Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
The allotment for the tribe of Judah, clan by clan, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south.
Their southern boundary started from the bay at the southern end of the Salt Sea, crossed south of Scorpion Pass, continued on to Zin and went over to the south of Kadesh Barnea. Then it ran past Hezron up to Addar and curved around to Karka. It then passed along to Azmon and joined the Wadi of Egypt, ending at the sea. This is their southern boundary.
The eastern boundary is the Salt Sea as far as the mouth of the Jordan.
The northern boundary started from the bay of the sea at the mouth of the Jordan, went up to Beth Hoglah and continued north of Beth Arabah to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. The boundary then went up to Debir from the Valley of Achor and turned north to Gilgal, which faces the Pass of Adummim south of the gorge. It continued along to the waters of En Shemesh and came out at En Rogel. Then it ran up the Valley of Ben Hinnom along the southern slope of the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem). From there it climbed to the top of the hill west of the Hinnom Valley at the northern end of the Valley of Rephaim. From the hilltop the boundary headed toward the spring of the waters of Nephtoah, came out at the towns of Mount Ephron and went down toward Baalah (that is, Kiriath Jearim). Then it curved westward from Baalah to Mount Seir, ran along the northern slope of Mount Jearim (that is, Kesalon), continued down to Beth Shemesh and crossed to Timnah. It went to the northern slope of Ekron, turned toward Shikkeron, passed along to Mount Baalah and reached Jabneel. The boundary ended at the sea.
The western boundary is the coastline of the Great Sea.
These are the boundaries around the people of Judah by their clans.
In accordance with the Lord's command to him, Joshua gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion in Judah—Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) From Hebron Caleb drove out the three Anakites—Sheshai, Ahiman and Talmai—descendants of Anak. From there he marched against the people living in Debir (formerly called Kiriath Sepher). And Caleb said, "I will give my daughter Acsah in marriage to the man who attacks and captures Kiriath Sepher." Othniel son of Kenaz, Caleb's brother, took it; so Caleb gave his daughter Acsah to him in marriage.
One day when she came to Othniel, she urged him to ask her father for a field. When she got off her donkey, Caleb asked her, "What can I do for you?"
She replied, "Do me a special favor. Since you have given me land in the Negev, give me also springs of water." So Caleb gave her the upper and lower springs.
This is the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, clan by clan:
The southernmost towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the boundary of Edom were:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon—a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
In the western foothills:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim) — fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah—sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah—nine towns and their villages.
Ekron, with its surrounding settlements and villages; west of Ekron, all that were in the vicinity of Ashdod, together with their villages; Ashdod, its surrounding settlements and villages; and Gaza, its settlements and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon and Giloh—eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior—nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah and Timnah—ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon—six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—two towns and their villages.
In the desert:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi—six towns and their villages.
Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.
The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan of Jericho, east of the waters of Jericho, and went up from there through the desert into the hill country of Bethel.
It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz), crossed over to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth, descended westward to the territory of the Japhletites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the sea.
So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance.
This was the territory of Ephraim, clan by clan:
The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon and continued to the sea. From Micmethath on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoah on the east. Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went west to the Kanah Ravine and ended at the sea. This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Ephraimites, clan by clan. It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites.
They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.
This was the allotment for the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph's firstborn, that is, for Makir, Manasseh's firstborn. Makir was the ancestor of the Gileadites, who had received Gilead and Bashan because the Makirites were great soldiers. So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh—the clans of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida. These are the other male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph by their clans.
Now Zelophehad son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Makir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, whose names were Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah and Tirzah. They went to Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders and said, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers." So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with the brothers of their father, according to the Lord's command. Manasseh's share consisted of ten tracts of land besides Gilead and Bashan east of the Jordan, because the daughters of the tribe of Manasseh received an inheritance among the sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the descendants of Manasseh.
The territory of Manasseh extended from Asher to Micmethath east of Shechem. The boundary ran southward from there to include the people living at En Tappuah. (Manasseh had the land of Tappuah, but Tappuah itself, on the boundary of Manasseh, belonged to the Ephraimites.) Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine. There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the sea. On the south the land belonged to Ephraim, on the north to Manasseh. The territory of Manasseh reached the sea and bordered Asher on the north and Issachar on the east.
Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo, together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth).
Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.
The people of Joseph said to Joshua, "Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the Lord has blessed us abundantly."
"If you are so numerous," Joshua answered, "and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites."
The people of Joseph replied, "The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel."
But Joshua said to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh-"You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out."
Joshua 15, 16 and 17
This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Chapters 15, 16 and 17 of the book of Joshua document more of the way land was divided up amongst the tribes. Chapter 15 details the allotment for Judah while chapters 16 and 17 describe the land given to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh.
Through the verses in these chapters, we are told in great detail about who owned what with the boundaries carefully established, and towns and villages described.
In each of these chapters, we also are given a disturbing trend. For each tribe mentioned (Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh) failed to drive out all the Canaanites in their respective territories, instead allowing them to co-exist with them while subjecting them to forced labor.
There were two big problems with this trend:
1. It went against what God had commanded.
“However, in the cities of the nations the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance, do not leave alive anything that breathes. Completely destroy them—the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites—as the Lord your God has commanded you.” Deuteronomy 20:16-17
These words, given to Israel well before they crossed the Jordan, left little doubt as to what God expected His people to do as they inherited “the cities of the nations the Lord” was giving them. They weren’t supposed to “leave alive anything that breathes” and were to “completely destroy”. But that’s not what they did and this led to the second problem with this trend.
2. It left Israel vulnerable to sin and temptation.
“Otherwise, they will teach you to follow all the detestable things they do in worshiping their gods, and you will sin against the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 20:18
Israel was not only told to not allow anything to survive within the cities and lands they conquered but God told them why they were to do it. For allowing the Canaanites to live amongst them would introduce sinful behavior and actions…behavior and actions detestable to God…into the daily lives of the Israelites. It would only be a matter of time before that sin would begin to permeate, infect and invade the hearts of God’s people and bring His wrath and judgment upon them. And to think it was all avoidable…if only Israel had been obedient and followed God’s guidance.
I’m sure Israel thought that it wouldn’t hurt anything to allow some of the Canaanites to live. After all, they could always use good forced labor. But their leniency was clearly in disobedience to God’s commands and expectations…and it did indeed leave them exposed. Sin did creep into their society via the Canaanites, bringing them into God’s disfavor.
You know…we do this a lot too. In fact, we’ve not learned too much since Israel made their mistakes well more than 2,000 years ago. You would think we would have evolved a lot further but we haven’t. We still say we’re going to change a certain area in our life that needs changing but we end up failing because we’re reluctant to fully surrender what’s causing us to sin and live outside of God’s expectations.
Here’s a few scenarios…maybe you can relate to one or two of them:
“I’m going to quit smoking but let me keep my cigarettes right over here for now. And I’ll continue to go out to the smoking areas with my friends because I don’t want them to think I’m stuck up or anything. Just because they smoke doesn’t mean I have to anyways.”
“I’m going to stop drinking so let me put this bottle away in the liquor cabinet and push the leftover beers to the back of the fridge. And while I’m at the football game, I’ll only have one beer because I deserve a little treat once and awhile.”
“I’m going on a diet but let me put these potato chips and sodas in the pantry. And it’s OK to go to McDonalds once and awhile to have a burger and fries just as long as I don’t do it all the time.”
“I’m going to stop cursing but I’ll watch movies and television shows where the dialogue is laced with profanity. And I know my friends curse but that’s them and not me. I still want to hang out with them.”
The truth is that if we don’t completely get rid of the things we’re trying to rid our lives from, they will eventually come back around to tempt us and take us back where we were when we decided to change our lifestyle. The only way to truly break free is to give up what would cause us to sin completely, leaving no remnant behind.
Throw the cigarettes away in the trash away from where you live. You can’t smoke them if you don’t have them.
Get rid of any alcohol that you have in the house and the fatty snacks and sugary sodas in your pantry.
Speak up and tell ask your friends to refrain from using profanity in your presence. If they refuse, find new friends. They obviously have no respect for you.
Find other programs to watch and if you can’t find one that God would glorify in, then shut off the television. Do some research on the movies in the theater and don’t attend if there is going to be a lot of profanity and illicit sexuality.
Friends, we have a choice. We can either change all the way toward Jesus and live the way he lived…the way God wants us to live. Or we can choose to hold onto some of our sinful pleasures and find ourselves never quite able to overcome them.
Ultimately, God is watching us…watching to see what we do. He’s also waiting to step in and help anytime we need it…because there is nothing beyond the works of His hands. Have you allowed Him to guide you…to strengthen you…to help you as you try and free yourself from the sin that binds you? If not, won’t you turn to Him today and recommit to believing He can pull you through to victory? The first step comes in wanting to change and change for ever. The second step is to allow God to help you change. Trust and know He will do just that. Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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