Joshua 1:1 ¶ Now after the death of Moses the
servant of the LORD it came to pass, that the LORD spake unto Joshua the son of
Nun, Moses' minister, saying, 2 Moses my servant is dead; now therefore
arise, go over this Jordan, thou, and all this people, unto the land which I do
give to them, even to the children of Israel. 3 Every place that the sole of
your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you, as I said unto Moses. 4
From the wilderness and this Lebanon even unto the great river, the river
Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and unto the great sea toward the
going down of the sun, shall be your coast. 5 There shall not any man be able
to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will
be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee. 6 Be strong and of a good
courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land,
which I sware unto their fathers to give them. 7 Only be thou strong and very courageous,
that thou mayest observe to do according to all the law, which Moses my servant
commanded thee: turn not from it to the right hand or to the left, that thou
mayest prosper whithersoever thou goest. 8 This book of the law shall not
depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that
thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then
thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. 9
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid,
neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou
goest.
Notice the further explanation of the land grant
given to the people of Israel in verse 4. Repeating my comments on Genesis
15:17-21 here;
“Genesis
15:17 ¶ And it came to pass, that, when
the sun went down, and it was dark, behold a smoking furnace, and a burning
lamp that passed between those pieces. 18
In the same day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, Unto thy
seed have I given this land, from the river of Egypt unto the great river, the
river Euphrates: 19 The Kenites, and the
Kenizzites, and the Kadmonites, 20 And
the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Rephaims, 21 And the Amorites, and the Canaanites, and the
Girgashites, and the Jebusites.
The
geography of the grant of land given by God to the Hebrews is very interesting
and has an impact today on international events. God, in the symbols of a
smoking furnace and a burning lamp (see Deuteronomy 4:24; 9:3; and Hebrews
12:29 among many other passages) passed between the pieces of animals
establishing the covenant with Himself to grant this land to Abram’s
descendants so it was not dependent upon any action of Abram other than
believing and receiving. This is not unlike salvation from an eternity of agony
in a place described as a lake of fire. God provides this to anyone who
receives His visible image, Christ, as Himself, believing the gospel.
From
the river of Egypt, bordering the southern extreme of Canaan (see Numbers 34:5;
Joshua 15:4; 47; 1Kings 8:65; 2Kings 24:7; & 2Chronicles 7:8), to the
Euphrates river north of Canaan, the land boundary of the territory promised to
Israel, to be realized in the millennial reign of Christ, is pretty extensive
if you look at a map. It is the seat of Christ’s rule from Jerusalem in the
millennium, during which He will reign for a thousand years because, for one
reason, Paul said;
Galatians
3:16 Now to Abraham and his seed were
the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And
to thy seed, which is Christ.
We
know Christ will physically rule on earth for a thousand years as John said.
Revelation
20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat
upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that
were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had
not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they
lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. …6 Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ,
and shall reign with him a thousand years.
During
His reign the Jewish people will occupy the earth and the promise of this land
grant will be fully realized.
Zechariah
8:20 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; It
shall yet come to pass, that there shall come people, and the inhabitants of
many cities: 21 And the inhabitants of
one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily to pray before the
LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will go also. 22 Yea, many people and strong nations shall
come to seek the LORD of hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the LORD.
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In
those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all
languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew,
saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you.
In
a prophecy of a time after Christ God said He will bring the remnant of Israel
home. See this great prophecy in Isaiah, chapter 11.
Isaiah
11:1 ¶ And there shall come forth a rod
out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: 2 And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon
him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might,
the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD; 3 And shall make him of quick understanding in
the fear of the LORD: and he shall not judge after the sight of his eyes,
neither reprove after the hearing of his ears: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay
the wicked. 5 And righteousness shall be
the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins. 6 The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and
the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 And the cow and the bear shall feed; their
young ones shall lie down together: and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.
8 And the sucking child shall play on
the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice’
den. 9 They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the
LORD, as the waters cover the sea.10 ¶
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse, which shall stand for an
ensign of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be
glorious. [see Romans 15:12; Revelation 22:16] 11
And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall set his hand
again the second time to recover the remnant of his people, which shall be
left, from Assyria, and from Egypt, and from Pathros, and from Cush, and from
Elam, and from Shinar, and from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
12 And he shall set up an ensign for the
nations, and shall assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together the
dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the earth.
The
nation of Israel, created by human political action and struggle, will always
face adversity, even near extinction under the persecution of the Beast of
Revelation, until Christ returns. But when He returns to rule the promise will
be realized.
Revelation
11:15 And the seventh angel sounded; and
there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are
become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever
and ever.”
See Exodus 23:31 And I will set thy bounds from the Red sea
even unto the sea of the Philistines, and from the desert unto the river:
And
Numbers 34:1
¶ And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
2 Command the children of Israel, and
say unto them, When ye come into the land of Canaan; (this is the land that
shall fall unto you for an inheritance, even the land of Canaan with the coasts
thereof:) 3 Then your south quarter shall
be from the wilderness of Zin along by the coast of Edom, and your south border
shall be the outmost coast of the salt sea eastward: 4 And your border shall turn from the south to
the ascent of Akrabbim, and pass on to Zin: and the going forth thereof shall
be from the south to Kadeshbarnea, and shall go on to Hazaraddar, and pass on
to Azmon: 5 And the border shall fetch a
compass from Azmon unto the river of Egypt, and the goings out of it shall be
at the sea. 6 And as for the western
border, ye shall even have the great sea for a border: this shall be your west
border. 7 And this shall be your north
border: from the great sea ye shall point out for you mount Hor: 8 From mount Hor ye shall point out your border
unto the entrance of Hamath; and the goings forth of the border shall be to
Zedad: 9 And the border shall go on to
Ziphron, and the goings out of it shall be at Hazarenan: this shall be your
north border. 10 And ye shall point out
your east border from Hazarenan to Shepham: 11
And the coast shall go down from Shepham to Riblah, on the east side of
Ain; and the border shall descend, and shall reach unto the side of the sea of
Chinnereth eastward: 12 And the border
shall go down to Jordan, and the goings out of it shall be at the salt sea: this
shall be your land with the coasts thereof round about.
Also, see; Deuteronomy 11:24 Every place whereon the soles of your feet
shall tread shall be yours: from the wilderness and Lebanon, from the river,
the river Euphrates, even unto the uttermost sea shall your coast be.
Verse
8 is an incredibly powerful memory verse. Although we are not promised the kind
of temporal success necessarily the Israelites were this verse applies to every
aspect of our lives. Keeping God’s word in our heads and in our hearts is
vital.
Psalm 119:11
Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
Verse 9 is a good one to keep in mind when
facing life’s difficulties along with;
Hebrews 13:5 Let your conversation be
without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath
said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.
Joshua 1:10 ¶Then Joshua commanded the officers of the people, saying, 11 Pass
through the host, and command the people, saying, Prepare you victuals; for
within three days ye shall pass over this Jordan, to go in to possess the land,
which the LORD your God giveth you to possess it.
Here is a word we don’t use today; victuals.
Victuals, pronounced ‘vidls’, are food and provisions.
Joshus 1:12 ¶And to the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to half the tribe
of Manasseh, spake Joshua, saying, 13 Remember the word which Moses the servant
of the LORD commanded you, saying, The LORD your God hath given you rest, and
hath given you this land. 14 Your wives, your little ones, and your cattle,
shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but ye shall
pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valour, and help them; 15
Until the LORD have given your brethren rest, as he hath given you, and they
also have possessed the land which the LORD your God giveth them:
then ye shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which
Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the
sunrising.
Joshua 1:16 ¶And they answered Joshua, saying, All that thou commandest us we
will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will go. 17 According as we
hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto thee: only the LORD
thy God be with thee, as he was with Moses. 18 Whosoever he be that doth
rebel against thy commandment, and will not hearken unto thy words in all that
thou commandest him, he shall be put to death: only be strong and of a
good courage.
At the end of this passage, again, the
Israelites are encouraged to stay strong. See that the Israelites promise to
follow Joshua as they did Moses. I’m not sure if that is comforting or not
considering they way they disobeyed in the wilderness.
Please
review the previous passages on the command Joshua gives to the Reubenites and
the Gadites regarding Moses’ command.
Deuteronomy 3:12 ¶ And this
land, which we possessed at that time, from Aroer, which is by the river Arnon,
and half mount Gilead, and the cities thereof, gave I unto the Reubenites and
to the Gadites. 13 And the rest of
Gilead, and all Bashan, being the kingdom of Og, gave I unto the half tribe of
Manasseh; all the region of Argob, with all Bashan, which was called the land
of giants. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh
took all the country of Argob unto the coasts of Geshuri and Maachathi; and
called them after his own name, Bashanhavothjair, unto this day. 15 And I gave Gilead unto Machir. 16 And unto the Reubenites and unto the Gadites
I gave from Gilead even unto the river Arnon half the valley, and the border
even unto the river Jabbok, which is the border of the children of Ammon;
17 The plain also, and Jordan, and the
coast thereof, from Chinnereth even unto the sea of the plain, even the salt
sea, under Ashdothpisgah eastward. 18
And I commanded you at that time, saying, The LORD your God hath given
you this land to possess it: ye shall pass over armed before your brethren the
children of Israel, all that are meet for the war. 19 But your wives, and your little ones, and
your cattle, (for I know that ye have much cattle,) shall abide in your cities
which I have given you; 20 Until the
LORD have given rest unto your brethren, as well as unto you, and until they
also possess the land which the LORD your God hath given them beyond Jordan:
and then shall ye return every man unto his possession, which I have given you.
Numbers 32:1 ¶ Now the
children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of
cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that,
behold, the place was a place for cattle;
2 The children of Gad and the
children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and
unto the princes of the congregation, saying, 3
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and
Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4 Even the
country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for
cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5
Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land
be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
6 And Moses said unto the children of
Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye
sit here? 7 And wherefore discourage ye
the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the
LORD hath given them? 8 Thus did your
fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up unto the valley of
Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel,
that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same
time, and he sware, saying, 11 Surely
none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward,
shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob;
because they have not wholly followed me: 12
Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun:
for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13
And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander
in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in
the sight of the LORD, was consumed. 14
And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of
sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. 15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will
yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
Numbers 32:16 ¶ And they
came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and
cities for our little ones: 17 But we
ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have
brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced
cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return unto our houses, until the
children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder
side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side
Jordan eastward. 20 And Moses said unto
them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
21 And will go all of you armed over
Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22 And the land be subdued before the LORD:
then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before
Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have
sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build you cities for your little ones, and
folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
25 And the children of Gad and the
children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord
commandeth. 26 Our little ones, our
wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
27 But thy servants will pass over,
every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
No comments:
Post a Comment