Pray Thru the Bible

God Speaks

13 When Joshua was an old man, the Lord said to him, “You are growing old, and much land remains to be conquered. ² This is the territory that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and the Geshurites, 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 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; 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; 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. 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.

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

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.

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, ¹⁸ Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, ¹⁹ Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill above the valley, ²⁰ Beth-peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth.

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. ²² The Israelites had also killed Balaam son of Beor, who used magic to tell the future. 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 far as the town of Aroer just west of Rabbah. ²⁶ It extended from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Lo-debar. 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. 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. 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.

14 The remaining tribes of Israel received land in Canaan as allotted by Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders. ² These nine and a half tribes received their grants of land by means of sacred lots, in accordance with the Lord’s command through Moses. ³ Moses had already given a grant of land to the two and a half tribes on the east side of the Jordan River, but he had given the Levites no such allotment. ⁴ The descendants of Joseph had become two separate tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. And the Levites were given no land at all, only towns to live in with surrounding pasturelands for their livestock and all their possessions. ⁵ So the land was distributed in strict accordance with the Lord’s commands to Moses.

⁶ A delegation from the tribe of Judah, led by Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, came to Joshua at Gilgal. Caleb said to Joshua, “Remember what the Lord said to Moses, the man of God, about you and me when we were at Kadesh-barnea. ⁷ I was forty years old when Moses, the servant of the Lord, sent me from Kadesh-barnea to explore the land of Canaan. I returned and gave an honest report, ⁸ but my brothers who went with me frightened the people from entering the Promised Land. For my part, I wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God. ⁹ So that day Moses solemnly promised me, ‘The land of Canaan on which you were just walking will be your grant of land and that of your descendants forever, because you wholeheartedly followed the Lord my God.’

¹⁰ “Now, as you can see, the Lord has kept me alive and well as he promised for all these forty-five years since Moses made this promise—even while Israel wandered in the wilderness. Today I am eighty-five years old. ¹¹ I am as strong now as I was when Moses sent me on that journey, and I can still travel and fight as well as I could then. ¹² So give me the hill country that the Lord promised me. You will remember that as scouts we found the descendants of Anak living there in great, walled towns. But if the Lord is with me, I will drive them out of the land, just as the Lord said.”

¹³ So Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave Hebron to him as his portion of land. ¹⁴ Hebron still belongs to the descendants of Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite because he wholeheartedly followed the Lord, the God of Israel. ¹⁵ (Previously Hebron had been called Kiriath-arba. It had been named after Arba, a great hero of the descendants of Anak.)

And the land had rest from war.

Source: New Living Translation: BibleGateway.com

We Respond

Reflection: Consider the following questions regarding Joshua 13-14:

1. What does this chapter tell me about God?

2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?

Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.  

Joshua 13

1. The LORD God of Israel is to be the ultimate inheritance of all who place their trust in Christ Jesus.

2. People generally focus more on what they can perceive with their five senses than what is invisible and eternal.

Joshua 14

1. It is the LORD God Himself and cooperating with Him and His directions that gives us true peace and rest from our enemies.

2. People like Caleb who follow God’s instructions generally lead long and vigorous lives. 

Prayer:

3. How might I pray regarding Joshua 13-14?  

Thank You, LORD God, that You watch over Your children whether we are young or old. You know the parameters of each of our lives. Please help me to assess what is incomplete in my life and to both make and carry out a plan to correct the problem. Help me to depend on You, not just my own ideas and strength. Holy Spirit please help me to follow You precisely, completely, and wholeheartedly. Please bless my descendants with victory, prosperity, and peace as they follow You wholeheartedly as well. May all we do be for the good of those around us and ourselves and for Your glory, LORD. AMEN  

Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)

4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Joshua 13-14? With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:

• I will depend on God to drive out my enemies before me as I follow all His instructions.
• I will check my mortgage, title-deed, or lease as to the boundaries and stipulations to be sure that I am complying with them.
• I will take time daily to ask God what His goals or objectives are for me. 
• I will give God credit for my successes and bring my failures to Him.

Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.