Welcome to the Lansdale Life Church podcast.
If you're seeking a closer relationship with Jesus Christ, this podcast is for you.
Thank you for joining us today.
Welcome and thank you for coming out on this rainy night. I wasn't sure about an
hour ago if we were gonna make it. Yeah, I thought Ron would be the only one here.
Yeah, all right. That's good. All right, well let's open up with a with a word of
prayer. Lord, we welcome your presence here tonight. Lord, we welcome your spirit.
We yield our hearts, God, and our minds to you in this moment. Lord, and we just pray
for wisdom, Lord, and revelation, God. You would impart to us, God, just a new
insights, Lord, into your Word and Scripture tonight and how to apply it to
our lives, Lord. Help us to find you in your Word tonight, Lord. Help us to know
you better, God. Draw us closer, Lord, by your spirit through your Scripture. Help
us to go out in the world, God, and apply it, Lord, and be your witnesses, Lord,
from here. We thank you, God, for this opportunity to gather and study the
Word, Joshua, Lord, and how thought-provoking and eye-opening, God.
It's been been for us and it's been a great journey and we thank you, Lord, for
this opportunity. We pray, Lord, that you just continue to move us on in this
journey, Lord, through your Word in Jesus' name. Amen. All right, well, just as a quick
recap, we are in Joshua 13 tonight. So, for those of you that haven't been to
all of these, in the beginning of Joshua, Moses dies and God
commissions Joshua to lead the Israelites into the Promised Land. They
made their long trek and Moses was not going to be the guy to lead them
into the land, but Joshua was. And they started out by crossing the Jordan
and God really just showed his power and authority much like he did in the
Exodus where he just parted the sea and they put up a
remembrance stone saying, this is something awesome that God did in our
life and we never want to forget it, so every time we come by here, we want
to see these stones and remember them. You know, God begins to prepare Israel
spiritually. They were renewing their covenant with him. They did
to march around. Jericho and Jericho fell through obedience to God and
listening to God and following God and then almost immediately after Achan, you
know, has his siddin sin of disobedience and this leads to, you know, defeat. But
then they recover from that, they renew their covenant and they beat, they
defeated Ai. So, there was these surrounding nations, if you recall, that
responded in fear, some with violent fear, some with deceptive fear to
resist what was going on. They knew what the God of Israel was doing and they
were trying to prepare for that. Then shortly after that, the southern kings
were defeated and, you know, the northern kings were defeated. There was
major conquests happening here. I'm going to show you a bit more of this
as we talk on the map because it gets complicated to understand and I'm not
100% sure this map's going to clarify things, but it was the closest one that I
can find to give a visual. There's a lot of different maps that show
different things, but there's never a map that shows exactly what you want. So,
you know, God continues, he continues to fight and be with Israel and
establishing them in their land, in the Promised Land that he made for them. So,
we're going to start now, that gets you up to 13, so we're going to start now
with 13 and there's a lot of geography. There is a lot of geography in
this chapter, I can tell you that much. So, let's read verses 1 through 7.
So, when Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, you are now very old and there
are still very large areas of land to be taken over. This is the land that remains,
all the regions of the Philistines and Jesuits from the Shear River on the
east of Egypt to the territory of Ekron on the north. All of it counted as
Canaanite, through held by the five Philistine rulers of Giza. Ashdod, Ashkelon,
Gath, Ekron, the territory of Avites. On the south, all the land of the
Canaanites, from Arra of the Scythians as far as Apech to the border of the
Philistines. The areas of Biblos and all Lebanon to the east, from Bail Gad,
below Mount Hermon, to Lebohammoth. That's a mouthful, right? That's a lot of
hard names to pronounce and a lot of geographical points. All for the
inhabitants of the mountain region, from Lebanon to Nithroth to Maine,
that is all of the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out before the Israelites.
Be sure to allocate this land to Israel for an inheritance and I haven't, and as I
have instructed you, and divide it as an inheritance among the nine tribes and
half of the tribe of Manasseh. So you've got a lot of geography here. So God
starts out by saying, Joshua, you're old, okay? And it just seems like yesterday
that God was handing over the reins to him, but God assures him that he himself,
meaning the Lord, is going to drive out these remaining nations. So from what I've
gathered, it's been about five to seven years now since he took over from Moses.
And from what I've gathered, he could be anywhere from 80 to 100 years old. There's
no solid information, but you can use certain points to figure that out. So I
wouldn't say he's very old, just relatively old, right? So victory for the
promised land has begun. You know, God is delivering into their hands what he
has promised to do, but it's not complete. So God uses the term, you know,
much land remains, and there's an emphasis here on the abundance that's not yet possessed.
So it's not necessarily, if you notice the language, you know, God in the past, you
know, has sometimes rebuked and used harsh language towards the Israelites for not
doing exactly what he says, but this is really translated on the emphasis
meaning, hey, there's abundance here for you, Israel, that you need to take because
it's yours, it's your inheritance. So the emphasis is not necessarily on what's
missing, but what's available to them. So let's take a look at, you know, I always
come here and I don't have a pointer, right? So I tried to find a laser pointer
that worked and I didn't have one, and Tammy says, oh, I've got one, she's got one of
these little mouse toys, look at that, isn't that great? So yeah, so it's not like a
professional pointer, it's more like a mouse toy, so, but it gets a job done,
right? So let me try to make sense of what they were talking about here. To
consolidate things, it was basically the southwest portion of the coast. So down
here was a part of it, this was the Philistine territory down in here, and then it was the
central northwest coast, like up around here, and then it was the north mountain areas
up here, all the way down to the Mount, Mount Hermon, which was right about here.
And one way, I also read somewhere else that it was basically everything east, or almost
everything east of the Jordan, no west, you know, west of the Jordan. So there was a lot
of territory, and we'll get to what they populated, but these were really, not only
was this the promised land that God had for them, but these were really key, key points
for them. You had coastal strongholds here that were needed for transportation of goods
and all of these things, you had trading routes that were in there, you had fortified centers,
you had other influential pagan regions that God wanted to turn into use for him.
So there was a lot of areas over here that were not being used by the Israelites, and
it was, God was saying, look, this is part of your inheritance. Do you guys just want
to abide where you're at right now, over here? Or do you want the full inheritance?
So God was laying this out pretty clear for them that you guys got to make this happen.
And again, much of this land, he said, was not possessed, and it's part of their abundance.
So God's promises always stand for us. They're always there. His promises are always yes
and amen. Even when progress feels unfinished, even when we feel like we're not grasping
all that God has for us, those promises are still there. And one thing I know for sure,
because it's true in my life, and I've seen it so much in others, that God's promises
often unfold in stages, not all at once. Because sometimes we just go through the
process and we can't handle everything, everything at once.
In John 1612, Jesus said, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.
But when he, the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell
you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive
what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why he said
that the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.
So basically, Jesus was saying, you have so much more that I have promised to give
you and I have so much more for you, you just can't bear it right now. Their cups were kind
of already overflowing and maybe they needed more cups. But he was releasing to them and
wanted to release to them ongoing revelation. Hebrews 4.1 says, therefore, since the promise
of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen
short of it. So the promise of entering into his rest, we'll never know the full, full
rest of God until we are in heaven with him all the time. But we know progressions of
that rest. And as we draw closer to him through his Spirit, as we draw closer in unity with
each other, we know more and more and more and more of that rest. It's constantly unfolding.
So God's promises are solid. They are secure even when we haven't fully experienced them
or even when we don't feel that we have. So let's move on to verses 8 through 13.
On the other half of Manasseh, the Reubenites and the Gaddeites had received their inheritance
from Moses, had given them east of the Jordan as he, the servant of the Lord, had assigned
to them. It extended from Eor to the rim of Arun Gorge and from the town in the middle
of the gorge and included the whole plateau of Mediba as far as Dubon. And all the towns
of Sion King, of Sion King of the Amorites, who ruled in Heshbon out of the border of
the Ammonites, it also included Gilead, the territory of the people of Gishor and Makah,
all of Mount Hermon and all of Bashan as far as Salaka. That is the whole kingdom of Ag
in Bashan who had reigned in the Ashgarth and Adri. He was the last of the repiots.
Moses had defeated them and taken their land, but the Israelites did not drive out the people
of Gishor and Makah, so they continued to live among the Israelites to this day. So the Eastern
tribes of Reuben, Gadde, and half of Manasseh had received their land, but they did not
fully drive out the inhabitants. So these areas over here, there's Gadde, there's Manasseh,
there's Reuben. So these were east of the Jordan. That's where they were pretty much
occupying and possessing the land, but not completely as God said. So verse 13 gives
the key. They did not drive them out fully. So they were possessing the land, but they
weren't fully possessing the land. So to this day, singles that there were lasting consequences,
and we've read about this now many, many times in our journey here through the Old
Testament, followed to the nth degree, there's consequences, and there's lasting consequences
to that. There's ramifications. So this, for me, has always been insight and has always
been kind of revelatory that the things that I leave unconquered or unsurrendered in my
life become an ongoing influence, or they become this ongoing issue that just continues
to nag at me. So what they left completely unconquered has long-term ramifications to them
and ongoing. And we know this is true with sin and other things in our life. You know,
Romans 6, 12, you know, don't let sin reign in our life. But I don't think that this is
all necessarily meant as a rebuke or as speaking specifically just about sin, but I think it's
talking more about this is God's inheritance for us. So this inability to live in the fullness
that He had for the Israelites, this is what He was most concerned about here. In Galatians
3, 29 says, and if you are Christ, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to
His promise. So we are heirs to what God has for us, and He wants to release to us the fullness
of that inheritance, but many times we just don't step forward and receive that. Or there
is things that we tolerate in our life and leave unconquered, and that prohibits us from
receiving that. So this is all, you know, you can read this as strictly historical and where
Israel was going in their journey, or you can read it with the context of how does this
spiritually impact us today. And that's one way that I choose to look at it. So let's,
we're going to look at two separate verses here. We're going to look at verse 14 and then
we're going to jump to verse 33, which identifies the different inheritances for the Levites.
So 14 says, but to the tribe of Levi he gave no inheritance since the food offerings presented
to the Lord, the God of Israel, are their inheritance as He promised them. And then 33, but to the
tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance. The Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance
as promised to them. We've read about this before in several chapters how they were not
given land like the other tribes, but their inheritance was unlike theirs where it was
really this relational inheritance with God Himself. God was their portion, the Levites,
the priests. These were the people that were leading the tribe of Israel to God. They
were taking care of all the priestly duties. They were taking care of the temple. They were
taking care of all these things. So God was their inheritance. It was a relational inheritance,
not a material inheritance. So in some ways you could say that they had the highest covenant
blessing, and God is, He repeats this. This is many, many, many times He has said this
over and over again. And He's not like rubbing it in with the Levites and saying, hey, you
don't care, I'll get this. He's really emphasizing that their portion of inheritance is so much
greater. And sometimes for us, this is a hard thing to grasp. It's hard to grasp
right? Luke 10, 41 through 42 really paints a beautiful picture of this. Jesus says, Martha,
Martha, the Lord answers, you are worried and upset about many things, but few things
are needed or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away
from her. So Mary had chosen, and we can never, you know, sometimes it's easy to look
at Martha and say, yeah, yeah, Martha was just busy doing the work, you know, and Mary was
at the feet of Jesus, you know, thinking just relational. But you know, the work needs
to be done too, right? This is just a, this is just a point, you know, you know, I don't
think that Jesus was saying that Martha, you're wrong. I think he was saying, you know, Martha,
don't miss out on this. So don't miss out on this, this relational, don't miss out on
this love outpouring that Mary, that Mary was giving. John 17, 3 says, now this is eternal
life that they know you, the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. So knowing
God, knowing Jesus, knowing Him is just that, is that great inheritance in and of itself.
First Peter 2.19, but you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's special
possession that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into
His wonderful light. So we, in essence, are the Levites.
Right? We are the ones that have that relational inheritance with Him. Because we can have everything,
we can have everything that this world has to offer. And really everything that God has
to give, but if we're missing the greatest gift of relationship with Him, we're missing
it all. Okay, I got a big piece to cover here, 15-32. This gives the detail of the inheritance
to Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh. This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben according
to its clan, the territory of Ehor, on the rim of the Amun Gorge, and from the town in
the middle of the gorge, and the whole plateau past Mirabah. To the Heshban and all its towns
on the plateau, including Dibban, Baumuth, Baal, and Bathbal, Mian, Jaz, Kadimah, and
Bath, Metath, Kurethim, Sibha, Xerath, Sharar, and the hill in the valley. Beth Pior, the
slopes of the Fizgah, and Beth Jezmoth, and the towns on the plateau, and the entire
realm of Sion, king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshban. Moses had defeated him,
and the Midianite chiefs, Evi, Rechem, Zer, Her, and Reba, princes, allied with Sion, who
lived in that country. In addition to those slain in battle, the Israelites had put to
the sword Balaam, son of Beor, and practiced in battle, the Israelites had put the sword
to Baal, and practiced in battle, divination. The boundary of the Reubenites was the bank
of the Jordan. These towns and villages were the inheritance of the Reubenites, according
to their clan. This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, according to its clan,
the territory of Jazer, all the towns of Gelid, and half of Amorite country, as far as Eir,
near Rabath, and from Heshban to Ramath, Mispath, and Bedaman, and Manaman, to the territory
of Dibur, and the valley, Beth Harath, Beth Nimrath, Sukkoth, and Zaphram, and the
town, with the rest of the realm of Sion, king of Heshban, the east side of the Jordan,
the territory up to the end of the Sea of Galilee. These towns and their villages were
the inheritance of the Gadiites, according to their clans. This is what Moses has given
the half-tribe of Manasseh. That is, the half of the family of the descendants of
Manasseh, according to the clans. The territory extending from Maham, and including
all of Bashan, and the entire realm of Og, king of Bashan, all the settlements of Jer
and the Bashan, and 60 towns, half of Gelid, and Ashroth, and Edri, the royal cities of
Og and Bashim. This was the descendants of Makir, son of Manasseh, for half of the sons
of Makir, according to the clans. This is the inheritance Moses had given them. It was
the plains of the Moab across from the Jordan east. So, again, it was all of this area
here. This is Manasseh. This is the Jordan River that goes right down the middle here.
This is Sea of Galilee here. This is Reuben. So, it was pretty much all of this area in
here, half of this, which is cut off. So, it just kind of gives you an idea of the
progression of where God was going with this.
I know I've shared this before, but I always used to, when I used to read the Bible, I always
used to skip over the minutia. I'd kind of skip over a long list of names, and skip
over all the geographical stuff, and all of these things, just because the strain was
on me. What I've learned over the years is that God is a God of detail, and he has detail
for reasons. If we're willing to dig and kind of try to understand the detail, there's often
treasures found in those details. So, he's very specific in these allotments, and he's
very specific in the geographical boundaries, and the towns that were, and the villages,
and empires, and regions that were taken over. So, God's promise was fulfilled in a very,
very specific, tangible way here. He's naming these boundaries. He's confirming ownership to
the Israelites, and the tribes, very specifically on what he has given them, and the identity.
Balaam is mentioned in verse 22, a reminder that spiritual opposition must be dealt with.
This was an evil, and I'm not going to kind of rehash, but it had to be dealt with thoroughly
and harshly. So, sometimes what seems repetitive to us, and monotonous to us, is actually
you know, the evidence that God is giving us for his faithfulness. He loves detail, and
he loves the specifics of things. You know, Matthew 10, 30 said he knows every hair on
our heads. They're numbered. Can you imagine that? I mean, that level of detail. So,
it's very specific to us, and it shows up in details in our lives. So, a couple things
to recap here. You know, God's promise versus his possession. God can have promises in our
lives that we haven't taken possession of, and there are people that can unfiltered
and unfortunately go their entire lives without stepping in and possessing what God has for
them and what God has given them and the fullness of what he has. So, faith has to walk ahead
of fulfillment. We have to have that faith to receive that fulfillment. Secondly, incomplete
obedience has lasting impact. We've talked about this many times as we've tried to
journey through the Old Testament, and God is very specific in pointing this out, that
we can't do it 75% of the way and expect God's full blessing, expect his full inheritance.
God needs us to do it 100% through. So, what is not removed, what is not possessed, what
is not conquered can resurface and become persistent issues. God is a source of victory
for us. He is our victory. He said right here, he didn't, he didn't, and I love this because
he, you know, he says this to Joshua, I myself will drive them out. That's a, that's
a powerful statement because he'd been pushing them ahead, you know, and saying, you know,
I'll be with you, go out and do this. And now he's saying, look, I'm going to do this.
And fourth, the greatest inheritance is God himself, is that relationship that, that we
have with him and the Levites revealed this ultimate truth, which is alive in us today.
We are, we are the living remnant of that, that priesthood, and we have that relationship
with him. Joshua 13 really mirrors, you know, this, this, this walk of faith that God has
for us. You know, we've been given everything through Christ, everything, but we are all
still learning, right? And we're still living in it, and we're still receiving it. We're
already heirs, but we're still growing in it. We're already blessed, but we're still
transforming from glory to glory. You know, Jesus fulfills this by, by securing the inheritance.
He secured it by being the inheritance, by leading us into ongoing possession of that.
So this is, this was such a relevant chapter for us, you know, to look at, for me, as you
know, as I read through it, it became, became so meaningful and so eye-opening. We don't
always feel like we're living fully in God's, God's promise, and we don't always feel like,
like we have this inheritance that we read about, but that doesn't mean that it's not
already been given to us, just because we don't feel a certain way about it or because
we don't, we don't see it. You know, when we walk in it and when we trust in him and
we have that faith, you know, and we remember that that great inheritance really comes in
the relationship that we have, God unfolds it new and new and new every day.
Let's close in prayer, and then we'll break down into some discussion groups. Father God,
we just thank you, Lord, for this chapter, Lord, and just for what you reveal in our hearts,
God, in our minds, and Lord, how applicable it is for us in our lives, Lord, and we thank
you, Lord, for that, that full inheritance, God, that you paid the price for God, that
you were the ultimate sacrifice for God, that you shed your blood for us, God, so that
we could live and walk in that full inheritance, God, that you paved the way for that, and
we are so grateful, God, that you paid a debt, Lord, that we could never, ever have paid,
and we thank you, God, that your glory has been poured out upon us, Lord, and that your
kingdom lives inside of us, God, and you've empowered us, Lord, to release that, release
that kingdom, Lord, to those around us, Lord, those in our homes, Lord, in our neighborhoods,
God, in our towns, Lord, in our workplace, God, wherever we are, God, we pray that your
presence, Lord, would just burst forth from us, God, that it would change the atmosphere
wherever we are. We give all the glory to you, in Jesus' name, amen.
Thanks for joining us at Lansdale Life Church as we praise God and discuss His Word. Don't
forget to join us for Worship Lives Sunday mornings at 10 a.m. Eastern on YouTube. Be
blessed, and have a great day!