1 00:00:14,119 --> 00:00:17,359 Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast. 2 00:00:18,379 --> 00:00:24,100 If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you. 3 00:00:24,100 --> 00:00:27,059 Thank you for joining us today. 4 00:00:34,859 --> 00:00:39,420 Welcome and thank you for coming out on this rainy night. I wasn't sure about an 5 00:00:39,420 --> 00:00:47,200 hour ago if we were gonna make it. Yeah, I thought Ron would be the only one here. 6 00:00:47,200 --> 00:00:54,719 Yeah, all right. That's good. All right, well let's open up with a with a word of 7 00:00:54,719 --> 00:01:02,679 prayer. Lord, we welcome your presence here tonight. Lord, we welcome your spirit. 8 00:01:04,099 --> 00:01:10,659 We yield our hearts, God, and our minds to you in this moment. Lord, and we just pray 9 00:01:10,659 --> 00:01:19,280 for wisdom, Lord, and revelation, God. You would impart to us, God, just a new 10 00:01:19,280 --> 00:01:23,959 insights, Lord, into your Word and Scripture tonight and how to apply it to 11 00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:31,000 our lives, Lord. Help us to find you in your Word tonight, Lord. Help us to know 12 00:01:31,000 --> 00:01:37,659 you better, God. Draw us closer, Lord, by your spirit through your Scripture. Help 13 00:01:37,659 --> 00:01:42,140 us to go out in the world, God, and apply it, Lord, and be your witnesses, Lord, 14 00:01:42,260 --> 00:01:48,260 from here. We thank you, God, for this opportunity to gather and study the 15 00:01:48,260 --> 00:01:53,319 Word, Joshua, Lord, and how thought-provoking and eye-opening, God. 16 00:01:53,480 --> 00:01:57,319 It's been been for us and it's been a great journey and we thank you, Lord, for 17 00:01:57,319 --> 00:02:01,700 this opportunity. We pray, Lord, that you just continue to move us on in this 18 00:02:01,700 --> 00:02:09,580 journey, Lord, through your Word in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, well, just as a quick 19 00:02:09,580 --> 00:02:20,180 recap, we are in Joshua 13 tonight. So, for those of you that haven't been to 20 00:02:20,180 --> 00:02:27,900 all of these, in the beginning of Joshua, Moses dies and God 21 00:02:27,900 --> 00:02:33,520 commissions Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. They 22 00:02:33,520 --> 00:02:39,180 made their long trek and Moses was not going to be the guy to lead them 23 00:02:39,180 --> 00:02:44,500 into the land, but Joshua was. And they started out by crossing the Jordan 24 00:02:44,500 --> 00:02:49,840 and God really just showed his power and authority much like he did in the 25 00:02:49,840 --> 00:02:54,960 Exodus where he just parted the sea and they put up a 26 00:02:54,960 --> 00:02:59,419 remembrance stone saying, this is something awesome that God did in our 27 00:02:59,419 --> 00:03:03,340 life and we never want to forget it, so every time we come by here, we want 28 00:03:03,340 --> 00:03:10,199 to see these stones and remember them. You know, God begins to prepare Israel 29 00:03:10,199 --> 00:03:18,039 spiritually. They were renewing their covenant with him. They did 30 00:03:18,039 --> 00:03:24,479 to march around. Jericho and Jericho fell through obedience to God and 31 00:03:24,479 --> 00:03:31,479 listening to God and following God and then almost immediately after Achan, you 32 00:03:31,479 --> 00:03:38,319 know, has his siddin sin of disobedience and this leads to, you know, defeat. But 33 00:03:38,319 --> 00:03:42,719 then they recover from that, they renew their covenant and they beat, they 34 00:03:42,719 --> 00:03:50,219 defeated Ai. So, there was these surrounding nations, if you recall, that 35 00:03:50,219 --> 00:03:57,199 responded in fear, some with violent fear, some with deceptive fear to 36 00:03:57,199 --> 00:04:01,659 resist what was going on. They knew what the God of Israel was doing and they 37 00:04:01,659 --> 00:04:06,500 were trying to prepare for that. Then shortly after that, the southern kings 38 00:04:06,500 --> 00:04:12,360 were defeated and, you know, the northern kings were defeated. There was 39 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:16,819 major conquests happening here. I'm going to show you a bit more of this 40 00:04:16,819 --> 00:04:22,560 as we talk on the map because it gets complicated to understand and I'm not 41 00:04:22,560 --> 00:04:27,160 100% sure this map's going to clarify things, but it was the closest one that I 42 00:04:27,160 --> 00:04:32,139 can find to give a visual. There's a lot of different maps that show 43 00:04:32,139 --> 00:04:36,120 different things, but there's never a map that shows exactly what you want. So, 44 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:41,899 you know, God continues, he continues to fight and be with Israel and 45 00:04:41,899 --> 00:04:49,240 establishing them in their land, in the Promised Land that he made for them. So, 46 00:04:49,259 --> 00:04:53,839 we're going to start now, that gets you up to 13, so we're going to start now 47 00:04:53,839 --> 00:05:00,839 with 13 and there's a lot of geography. There is a lot of geography in 48 00:05:00,839 --> 00:05:08,300 this chapter, I can tell you that much. So, let's read verses 1 through 7. 49 00:05:09,080 --> 00:05:16,220 So, when Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, you are now very old and there 50 00:05:16,220 --> 00:05:22,639 are still very large areas of land to be taken over. This is the land that remains, 51 00:05:22,819 --> 00:05:29,360 all the regions of the Philistines and Jesuits from the Shear River on the 52 00:05:29,360 --> 00:05:36,779 east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north. All of it counted as 53 00:05:36,779 --> 00:05:46,860 Canaanite, through held by the five Philistine rulers of Giza. Ashdod, Ashkelon, 54 00:05:47,660 --> 00:05:54,240 Gath, Ekron, the territory of Avites. On the south, all the land of the 55 00:05:54,240 --> 00:06:02,900 Canaanites, from Arra of the Scythians as far as Apech to the border of the 56 00:06:03,279 --> 00:06:10,899 Philistines. The areas of Biblos and all Lebanon to the east, from Bail Gad, 57 00:06:11,220 --> 00:06:18,019 below Mount Hermon, to Lebohammoth. That's a mouthful, right? That's a lot of 58 00:06:18,019 --> 00:06:24,060 hard names to pronounce and a lot of geographical points. All for the 59 00:06:24,060 --> 00:06:29,740 inhabitants of the mountain region, from Lebanon to Nithroth to Maine, 60 00:06:29,740 --> 00:06:36,980 that is all of the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out before the Israelites. 61 00:06:37,540 --> 00:06:45,519 Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance and I haven't, and as I 62 00:06:45,519 --> 00:06:50,860 have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and 63 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:58,800 half of the tribe of Manasseh. So you've got a lot of geography here. So God 64 00:06:58,800 --> 00:07:07,519 starts out by saying, Joshua, you're old, okay? And it just seems like yesterday 65 00:07:07,519 --> 00:07:15,300 that God was handing over the reins to him, but God assures him that he himself, 66 00:07:15,540 --> 00:07:21,620 meaning the Lord, is going to drive out these remaining nations. So from what I've 67 00:07:21,620 --> 00:07:29,319 gathered, it's been about five to seven years now since he took over from Moses. 68 00:07:31,480 --> 00:07:39,019 And from what I've gathered, he could be anywhere from 80 to 100 years old. There's 69 00:07:39,019 --> 00:07:48,699 no solid information, but you can use certain points to figure that out. So I 70 00:07:48,699 --> 00:07:56,240 wouldn't say he's very old, just relatively old, right? So victory for the 71 00:07:56,240 --> 00:08:04,500 promised land has begun. You know, God is delivering into their hands what he 72 00:08:04,500 --> 00:08:11,899 has promised to do, but it's not complete. So God uses the term, you know, 73 00:08:12,230 --> 00:08:22,930 much land remains, and there's an emphasis here on the abundance that's not yet possessed. 74 00:08:24,029 --> 00:08:29,589 So it's not necessarily, if you notice the language, you know, God in the past, you 75 00:08:29,589 --> 00:08:36,730 know, has sometimes rebuked and used harsh language towards the Israelites for not 76 00:08:36,730 --> 00:08:42,629 doing exactly what he says, but this is really translated on the emphasis 77 00:08:42,629 --> 00:08:49,070 meaning, hey, there's abundance here for you, Israel, that you need to take because 78 00:08:49,070 --> 00:08:56,809 it's yours, it's your inheritance. So the emphasis is not necessarily on what's 79 00:08:56,809 --> 00:09:02,909 missing, but what's available to them. So let's take a look at, you know, I always 80 00:09:02,909 --> 00:09:08,110 come here and I don't have a pointer, right? So I tried to find a laser pointer 81 00:09:08,110 --> 00:09:12,370 that worked and I didn't have one, and Tammy says, oh, I've got one, she's got one of 82 00:09:12,370 --> 00:09:16,710 these little mouse toys, look at that, isn't that great? So yeah, so it's not like a 83 00:09:16,710 --> 00:09:21,389 professional pointer, it's more like a mouse toy, so, but it gets a job done, 84 00:09:21,429 --> 00:09:27,850 right? So let me try to make sense of what they were talking about here. To 85 00:09:27,850 --> 00:09:37,850 consolidate things, it was basically the southwest portion of the coast. So down 86 00:09:37,850 --> 00:09:45,929 here was a part of it, this was the Philistine territory down in here, and then it was the 87 00:09:45,929 --> 00:09:54,389 central northwest coast, like up around here, and then it was the north mountain areas 88 00:09:54,389 --> 00:10:00,370 up here, all the way down to the Mount, Mount Hermon, which was right about here. 89 00:10:01,330 --> 00:10:09,429 And one way, I also read somewhere else that it was basically everything east, or almost 90 00:10:09,429 --> 00:10:18,350 everything east of the Jordan, no west, you know, west of the Jordan. So there was a lot 91 00:10:18,350 --> 00:10:24,169 of territory, and we'll get to what they populated, but these were really, not only 92 00:10:24,169 --> 00:10:31,690 was this the promised land that God had for them, but these were really key, key points 93 00:10:31,690 --> 00:10:44,250 for them. You had coastal strongholds here that were needed for transportation of goods 94 00:10:44,250 --> 00:10:51,329 and all of these things, you had trading routes that were in there, you had fortified centers, 95 00:10:52,290 --> 00:10:58,850 you had other influential pagan regions that God wanted to turn into use for him. 96 00:10:59,169 --> 00:11:07,370 So there was a lot of areas over here that were not being used by the Israelites, and 97 00:11:07,370 --> 00:11:13,929 it was, God was saying, look, this is part of your inheritance. Do you guys just want 98 00:11:13,929 --> 00:11:19,970 to abide where you're at right now, over here? Or do you want the full inheritance? 99 00:11:21,330 --> 00:11:28,409 So God was laying this out pretty clear for them that you guys got to make this happen. 100 00:11:28,909 --> 00:11:37,870 And again, much of this land, he said, was not possessed, and it's part of their abundance. 101 00:11:39,090 --> 00:11:47,169 So God's promises always stand for us. They're always there. His promises are always yes 102 00:11:48,169 --> 00:11:55,289 and amen. Even when progress feels unfinished, even when we feel like we're not grasping 103 00:11:55,289 --> 00:12:03,929 all that God has for us, those promises are still there. And one thing I know for sure, 104 00:12:04,009 --> 00:12:09,289 because it's true in my life, and I've seen it so much in others, that God's promises 105 00:12:09,289 --> 00:12:17,149 often unfold in stages, not all at once. Because sometimes we just go through the 106 00:12:17,169 --> 00:12:20,470 process and we can't handle everything, everything at once. 107 00:12:21,710 --> 00:12:31,190 In John 1612, Jesus said, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 108 00:12:32,029 --> 00:12:37,450 But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. 109 00:12:38,409 --> 00:12:45,610 He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell 110 00:12:45,610 --> 00:12:53,289 you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive 111 00:12:53,870 --> 00:13:00,110 what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why he said 112 00:13:00,110 --> 00:13:05,710 that the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you. 113 00:13:06,190 --> 00:13:13,690 So basically, Jesus was saying, you have so much more that I have promised to give 114 00:13:13,690 --> 00:13:21,809 you and I have so much more for you, you just can't bear it right now. Their cups were kind 115 00:13:21,809 --> 00:13:29,669 of already overflowing and maybe they needed more cups. But he was releasing to them and 116 00:13:29,669 --> 00:13:38,669 wanted to release to them ongoing revelation. Hebrews 4.1 says, therefore, since the promise 117 00:13:38,669 --> 00:13:48,190 of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen 118 00:13:48,190 --> 00:13:57,409 short of it. So the promise of entering into his rest, we'll never know the full, full 119 00:13:57,409 --> 00:14:07,169 rest of God until we are in heaven with him all the time. But we know progressions of 120 00:14:07,169 --> 00:14:15,629 that rest. And as we draw closer to him through his Spirit, as we draw closer in unity with 121 00:14:15,629 --> 00:14:21,750 each other, we know more and more and more and more of that rest. It's constantly unfolding. 122 00:14:22,509 --> 00:14:31,370 So God's promises are solid. They are secure even when we haven't fully experienced them 123 00:14:32,370 --> 00:14:40,549 or even when we don't feel that we have. So let's move on to verses 8 through 13. 124 00:14:42,090 --> 00:14:49,350 On the other half of Manasseh, the Reubenites and the Gaddeites had received their inheritance 125 00:14:49,350 --> 00:14:57,850 from Moses, had given them east of the Jordan as he, the servant of the Lord, had assigned 126 00:14:57,850 --> 00:15:07,370 to them. It extended from Eor to the rim of Arun Gorge and from the town in the middle 127 00:15:07,370 --> 00:15:15,929 of the gorge and included the whole plateau of Mediba as far as Dubon. And all the towns 128 00:15:17,529 --> 00:15:26,429 of Sion King, of Sion King of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon out of the border of 129 00:15:26,429 --> 00:15:35,529 the Ammonites, it also included Gilead, the territory of the people of Gishor and Makah, 130 00:15:36,490 --> 00:15:45,470 all of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan as far as Salaka. That is the whole kingdom of Ag 131 00:15:45,470 --> 00:15:54,429 in Bashan who had reigned in the Ashgarth and Adri. He was the last of the repiots. 132 00:15:55,430 --> 00:16:02,649 Moses had defeated them and taken their land, but the Israelites did not drive out the people 133 00:16:02,649 --> 00:16:12,950 of Gishor and Makah, so they continued to live among the Israelites to this day. So the Eastern 134 00:16:12,950 --> 00:16:20,149 tribes of Reuben, Gadde, and half of Manasseh had received their land, but they did not 135 00:16:20,149 --> 00:16:27,149 fully drive out the inhabitants. So these areas over here, there's Gadde, there's Manasseh, 136 00:16:29,069 --> 00:16:35,450 there's Reuben. So these were east of the Jordan. That's where they were pretty much 137 00:16:35,450 --> 00:16:44,549 occupying and possessing the land, but not completely as God said. So verse 13 gives 138 00:16:44,549 --> 00:16:51,950 the key. They did not drive them out fully. So they were possessing the land, but they 139 00:16:51,950 --> 00:17:01,690 weren't fully possessing the land. So to this day, singles that there were lasting consequences, 140 00:17:01,690 --> 00:17:14,529 and we've read about this now many, many times in our journey here through the Old 141 00:17:14,529 --> 00:17:21,589 Testament, followed to the nth degree, there's consequences, and there's lasting consequences 142 00:17:22,250 --> 00:17:31,269 to that. There's ramifications. So this, for me, has always been insight and has always 143 00:17:31,269 --> 00:17:40,250 been kind of revelatory that the things that I leave unconquered or unsurrendered in my 144 00:17:40,250 --> 00:17:50,910 life become an ongoing influence, or they become this ongoing issue that just continues 145 00:17:51,569 --> 00:18:05,529 to nag at me. So what they left completely unconquered has long-term ramifications to them 146 00:18:05,529 --> 00:18:17,430 and ongoing. And we know this is true with sin and other things in our life. You know, 147 00:18:17,650 --> 00:18:25,930 Romans 6, 12, you know, don't let sin reign in our life. But I don't think that this is 148 00:18:25,930 --> 00:18:34,930 all necessarily meant as a rebuke or as speaking specifically just about sin, but I think it's 149 00:18:34,930 --> 00:18:43,430 talking more about this is God's inheritance for us. So this inability to live in the fullness 150 00:18:43,430 --> 00:18:49,869 that He had for the Israelites, this is what He was most concerned about here. In Galatians 151 00:18:49,869 --> 00:18:58,710 3, 29 says, and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to 152 00:18:58,710 --> 00:19:10,849 His promise. So we are heirs to what God has for us, and He wants to release to us the fullness 153 00:19:10,849 --> 00:19:20,450 of that inheritance, but many times we just don't step forward and receive that. Or there 154 00:19:20,450 --> 00:19:28,690 is things that we tolerate in our life and leave unconquered, and that prohibits us from 155 00:19:29,809 --> 00:19:41,390 receiving that. So this is all, you know, you can read this as strictly historical and where 156 00:19:41,390 --> 00:19:49,670 Israel was going in their journey, or you can read it with the context of how does this 157 00:19:49,670 --> 00:19:58,029 spiritually impact us today. And that's one way that I choose to look at it. So let's, 158 00:19:58,029 --> 00:20:03,509 we're going to look at two separate verses here. We're going to look at verse 14 and then 159 00:20:03,509 --> 00:20:12,930 we're going to jump to verse 33, which identifies the different inheritances for the Levites. 160 00:20:13,309 --> 00:20:21,950 So 14 says, but to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance since the food offerings presented 161 00:20:21,950 --> 00:20:30,369 to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance as He promised them. And then 33, but to the 162 00:20:30,369 --> 00:20:38,690 tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance. The Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance 163 00:20:38,690 --> 00:20:47,470 as promised to them. We've read about this before in several chapters how they were not 164 00:20:47,470 --> 00:20:57,670 given land like the other tribes, but their inheritance was unlike theirs where it was 165 00:20:57,670 --> 00:21:09,390 really this relational inheritance with God Himself. God was their portion, the Levites, 166 00:21:09,809 --> 00:21:17,450 the priests. These were the people that were leading the tribe of Israel to God. They 167 00:21:17,470 --> 00:21:21,910 were taking care of all the priestly duties. They were taking care of the temple. They were 168 00:21:21,910 --> 00:21:32,269 taking care of all these things. So God was their inheritance. It was a relational inheritance, 169 00:21:32,569 --> 00:21:43,930 not a material inheritance. So in some ways you could say that they had the highest covenant 170 00:21:44,769 --> 00:21:54,329 blessing, and God is, He repeats this. This is many, many, many times He has said this 171 00:21:54,329 --> 00:21:58,589 over and over again. And He's not like rubbing it in with the Levites and saying, hey, you 172 00:21:58,589 --> 00:22:05,589 don't care, I'll get this. He's really emphasizing that their portion of inheritance is so much 173 00:22:06,410 --> 00:22:13,910 greater. And sometimes for us, this is a hard thing to grasp. It's hard to grasp 174 00:22:13,930 --> 00:22:25,029 right? Luke 10, 41 through 42 really paints a beautiful picture of this. Jesus says, Martha, 175 00:22:25,210 --> 00:22:31,730 Martha, the Lord answers, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things 176 00:22:31,730 --> 00:22:41,490 are needed or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away 177 00:22:41,490 --> 00:22:50,029 from her. So Mary had chosen, and we can never, you know, sometimes it's easy to look 178 00:22:50,029 --> 00:22:56,230 at Martha and say, yeah, yeah, Martha was just busy doing the work, you know, and Mary was 179 00:22:56,230 --> 00:23:01,990 at the feet of Jesus, you know, thinking just relational. But you know, the work needs 180 00:23:01,990 --> 00:23:08,769 to be done too, right? This is just a, this is just a point, you know, you know, I don't 181 00:23:08,789 --> 00:23:13,690 think that Jesus was saying that Martha, you're wrong. I think he was saying, you know, Martha, 182 00:23:13,829 --> 00:23:20,529 don't miss out on this. So don't miss out on this, this relational, don't miss out on 183 00:23:20,529 --> 00:23:29,529 this love outpouring that Mary, that Mary was giving. John 17, 3 says, now this is eternal 184 00:23:29,529 --> 00:23:38,349 life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. So knowing 185 00:23:38,349 --> 00:23:44,789 God, knowing Jesus, knowing Him is just that, is that great inheritance in and of itself. 186 00:23:45,369 --> 00:23:52,930 First Peter 2.19, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special 187 00:23:52,930 --> 00:23:59,769 possession that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into 188 00:23:59,769 --> 00:24:07,569 His wonderful light. So we, in essence, are the Levites. 189 00:24:08,470 --> 00:24:18,490 Right? We are the ones that have that relational inheritance with Him. Because we can have everything, 190 00:24:19,470 --> 00:24:27,069 we can have everything that this world has to offer. And really everything that God has 191 00:24:27,069 --> 00:24:33,190 to give, but if we're missing the greatest gift of relationship with Him, we're missing 192 00:24:33,190 --> 00:24:50,970 it all. Okay, I got a big piece to cover here, 15-32. This gives the detail of the inheritance 193 00:24:50,970 --> 00:24:59,289 to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben according 194 00:24:59,289 --> 00:25:07,630 to its clan, the territory of Ehor, on the rim of the Amun Gorge, and from the town in 195 00:25:07,630 --> 00:25:17,230 the middle of the gorge, and the whole plateau past Mirabah. To the Heshban and all its towns 196 00:25:17,230 --> 00:25:29,269 on the plateau, including Dibban, Baumuth, Baal, and Bathbal, Mian, Jaz, Kadimah, and 197 00:25:29,289 --> 00:25:41,990 Bath, Metath, Kurethim, Sibha, Xerath, Sharar, and the hill in the valley. Beth Pior, the 198 00:25:41,990 --> 00:25:50,190 slopes of the Fizgah, and Beth Jezmoth, and the towns on the plateau, and the entire 199 00:25:50,190 --> 00:25:57,750 realm of Sion, king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshban. Moses had defeated him, 200 00:25:57,750 --> 00:26:09,109 and the Midianite chiefs, Evi, Rechem, Zer, Her, and Reba, princes, allied with Sion, who 201 00:26:09,109 --> 00:26:15,190 lived in that country. In addition to those slain in battle, the Israelites had put to 202 00:26:15,190 --> 00:26:24,650 the sword Balaam, son of Beor, and practiced in battle, the Israelites had put the sword 203 00:26:25,450 --> 00:26:32,250 to Baal, and practiced in battle, divination. The boundary of the Reubenites was the bank 204 00:26:32,250 --> 00:26:39,730 of the Jordan. These towns and villages were the inheritance of the Reubenites, according 205 00:26:39,730 --> 00:26:47,210 to their clan. This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its clan, 206 00:26:47,809 --> 00:26:57,130 the territory of Jazer, all the towns of Gelid, and half of Amorite country, as far as Eir, 207 00:26:57,490 --> 00:27:07,849 near Rabath, and from Heshban to Ramath, Mispath, and Bedaman, and Manaman, to the territory 208 00:27:07,849 --> 00:27:17,190 of Dibur, and the valley, Beth Harath, Beth Nimrath, Sukkoth, and Zaphram, and the 209 00:27:17,210 --> 00:27:24,250 town, with the rest of the realm of Sion, king of Heshban, the east side of the Jordan, 210 00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:31,370 the territory up to the end of the Sea of Galilee. These towns and their villages were 211 00:27:31,990 --> 00:27:38,950 the inheritance of the Gadiites, according to their clans. This is what Moses has given 212 00:27:38,950 --> 00:27:46,210 the half-tribe of Manasseh. That is, the half of the family of the descendants of 213 00:27:46,210 --> 00:27:56,150 Manasseh, according to the clans. The territory extending from Maham, and including 214 00:27:56,809 --> 00:28:04,309 all of Bashan, and the entire realm of Og, king of Bashan, all the settlements of Jer 215 00:28:04,970 --> 00:28:12,990 and the Bashan, and 60 towns, half of Gelid, and Ashroth, and Edri, the royal cities of 216 00:28:12,990 --> 00:28:20,789 Og and Bashim. This was the descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, for half of the sons 217 00:28:20,789 --> 00:28:28,369 of Makir, according to the clans. This is the inheritance Moses had given them. It was 218 00:28:28,369 --> 00:28:36,150 the plains of the Moab across from the Jordan east. So, again, it was all of this area 219 00:28:36,710 --> 00:28:42,130 here. This is Manasseh. This is the Jordan River that goes right down the middle here. 220 00:28:43,049 --> 00:28:48,849 This is Sea of Galilee here. This is Reuben. So, it was pretty much all of this area in 221 00:28:48,849 --> 00:28:56,950 here, half of this, which is cut off. So, it just kind of gives you an idea of the 222 00:28:56,950 --> 00:29:02,109 progression of where God was going with this. 223 00:29:05,530 --> 00:29:11,450 I know I've shared this before, but I always used to, when I used to read the Bible, I always 224 00:29:11,450 --> 00:29:19,009 used to skip over the minutia. I'd kind of skip over a long list of names, and skip 225 00:29:19,009 --> 00:29:32,089 over all the geographical stuff, and all of these things, just because the strain was 226 00:29:32,089 --> 00:29:41,890 on me. What I've learned over the years is that God is a God of detail, and he has detail 227 00:29:41,890 --> 00:29:52,309 for reasons. If we're willing to dig and kind of try to understand the detail, there's often 228 00:29:52,309 --> 00:29:59,329 treasures found in those details. So, he's very specific in these allotments, and he's 229 00:29:59,329 --> 00:30:07,170 very specific in the geographical boundaries, and the towns that were, and the villages, 230 00:30:08,089 --> 00:30:18,049 and empires, and regions that were taken over. So, God's promise was fulfilled in a very, 231 00:30:18,049 --> 00:30:28,089 very specific, tangible way here. He's naming these boundaries. He's confirming ownership to 232 00:30:28,089 --> 00:30:35,450 the Israelites, and the tribes, very specifically on what he has given them, and the identity. 233 00:30:36,490 --> 00:30:44,069 Balaam is mentioned in verse 22, a reminder that spiritual opposition must be dealt with. 234 00:30:44,170 --> 00:30:49,230 This was an evil, and I'm not going to kind of rehash, but it had to be dealt with thoroughly 235 00:30:49,230 --> 00:30:58,069 and harshly. So, sometimes what seems repetitive to us, and monotonous to us, is actually 236 00:30:58,610 --> 00:31:06,609 you know, the evidence that God is giving us for his faithfulness. He loves detail, and 237 00:31:06,609 --> 00:31:13,630 he loves the specifics of things. You know, Matthew 10, 30 said he knows every hair on 238 00:31:14,910 --> 00:31:28,069 our heads. They're numbered. Can you imagine that? I mean, that level of detail. So, 239 00:31:29,069 --> 00:31:37,789 it's very specific to us, and it shows up in details in our lives. So, a couple things 240 00:31:37,789 --> 00:31:50,089 to recap here. You know, God's promise versus his possession. God can have promises in our 241 00:31:50,089 --> 00:31:58,049 lives that we haven't taken possession of, and there are people that can unfiltered 242 00:31:58,069 --> 00:32:04,789 and unfortunately go their entire lives without stepping in and possessing what God has for 243 00:32:04,789 --> 00:32:11,769 them and what God has given them and the fullness of what he has. So, faith has to walk ahead 244 00:32:12,509 --> 00:32:20,769 of fulfillment. We have to have that faith to receive that fulfillment. Secondly, incomplete 245 00:32:20,769 --> 00:32:28,049 obedience has lasting impact. We've talked about this many times as we've tried to 246 00:32:28,069 --> 00:32:35,170 journey through the Old Testament, and God is very specific in pointing this out, that 247 00:32:35,170 --> 00:32:46,950 we can't do it 75% of the way and expect God's full blessing, expect his full inheritance. 248 00:32:47,529 --> 00:32:56,089 God needs us to do it 100% through. So, what is not removed, what is not possessed, what 249 00:32:56,089 --> 00:33:06,309 is not conquered can resurface and become persistent issues. God is a source of victory 250 00:33:07,370 --> 00:33:16,910 for us. He is our victory. He said right here, he didn't, he didn't, and I love this because 251 00:33:16,910 --> 00:33:26,069 he, you know, he says this to Joshua, I myself will drive them out. That's a, that's 252 00:33:26,089 --> 00:33:30,809 a powerful statement because he'd been pushing them ahead, you know, and saying, you know, 253 00:33:30,809 --> 00:33:34,730 I'll be with you, go out and do this. And now he's saying, look, I'm going to do this. 254 00:33:35,970 --> 00:33:45,509 And fourth, the greatest inheritance is God himself, is that relationship that, that we 255 00:33:45,509 --> 00:33:52,450 have with him and the Levites revealed this ultimate truth, which is alive in us today. 256 00:33:53,690 --> 00:34:02,930 We are, we are the living remnant of that, that priesthood, and we have that relationship 257 00:34:03,769 --> 00:34:13,530 with him. Joshua 13 really mirrors, you know, this, this, this walk of faith that God has 258 00:34:13,530 --> 00:34:22,670 for us. You know, we've been given everything through Christ, everything, but we are all 259 00:34:23,289 --> 00:34:32,369 still learning, right? And we're still living in it, and we're still receiving it. We're 260 00:34:32,369 --> 00:34:39,730 already heirs, but we're still growing in it. We're already blessed, but we're still 261 00:34:39,730 --> 00:34:51,449 transforming from glory to glory. You know, Jesus fulfills this by, by securing the inheritance. 262 00:34:52,150 --> 00:35:00,829 He secured it by being the inheritance, by leading us into ongoing possession of that. 263 00:35:01,849 --> 00:35:10,769 So this is, this was such a relevant chapter for us, you know, to look at, for me, as you 264 00:35:10,769 --> 00:35:17,409 know, as I read through it, it became, became so meaningful and so eye-opening. We don't 265 00:35:17,429 --> 00:35:24,429 always feel like we're living fully in God's, God's promise, and we don't always feel like, 266 00:35:26,109 --> 00:35:33,489 like we have this inheritance that we read about, but that doesn't mean that it's not 267 00:35:33,489 --> 00:35:40,409 already been given to us, just because we don't feel a certain way about it or because 268 00:35:40,409 --> 00:35:46,789 we don't, we don't see it. You know, when we walk in it and when we trust in him and 269 00:35:46,789 --> 00:35:54,650 we have that faith, you know, and we remember that that great inheritance really comes in 270 00:35:54,650 --> 00:36:01,670 the relationship that we have, God unfolds it new and new and new every day. 271 00:36:05,150 --> 00:36:11,250 Let's close in prayer, and then we'll break down into some discussion groups. Father God, 272 00:36:11,250 --> 00:36:17,909 we just thank you, Lord, for this chapter, Lord, and just for what you reveal in our hearts, 273 00:36:18,250 --> 00:36:23,909 God, in our minds, and Lord, how applicable it is for us in our lives, Lord, and we thank 274 00:36:23,909 --> 00:36:32,449 you, Lord, for that, that full inheritance, God, that you paid the price for God, that 275 00:36:32,449 --> 00:36:39,510 you were the ultimate sacrifice for God, that you shed your blood for us, God, so that 276 00:36:39,510 --> 00:36:46,309 we could live and walk in that full inheritance, God, that you paved the way for that, and 277 00:36:46,309 --> 00:36:52,090 we are so grateful, God, that you paid a debt, Lord, that we could never, ever have paid, 278 00:36:53,510 --> 00:36:58,389 and we thank you, God, that your glory has been poured out upon us, Lord, and that your 279 00:36:58,389 --> 00:37:05,470 kingdom lives inside of us, God, and you've empowered us, Lord, to release that, release 280 00:37:06,550 --> 00:37:12,989 that kingdom, Lord, to those around us, Lord, those in our homes, Lord, in our neighborhoods, 281 00:37:13,469 --> 00:37:19,190 God, in our towns, Lord, in our workplace, God, wherever we are, God, we pray that your 282 00:37:19,190 --> 00:37:24,489 presence, Lord, would just burst forth from us, God, that it would change the atmosphere 283 00:37:25,030 --> 00:37:31,030 wherever we are. We give all the glory to you, in Jesus' name, amen. 284 00:37:35,469 --> 00:37:41,369 Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. Don't 285 00:37:41,369 --> 00:37:47,650 forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. Be 286 00:37:47,650 --> 00:37:49,650 blessed, and have a great day!