objects worn by the high priest that were used to determine God's will, about who would go first to fight the Canaanites that remained in their land.

(2) And the Lord said, "Judah shall go up; behold, I have delivered the land into his hand."

The Lord said that the tribe of Judah should go first against the Canaanites that remained in their land.  He said He had already delivered that Canaanite land into their hand.

(3) And Judah said to Simeon his brother, "Come up with me into my lot that we may fight against the Canaanites, and I likewise will go with you into your lot." So Simeon went with him.

As the tribe of Simeon lay in the middle of the tribe of Judah, Judah's tribe asked the tribe of Simeon to go with them to fight the Canaanites, and in turn, Judah would go with Simeon when they were called to fight.  The tribe of Simeon agreed and went with the tribe of Judah.

(4) And Judah went up, and the Lord delivered the Canaanites and the Perizzites into their hand, and they slew of them in Bezek ten thousand men.

Judah with Simeon went up against the Canaanites and the Perizzites.  The term "Canaanites" often referred to the seven nations that occupied Canaan as a whole, but there was one nation of Canaanites, and it, as well as the nation of Perizzites, were delivered into Israel's hand by the Lord.  The Israelites killed ten thousand men in and around the area of Bezek which was just west of Jerusalem.  This section of a map borrowed from Psalms to God shows the tribes of Judah and Simeon and where they went up to fight in the northeastern part of Judah:

(5) And they found Adoni-Bezek in Bezek, and they fought against him, and they slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites. (6) But Adoni-Bezek fled, and they pursued after him and caught him and cut off his thumbs and his big toes.

The Israelites found the king of Bezek there and fought against him.  They slew the Canaanites and the Perizzites, but King Adoni-Bezek fled from them.  They pursued him and eventually caught him, and they cut off his thumbs and his big toes.  This would have disabled him from fighting as he would not be able to hold a weapon, and he would no longer be able to run.  It was unusual for the Israelites to inflict such torture and punishment, but it may have been God's will as the king himself recognized:

(7) And Adoni-Bezek said, "Seventy kings with their thumbs and big toes cut off gathered scraps under my table; as I have done, so God has requited me." And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died.

The king confessed that he had cut off the thumbs and big toes of seventy kings who were then left to gather scraps from under his table.  He said that as he had done so cruelly to others, God had repaid him by doing the same to him.  It's interesting that a pagan king would realize that God had done that to him, so it may be that he spoke under the influence of God's Holy Spirit.  The Israelites brought him to Jerusalem where he died.

(8) Now the children of Judah had fought against Jerusalem and had taken it and struck it with the edge of the sword and set the city on fire.

Judah had previously conquered Jerusalem which was how they were able to take the king there.  During the time of Joshua, the Israelites had not yet been able to drive the Jebusites out of Jerusalem (Joshua 15:63), but apparently Judah had been able to do it.

(9) And afterward the children of Judah went down to fight against the Canaanites who dwelt in the mountains, and in the south, and in the valley.

After the death of King Adoni-Bezek, the Israelites went southward to fight against the Canaanites who still dwelt in other areas of Judah, in the mountains, in the valley, and in the southern part of Judah.

(10) And Judah went against the Canaanites who dwelt in Hebron (now the name of Hebron before was Kirjath Arba), and they killed Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai.

The tribe of Judah went against the Canaanites who still dwelt in Hebron.  The city of Hebron was before named Kirjath Arba for Arba, a chief among the Anakims who were giants in the city.  Caleb had previously driven out the giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai (Joshua 15:14), but it seems they must have regained at least parts of the city.  This time the tribe of Judah killed the three giants.

(11) And from there he went against the inhabitants of Debir, and the name of Debir before was Kirjath Sepher.

This and what follows in the next few verses appears to be a retelling of Joshua 15:15-19.  It couldn't have happened after Joshua died because Joshua wrote about it.  Since Jewish tradition considers the prophet Samuel to be the author of Judges, and he would have written this about 300 years after the fact, it may be reasonable to believe he might not have gotten the chronology exactly right.  However, here Samuel was writing about the lands that were conquered after Joshua's initial conquest, and the conquest of Hebron did happen after that.  It was after the tribe of Judah had been given their allotment that Caleb (of Judah) went against the inhabitants of Debir.  Before it was renamed Debir the city was called Kirjath Sepher.

(12) And Caleb said, "He who strikes Kirjath Sepher and takes it, to him I will give Achsah my daughter to wife."

Caleb had said at the time that whoever was able to take Kirjath Sepher would be given his daughter Achsah in marriage (Joshua 15:16).

(13) And Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother, took it, and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife.

It was Caleb's nephew Othniel, the son of Kenaz who was Caleb's younger brother, who took Kirjath Sepher, and Caleb indeed gave him his daughter Achsah in marriage.

(14) And it came to pass when she came, that she moved him to ask of her father a field, and she dismounted, and Caleb said to her, "What do you want?" (15) And she said to him, "Give me a blessing, for you have given me a south land; give me also springs of water." And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the lower springs.

When Achsah came to Othniel on her donkey, she persuaded him to ask for a field from her father.  She dismounted her donkey, and Caleb asked her what she wanted.  She asked for an extra blessing.  He had already given her a south land, which might indicate a dry land, so she now asked for springs of water.  Caleb gave her upper springs and lower springs.

The fact that this account was written twice made me look harder at the reason why it was so important.  I read many commentaries and understood what others had found.  It was an illustration of how we can boldly approach our Father in heaven with our requests.  Imagine that!  The holy God of the universe wants to have a father/child relationship with us sinful creatures, and He urges us to come to Him with our petitions.  However, we must remember that the only way we unclean sinners are able to approach Him is because of the blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ that purifies us when we accept His gift.  Jesus said in Matthew 7:11, “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him?"  However, we are to use wisdom and discernment as Achsah did.  She didn't ask for a gold-plated castle, but for springs for her dry land to make it more fruitful for her family.  James said in James 4:3, "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures."  Our Father in heaven wants to bless us with the things that will help us grow and be more effective servants for His church, not with worthless trinkets.  He knows what is best for us, but He invites us to come confidently to Him with our requests, having faith that He will give us what we need, but perhaps not always what we want.

(16) And the children of the Kenite, Moses's father-in-law, went up out of the city of palm trees with the children of Judah into the wilderness of Judah, which is in the south of Arad, and they went and dwelt among the people.

Moses's father-in-law was Jethro, a Kenite.  There is no consensus for whom the Kenites were named, but they were an ancient people living in Canaan in the time of Abraham (Genesis 15:19).  They were among ten tribes whose land God said He was giving to Abram.  However, during the time of Moses and Joshua, only seven nations were named as occupying Canaan.  The Kenites, the Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, had either become extinct, moved out of Canaan, or mixed with other nations.  Jethro's daughter Zipporah married Moses.  Jethro and his son Hobab had joined with Moses, and Hobab's descendants lived among the Israelites in the land of Canaan; they were the Kenites.  The city of palm trees was Jericho (Deuteronomy 34:3).  The Kenites had apparently resided in Jericho, but they now left it to go with the tribe of Judah and settled in the wilderness of Judah which was south of Arad, which would put them east of the tribe of Simeon according to the map above.  According to Albert Barnes in his Notes on the Bible, the rabbinical story was that Jericho had been given to Hobab.  Joshua had cursed that city and any person who rose up to rebuild it (Joshua 6:26), so apparently the descendants of Hobab had determined to leave that cursed city and dwell among the tribe of Judah in the wilderness.

(17) And Judah went with Simeon his brother, and they slew the Canaanites that inhabited Zephath and utterly destroyed it. And the name of the city was called Hormah.

As the tribe of Judah had promised, they went with the tribe of Simeon and killed the Canaanites who inhabited a city called Zephath in eastern Simeon, and they renamed it Hormah.

(18) Also Judah took Gaza with its territory, and Ashkelon with its territory, and Ekron with its territory.

Judah also took Gaza and Ashkelon on the Mediterranean coast and Ekron in the north.  The Biblical scholars I study wrote that the cities were later retaken and possessed by the Philistines.  John Wesley in his Notes on the Bible, observed that the scripture did not say they slew the people as it did in the verse before it.  The people, being spared, regained their control of the cities.

(19) And the Lord was with Judah, and he drove out the mountaineers, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley because they had chariots of iron.

The Lord was with Judah, and the tribe was able to drive out the inhabitants of the mountainous region of Judah.  However, it appears their faith failed when they feared the chariots of iron, and they were unable to drive out the inhabitants of the valley.  The Lord was with them, and there was no reason to believe that He wouldn't be with them to drive out those people, but it appears they didn't even try because of their fear.

(20) And they gave Hebron to Caleb, as Moses said, and he expelled from there the three sons of Anak.

 

Once again, the author of this book wrote in this chapter about the areas that had been left unconquered after Joshua's conquest. He referred again to Hebron which had been given to Caleb.  Caleb had driven out the three giants, Sheshai, Ahiman, and Talmai, whom Judah later killed (v.10).

(21) And the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem, but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Benjamin in Jerusalem to this day.

The tribe of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites that inhabited Jerusalem.  Although the tribe of Judah had previously taken the city (v. 8), it appears it was reinhabited by the Jebusites.  They remained dwelling with the tribe of Benjamin to the day the author, probably Samuel, wrote this.  John Gill, in his Exposition of the Bible, wrote that Samuel wrote the book of Judges before the reign of David who would dispossess the Jebusites.

(22) And the house of Joseph, they also went up against Bethel, and the Lord was with them.

The house of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, went up against Bethel in the southern portion of Ephraim.  The inhabitants of Bethel had been driven away from the city by Joshua (Joshua 8:17), but apparently the city had become reinhabited by the Canaanites.  The Lord was with Ephraim and Manasseh as they went against the inhabitants of Bethel.  This map borrowed from Precept Austin, shows all of the tribes, and Bethel is seen in southern Ephraim:

(23) And the house of Joseph sent to descry Bethel. (Now the name of the city before was Luz.)

The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh sent spies into Bethel to examine the conditions.  The name of Bethel was formerly Luz.

(24) And the spies saw a man come forth out of the city, and they said to him, "Show us, we pray you, the entrance into the city, and we will show you mercy."

The spies saw a man coming out of Bethel.  They asked him to tell them how to get into the city, and they in turn would show him mercy.

(25) And when he showed them the entrance into the city, they struck the city with the edge of the sword, but they let the man and all of his family go.

The man showed the spies a way into the city, and the tribes of Joseph struck the city and killed its inhabitants, but they let the man and his entire family go free.

(26) And the man went into the land of the Hittites and built a city and called its name Luz, which is its name to this day.

The man and his family went into the land of the Hittites where the Hittites apparently dwelt after being expelled from Canaan.  He built a city and called it Luz after the city he had been forced to leave.  Luz was still there at the writing of this book, although it was no longer there at the writing of the Biblical scholars I study, as they didn't know where this city of Luz would have been.

(27) Neither did Manasseh drive out Beth Shean and her towns, nor Taanach and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Ibleam and her towns, nor the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

Beth Shean, Taanach, Ibleam, Dor, and Megiddo, were cities given to the half tribe of Manasseh west of the Jordan River out of the lots of Issachar and Asher (Joshua 17:11).  Apparently, they never made any attempt to drive out the inhabitants of the cities and inhabit them as their cities, so the Canaanites dwelt in their land.  The map above shows most of these cities in northern West Manasseh.

(28) And it came to pass, when Israel was strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute and did not utterly drive them out.

When Israel became strong, they still did not drive out the Canaanites but made them tributaries under them.

(29) Neither did Ephraim drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwelt in Gezer among them.

Neither did Ephraim, the other son of Joseph, drive out Canaanites in his land, specifically Gezer, and the Canaanites lived in Gezer among them.  

(30) Neither did Zebulun drive out the inhabitants of Kitron nor the inhabitants of Nahalol, but the Canaanites dwelt among them and became tributaries.

Zebulun did not drive out the inhabitants of Kitron or Nahalol, and the Canaanites there became tributaries.

(31) Neither did Asher drive out the inhabitants of Accho, nor the inhabitants of Zidon, nor of Ahlab, nor of Achzib, nor of Helbah, nor of Aphik, nor of Rehob, (32) But the Asherites dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land, for they did not drive them out.

The tribe of Asher appears especially slothful in driving the Canaanites out of their land as God had instructed.  Out of 22 cities they had been given (Joshua 19:30), they failed to drive the enemy out of seven of them, about one third of their allotted cities.

(33) Neither did Naphtali drive out the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh nor the inhabitants of Beth Anath, but he dwelt among the Canaanites, the inhabitants of the land; nevertheless, the inhabitants of Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath became tributaries to them.

The tribe of Naphtali failed to drive out the Canaanites from Beth Shemesh and Beth Anath, so they dwelt among the Canaanites, but they did make the Canaanites in those cities tributaries to them.

(34) And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not allow them to come down to the valley.

The Amorites in the tribe of Dan's territory forced their tribe into the mountains and would not allow them to go down to the valley.  There must have been a serious lack of faith in God to drive out their enemies that their enemies were able to drive them from their land.

(35) But the Amorites would dwell in Mount Heres in Aijalon, and in Shaalbim, yet the hand of the house of Joseph prevailed so that they became tributaries.

It appears that the Amorites even dwelt among Dan in the mountains.  However, the house of Joseph helped its brother tribe, as Ephraim and Manasseh bordered Dan.  They at least made the Amorites tributaries in Mount Heres in Aijalon and in Shaalbim, however it doesn't appear that they were ever able to make tributaries of the Amorites in the valley.

(36) And the coast of the Amorites was from the going up to Akrabbim, from the rock and upward.

Akrabbim means "scorpion," so this is believed to be the Scorpion Pass, a pass between the south end of the Dead Sea and Zin.  "The rock" is believed to be Petra which was located east of that region on the east side of the Dead Sea.  Looking at the map above, I believe the territory of the Amorites at this time was from the eastern edge of the Wilderness of Zin, eastward below the Dead Sea, and upward on the east side of the Dead Sea, the regions of Edom and Moab.  The Amorites were said to be the most powerful people among the Canaanites and would prove to be very troublesome to Israel.

The Israelites were very careless with their duty to drive out all the Canaanites from their land.  Whether it was laziness or fear and a lack of faith, they did not do as their Lord God had told them to do.  Some of the cities where the Israelites failed to remove the Canaanites were cities that had been given to the Levites, including Taanach, Gezer, Nahalal, and Rehob, which may have been the reason they were lax in driving out the Canaanites.  However, you would think they would take better care of their priests and ministers who served their Lord God.  There may have been some covetousness on Israel's part as well, as they decided making the Canaanites pay tribute was more advantageous to them than driving them out.  However, God's way is always the best way, and by disobeying Him in their total conquest of Canaan, they brought troubles on themselves.  However, this may have been by divine design.  The Israelites had proved to be a people lacking faith and easily drawn away from their Lord.  Perhaps they needed adversity to keep them in check.  It's most often in adversity that people turn toward God.  It's not that God purposely designed things the way they were in order to punish His people.  He just allowed them to do or not do according to their own desires, letting them learn great lessons as He brought them through their adversities.

Joshua's Farewell Address and Death

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 23:1) And it came to pass a long time after that the Lord had given rest to Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old, stricken in age.

Israel had divided the land of Canaan among the tribes, and the people lived in peace and rest from all their enemies surrounding them.  Several years had passed, and Joshua had become very old.

(2) And Joshua called for all Israel, for their elders, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and said to them, "I am old, stricken in age."

Joshua called to him all the elders and chief people in Israel, including heads of the tribes, judges, and officers.  He began by telling them that he had become very old.

(3) "And you have seen all that the Lord your God has done to all these nations because of you, for the Lord your God is He who has fought for you."

He reminded them that they had seen all that the Lord had done to the nations of Canaan for His people Israel.  He had fought for His people and had brought them to this point of peace and rest.

(4) "Behold, I have divided to you by lot these nations that remain, to be an inheritance for your tribes, from Jordan, with all the nations that I have cut off, even to the Great Sea westward."

I believe Joshua's point was that all of Canaan had been divided by lot to them, even the nations that remained unconquered.  Those unconquered parts, along with all the nations Joshua had cut off with the sword, all the way to the Mediterranean Sea, had been divided as an inheritance to the tribes.

(5) "And the Lord your God, He shall expel them from before you and drive them from out of your sight, and you shall possess their land, as the Lord your God has promised you."

Joshua encouraged the leaders of Israel that the Lord willed that they should inherit all of the land of Canaan, and He would drive the rest of the Canaanites out of their land, and they would be able to possess all of it, as their Lord had promised them.  It has been discussed before that they never did fully possess all the land that God had promised them because they were not obedient to the Lord to hold up their side of the covenant.  However, God said they would possess their land, and a passage in the book of the prophet Amos confirms that they eventually will possess it (Amos 9:15).

(6) "Be therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that you not turn aside from it to the right hand or to the left."

Joshua was giving the leaders of Israel the same words he had received from the Lord when the reins were handed over to him after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:7).  He cautioned them to be courageous in keeping the commandments of the law, that they not turn aside from it.

(7) "That you do not come among these nations, these that remain among you, neither make mention of the name of their gods nor cause to swear, neither serve them nor bow yourselves to them."

Specifically, Joshua cautioned them against going among the pagan nations of people that remained and acknowledging their gods.  They were not to even speak their names, much less swear by them, serve them, or bow down to them.

(8) "But cleave to the Lord your God as you have done to this day."

They were to cleave only to their Lord God through their obedience, service, and worship of Him alone, as they had done since their time in Canaan to that point.  It can't be said that they were always so faithful while in the wilderness.

(9) "For the Lord has driven out from before you great nations and strong, but you, no man has been able to stand before you to this day."

The reason Joshua gave for them always cleaving to their Lord was because of the good things He had done for them.  He had driven out great and strong nations from before them so that no man was able to stand before them even to that day.

(10) "One man of you shall chase a thousand, for the Lord your God is He who fights for you, as He promised you."

One man of them would be able to chase a thousand of his enemies only because it was their Lord who fought for them as He had promised He would (Leviticus 26:8, Deuteronomy 1:30).

(11) "Take good heed therefore to yourselves, that you love the Lord your God."

Joshua impressed upon them the need to be careful and on guard that they always love, honor, and obey their Lord God.

(12) "Else if you do in any way go back and cleave to the remnant of these nations, these that remain among you, and shall make marriages with them and go in to them and they to you, (13) Know for a certainty that the Lord your God will no more drive out these nations from before you, but they shall be snares and traps to you and scourges in your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you."

For if they turned away from their Lord and attached themselves to the remnant of the pagan nations in their land and made and consummated marriages with them, they could know for absolute certain that their Lord would no longer go before them to drive out those remaining nations.  They would remain as snares and traps to them, very troublesome and distressing, drawing them into idolatry and immorality.

(14) "Behold this day, I am going the way of all the earth, and you know in all your hearts and in all your souls that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all have come to pass to you, and not one thing of it has failed."

Joshua told them that he was going to die just as all living things eventually do.  He was about to leave them without a human leader, but he reiterated why they should put all their love and faith and trust in their Lord God to lead them.  They knew in their hearts that He had not failed to give them any good thing He had promised.  All He had promised had come to pass; therefore, they should continue to have total faith in Him.

(15) "Therefore it shall come to pass, as all good things have come upon you, which the Lord your God promised you, so shall the Lord bring upon you evil things until He has destroyed you from off this good land which the Lord your God has given you. (16) When you have transgressed the covenant of the Lord your God which He commanded you and have gone and served other gods and bowed yourselves to them, then shall the anger of the Lord be kindled against you, and you shall perish quickly from off the good land which He has given to you."

However, Joshua warned them, just as the Lord had given them all good things as He had promised, He also most assuredly would bring bad things to them until they were destroyed off that good land if they turned away from Him and their covenant with Him to serve idols.  If they did that, His anger would burn against them, and they would perish quickly from off their good land that He had given them.  Just because they had all good things at that time, didn't mean they could keep them always if they chose to turn from their Lord.

I take note here that the number one sin that will always kindle God's anger against His people is idolatry.  It is just one of ten big commandments of the Lord, yet it is the one He always mentions that will cause Him to turn away from His people.  However, is not every sin rooted in idolatry?  It may be idolatry of money or power or even self, but there is always something that we choose to make more important than God and His commandments when we sin.  And when we choose something else over God, He may let us have our way, and He will turn away from us.  He will never force Himself on us; He gives us a choice.  However, we must live with the consequence of our choice.  When we begin to see all good things in our lives as blessings from Him, we naturally want to love and follow Him.  Why would we want to follow after some empty idol that can never give us more than some brief pleasure?  In God there is a lifetime of joy and fulfillment and eternal life.  Money and power or anything that we build of ourselves can never do that.

Joshua's farewell address continued in the next and last chapter of Joshua:

(Joshua 24:1) And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers, and they presented themselves before God.

Joshua then gathered all the tribes, and especially the leaders of Israel, the elders, the judges, the officers, and the heads of the tribes, to Shechem, and they presented themselves before God.  Shechem was a significant place in Israel's history as it was the place where the Lord made His promise to Abraham that He would give his descendants that land, and he built an altar there (Genesis 12:6-7).  Jacob had also built an altar there (Genesis 33:18-20).  Mount Gerizim and Mount Ebal, where they shouted blessings and cursings (Joshua 8:33), were at Shechem.

(2) And Joshua said to all the people, "Thus says the Lord God of Israel, 'Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, Terah, the father of Abraham and the father of Nachor, and they served other gods.'"

Joshua spoke prophetically to the people the words of the Lord.  He began by telling them about their ancestors on the other side of the flood, or rather river, including Terah, the father of Abraham and Nachor, who served other gods.  The original word translated as "flood" most often meant "river" and was most of the time transcribed that way by the KJV translators, but for some reason they translated it as "flood" this time.  Perhaps the meaning might be that the people's ancestors since the flood had served other gods.  It was understood that before the flood all people except Noah and his family had served other gods, but for their fathers more recently to have turned to false gods would be a very grievous thing.  However, most Biblical scholars believe the meaning should be river rather than flood, and that Joshua spoke of their ancestors who had lived on the other side of the Euphrates River.

Some Biblical scholars think that the verse should read that their fathers, Terah, Abraham, and Nahor, served other gods.  Of course, it is possible that Abram served other gods as he saw his father do until God called him away from his family, but I saw no actual example of his serving other gods.  I read the verse as your fathers, including Terah, served other gods.  "The father of Abraham and Nachor" just described who Terah was.

(3) "'And I took your father Abraham from the other side of the flood and led him throughout all the land of Canaan, and multiplied his seed, and gave him Isaac.'"

The Lord took Abraham out of that idolatrous family and place, telling him to get out of his country and away from his family and his father's house (Genesis 12:1).  He took him through the land of Canaan and told him He would give his descendants that land (Genesis 12:7).  The Lord indeed gave Abraham many descendants, and he had given him his son Isaac.

(4) "'And I gave to Isaac, Jacob and Esau, and I gave to Esau Mount Seir to possess it, but Jacob and his children went down to Egypt.'"

Isaac had two sons, twins, Jacob and Esau, who had been "two nations" in their mother's womb (Genesis 25:23).  God gave Esau an inheritance in Mount Seir, leaving the promised land of Canaan to Jacob's descendants alone.  However, first Jacob and his children went to Egypt.

(5) "'I sent Moses also and Aaron, and I plagued Egypt, according to that which I did among them, and afterward I brought you out.'"

God sent Moses and Aaron to Egypt also to demand the release of His people who were in bondage in Egypt.  He plagued Egypt with ten plagues because they refused to let His people go, and then He brought them out.

(6) "'And I brought your fathers out of Egypt, and you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen to the Red Sea.'"

The Lord brought His people out of Egypt, and the Egyptians chased them with chariots and horsemen which would suggest they would soon be able to overtake the people on foot.  They chased them to the Red Sea.

(7) "'And when they cried to the Lord, He put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them, and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt, and you dwelt in the wilderness a long time.'"

The people cried out in distress at the Red Sea.  The pillar of cloud that led them then went behind them and was a cloud of darkness to the Egyptians and light to the Israelites.  He then parted the sea and after His people crossed the Red Sea on dry land, He then let the waters back down to cover the Egyptians.  Many of the people who had been children at the time had seen what their Lord had done in Egypt.  They had been in the wilderness a long time, forty years, because of the unbelief of their fathers, and until those fathers had died in the wilderness.

(8) "'And I brought you into the land of the Amorites who dwelt on the other side of the Jordan, and they fought with you, and I gave them into your hand, that you might possess their land, and I destroyed them from before you.'"

The Lord brought His people to the kingdoms of Sihon and Og on the eastern side of the Jordan River.  Those nations fought with them, but the Lord had delivered their enemies into their hand and destroyed them so that they might possess that land.

(9) "'Then Balak the son of Zippor, king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel and sent and called Balaam the son of Beor to curse you.'"

Then Balak, the king of Moab, warred against the Israelites.  He called for the prophet Balaam to curse the Israelites.

(10) "'But I would not hearken to Balaam; therefore he blessed you still, so I delivered you out of his hand.'"

However, the Lord would not allow Balaam to speak curses to Israel, and he instead blessed them; thus the Lord had delivered His people out of the hand of Balaam and likewise, Balak.

(11) "'And you went over the Jordan and came to Jericho, and the men of Jericho fought against you, the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Girgashites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites, and I delivered them into your hand.'"

Then the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and came into their promised land where the men of Jericho fought against them, but the Lord delivered their enemies into their hand.

(12) "'And I sent the hornet before you which drove them out from before you, even the two kings of the Amorites, not with your sword nor with your bow.'"

The Lord sent hornets before them to drive out the Canaanites including two kings of the Amorites.  I'm not sure if these were actual hornets or figurative speech about how the Lord drove out their enemies, not by the Israelites' swords or bows, but by the Lord's power only.  Twice the Lord spoke prophetically about sending hornets to drive out their enemies (Exodus 23:28, Deuteronomy 7:20), and here the Lord through Joshua said that He had done just that.  However, in the actual battles, it doesn't say that the Lord sent hornets.  Joshua 10:10 told how the Lord discomfited their enemies and chased them, but it said nothing about Him sending hornets.  However, it did say that He then sent hailstones.  Again in Joshua 11:8 it says the Lord chased their enemies, but it doesn't say it was with hornets.  Of course, that might be an ideal way to chase soldiers and kings, but I think if actual hornets were sent, scripture would have specifically said so.  In many other places in the Bible, scripture said specifically what sort of pest was being sent, and immediately after Joshua 10:10, scripture was specific about sending hailstones, so I just believe it would have been specific about sending hornets, as well, if He had sent them.  I truly believe this was figurative speech or perhaps a word that the translators were not familiar with, and it just meant that God Himself chased and drove out the enemy by His own power.

(13) "'And I have given you a land for which you did not labor and cities which you did not build, and you dwell in them; of the vineyards and oliveyards which you did not plant, you do eat.'"

The Lord had given His people a ready-made land that they did not have to dig and cultivate, and He had given them cities they did not have to build, and He had given them fruits of the land that they did not plant.  He had given them, as He had promised, a land flowing with milk and honey and many good things.

(14) "Now therefore, fear the Lord and serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood and in Egypt, and serve the Lord."

Having concluded the words of the Lord in verse 13, these are the words of Joshua telling the people that because of their Lord's mercies and goodness in all that He had done for them, they should reverence Him and serve only Him in sincerity with no hypocrisy and in the truth found only in His word.  He had told them in verse 2 about how their fathers since the flood had served other gods, and he urged them to put away those false gods and serve their Lord God.

(15) "And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell, but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."

Joshua challenged the people that if it seemed evil, or say just burdensome and unpleasant, to serve the Lord, then they should choose whom they would rather serve.  Did they wish to serve the gods of their fathers or the gods of the Amorites who had been in their land before them?  Let their choice be whatever they wished, but as for Joshua, he was resolute in the fact that he and his house would serve the Lord.

(16) And the people answered and said, "God forbid that we should forsake the Lord to serve other gods."

The people answered that they would never think of forsaking their Lord to serve other gods.

(17) "For the Lord our God, He who brought us up and our fathers out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage, and who did those great signs in our sight and preserved us in all the way in which we went and among all the people through whom we passed, (18) And the Lord drove out from before us all the people, even the Amorites who dwelt in the land; we will also serve the Lord for He is our God."

The people went on to explain why they would never think of forsaking their Lord, because of all the great things He had done for them.  He had freed them from bondage, preserved them wherever they went among enemies, and then drove out the enemies who had dwelt in the land He was giving them.  They declared their choice was to also serve the Lord their God.

(19) And Joshua said to the people, "You cannot serve the Lord for He is a holy God; He is a jealous God; He will not forgive your transgressions nor your sins. (20) If you forsake the Lord and serve strange gods, then He will turn and do you hurt and consume you after He has done you good."

I believe both verses should be taken as one sentence.  I think Joshua's point was that the people would not be able to serve a holy God jealous that His people be only His and serve only Him, if they continued in sin.  As Jesus said in Matthew 6:24, "no man can serve two masters..."  They must wholeheartedly choose to serve their Lord or they would be forsaking Him, choosing another master, and then the Lord would turn away from them and that in itself would destroy them.  The Lord God is our only choice for life.  Since the beginning of time, since Adam and Eve brought sin on man, we sinful creatures are unable to stand before such a holy God.  It is only by His love and mercy that He gave us a way to be acceptable in His presence, but if we choose not to go that way, then we are doomed to be left in our sin, and in the righteous judgment of God, we have chosen to accept the consequences of sin, which is death.  God has set before each of us two choices, life and death, and He urges that we choose life if we want to live (Deuteronomy 30:19).  The other choice leads only to death.

(21) And the people said to Joshua, "No, but we will serve the Lord."

The people declared that they would not serve other gods but would serve their Lord God only.

(22) And Joshua said to the people, "You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen for you the Lord, to serve Him." And they said, "Witnesses!"

Joshua declared that they would be witnesses against themselves if they should turn away from their Lord after their testimony that day.  They would be self-condemned by their own words.  The people agreed that they were indeed witnesses to that truth.

(23) "Now therefore put away the strange gods which are among you and incline your heart to the Lord God of Israel."

Joshua told them therefore they were to put away the strange gods among them.  There may have been actual physical small idols of worship that had been kept from their fathers before them, or it might rather be that Joshua spoke of idols of the heart, secret sentiments they had toward some idol.  Whatever the idol that took their hearts away from their Lord, they were to put away, and they were to incline their hearts toward the Lord God of Israel only.

(24) And the people said to Joshua, "The Lord our God we will serve, and His voice we will obey."

The people confirmed that they would serve and obey their Lord God.

(25) So Joshua made a covenant with the people that day and set them a statute and an ordinance in Shechem.

Joshua established that covenant with the people and made it a permanent law that they and their descendants would always bind themselves to God only.

(26) And Joshua wrote these words in the book of the law of God, and took a great stone, and set it up there under an oak that was by the sanctuary of the Lord.

Joshua wrote the words of their covenant established that day in the book of the law that would have been in the ark of the covenant which must have been with him at Shechem that day.  He took a great stone and set it up under an oak tree that was by that holy place of the Lord.  I don't believe this was meant to have been at the actual sanctuary.  The word that was translated as "sanctuary" also means "a consecrated thing or place, holy place."  Joshua had brought the people to Shechem to a holy place of their fathers, and there he placed a memorial stone which wouldn't have been necessary if they were at the actual sanctuary.

(27) And Joshua said to all the people, "Behold, this stone shall be a witness to us, for it has heard all the words of the Lord which He spoke to us; it shall be therefore a witness to you, lest you deny your God."

Joshua told the people that that stone would act as a witness of the covenant they had made, as it was a symbolic reminder of the words of the Lord that had been spoken there that day and of the witness against the people should they turn from Him.

(28) So Joshua let the people depart, every man to his inheritance.

With that, Joshua let the people go back to their lands that they possessed as their inheritance from God.

(29) And it came to pass after these things that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died a hundred and ten years old.

It was shortly after this that Joshua died at 110 years of age.  I think now is a good time to reflect on the reason why Joshua is always identified as the son of Nun.  Joshua is such an important figure in the Bible in his own right, and Nun is never mentioned other than being the father of Joshua.  As studied previously, I found that the original words were "Joshua bin Nun" rather than "Joshua ben Nun," which would have meant Joshua was the son of Nun.  "Bin Nun" or "binnun" meant the "understanding one."  From the beginning, Joshua was an excellent student of Moses and wouldn't leave the tabernacle even after Moses did (Exodus 33:11).  Additionally, he always demonstrated complete faith in God when others failed in their faith.  Perhaps this moniker of "Joshua the understanding one" did demonstrate that Joshua was a man in his own right.  

This time, in my study, I reflected on just the word "nun" which means "perpetuity."  The name Joshua, "yehoshua," means "Jehovah-saved."  Jehovah, the name of the Lord, the self-existent eternal God, which is what Jehovah means, saves eternally.  Was Joshua Jehovah-saved in perpetuity?  Biblical scholars often speak of Joshua being an Old Testament type of Jesus.  Actually, their names are the same in Hebrew, but in Greek in the New Testament, Jesus (in English) became Ieous.  Joshua was the one who brought the people into their promised land on earth, but Jesus brings them into the heavenly promised land.  Joshua succeeded Moses who represented the law, and Jesus's gospel succeeded the law.  Joshua made a new covenant with the people before he died, and Jesus brought a New Covenant of grace.  While names are very important in the Bible, and Joshua being eternally saved by Jehovah who saves, and being an Old Testament type of Jesus who was the one who ultimately fulfilled that salvation through His death and resurrection, I have to note that according to the genealogy in 1 Chronicles 7:27, Joshua was indeed the son of Nun.  Perhaps Joshua was always referred to as the son of Nun because all the symbology in both those names was the very essence of who he was.

(30) And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnath Serah, which is in Mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash.

The people buried Joshua in his own inheritance in the mountains of Ephraim in the city which he built, Timnath Serah, on the north side of Mount Gaash in the mountainous region.

(31) And Israel served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua and who had known all the works of the Lord that He had done for Israel.

The Israelites kept their covenant and served the Lord all the days of Joshua and all the days of the elders who had lived during the time of Joshua and beyond, men who had known all the things the Lord had done for His people.

(32) And the bones of Joseph which the children of Israel brought up out of Egypt, they buried in Shechem in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver, and it became the inheritance of the children of Joseph.

The Israelites had brought the bones of Joseph out of Egypt as he had requested (Genesis 50:25) and as Moses directed (Exodus 13:19).  They buried them in Shechem in a parcel of ground that Jacob had bought from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces of silver (Genesis 33:19), in the land that became the inheritance of the sons of Joseph, specifically Ephraim.

(33) And Eleazor the son of Aaron died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas his son which was given him in Mount Ephraim.

Eleazar the priest, the son of Aaron, also died, and they buried him in a hill of Phinehas, Eleazar's son, which had been given to him in Mount Ephraim.  The priests had no land of their own but were given cities in which to live, so the Ephraimites had undoubtedly given this piece of land to either Eleazar or his son, Phinehas.

So ends the book of Joshua.  Obviously, the last five verses couldn't have been written by him but were added after his death.  Once again, I can't help but reflect on what a great man Joshua was and how like Jesus he was, the perfect illustration of the Christ to come.  In addition to the similarities before mentioned, it doesn't appear that Joshua ever married or had any children.  He devoted his entire life to the service of God, from his time as a young man learning from Moses up until his death.  Of course, Joshua was only human and must have sinned sometime in his life, but I don't recall any such thing being recorded thus far in the Bible.  Joshua never worked to provide for himself and never asked for much.  Even the inheritance he had apparently once asked for (Joshua 19:50), he didn't ask for when the time came to divide up the inheritance, but the people gave it to him.  And it wasn't even a choice land but rather a rough mountainous region where he built the city of Timnath Serah.  He lived as a servant of the people and most importantly of his God, and he led his people to their rest in their promised land.  Jesus, about 1400 years later, would bring people to that true eternal rest.

Also notable in the last chapter of Joshua is the retelling of history and of the marvelous things the Lord had done for His people.  Throughout the Bible, the people were retold history so that they would never forget the goodness of the Lord, and so should we always reflect on the good things the Lord has done for us.  No matter what circumstances we find ourselves in, we can always be thankful for the greatest gift of all, eternal salvation in Him that was only possible through the sacrifice and death of Jesus Christ.

The Inheritance of the Tribe of Benjamin

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Joshua 18:1) And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. (2) And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.

The past few chapters have been describing the lots of land the first few tribes had received.  The tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan, had not yet received their inheritance.  It seems a break was taken from the casting of lots, and the whole congregation met together at Shiloh and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there, moving it from their camp in Gilgal.  The land was subdued and quiet at that time.

(3) And Joshua said to the children of Israel, "How long will you be slack to go to possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?"

Joshua spoke to the Israelites who had thus far not received their lots of inheritance.  He asked how long they would be slothful about going in to possess their land.  It's not that they could claim land that had not yet been assigned by lot, but they were apparently not eager to get on with it.  They were probably happy living in camps off the spoils of the enemy and not earnest about receiving their own land where they might have to work to clear or to drive out the Canaanites who remained or might have come back. 

(4) "Give out from among you three men per tribe, and I will send them, and they shall arise and go through the land and describe it according to the inheritance of them, and they shall come to me."

Joshua asked that each tribe select three men from their tribe, and Joshua would send them out to the unallotted land to survey and describe and bring the information back to him.

(5) "And they shall divide it into seven parts; Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north."

The three men selected from each of the remaining seven tribes were to divide the land into seven parts for those seven tribes.  Judah already had his lot in the south, and the sons of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh, had their lots north of Judah, so those were established, and there was no need to survey their lands.

(6) "You shall therefore describe the land in seven parts and bring it here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord our God."

Speaking about the three men from each of the seven tribes, Joshua said they were to survey and describe the land in each of the seven parts and bring that information back to him so that he could cast lots for each of the lots of land before their Lord God.

(7) "But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance, and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave them."

Joshua pointed out that the Levites would not be receiving any land inheritance because as priests, the Lord was their inheritance.  Also the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh had already received their lots on the east of the Jordan River.  He had already mentioned the tribes of Judah and the sons of Joseph who had their allotments, so that left the tribes of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan, who needed to receive their inheritance.

(8) And the men arose and went away, and Joshua charged them who went to describe the land, saying, "Go and walk through the land and describe it and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the Lord in Shiloh."

Joshua spoke directly to the three surveyors from each tribe, telling them to go do their surveys and bring their descriptions back to him so that he could cast lots for the tribes there in Shiloh before the Lord.  The men arose and went their way.

(9) And the men went and passed through the land and described it by cities into seven parts in a book and came to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.

The men went through the remaining land and described it by cities and divided it into seven parts and put their information in a book that they brought back to Joshua at Shiloh.

(10) And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land to the children of Israel according to their divisions.

There in Shiloh Joshua cast lots for each of the seven remaining tribes, dividing the remaining land among them.

(11) And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families, and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph.

The first lot went to Benjamin.  It was a small lot, called "little Benjamin" in Psalm 68:27, but the land was said to be very pleasant and fruitful.  It lay between Judah and the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.  This map borrowed from Biblical Toolbelt shows the lot of Benjamin:

(12) And their border on the north side was from Jordan, and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side and went up through the mountains westward, and the goings out of it were at the wilderness of Beth Haven.

The eastern border was the Jordan River.  The northern border went from the Jordan westward to just north of Jericho and through the mountains west of Jericho and went out to the wilderness of Beth Haven, which was said to be a place near Bethel and Ai, to which there was a wilderness adjacent.

(13) And the border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward, and the border descended to Ataroth Addar near the hill on the south side of the lower Beth Horon.

The border went from Bethel southward to Ataroth Addar to near the hill on the south side of Lower Beth Horon.  These places are better seen on this map taken from Precept Austin:

(14) And the border was drawn and compassed the corner of the sea southward from the hill before Beth Horon southward, and the goings out of it were at Kirjath Baal, which is Kirjath Jearim, a city of the children of Judah; this was the west quarter.

The border went from the hill on the south side of Lower Beth Horon and went southward to Kirjath Jearim, a city on the border of Judah.  This described the western border of Benjamin.  No one seems to know what sea is meant in verse 14.

(15) And the south quarter was from the end of Kirjath Jearim, and the border went out on the west and went out to the well of waters at Nephtoah. (16) And the border came down to the end of the mountain before the valley of the son of Hinnom, which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom to the side of Jebusi on the south and descended to En Rogel.

The southern border went from west of Kirjath Jearim, and it went down and eastward to Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, and to En Rogel.  The southwestern corner reached the northern part of the Rephaim, giants.

(17) And was drawn from the north and went forth to En Shemesh and went forth toward Geliloth, which is across the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan, the son of Reuben.

The southern border then veered northward to En Shemesh, seen on the first map above.  It continued across some of the same unknown places that were mentioned when defining the northern border of Judah (Joshua 15:6-7).

(18) And passed along toward the side across from Arabah northward and went down to Arabah, (19) And the border passed along to the side of Beth Hoglah northward, and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the Salt Sea at the south end of Jordan; this was the south coast.

The language is difficult to follow, but you can see the southern border going across to Beth Hoglah and then to the Jordan River at the north bay of the Salt Sea.

(20) And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin by its coasts all around, according to their families.

The Jordan River was the eastern border of Benjamin's lot.  Thus ended the description of the borders of the inheritance of Benjamin.

(21) Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth Hoglah, and the valley of Keziz,

The cities belonging to the tribe of Benjamin were Jericho and Beth Hoglah in the eastern part of the lot of Benjamin, and the valley of Keziz which must have been in that region.

(22) Beth Arabah, and Zemaraim, and Bethel, (23) And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, (24) And Chephar Haammoni, and Ophni, and Geba, twelve cities with their villages.

These appear to be twelve cities in eastern Benjamin, a few of which can be seen on the maps.

(25) Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, (26) And Mizpah, and Chephirah, and Mozah, (27) And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, (28) And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeah, and Kirjath, fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.

And these appear to be fourteen cities in western Benjamin, a few of which are seen on the maps.  All these cities and the description of the borders before that made up the inheritance of the tribe of Benjamin.

The Inheritance of Manasseh West of the Jordan

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

The past few and future chapters of Joshua described the lots of inheritance that fell to the twelve tribes of Israel.  This same map from iBiblemaps.com shows the general division of the tribes:

(Joshua 17:1) There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh for he, the firstborn of Joseph, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead; because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 

The last chapter spoke of the lots that fell to the children of Joseph but only described the one that fell to Ephraim.  This chapter described the lot that went to the other son of Joseph, Manasseh, half already having been given on the east of the Jordan River.  The lot of Manasseh described in verse 1 was allotted to Machir the son of Manasseh and through his son Gilead.  It seems Machir was known as a man of war.  I suppose the sense was that because he was a valiant warrior, he had been given the land on the east of the Jordan that he or his descendants had conquered (Bashan, the kingdom of Og), and he received part of Gilead, and he was also to be given a portion on the west of the Jordan.

(2) There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families, for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida; these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

There was also a lot given to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh on the west side of the Jordan River.  It was said to be for the children of Abiezer, also called Jeezer (Numbers 26:30), a son of Gilead who was the son of Machir.  It was also for the children of the other sons of Gilead, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida (Numbers 26:30-32).  These were the male children or descendants of Manasseh.

(3) But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters, and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

Normally only the males inherited, but Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, had no sons, only daughters, Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.  His daughters had requested and were granted their father's inheritance (Numbers 27:7).

(4) And they came near before Eleazar the priest and before Joshua the son of Nun and before the princes, saying, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren." Therefore, according to the commandment of the Lord, he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

Indeed, the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, came before the priest, and Joshua, and the ten princes who were appointed along with Eleazar and Joshua to divide the land (Numbers 34:17), and claimed their inheritance according to the commandment of the Lord to Moses (Numbers 27:7), and it was given to them.

(5) And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan on the other side of the Jordan, (6) Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons, and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.

The lot on the west side of the Jordan that fell to the half tribe of Manasseh was divided into ten portions, for the five sons of Gilead who had male descendants and for the five daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher.  Apparently, Hepher had only the one son, Zelophehad, who had only daughters, so there were no males among Hepher's descendants to receive an inheritance.  The rest of Manasseh's sons, the sons of Machir, had the land of Gilead and Bashan on the east side of the Jordan.

(7) And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah that lies before Shechem, and the border went along on the right hand to the inhabitants of En Tappuah.  

The boundary of West Manasseh went from the border of Asher in the northwest corner to Michmethah in the south.  Or perhaps there was a city of Asher, not the tribe of Asher, in the southwest corner of West Manasseh that went across to Michmethah, which was said to be before Shechem, to En Tappuah.  The map at the beginning of this post shows the tribe of Asher in relation to West Manasseh, and this map borrowed from Precept Austin shows the southern cities of Michmethah and Shechem.

(8) Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim.

West Manasseh had the territory of Tappuah, but Ephraim had the city of Tappuah, one of those cities within West Manasseh that were given to Ephraim, according to Joshua 16:9.

(9) And the coast descended to the river Kanah, southward of the river; these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh; the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea.

I believe the meaning is that from the city of Tappuah that belonged to the children of Ephraim, the border continued west along the Kanah River and eventually reached the Mediterranean Sea.  The cities southward of the river were among the cities in West Manasseh that belonged to Ephraim.  North of the river belonged to Manasseh.

(10) Southward was Ephraim's and northward Manasseh's, and the sea is its border, and they met together in Asher on the north and in Issachar on the east.

The land south of the river belonged to Ephraim and north of it was Manasseh's, and the Mediterranean Sea was West Manasseh's western border.  The western border met the northern border at the border of Asher's lot and went eastward to Issachar's in the northeast.

(11) And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth Shean and her towns and Ibleam and her towns and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns and the inhabitants of En Dor and her towns and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, three countries.

As Ephraim had cities within the tribe of Manasseh, it seems that Manasseh had cities within Asher and Issachar.  It seems to me that everyone's borders should have been pushed northward a little, but I imagine that the lots were determined before they knew who would get which lot, and as some tribes were much larger than others and required more land than perhaps had been allotted to them, adjustments were made to accommodate them.  The cities of Beth Shean, Ibleam, Dor, Taanach, and Megiddo all appear to be completely within West Manasseh in the map above, so perhaps the border was adjusted from what was previously intended to be Asher's and Issachar's lots.  I believe the sense of the three countries is that all these cities were in three regions in the north that became part of West Manasseh, perhaps the northwest region around Dor from Asher, the north central region around Megiddo and other cities in the north central from Issachar, and the northeast region around Beth Shean, also from Issachar.

(12) Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out those cities, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

The tribe of Manasseh did not entirely drive out the Canaanites from those cities, so those Canaanites continued to dwell in the land.

(13) Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel grew strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.

When the Israelites grew stronger, perhaps meaning they grew greater in number, they made the Canaanites pay tribute to them and allowed them to stay.  It seems that if they were strong enough to force them to pay tribute, they would have been strong enough to drive them out as God had commanded they do, but they didn't, perhaps for some selfish gain.

(14) And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, "Why have you given me one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, for as much as the Lord has blessed me till now?"

The children of Joseph were Ephraim and Manasseh.  It seems they thought they should have more than one lot each seeing that they were a great people, most likely meaning great in number as the Lord had blessed them up to that point, but perhaps they also looked forward to the future as Jacob had blessed them, his grandsons, as his sons (Genesis 48:19), and said they would be great, especially Ephraim whose descendants would become a multitude of nations.  

(15) And Joshua answered them, "If you are a great people, get up to the forest and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim is too narrow for you."

However, Joshua said that if they were indeed a great people, then they should get themselves into the wood country and clear more land for them in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, the giants, if what they now occupied was too small for them.  This map borrowed from Big Springs Community Church clearly shows much land west of Megiddo, Beth Shean, and Shechem, that they did not occupy: 

(16) And the children of Joseph said, "The hill is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, they of Beth Shean and her towns and they of the valley of Jezreel."

The children of Joseph said that that hill country was not enough for them, and all the Canaanites that dwelt in Beth Shean and all the valley of Jezreel were too much for them.  Most all the commentaries I study suggest that chariots of iron did not mean they were made of iron, but rather they were armed with scythes and dangerous.  This response of the children of Joseph hearkens back to the time the first spies came back with the report that the Canaanites were giants and too strong for them, and they were punished for having no faith in God to give them the land as He had said.

(17) And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, "You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have one lot, (18) But the mountain shall be yours, for it is a wood and you shall cut it down, and the outgoings of it shall be yours, for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots, though they be strong."

I have to hand it to Joshua; even though he was from the tribe of Ephraim, he did not back down and give in to give them more land.  I also can't help but think of Jacob who loved Joseph so much and made his sons his own.  He might have been disappointed to learn that they were acting so weak and faithless.  Joshua told Ephraim and the half tribe of Manasseh that they were indeed a great and powerful people, and they would not have only the one lot they occupied, but they would have almost twice as much land if they went in and cut down the woods and even the outgoings of that region to the Mediterranean Sea would be theirs because they would drive out the Canaanites, even though they were strong.  After all, their Lord was stronger and had promised them all that territory.

There is a great lesson in this.  God never promised us a rose garden.  He said we will be saved, and we will overcome, but we will be persecuted.  Life will be hard; we lost the Garden of Eden long ago.  God will make a way if we rely on Him, but we must have that whole armor of God, truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the word of God (Ephesians 6:13-17), and we must endure till the end (Matthew 24:13).  But be of good courage, Paul told us in 1 Corinthians 3:15, that even in weaknesses, such as slothfulness, which might be said of the children of Joseph at this point, we will suffer loss but we ourselves will still be saved as one barely escaping a fire.  However, God desires the best for us, and if we will trust in Him to lead us, we can live that best life.

The Inheritance of the Tribe of Ephraim

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

The last chapter began descriptions of the lands allotted to each of the tribes of Israel, beginning with the tribe of Judah.  Following is the same map before used to show the division of the twelve tribes:

(Joshua 16:1) And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho to the water of Jericho on the east to the wilderness that goes up from Jericho throughout Mount Bethel.

Now began a description of the lot of land that fell to the children of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh.  Half the tribe of Manasseh had already taken their land on the east side of the Jordan River, so this allotment included the other half of the tribe of Manasseh and Ephraim.  These lots began on the west side of the Jordan River by Jericho to the water of Jericho that lay east of Jericho throughout the wilderness of Mount Bethel, said to be the wilderness of Beth Haven.  I found this wonderfully detailed map at Precept Austin that gives a more comprehensive view of the land:

(2) And goes out from Bethel to Luz and passes along to the borders of Archi to Ataroth, (3) And goes down westward to the coast of Japhleti to the coast of Beth Horon the lower and to Gezer and the goings out of it are at the sea. (4) So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.

The southern boundary of the lot given to the sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, went from Jericho and along a line through Bethel, Ataroth, Lower Beth Horon, and Gezer that went toward the Mediterranean Sea, as seen on the map above.

(5) And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was: the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth Addar to Beth Horon the upper,

The description of the land continued with what would be Ephraim's lot.  Ataroth Addar and Upper Beth Horon are clearly seen on the map above.  I'm not sure why it is called the eastern border, but I got some comfort when I saw that John Wesley himself wrote in his Notes on the Bible:

It is no wonder, if some of these descriptions are dark to us at this distance of time; there having been so many alterations made in places, and so many circumstances, being now altogether undiscoverable. But this is certain, that all the descriptions here mentioned, were then evident to the Israelites, because these were the foundations of all the possessions which then they took, and peaceably possessed in succeeding ages.

(6) And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side, and the border went around eastward to Taanath Shiloh and passed by it on the east to Janohah, (7) And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth and to Naarath and came to Jericho and went out at Jordan.

The boundary went westward to the Mediterranean Sea and then on the north ran along a line through the cities of Michmethah, Taanath Shiloh, and Janoah, and down to Jericho, as seen on the map above.

(8) The border went out from Tappuah westward to the river Kanah, and the goings out of it were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.

Back to the northern border, it went from Tappuah westward to the Kanah River and out to the Mediterranean Sea.  That completed the description of the inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim.

(9) And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.

However, the tribe of Ephraim was also given some of the cities that were within the tribe of Manasseh, perhaps because the tribe of Ephraim was much larger than the half tribe of Manasseh and needed more territory than the lot that fell to it.

(10) And they did not drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and serve under tribute.

The tribe of Ephraim never did drive out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, and they continued to live among the Ephraimites to the day of Joshua's writing, but they did serve under them and paid them tribute.

Although this chapter began by describing the land that went to both the sons of Joseph, it mainly dealt with the inheritance of Ephraim, with the inheritance of the half tribe of Manasseh described in the next chapter.