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SURVEY OF BIBLE HISTORY
Dividing the Conquered Land
Joshua Lesson 14; Works With Jenson’s Chapter 8 & 9

Written by Dr. Lester Hutson

Copyright - Lester Hutson - 1998
This material is copyrighted and may not be copied or reproduced without the express written permission of Dr. Lester Hutson.

Josh. 15-19

C. The land divided tribe by tribe:

1. When the lots were cast, Judah was first. The inheritance of this tribe is described in Josh.15;1-63. (Caleb's portion was in the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, Josh.15:13-19. ) Note the map which outlines the inheritance of each tribe:

a. As to the dice like "lot" used by the High Priest in dividing the land, it was God's way at that time for revealing his will. Prov.16:33 says, "the lot is cast into the lap, but the whole dispensing thereof is of, the LORD". The lot was used often as between Saul and Jonathan, I Sam. 14:40-45; the courses of the priests, I Chron. 24:5, and the selection of an apostle to succeed Judas Iscariot, Acts 1.15-26.

b. The distribution of the land was made partly at Gilgal and later at Shiloh, where the tabernacle was moved. (Compare Josh 14:1-2, 6 with Josh. 18:1-2.) The distribution as conducted by Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and one prince from each of the 9 ˝ tribes (10 in all). Compare Joshua 17:4 with Num. 34:17-18. The distribution took several weeks.

c. The lot was cast to decide which tribe received which portions, and which families within tribes got which part within the tribe's portion. Num. 26:52-56, and Num. 33:54 had already prescribed that larger tribes get more land.

d. DAVIS BIBLE Dictionary says "the Rabbis state that two urns were used: in one were placed tickets with the names of the tribes, and in the other were tickets with the names of the districts. A tribe was drawn, and the district which it should possess. The size of the territory was then determined by the populusness of the tribe." P. 116. Davis goes on to say that a roughly defined district of territory was defined by the commission, and the lot was cast to determine the tribe to receive it. Then the territory was sized up or down depending upon the size of the tribe. Discretion was used by the commission members to insure certain requirements as in the case of Caleb's inheritance. Judah later reported having received too much territory, and the surplus went into the undistributed domain; and Joseph's children needed more territory, which they got.

2. Joseph's children were second to receive land. Though Joseph received no direct portion, he actually received a double portion. Each of his two sons were counted as full tribesmen, each receiving a full portion, thus giving Joseph two portions in fulfillment of Jacob's prophecy in Gen. 48:21-22:

a. Though the two sons of Joseph each received a full portion of the land, the lot was cast for them as one in the name of Joseph, Josh. 16:1-4. Thus the two were placed together, and the land subdivided between them.

b. Ephraim's part is described in Josh. 16:5-10(See map).

c. Manasseh's part is descrlbed in Josh. 17:1-12(See map).

d. Joshua 17:14 says the children of Joseph complained that they had not gotten enough land, to which Joshua replied, in V. 15, "get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee." In V. l6, these children of Joseph said that hill was just not enough, and that the Canaanites in the valleys surrounding were too strong. In V. 14, these people hadsaid to Joshua, "I am a great people". In vs.17-18, Joshua caustically, but honestly, reminds them that they are great and have the power to not only claim the mountain, but the surrounding valleys as well. He tells them that if they want more territory, it is up to them to conquer it. It is theirs for the taking.

3.After Joseph's sons received their portions, the whole congregation moved from Gilgal up to Shiloh. (Locate on map) Joshˇ18:1, There the tabernacle was set up, and it remained there as home base for many years to come. As Joshua pointed out, 7 tribes had not yet received their portions in the land. He rebuked them for their slackness in failing to possess the land, and gave them orders to get a general idea of what they wanted. They were to bring their preferences to him at Shiloh, where final distributions could be made, ,Joshua 18:2-7. V, 9 thus says, "And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by, cities into seven parts in a book and came again. to Joshua to the host at Shiloh." V. 10 then continues, "And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions."

4.Benjamin's part is described in Josh. 18:11-28.

5.Simeon was next, and his part is described in Josh. 19:1-9.

6.Zebulun came next, and his part is described in Josh. 9:10-16.

7.Then came Issachar. See Josh. 19:17-23.

8.Asher's part is given in ,Josh. 19:24-31.

9.Naphtali was next in Josh. 19:32-39.

10.Dan received his last in Josh. 19:40-48.

11.After the tribes had each received their portions, Joshua was given a special portion in the land. Look at Josh. 19:49-51, "when they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children at Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them. According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked; even Timnath-serahu in Mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein. These are the inheritances; which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country."

D. Before we proceed in this chronological view, we should pause here for brief reflection upon two areas of failure, which came back to haunt Israel for generations to come:

1. First, Joshua committed 3 major political blunders during these years of warfare and victory:

a. The first was his treaty with the Gibeonites.

b. The second was his allowing the Jebusites to hold Jerusalem, Josh. 15:63.

c. The third was his failure to conquer the Phillistines, and control the country to the sea.

d. A careful look at a map of the time will show you that as a result of these mistakes, Judah and Simeon were isolated from the rest of the nation. The Davis Dictionary points on page 118 that "the main road from Judah to the north was commanded by the Jebusite stronghold at Jerusalem and was skirted for 10 miles on the west by the settlements of the Gibeonites. Between Jerusalem and Jericho on the east was a tract of wild, rocky, uninhabited mountain land crossed east and west by impassable gorges. From Jerusalem to the Mediterranian Sea a strip of country stretched, which was occupied by foreigners: first Gibeonites, next Canaanites in Dan, then Philistines as far as the Sea." This gave the enemy a handhold right in the center of the tribes, a condition which should never have been allowed, and which proved miserable for the Israelis throughout the entire era of the Judges.

2. Second, Joshua and the tribes failed to completely conquer their enemies as God had commanded. Listen to Josh, 15:63, "As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day." As to the tribes of Joseph (Ephraim and Manasseh) Joshua 16:10 records, they "drave not put the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer, but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute." And of Manasseh we are told they "could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities: but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong that they put the Caananites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out", Josh. 17:12-13.

Little pockets of the native Canaanites here and there remained; and the results were later periods of bondage, destitution, and grave misery for the people of Israel, as we shall observe as we pass through the period of the Judges of Israel.

3. What Israel, and many a modern believer, did not recognize is that "a litter leaven leaveneth the whole lump", as Gal. 5:9 declares. Israel took to many of the sinful ways of these tolerated Canaanites, embraced their gods, and became their servantsˇ Many a time Israel felt the lash of God upon their backs, as a direct result of the influence of these Canaanites upon them. Their tolerance of these enemies brought about their own downfall. That's always sin's pattern. Tolerate, fear, and fail to conquer it, and it will ultimately come back to make you it's slave. No wonder the apostle Peter warned in II Pet. 3:17, "Ye therefore, beloved, seeing ye know these things before, beware lest ye also, being led away with the error of the wicked fall from your own stedfastness."

QUESTIONS ON "DIVIDING THE CONQUERED LAND."

1. What was the means of deciding who received which portion of the land?

2. Which tribe received it's portion first?

3. Within whose domain did the portion to Caleb fall?

4. Of whom did the apportioning council consist?

5. From which two locations was the distribution conducted?

6. Why did Joseph get a double portion while the other sons of Jacob each received a single portion?

7. Name the two sons of Joseph.

8. What did Joshua say to the people of Joseph when they complained that they didn't have enough land?

9. What place in the promised land became the permanent home of the tabernacle during the pre-temple era?

10. Give evidences that discretion by the apportioning council had to be exercised.

11. How was Joshua honored by Israel?

12. Name Joshua's first great political blunder.

13. Name Joshua's second great political blunder.

14. Name Joshua's third great political blunder.

15. How did these 3 blunders combine to isolate Judah and Simeon from the rest of the Israeli nation?

16. What power did this condition give the remaining Canaanites in Israel?

17. How did this condition later affect the Israelites?

18. In what way was the failure of the tribes to conquer and claim each pocket of Canaanite resistance a failure?

19. How did this failure later affect Israel?

20. What spiritual lesson does this failure teach you?

"It Does Make a Difference What You Believe"