Sunday, January 22, 2012

Joshua 13

Joshua 13 - Unfinished Business!

We're now starting part 2 of the Book of Joshua, the half which relates the division of the land of Canaan among the children of Israel. Its character is entirely different from part 1, as is its subject matter. In the previous twelve chapters, we have the invasion and conquering of the Land of Promise by Joshua and the sons of Israel. Joshua 13 begins the chapters in which the land of Canaan is divided up among the tribes of Israel. This particular chapter will deal primarily with the east side of the Jordan River - the portion of land given over to Gad, Reuben and to half the tribe of Manasseh.

In this chapter, we see a change in the life of Joshua. For about forty years, Joshua was the servant of Moses. Then one day, God told Moses to pronounce Joshua as his successor. Almost immediately, Joshua became a 5-star general commanding the troops of the Israelites, planning strategy, advancing his men, etc. As abruptly as it began, this life of Joshua’s will end. From hereon, he will no longer be General Joshua. He will be the leader of his country for a rather indefinite period of time, during which he will supervise the division of the Land Promise. And he will become writer Joshua and record what his life on the battlefield was like and also record the distribution of the land.

(1) When Joshua was an *old man, the **Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be ***conquered.

  • *old man:
    • Joshua was now between 85 and 100 years old. Caleb was 85 in chapter 14 and Joshua was probably older than Caleb. Joshua lived to be 110 (24:19) and the events described in the last half of this book could well have taken over ten years. Believers are never allowed to retire from His service.
    • Never assume that God can no longer use you when you grow old and gray-haired. There is no "retirement plan" for the believer as long as we live in this lifetime.
  • **Lord said to him: So, HOW did the Lord tell Joshua?
  • ***conquered:
    • There are consequences to failing to do what God has called them (or us) to do. Many generations of Israelites had to suffer simply because the Israelites failed to follow through with the command to finish conquering the land and wiping out the inhabitants.
    • Even when we come to the book of the Judges, we find that the children of Benjamin did not drive out the Jebusites and the children of Manasseh did not drive out those in Bethshean and so the Canaanites dwelt in the land and so on (Judges 1).
    • Judges 3 lists the nations not yet conquered and the result:
      • Judges 3:5-7: So the people of Israel lived among the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, and they intermarried with them. Israelite sons married their daughters, and Israelite daughters were given in marriage to their sons. And the Israelites served their gods. The Israelites did evil in the LORD’s sight. They forgot about the LORD their God, and they served the images of Baal and the Asherah poles.

(2) This is the territory that remains: all the regions of the *Philistines and the **Geshurites,

  • Verses 2-5 are saying in effect to the Israelites that their job as soldiers was not yet complete. God wanted the Israelites to divide up into tribes and then the individual tribes were to conquer these remaining groups and remaining locations.
  • *Philistines:
    • The Philistines were not native Canaanite people - they were Cretans and "sea people". They had displaced the Canaanites in the southwest portion of the Promised Land. Because the land they occupied was part of what God had promised Israel, the Israelites were responsible to drive them out too, but they were not successful. The Philistines increased in power and influence over the Israelites, eventually becoming the major enemy of Israel during King Saul's reign more than three centuries later. In Joshua's time, however, they were a smaller, secondary target of the Israelites.
    • Their first settlement after being forced out of Crete seems to have been Gaza, whose original name was "Minoah", a clear reference to the fallen Minoic kingdom. They also invaded Egypt and were defeated by Pharaoh Ramose III in the 12th century BC. Their most important city-states were Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron, and their territory was close to the Mediterranean coast, a little longer and broader than the present-day "Gaza Strip" - a narrow tract stretching about sixty miles along the Mediterranean coast.
    • Those dwelling in Canaan were defeated by King David and reduced to insignificance; the best warriors among them were chosen as David's bodyguard.
    • The remaining Philistines still dwelling in Gaza were subdued by Sargon II of Assyria and after that time, they disappeared definitively from history. They are no longer mentioned since the return of the Jewish exiles from Babylon.
    • Jeremiah 47:4: “The time has come for the Philistines to be destroyed, along with their allies from Tyre and Sidon. Yes, the LORD is destroying the remnant of the Philistines, those colonists from the island of Crete.
  • **Geshurites: David later married a princess from Geshur, and his son Absalom was born of her (2 Samuel 3:3). Absalom returned to Geshur and used it as a place to plot against his father David (2 Samuel 13:37-38, 14:23, and 14:32).

(3) and the larger territory of the Canaanites, extending from the stream of *Shihor on the border of Egypt, northward to the boundary of **Ekron. It includes the territory of the five Philistine rulers of Gaza, ***Ashdod, ****Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron. The land of the Avvites

  • *Shihor means 'dark' and is a river or canal on the east border of Egypt and a branch of the Nile. It is commonly known as the brook of Egypt (Numbers 34:5).
  • **Ekron means 'emigration' or 'torn up by the roots' and is the most northerly of the 5 principal cities of the Philistines. Excavations in 1996 in the temple complex at Tel Miqne (Ekron) recovered a dedicatory inscription of the seventh-century king of Ekron, Achish.
  • ***Ashdod means castle or fortress and it lived up to its name, holding out for 29 years against a siege by Egypt (under Egyptian king Psammetichus), the longest recorded siege in their history. In one of Israel's most serious military defeats, during the time of Eli and Samuel, the Ark Of The Covenant was captured by the Philistines and taken to Ashdod, something that the Philistines soon regretted.
  • ****Ashkelon was the birthplace of Herod the Great, who was a Moabite, not a Jew. The Bible tells an episode about Ashkelon in the story about Samson (Judges 13-16). Ashkelon is mentioned in Judges 14, where Samson kills 30 men in revenge for the Philistines having given his (Philistine) wife to another man.

(4) in the south also remains to be conquered. In the north, the following area has not yet been conquered: all the land of the Canaanites, including Mearah (which belongs to the *Sidonians), stretching northward to **Aphek on the border of the Amorites;

  • *Sidonians were inhabitants of the city if Sidon, on the Mediterranean coast between Tyre and Beirut in modern Lebanon.
    • 1 Kings 5:6: “Therefore, please command that cedars from Lebanon be cut for me. Let my men work alongside yours, and I will pay your men whatever wages you ask. As you know, there is no one among us who can cut timber like you Sidonians!”
  • **Aphek, about 9 miles northeast of Tel Aviv, was the site of the Syrian temple of Astarte, dedicated to her as mourning for Tammuz, the ruins of which are still visible.
    • 1 Samuel 29:1: The entire Philistine army now mobilized at Aphek, and the Israelites camped at the spring in Jezreel.

(5) the land of the *Gebalites and all of the **Lebanon mountain area
to the east, from ***Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath;

  • *Gebalites -Their capital was Gebal or Bylbos (Greek), on the Mediterranean, north of Beirut, Lebanon. Gebalites participated in Solomon's work force (I Kings 5:18) and they were considered experts in the caulking of ships (Ezekiel 27:9).
  • **Lebanon: Much of the material for the temple came from the land of Lebanon, the king of Tyre (Hiram) being a friend of David (I Kings 5:1).
    • 1 Kings 5:10: So Hiram supplied as much cedar and cypress timber as Solomon desired.
  • ***Baal-gad: It is obvious from the listing of these towns that fertility worship was the main religion of the Canaanites. The term “Baal” is a Hebrew word which means “master,” “owner,” “lord” or “husband.”  The female goddess is called Ashtaroth (see verse 12). Baal-gad was at the foot of Mount Hermon.

(6) and all the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, including all the land of the Sidonians. “I myself will drive these people out of the land ahead of the Israelites. So be sure to give this land to Israel as a special possession, just as I have commanded you.

  • This was not an unconditional promise. This chapter shows that ALL of Canaan was indeed promised by God to Israel, contingent only upon their obedience and cooperation, neither of which they gave. That Israel failed to carry out God's intention in this matter did not change God's purpose.
  • Each tribe was responsible to possess their own land completely.
  • If the Israelites have trusted in God for their victories up to this point, then they need to trust in the fact that God will lead them to victory over the remaining inhabitants. So why did the Israelites fail to conquer these people? The short answer is the Israelites failed to trust God at this point and, therefore, failed to follow through with attacking the people God wanted them to attack.
  • As far as dividing up the land, there was a past tense (to us) fulfillment and a future "end time" fulfillment of this plan. The "past tense" fulfillment is what we are reading about here in the book of Joshua. One day God will again divide the land by tribe as promised to them. (See Ezekiel Chapter 48). The reward for the Christians is bigger in the sense that we inherit "all things".

(7) Include all this territory as Israel’s possession when you divide this land among the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

(8) Half the tribe of Manasseh and the tribes of Reuben and Gad had already received their *grants of land on the east side of the Jordan, for Moses, the servant of the Lord, had previously assigned this land to them.

  • *grants = inheritance (from the Lord). When we study chapter 22 in a few weeks, we're going to learn that while that choice may have been good for their cattle, it was terrible for their children. These tribes became a buffer zone between the Jews in Canaan and the pagan nations like Moab and Ammon. Their location made them extremely vulnerable both to military attack and to ungodly influence in their lives. Both of those liabilities eventually brought their downfall.

(9) Their territory extended from *Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba, as far as Dibon.

(10) It also included all the towns of King *Sihon of the Amorites, who had reigned in Heshbon, and extended as far as the borders of Ammon.

  • *Sihon ruled over a large territory. Given the fact that this battle was some time ago against one king, Sihon receives a lot of space in the Bible. He is mentioned in Numbers 21:21-30; Deuteronomy 1:4, 2:24-37, 3:6; Joshua 12:2. Whatever you do, you do not want to stand in God’s way. Sihon was given a more than fair warning that the Israelites would be moving through and that they would leave him, his land and his people unharmed. Sihon did not buy into this and sought to destroy the Israelites, even though he, like that entire portion of the land, had heard about the Israelites triumphal exit from Egypt.

(11) It included *Gilead, the territory of the kingdoms of **Geshur and Maacah, all of ***Mount Hermon, all of Bashan as far as Salecah,

  • *Gilead was part of the kingdom of Og, half of which was given to Reuben, and the other half to Gad
  • **Geshur and Maacah: Two small "kingdoms" north and east of the Sea of Galilee. This is not the same Geshur in verse 2 which is far to the south on the Philistine coast.
  • ***Mount Hermon: More than twenty ancient temples have been found on the mountain or in its vicinity. At 9,200 feet above sea level, Mount Hermon is the highest mountain in Israel, Lebanon and Syria. Runoff from the snow-covered mountain’s western and southern bases feeds several streams and rivers. These merge to become the Jordan River. The high places of Mount Hermon were apparently used by the Canaanites for their pagan religious rituals. They referred to the mountain as Mount Baal-hermon (Judges 3:3). Mount Hermon was a possible site of the Transfiguration, where Jesus took three of His disciples, Peter, James and John, up on a high mountain for prayer. It is on the border between Lebanon and Syria. The summit of Mount Hermon is under the control of Syria, however, the southern and western slopes are under the control of Israel, and is part of the Golan Heights. These slopes were annexed by Israel in 1980 with the conclusion and victory of the Six Day War in 1967.
Mount Hermon

(12) and all the territory of King Og of Bashan, who had reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei. King Og was the last of the Rephaites, for Moses had attacked them and driven them out.

  • Deuteronomy 3:11: (King Og of Bashan was the last survivor of the giant Rephaites. His bed was made of iron and was more than thirteen feet long and six feet wide. It can still be seen in the Ammonite city of Rabbah.)
    • "bed" could refer to his sarcophagus.


(13) But the Israelites *failed to drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.

  • *failed:
    • This is the failure of the Israelites, not a failure of God. They had grown weary of fighting and decided to rest on their laurels. But, the presence of these Canaanites was a thorn in the side of the Israelites down through the centuries.
    • The day this book is written, that Canaanite opposition is still there, bedeviling them, tempting them, assaulting them. We're going to hear this litany again and again, in every tribal territory, of the people's failure to possess their possession. This book does celebrate the great victories, the promises and triumphs that God accomplishes, but it doesn't hide the fact that sometimes the fulfillment of the promises is limited by Israel's failure to obey.

(14) Moses did not assign any allotment of land to the tribe of Levi. Instead, as the Lord had promised them, their allotment came from the offerings burned on the altar to the Lord, the God of Israel.

(15) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

  • The Reubenites became much intermixed afterward with the Moabites, who, in fact, later acquired much of their land, and several, if not all of the cities mentioned in this passage. Reuben was the very first tribe to go into captivity.

(16) Their territory extended from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Gorge (including the town in the middle of the gorge) to the plain beyond Medeba.

(17) It included Heshbon and the other towns on the plain—Dibon, *Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon,

  • Note the predominance of the name of the Moabitish god, Baal in these place-names. These high places were probably so-called from the altars that were erected on hills Baal worship. His worship was an excuse for lewdness, lustfulness, and persistent, morbid and excessive sexual excitement.
  • *Bamoth-baal means the high places of Baal. This is where King Balak brought Balaam to curse Israel (Numbers 22:41).

(18) *Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath,

  • *Jahaz: The Moabite Stone (the Mesha Stele) quotes Mesha as saying that the king of Israel lived in Jahaz while at war with him, but he was driven out, and Mesha took the city and added it to Moabite territory. Isaiah 15:4 and Jeremiah 48:21 refer to it as a city of Moab. This stone also refers to the house of David and to Yahweh, contradicting the critics of the Bible!

(19) Kiriathaim, Sibmah, *Zereth-shahar on the hill above the valley,

  • *Zereth-shahar = "light of the dawn" because it catches the rays of the rising sun.

(20) *Beth-peor, the **slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

  • *Beth-peor is the place where Israel received Moses' farewell address (Deuteronomy 3:29); here Balaam uttered one of his prophesies (Numbers 23:28).
  • **slopes of Pisgah: This is a reference to Mt. Nebo, from where God showed Moses the Promised Land before his death.

(21) The land of Reuben also included all the towns of the plain and the entire kingdom of Sihon. Sihon was the Amorite king who had reigned in Heshbon and was killed by Moses along with the leaders of *Midian—Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur, and Reba—princes living in the region who were allied with Sihon.

  • *Midian: The Midianites were cousins to the Israelites. Abram was the father of both Isaac and Midian, through different mothers (Genesis 25:1-5).

(22) The Israelites had also killed *Balaam son of Beor, who used magic to tell
the future.

  • *Balaam: Numbers 22:4-25; 31:8; Deuteronomy 23:4. Numbers 31 also gives us this information but not as much as Joshua 13 for Balaam is described as a soothsayer or one who used divination. The elders of Moab and Midian had approached Balaam with the rewards of divination in their hand according to Numbers 22:7. God told him not to go for God hates divination (Deuteronomy 18:10), but he went and paid the ultimate price for going against the mind of God.
    • 2 Peter 2:15-16: They have wandered off the right road and followed the footsteps of Balaam son of Beor, who loved to earn money by doing wrong. But Balaam was stopped from his mad course when his donkey rebuked him with a human voice.
    • Revelation 2:12,14: “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Pergamum ... “But I have a few complaints against you. You tolerate some among you whose teaching is like that of Balaam, who showed Balak how to trip up the people of Israel. He taught them to sin by eating food offered to idols and by committing sexual sin.

(23) The Jordan River marked the western boundary for the tribe of Reuben. The towns and their
surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Reuben.

(24) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the tribe of Gad.

(25) Their territory included Jazer, all the towns of Gilead, and half of the land of Ammon, as
as the town of Aroer just west of *Rabbah.

  • *Rabbah is the only city of Ammon ever mentioned in the Bible and it is the present-day Amman, capital of Jordan.

(26) It extended from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from *Mahanaim to Lo-debar.

  • *Mahanaim: When Jacob left his father-in-law and when the angels met him in Genesis 32, he named that place Mahanaim. It was a Levitical city (1 Chronicles 6:80) as well as a city of refuge (Joshua 21:38). It was here the Ishbosheth (Saul's son and successor) would be proclaimed king (2 Samuel 2:8-9) and here where David would flee from Absalom (2 Samuel 17:24, 27, 1 Kings 2:8).

(27) In the valley were Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon, and the rest of the kingdom of King Sihon of Heshbon. The western boundary ran along the Jordan River, extended as far north as the tip of the *Sea of Galilee, and then turned eastward.

  • *Sea of Galilee: This body of water has several different names in the Bible: (1) the Sea of Genesseret (Chinnereth); (2) the Sea of Tiberias; and (3) the Sea of Galilee.

(28) The towns and their surrounding villages in this area were given as a homeland to the clans of the tribe of Gad.

(29) Moses had assigned the following area to the clans of the half-tribe of Manasseh.

(30) Their territory extended from Mahanaim, including all of Bashan, all the former kingdom of King Og, and the sixty towns of Jair in Bashan.

(31) It also included half of Gilead and King Og’s royal cities of Ashtaroth and Edrei. All this was given to the clans of the descendants of Makir, who was Manasseh’s son.

(32) These are the *allotments Moses had made while he was on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River, east of Jericho.

  • *allotments = inheritances. The word translated allotment in the NLT or inheritance in the King James is used more than fifty times in the second half of the book of Joshua. It's a very important word. The Jews inherited their land. They didn't win it as a prize of warfare, or purchase it in a business transaction. The Lord himself was the sole owner of the land, and in a sense he leased it to them. Listen to God's instructions from Leviticus 25:23: "The land must never be sold on a permanent basis, for the land belongs to me. You are only foreigners and tenant farmers working for me." Imagine God being your landlord! The rent that God required was very simple-he wanted loving, submissive obedience. And as long as the Jewish people honored the Lord with their obedience, he would bless them. He would make the land productive and keep the nation at peace with their neighbors.
  • Also note that the average Israelite that is alive today has no idea which tribe they are from. The family records of the Israelites were lost when the Temple was destroyed in 70 AD. To God, the tribal significance is still important. Ezekiel describes a future day when the land of Israel will again be divided by tribe, but in that day, the boundaries will be different. God knows the tribal background of every Jewish person alive today. That knowledge of tribal background will be revealed to saved Jewish people in the "end times".

(33) But Moses gave no allotment of land to the *tribe of Levi, for the Lord, the God of Israel, had promised that he himself would be their allotment.

  • *tribe of Levi:
    • Numbers 35:2-4: “Command the people of Israel to give to the Levites from their property certain towns to live in, along with the surrounding pasturelands. These towns will be for the Levites to live in, and the surrounding lands will provide pasture for their cattle, flocks, and other livestock. The pastureland assigned to the Levites around these towns will extend 1,500 feet from the town walls in every direction.
    • 48 cities were assigned to the Levites, including 13 for priests (21:14,19).
    • Later in the book of Joshua, there are two chapters that focus just on the Levites (Chapters 20 and 21) and we'll discuss that tribe and their significance when we get there.
    • Levites numbered 23,000 males one month and older at the time of the conquest. Among them, descendants of Aaron were declared to be priests, and the eldest son of the continuing family was designated high priest.
    • For the Levites, the Lord himself and the privilege of serving him in priestly worship were inheritance enough. They were given four cities in each tribe, forty-eight in all, in which to live and serve the Lord. They were given certain portions of the meat that was brought for sacrifices. There were tithes and offerings that helped support the priestly work of the Levites.

APPLICATION and LESSONS to LEARN:

  1. Why did Joshua spend 1/2 of the book on the distribution of the land to the twelve tribes? Why is it so important?
  2. What are our unconquered lands - have we stopped the fight somewhere along the line? Do we have sin in our lives that we've failed to remove?
  3. Don't be like the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh - don't be outside of God's promised land. The symbolic idea behind these two and one half tribes not settling in the Promised Land is that some Christians are willing to "settle for less". They see where they are in life at some point and say in effect, "Where I am right now is good enough for me". That is pretty much what these two and one half tribes said. They said the land east of the Jordan River is good enough for us and we don't have to actually go into the land of Israel. God gave them what they wanted. God always works on our level and where we are at, at the present moment. God wants us to grow further toward Him, but if we are comfortable at our present level, God does not force us to go on to the next step.
  4. The way we understand and live out God’s will is only half of the battle. The other half is how we pass this vision on to others.
  5. The tragedy with so many Christians is they start off in the Spirit in a very powerful way. They make great initial spiritual strides in their lives. But then they will hit a spiritual plateau where a complacency will settle over them, and they're no longer eager for conquest. They're no longer really striving towards the mark for the prize of the high calling of God. So that oftentimes when you talk to them, their conversation is always of some past spiritual victory and blessing that they experienced in their life. But there's nothing fresh and up to date. Most of the spiritual victories are relegated to some historic period in their own walk and experience, and they're always remembering the glory days of the past. God wants you to have an up-to-the-moment experience of His grace and power and love in your life, and His victory. Beware of spiritual plateaus. Whenever you can start living comfortably with your flesh, you are in danger spiritually. Our flesh is a constant enemy to our walk in the Spirit.
  6. The most dangerous times are after certain victories. And it is precisely here that the Israelites failed.
  7. The conflict with which we are confronted here in the view of "a task well done" as contrasted "with much yet left to do," is a fact of all life, especially in the spiritual sector. This experience of the secular Israel is a type of the Christian Church, or a type of the human heart. "The work of subduing God's enemies is gradual. One successful engagement does not conclude the war. The enemy renews his assaults, and when force fails, he tries fraud. When direct temptations are of no avail, he resorts to enticements. The victory belongs only to him who has learned to keep guard over himself, and to direct his ways to the counsels of God." - Unger's Commentary on the Old Testament, Joshua.
  8. Joshua was being warned that he'd not finished the task God had assigned him, yet his days were numbered. We're to be careful that we don't leave undone those tasks that God has assigned to us. It's too tempting to put off unpleasant or difficult jobs day after day until it's too late. Until our death, God intends us to be busy at "our Father's work."
  9. Isaiah 46:4: I will be your God throughout your lifetime — until your hair is white with age. I made you, and I will care for you. I will carry you along and save you.
  10. Psalm 92:12-15: But the godly will flourish like palm trees and grow strong like the cedars of Lebanon. For they are transplanted to the LORD’s own house. They flourish in the courts of our God. Even in old age they will still produce fruit; they will remain vital and green. They will declare, “The LORD is just! He is my rock! There is no evil in him!”
  11. J. Vernon McGee: "From all outward appearances Israel seemed to be doing very well. They went into the land and drove a wedge right into the center of it. They conquered the south and went on to conquer the north, but the Lord reminded him that there remained much land to be possessed. After doing a tremendous job, my friend, that will be true of you and me. It was been true of every servant of God; he will never accomplish all that he wished. In Philippians 3:12 Paul says, “Not as though I already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.” God told Joshua that the land upon which the children of Israel walked would be theirs. They did not, however, walk on all of it. Neither will we ever be able to possess all of our spiritual possessions. I have met a few saints who think they have. They think there is nothing more for them to learn or do. They are satisfied with the life they are leading and have no desire to press on to “the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14)."
    1. What is it that he has not yet taken hold of? What is the prize, the goal that he's aiming for? If you look at the whole paragraph, you see that it's knowing Jesus Christ, gaining intimacy with him, being found secure in him, being conformed to his image. The ultimate goal, in a word, is Christlikeness. The Christian life is not about accomplishment ultimately, it's about relationship.
  12. The desire of the two and a half tribes to stay east of the Jordan rather than living with the rest of the tribes in God's land is a warning for us not to become borderline believers. Perhaps you get close to the inheritance in Jesus Christ, and experience some spiritual victory in your life, but you're still determined to go back to the comfort east of the Jordan. For you, the quality of material life is more important than life eternal. You just want a little bit of God.
  13. So what is the significance of all of this? Let's start with the statement by God saying He will drive out the inhabitants. The point for us is that God wants us to have victory in our lives over all the sin issues and problem issues we face. God promises us as He promised them that IF we are willing to confront those issues, He is there to lead us to victory.
  14. Although the Levites would have some cities and fields, their inheritance is God. This is how we should be living life and perceiving our inheritance. We are just pilgrims passing through. We are travelers on our way to eternity. Hebrews 11 describes great people of faith like Abel, Enoch, Noah, and Abraham - they desire a better country , that is a heavenly one. If there is any tribe that Christians are spiritually connected to, it is the tribe of Levi. We also are called priests (1 Peter 2:5) and have a special inheritance in God (Ephesians 1:11; Colossians 1:12 and 1 Peter 1:4).

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