After the settlement of the tribe of Benjamin; there were six more tribes of Israel who needed to be settled into The Promised Land.
God had kept His promises to Abraham and brought them to the lands; but they had not all taken their positions in the nation yet. Joshua began completing the settlement process by drawing lots for each of them. He did this prayerfully and in order at the Tabernacle which had been moved to Shiloh.
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Presently; we are studying the Book of Joshua. Today we are discussing Joshua, Chapter 19.
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SIMEON’S PORTION
The next lot fell for Simeon.
Joshua 19:1-7 describes the land that the tribe of Simeon was assigned.
(Joshua 19:1-7) The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It includes: Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Behul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth markoboth, Hazar Susah, Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen – thirteen towns and their villages. Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan – four towns and their villages – and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev.)
ZEBULUN’S PORTION
After Simeon; Joshua drew another lot. This time the lot chose The Tribe of Zebulun.
They inherited an area of The Promised Land described in Joshua 19:10-15; The boundary of their inheritance went as far as Sarid. Going west it ran to Maralah, touched Dabbesheth, and extended to the ravine near Jokneam It turned east from Sarid toward the sunrise to the territory of Kisloth Tabor and went on to Daberath and up to Japhia Then it continued eastward to Gath Hepher and Eth Kazin; it came out at Rimmon and turned toward Neah. There the boundary went around on the north to Hannathon and ended at the Valley of Iphtah El. Included were Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem. There were twelve towns and their villages.
ISSACHAR’S PORTION
The next tribe to inherit was Issachar.
We read in Joshua 19:17-22 of the territory that Issachar was given.
(Joshua 19: 17 – 22) The fourth lot came out for Issachar according to its clans. Their territory included: Jezreel, Kesulloth, Shunem, Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Rabbith, Kishion, Ebez, Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. The boundary touched Tabor, Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh, and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages.
ASHER’S PORTION
After the tribe of Issachar was given their inheritance; the next lot fell for Asher.
Asher’s territory is described in Joshua 19: 24-25. The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its clans. Their territory included: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Akshaph, Allammelek, Amad and Mishal. On the west the boundary touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. It then turned east toward Beth Dagon, touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neil, passing Kabul on the left. It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. The boundary then turned back toward Ramah and went to the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah and came out at the Mediterreanean Sea in the region of Akzib, Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. there were twenty-two towns and their villages.
NEPHTALI’S PORTION
The next lot fell for the Tribe of Naphtali.
Naphtali’s allotment is described in Joshua 19:33-38. Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan on the east. The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hamath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, EnHazor, Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages.
DAN’S PORTION
The lot Joshua drew after Naphtali was for the Tribe of Dan.
Dan’s territories are described in Joshua 19:40-47. The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans. The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aiijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa. (When the territory of the Danites was lost to them, they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their ancestor.)
WHAT WAS TO HAPPEN NEXT?
So; now all of the tribes were beginning to be settled in their lands.
Yet; there were still a few more assignments to make in order for the nation to be completely set up as God had designed.
Joshua had not chosen his place yet.
The Levites were promised towns in which to live and grow their herds.
Other places had to be established to serve the nation as a whole.
JOSHUA’S NEXT MOVES
By now Joshua must have been very ready to settle down and retire.
Next week we will discuss more about his further actions in this distribution of the lands. We will cover the inheritance of Joshua.
As we wait to discover the rest of this story, we should probably be considering how any of this settlement of the nation of Israel ties to prophesy for the future of God’s people.
Let’s ponder these things during the break between lessons.
KEEP LOOKING UP
As we continue to move through Joshua’s story; I pray that God will open your eyes to many new considerations you might not have noticed at first glance.
It seems that every phase of the nation of Israel has some relation to every phase that God will implement with the Church as we approach the end of the Church era and move on toward the Second Coming of Christ.
How will this new picture of the nation of Israel reflect our future too?
Prayerfully ponder these things, and we will continue our Joshua study further next Thursday.