HOLY PORTIONS

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tent of Meeting there. The country was brought under their control, but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance.

So Joshua said to the Israelites: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. You are to divide the land into seven parts.”

“Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God. The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them."

As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, "Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord."

So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the Lord, and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions.

The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the desert of Beth Aven. From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon.

From the hill facing Beth Horon on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.

The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of the Jebusite city and so to En Rogel. It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth, which faces the Pass of Adummim, and ran down to the Stone of Bohan, son of Reuben. It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah and on down into the Arabah. It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Salt Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.

The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.

These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.

The tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan, had the following cities:

Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Kephar Ammoni, Ophni, and Geba—twelve towns and their villages.

Gibeon, Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah, and Kiriath—fourteen towns and their villages.

This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.

The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It included:

Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, 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).

This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan. The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.

The third lot came up for Zebulun, clan by clan:

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. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of Zebulun, clan by clan.

The fourth lot came out for Issachar, clan by clan. 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. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, clan by clan.

The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher, clan by clan. Their territory included:

Helkath, Hali, Beten, Acshaph, Allammelech, 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 Neiel, passing Cabul 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 sea in the region of Aczib, Ummah, Aphek, and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.

The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan:

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 cities were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath, and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, clan by clan.

The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, clan by clan. The territory of their inheritance included:

Zorah, Eshtaol, Ir Shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Ekron, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, Me Jarkon, and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa. (But the Danites had difficulty taking possession of their territory, so 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 forefather.) These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, clan by clan.

When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua, son of Nun, an inheritance among them as the Lord had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the Tent of Meeting.

And so they finished dividing the land.

Joshua 18 and 19

This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

As Joshua, chapter 18 begins, we see where there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not received their allotment of Canaanite land…the inheritance promised to them by God. To correct the problem, Joshua took charge for we read that while the “whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh” and after they “set up the Tent of Meeting”, he (Joshua) asked them this:

“How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you?”

He then followed this up with the following commands:

“Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. You are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the house of Joseph in its territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the Lord our God. The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the Lord gave it to them."

Well, after the men were selected, Joshua tells them what to do, saying:

"Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it. Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord."

With this, the scriptures tell us that “the men left and went through the land”, writing “its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts” before returning to Joshua at the “camp at Shiloh”. Joshua then “cast lots for (the tribes)…in the presence of the Lord and…distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions”.

The remainder of chapter 18 and all of chapter 19 detail what land was given to the remaining seven tribes who were selected by lot in the following order:

Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and finally Dan.

After the tribes had their land allotted, we read where “the Israelites gave Joshua…an inheritance among them” just as “the Lord had commanded”. Israel’s leader was given “the town he asked for, Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim” and the scriptures tell us that he “built up the town and settled there”.

In the last several chapters of Joshua that we have covered, we have seen the people of Israel finally get what God had promised for them all along…a piece of the land in Canaan where they could abide as His people. He had assured the Israelites that He would give them victory over anyone who opposed them in the Promised Land and He did just that for after the battles had ended, the Lord gave each tribe a holy portion…a blessing from Him to them.

Today, God is still in the business of giving us holy portions as He continues to show His willingness to bless His children well beyond the rich inheritance He promises us in Heaven when we place our belief and trust in His Son as Savior (John 3:16). Truly, if we would take the time to break our lives down to the most basic bare essentials, I think we can see where we should always have a persistent, consistent attitude of gratitude.

Here’s an example of what that might look like:

You wake up in the morning after receiving the gift of sleep. And with God’s holy portion of rest in hand, you give thanks.

After coming out of sleep, you take your first conscious breath of the day, once again realizing the Lord has given you a holy portion of air to breathe…and you’re grateful.

Further, just the fact that you are breathing and your heart is beating means you are alive. God has given you another holy portion of life, another day to live and love and learn. Just one more reason for thanksgiving.

You get out of bed and stand on your feet. You don’t take granted that you have two legs to stand on and as you walk towards the bathroom to get ready for the day, you praise God for granting you bodily support and the ability to walk.

Friends, I could go on and on…but you get the point. Unfortunately, we tend to look at the big things in life to label as God’s blessings…we want extra large holy portions. And when we do this, we tend to overlook the smaller (and equally important) smaller holy portions He provides every day.

My brothers and sisters, it’s high time we start to simplify our lives, more acutely raising our level of to just how very blessed we are. For if we focus on all the small ways that the Lord gifts us, we will see how they add up to show us how fortunate we truly are because we serve a Lord who does want the best for His children…and never ceases to give them holy portions that reveal His goodness and provision.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

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