As an imperfect nation conquered land but still had much that remained, has an imperfect church still many hearts to conquer? What inheritance do we look forward to? Let’s begin in Joshua 13.
Was there land to conquer that had been left out of the conquests to date?
Now Joshua had reached old age. The Lord said to him, “You have reached old age, but much of the land remains to be taken over. This is the land that remains: All the districts of the Philistines and all those of the Geshurites. (The land stretching from the Shihor near Egypt northward as far as the Ekron territory is considered to be Canaanite. There are five rulers of the Philistines, for Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron.) The land of the Avvites in the south. The whole land of the Canaanites, along with Mearah, which belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek and as far as the Amorite border. The land of the Gebalites and the whole Lebanon eastward, stretching from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath. I myself will remove the entire population of the highlands from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim before the Israelites, that is, all the Sidonians. You have only to allot it to Israel as a legacy exactly as I commanded you. So now divide up this land as a legacy for the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh. You will give it out from the Jordan to the Mediterranean Sea in the west. The Mediterranean Sea is the border.” (Joshua 13:1-7 CEB)
Is our Christian battle in the Spirit rather than in the flesh?
We are human, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient. (2 Corinthians 10:3–6 NLT)
What land east of the Jordan River, was given to the two and a half tribes? What remained?
Moses had already given land east of the Jordan River to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh. This region stretched north from the town in the middle of the Arnon River valley, and included the town of Aroer on the northern edge of the valley. It covered the flatlands of Medeba north of Dibon, and took in the towns that had belonged to Sihon, the Amorite king of Heshbon. Some of these towns were as far east as the Ammonite border. Geshur and Maacah were part of this region, and so was the whole territory that King Og had ruled, that is, Gilead, Mount Hermon, and all of Bashan as far east as Salecah. Og had lived in Ashtaroth part of each year, and he had lived in Edrei the rest of the year. Og had been one of the last of the Rephaim, but Moses had defeated Sihon and Og and their people and had forced them to leave their land. However, the Israelites did not force the people of Geshur and Maacah to leave, and they still live there among the Israelites. (Joshua 13:8-13 CEV)
What was the inheritance of the tribe of Reuben east of the Jordan River?
To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the Lord God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him. And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans. So their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by Medeba; with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon, and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, and Beth-peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth, that is, all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain. And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages. (Joshua 13:14-23 ESV)
What was the inheritance of the tribe of Gad east of the Jordan River?
To the tribe of the Gadites by their clans, Moses gave this as their territory: Jazer and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites to Aroer, near Rabbah; from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir; in the valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon—the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon. Their land also included the Jordan and its territory as far as the edge of the Sea of Chinnereth on the east side of the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the Gadites by their clans, with the cities and their villages. (Joshua 13:24-28 HCSB)
What was the inheritance of the half tribe of East Manasseh beyond the Jordan River?
And to half the tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the tribe of Manasseh’s descendants by their clans, Moses gave this as their territory: Moses also allocated territory to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, for the half-tribe of the descendants of Manasseh according to their tribes. Their territory extended from Mahanaim to include all of Bashan, all of the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, all of the 60 towns of Jair there in Bashan, half of Gilead, including Ashtaroth and Edrei. The cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan went to half of the descendants of Manasseh’s son Machir, according to their tribes. These were the allotments that Moses apportioned for an inheritance in the plains of Moab beyond the Jordan River east of Jericho. Moses allotted no inheritance to the tribe of Levi. The Lord God of Israel is their inheritance, as he promised them. (Joshua 13:29-33 ISV)
How is spiritual warfare, with the message of the Gospel, a very different kind of conquest?
Don’t let evil conquer you, but conquer evil by doing good. (Romans 12:21 NLT)
What inheritance in an eternal land of promise do we look forward to?
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (1 Peter 1:3-5 NASB)
As an imperfect nation conquered land but still had much that remained, has an imperfect church still many hearts to conquer? What inheritance do we look forward to? You decide!
