Old Testament

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson.

Joshua 22:30-34
The Lord God of gods, Part III

One of the most common (and nauseating) accusations that Christians will sling out at other Christians is, “You can’t be a Christian because…” Then, they toss out their own pet peeve as proof that the other person cannot be saved.

“You don’t read the King Jimmy Bible, you can’t be saved.” Show me that in John 3:16. Yet, such accusations are as common as rice in a Thai restaurant.

Did you know that according to the Church of Christ if you aren’t baptized, you’re not saved? Yeah. Really. Some even go further and say if your baptism wasn’t in the Church of Christ, you can’t be saved. Hmmm.

So we have just read the final section of Joshua 22. We’ll evaluate the verses and then look to see why they have been placed here. But based on what I just said, you may have an idea that they give us typology regarding salvation.

The tribes east of the Jordan really built an impressive altar. They had a reason for doing so as well. God chose what they did to reveal other things to us. As has been the case with the rest of Joshua, the detail all points to something else. It is a fascinating journey we have been on and that continues here.

Text Verse: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven,
Whose sin is covered.
² Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity,
And in whose spirit there is no deceit.” Psalm 32:1, 2

David wrote these words about a thousand years before the coming of Christ. He was a man under law, and yet he spoke of things that occurred apart from the law. He was able to rightly see things about God, His nature, and His attributes that many people in the church today still can’t understand.

And this is even after Paul took these words of David and gave a detailed explanation about what God is doing with them. What does it mean when David says, “Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity?”

That will be revealed in our passage today. It is an exceptionally interesting look into what occurred with people like David. It is also a necessary inclusion in the pages of the Bible. Without it, there would be a void in how we might perceive a certain group of people who have lived in a particular dispensation of time.

Get ready, great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Yehovah Is the God (verses 30-34)

In Part I of this three-part series, Phinehas and ten rulers from each tribe of Israel that settled in Canaan came to the eastern tribes and questioned them concerning the altar they had built. They reminded those tribes east of the Jordan about the matter of Peor and the trespass of Achan and the tragedy those events brought upon Israel.

In Part II, a response was given from the eastern tribes, proclaiming their innocence in any sort of transgression. Rather than an altar for offering and sacrifice, they had built the altar to stand as a witness between them and the western tribes that they, too, had a right to the Lord God of Israel.

Rather than the Jordan being a dividing border between the two groups, the altar standing above it acknowledged their right to participation in all covenant blessings of Israel. With that remembered, the final verses of the chapter begin with…

³⁰ Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them.

There is no “when” in the Hebrew. Rather, the flow of thought is, “And … heard the words … and it was good in their eyes.” In the naming of Manasseh, no definite article is used. It says, “and sons Manasseh.”

If you recall, when the article has been used, a note of separation has been highlighted. When not used, the thought is inclusiveness. Here, they accept their actions and thus also the people who took the action.

In this verse, one can feel the sense of relief that must have permeated the delegation since they first heard of the matter. With each step closer to the meeting with the eastern tribes, there was probably a sense of increasing tension.

Then, as the western tribes presented their case, there was probably heightened anxiety and maybe even anger. However, as the eastern tribes began to speak, any such emotions would have dissipated.

The defense began with an exaltation of the name of the Lord, continued with a rhetorical note acknowledging the Lord’s right to judge them if they were in the wrong, then explained the reason for what they had done, and ended with an adamant protestation that they would never rebel against the Lord. Their words were accepted, and they were found pleasing in the eyes of the delegation…

³¹ Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh,

Phinehas speaks on behalf of the delegation, addressing those from each of the tribes. Again, there is no article before Manasseh. We get the sense inclusivity and fellowship because of this. As for his address to them, he says…

^{31 (con’t)} “This day we perceive that the Lord is among us,

ha’yom yadanu ki b’tokenu Yehovah – “The day we know for in our midst Yehovah.” In verse 20, the delegation mentioned the trespass of Achan. Because of what he did, the Lord told Joshua –

“Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. ¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” Joshua 7:11, 12

The Lord said he would not be with Israel anymore unless they remedied the situation. This is what the western tribes feared would be the case with the assumed transgression of the eastern tribes. Now, in knowing the purpose of the altar, they knew that the Lord had not abandoned them. Rather, He remained in their midst…

^{31 (con’t)} because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord.

asher lo m’altem b’Yehovah ha’maal ha’zeh – “that not transgressed in Yehovah the transgression, the this.” It again points back to the transgression of Achan. When Chapter 7 opened, it used the same words as those here –

“But the children of Israel committed [v: maal] a trespass [n: maal] regarding the accursed things, for Achan the son of Carmi, the son of Zabdi, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took of the accursed things; so the anger of the Lord burned against the children of Israel.” Joshua 7:1

Side by side, this is clearly evident –

7:1 – And transgressed [v: maal] sons of Israel a transgression [n: maal].
22:31 – Not transgressed [v: maal] in Yehovah the transgression [n: maal].

These internal clues show us how seriously the western tribes considered the matter. The Lord said He would no longer be with Israel until they resolved the matter of Achan’s transgression. But more, that single transgression of Achan was considered by the Lord as an act committed by Israel as a whole.

If it was done with perverse intent, how much more would this be a reason for the Lord’s removal of Himself from them! What was perceived as a matter equal to or greater than that of Achan is now considered resolved because of the words of defense spoken by the eastern tribes. Therefore, Phinehas continues…

^{31 (con’t)} Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.”

There is no single equivalent word to fully express the word that opens the statement: az hitsaltem eth bene Yisrael miyad Yehovah – “Consequently have delivered sons Israel from hand Yehovah.” The word az is a demonstrative adverb signifying “then,” “now,” or “at that time.”’

In this case, though, it is not strictly temporal, but the result of a logical sequence: This, this, therefore this. The fear was that Israel was again subject to kherem or being devoted to destruction unless they acted against the perceived transgression.

However, the consequence of their actions and the words of their defense have delivered Israel from such a state. With the matter thus happily resolved, it next says…

³² And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them.

The name of the half-tribe of Manasseh is notably missing from the words. Of this, John Lange says, “In Joshua 22:32 the children of Reuben and Gad alone are named, and so in Joshua 22:34, merely for brevity’s sake.”

I would disagree with such an idea. There is no such thing as “for brevity’s sake” in Scripture. When something is said, it is for a reason. When something is left unsaid, the same is true. This is more certain because the matter before us was conducted in the Gilead, half of which belonged to the half-tribe of Manasseh.

So unusual is this omission that the Greek text includes Manasseh in their translation –

“So Phinees the priest and the princes departed from the children of Ruben, and from the children of Gad, and from the half tribe of Manasse out of Galaad into the land of Chanaan to the children of Israel; and reported the words to them.”

It is certainly implied that Manasseh is included in the words, but the exclusion of the name should tell us that we are being explained things in typology as well as from a literal, historical perspective.

Manasseh has been named ten times in this chapter. Five times a definite article has preceded the name and five times it has been omitted. The name is now noticeably missing from the final two mentions of the eastern tribes which occur after the matter has been resolved. This begs us to consider what is being said.

³³ So the thing pleased the children of Israel,

vayitav ha’davar b’ene bene Yisrael – “And pleasing the word in eyes, sons Israel.” It is the same thought just presented in verse 30. What was pleasing in the eyes of the delegation is now pleasing in the eyes of the people.

The word “word” signifies a matter or issue. In this case, the matter that was reported to them consists of what was spoken in verses 21-29. Because it was an acceptable, even noble, response, it elicited a response from them…

^{33 (con’t)} and the children of Israel blessed God;

vaybarakhu Elohim bene Yisrael – “And blessed Elohim sons Israel.” In using the word Elohim, it is referring to the power of God. The word is ultimately derived from ul, strength or might.

Being plural, it gives the sense of Powers or Forces which probably refers to the many aspects of God’s workings within creation. Such an idea is what was conveyed by Jesus to the Sanhedrin during His trial –

“And the high priest arose and said to Him, ‘Do You answer nothing? What is it these men testify against You?’ ⁶³ But Jesus kept silent. And the high priest answered and said to Him, ‘I put You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God!’
⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, ‘It is as you said. Nevertheless, I say to you, hereafter you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Power, and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Matthew 26:62-64

In the use of Elohim in this verse, it is surely referring back to the statement made by the eastern tribes when they first responded to the charges brought against them –

El Elohim Yehovah El Elohim Yehovah

He is the Powers of Israel, displaying Himself on their behalf. Because of this, the people blessed Him…

^{33 (con’t)} they spoke no more of going against them in battle,

The words are unusual. Rather than “spoke,” it says: v’lo ameru la’aloth alehem la’tsavah – “and no said to arise upon them to the war.” As a general rule of thumb, when the word davar, or spoke, is used, it gives the sense of something that is considered without any sense of participation. When amar, said, is used it usually involves participating in an action.

What this is probably referring to is what was said in their initial words to the eastern tribes –

“Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke [davar] with them, saying, ¹⁶ ‘Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: “What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord?”’” Joshua 22:15, 16

The western tribes said they were “the whole congregation of the Lord.” That implied that the eastern tribes were not a part of the congregation of the Lord. The western tribes were on His side; the eastern tribes were not. Thus, their actions were in participation with the Lord.

Now, they are saying that together, they and the Lord, were not going to arise upon those of the eastern tribes…

^{33 (con’t)} to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

The attention is on the land rather than the people: la’shakhet eth ha’arets asher bene Reuven u’bene Gad yoshvim bah – “to destroy the land where sons Reuben and sons Gad dwelt in her.” This would go back to what they said to the eastern tribes as well –

“Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the Lord, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God.” Joshua 22:19

If the land was unclean, then the land was to be destroyed. The little nuances are carefully presented again and again within the passage to explain what was on the minds of the people, why things occurred, and why they turned out as they did.

³⁴ The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, 

The words are almost universally mistranslated. Here are several general options:

And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed. KJV
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness. NASB
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad proclaim concerning the altar. YLT
And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad gave a name to the altar. Darby
And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad will call to the altar. SLT

The Hebrew reads: va’yiqreu bene Reuven u’bene Gad la’mizbeakh – “And called sons Reuben and sons Gad to the altar.” That doesn’t seem to make sense. Therefore, various changes are made to try to make sense of what is being conveyed.

The KJV inserts the word Ed, the Hebrew word for Witness (nothing to do with Ed Sullivan, BTW). They did this to anticipate the thought of the next clause. In order to do this, they consider the first word of the next clause as an untranslatable sign of a quotation for direct discourse.

The NASB did the same thing, but gave the English translation of ed.

Young’s takes the “to the” and assumes it means it is referring to a proclamation that will be explained in the next clause.

Darby takes the words “And called” (meaning “And proclaimed”) as meaning “And gave.” That would be like us saying, “And they called his name Esau,” which is what Genesis 25:25, using the same word, says in the English translation – “And the first came out red. He was like a hairy garment all over; so they called his name Esau.”

That literally says, “And called name Esau.” The problem is that it ignores the “to the” before “altar.” If it said, “And called to the Esau,” such a comparison could be made, but it doesn’t.

Smith’s Literal Translation is the closest, saying “will call to the altar.” The verb is imperfect and so he decided to make it a future action, indicating an ongoing thing. There is no need for that. Again and again vayiqreu is translated as “and called.” This gets the sense across as intended. With that understood, it next says…

*^{34 (fin)} “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

The words are emphatic. And again, not a single translation gives a literal rendering of these words: ki ed hu benotenu ki Yehovah ha’ Elohim – “For Witness IT, between us. For Yehovah the God.” Rather than Yehovah is God, it says He is THE God.

Taken with the first clause, the whole thought reads: “And called sons Reuben and sons Gad to the altar. For Witness, IT, between us. For Yehovah the God.” What is that telling us?

The “between us” part is referring to the eastern tribes and the western tribes. The altar itself stands as a witness between the tribes.

As for the article before God, “the God,” it is an emphatic statement that Yehovah is the one true God. As was explained in Deuteronomy 14, the definite article is expressive. It is used when referring to the one true God in relation to man.

But more especially, it is in relation to those who are in a right relationship with Him, or it is used to contrast those who are not in a right relationship with Him. In this case, the use of the article tells us that both the eastern and western tribes are in a right relationship with Him.

Still, the passage itself must be evaluated in how it points to Jesus to be fully understood.

To him who does not work
But who believes on Him who does the justifying
There is a heavenly perk
So the word of God is testifying

His faith is accounted for righteousness
This is the blessedness of man
And this is the secret of his success
That is set forth in God’s redemptive plan

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven
And those whose sins are covered
They have gone from death to livin’
No more will fault in them be discovered

II. An Explanation of the Typology

The first thing to remember is what the two sets of tribes picture. All the tribes have received an inheritance. One set of tribes received theirs on the eastern side of the Jordan while the other received theirs on the west side.

The Jordan, the Descender picturing Jesus in His incarnation, is the dividing line between the two. In the first portion of Chapter 22 was an explanatory note confirming the salvation of those who anticipated the coming of Messiah while living under the law of Moses prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ.

Moses was mentioned five times in relation to them, and it explicitly stated that it was he who gave the inheritance to the tribes (verses 22:4, 7, and 9). However, verse 4 said of the tribes west of the Jordan, “And now, the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren.”

Those east received their inheritance through Moses. But with the coming of Christ, the law is obsolete, annulled, and set aside. No person can receive their inheritance apart from Christ since His advent. Even though there are seven more years of law yet ahead for Israel, those years will not bring anyone to salvation through law observance.

Rather, they are intended to, finally, drive Israel to the understanding of their need for Christ. That is what will occur with national Israel someday, and it is what Chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua dealt with.

Pertaining to the salvation of national Israel, what is a deduction someone might incorrectly make about those who were under the law prior to the coming of Jesus? “Well, if national Israel had to come to Jesus even while under the law (meaning the seven years of tribulation), then those who came before Jesus’ incarnation must not be saved at all.”

“How could they be saved and have received an inheritance without Jesus having come?” Obviously, this is just a proposed speculation that should not realistically be considered. However, this is exactly what several other sets of typologies we have seen in Joshua were conveying.

Remember when the king of Ai was hanged on a tree? That was a picture of the law dying in Christ when He was hung on a tree. And yet, the same picture was seen again when the five kings in Joshua 10 were hung on five trees.

Those five kings pictured the five books of Moses. Wasn’t it obvious that the entire law died in Christ? Yes, but the second picture was given to avoid any future arguments, such as, “Well, Jesus fulfilled Genesis through Numbers, but Deuteronomy is still in effect.”

As nutty as that sounds, God is covering every base so that we can know exactly what the redemptive narrative entails. Other such obvious (my sermon editor told me not to use the word obvious) speculations were resolved elsewhere in Joshua as well. Chapter 22 is no different. “Of course those who believed before the coming of Jesus are saved!” “Well, yes… maybe, but…”

This is the purpose of the account given in Joshua 22:10-34. God is meticulously covering every base so that we don’t have doubts about such things. The effects of the work of the Messiah, Jesus, goes both forward and backward for Israel.

But the effects also go forward for the church, meaning Jew and Gentile, during this dispensation. The rapture, for example, is something limited to those of the church, but it applies to all within the church regardless of ethnicity, gender, age, etc. These things have been seen in numerous passages in Joshua.

To ensure that we know what is going on with the Old Testament saints concerning their relationship to Christ Jesus, we have been given these verses today.

The eastern tribes came to the “circles of the Jordan,” which was still within the land of Canaan, meaning the inheritance of the Humbled granted to national Israel by the Lord. There they built this great and impressive altar, a replica of the altar of the Lord. The circles, g’liloth, signify Liberties.

Despite living under the law, their altar is a testimony to the liberties they possess. And more, it was built not “by” the Jordan, but “upon (over, above)” the Jordan. The picture of Christ is plain. Their altar is a testimony to their salvation in Christ, despite having lived under Moses.

Moses gave them their inheritance, but ultimately, the Lord gave the law to and through Moses. The salvation of these people under the law, resulting in the inheritance granted to them, came by faith, not by works of the law. Hebrews 11 is a perfect testimony to this.

The chapter speaks of the faith of the saints from Abel all the way throughout the time of the law. It finishes with these words –

“And all these, having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us.” Hebrews 11:39, 40

Hebrews is written specifically to the Hebrew people, but it is given as a contrast between Moses, meaning the law, and what Christ offers. It is a warning that to choose the law when the knowledge of Christ has been understood is a self-condemning act.

Thus, it is especially an epistle directed to the end times Jews of the tribulation period, even if what it details pertains to all people in various ways.

The reaction of the western tribes and the words of the delegation confirm this. The idea of the eastern tribes going to war against them from Shiloh (Tranquility) gives the sense. “We have the inheritance because we accepted Jesus and were granted our rest. You, however, were under the law.”

If they were under the law, then how could they participate in the inheritance? Going to war against them indicates that they are not on the same side. However, before war was declared, a delegation was sent to discern the meaning of their actions.

Phinehas (Mouth of Judgment) son of Eleazar (Whom God Helps) was sent. A judgment will be made concerning their actions as God helps them come to an understanding.

The two- and one-half tribes are mentioned by name, but there is no article before Manasseh because the other half-tribe of Manasseh is a part of the delegation. Despite the disagreement, a sense of inclusiveness is anticipated through the dialogue.

Further, the meeting is in the land of the Gilead, the Perpetual Fountain. The eastern tribes supposedly have the Spirit, but the erection of the altar seems to indicate otherwise. The matter must be resolved.

Along with Phinehas, there are leaders from each of the ten tribes. Ten “signifies the perfection of Divine order. … It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.” Bullinger

The ten leaders have all they need in Christ, the fulfillment of the law, summed up by the Ten Commandments. These ten leaders are representing those Ten Commandments for the sake of the narrative. Phinehas represents the sacrificial part of the law of atonement and propitiation before those Ten Commandments.

The statement of verse 16, “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord,” indicates that they feel they are the only true congregation and the others have excluded themselves by their actions. Those under the law have trusted in self, the law, or some other god, but they have not trusted in the Lord.

Their actions were deemed as transgression, seen in the use of the verb and noun maal. Like Achan who had broken the law of coveting, these people had likewise transgressed and not followed the Lord.

Their action was deemed an act of rebellion, marad, just as those who refused to believe the Lord in Numbers 14 had rebelled, marad, against the Lord.

Even more, the sin of Peor – that of the adultery of bowing down to false gods – was brought to remembrance. By building the altar, the eastern tribes were accused of similar sin, highlighted by the use of an emphatic YOU. With that, the offer was, “Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD.”

Think of Jesus in the typology. “You are of the law. You need to come to our side of Jesus’ incarnation and you can then share in the inheritance. That is where the Lord’s tabernacle (picturing Jesus) is and take possession there.”

Everything they say smacks of the words of the book of Hebrews. For example, Jesus is what the tabernacle only prefigured as revealed in Hebrews.

“We have Jesus. You just have types and shadows. You are not of the congregation of the Lord. Building an altar is rebellion.” Despite the accusations, the response of the western tribes refutes their words. They emphatically appeal to El Elohim Yehovah as their witness.

They then said, “HE knows, and Israel – HE shall know.” Israel will realize what the Lord already knows. Their altar is not of rebellion or treachery. It is not for offerings or sacrifices – all of which are fulfilled in Jesus. If it was for these things, then “Yehovah – HE will seek.”

The Lord knew their intentions and their state before Him. However, those of Israel who see the division between the two, the Jordan (the Descender, meaning Christ in His incarnation), might say, “You aren’t of us, the Lord has set Jesus as a division between us!”

In verse 25 at the time this was said, Reuben and Gad were mentioned without Manasseh for the first time. Because half of Manasseh was west of the Jordan, it could not be said that Manasseh had no inheritance within Canaan.

As an example, people say there are ten lost tribes of Israel. Totally incorrect. After the exile of the ten tribes by Assyria, people from many of those tribes are noted both in the Old and New Testaments. If there is a single person from a tribe, the tribe continues.

That is evidenced by the words of Jesus, Paul, and others in the New Testament when they refer to the twelve tribes of Israel, even in the present tense. Hence, Manasseh is not mentioned because Manasseh has a portion west of the Jordan. However, Reuben and Gad are singled out as having, “Naught to you portion in Yehovah.”

But they did have a portion, even if it came through Moses. That is the point of the passage. The eastern tribes do have a stake in the Lord, and that is why they determined to build “the altar.” The article is expressive and indicates that there is a set intention for a particular altar.

It wasn’t for offering or sacrifice, but it served as a witness – “for witness IT.” The altar upon (above, over) the Jordan is an emphatic witness for them “to serve service Yehovah to His face,” meaning on the true altar. That is where they would offer their burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings.

As the altar of the Lord is a typological anticipation of Jesus, then their offerings are also to Jesus. The altar is witness to that fact. As such, there could be no claiming against them, “You have no part in the Lord.” The construction of the replica of the altar is evidence of this.

The altar then is one of faith. “We are of the Lord and this is witness to it. If it was of works, it would be used as an altar is typically used. But this altar was not. It was a witness and nothing more.”

Verse 30 that opened us today showed that Phinehas and the rulers (ten of them) heard this response and were pleased. They now get it. Those who were under the law, but who anticipated Jesus are truly of Israel.

The priest, representative of the sacrificial system and the ten rulers, representative of the Ten Commandments and thus the entire law, are satisfied through their act of faith, not in their adherence to the law.

Hence, they acknowledge that “in our midst Yehovah.” Faith in anticipation of the coming Messiah saves just as does faith in the Messiah who has come. They also acknowledged that these men had “not transgressed in Yehovah the transgression.” In other words, they are blameless before the law because of their deed of faith.

With this acknowledgment, the people were delivered from the hand of the Lord and Phinehas (Mouth of Judgment) son of Eleazar (Whom God Helps) and the ten rulers returned from the sons of Reuben (See a Son) and the sons of Gad (Fortune) from the Gilead (the Perpetual Fountain) to Canaan (the land of the Humbled).

The judgment has been rendered, the Lord has intervened, the status of these men is no longer in question, they have the Spirit and all is well. Again as before, there was no need to mention the half-tribe of Manasseh because Manasseh was already represented among the tribes.

This would explain why the word for tribe, mateh, was used in the first verse of the chapter and shevet was used in all other instances. The genealogical aspect of the tribe was secure. The political aspect of the eastern half-tribe is what was in question. That is no longer the case. The words are telling a story if we just pay heed.

Verse 33 then noted that the word was pleasing in the eyes of the sons of Israel. There can be no future questioning. Because of the faith of these people, the sacrificial system that anticipated Christ was acceptable for them and the ten commandments testify to this for them.

Therefore, they blessed Elohim because of it. Christ, who sits at the right hand of the Power is praised by Israel because He has saved all of Israel who have come to Him through faith.

Any supposed enmity between the two – meaning before His coming or after His coming – is ended and the war is averted which would have destroyed “the land where sons Reuben and sons Gad dwelt in her.”

That land is the land of the Torah, the inheritance that came through the law of Moses. As long as it was by faith in Messiah, Israel could receive the inheritance. How can we know this? Because of the final verse of the chapter –

“And called sons Reuben and sons Gad to the altar. For Witness, IT, between us. For Yehovah the God.”

What is that telling us?

The altar was not for works of any kind, but it was an altar of faith built above (over, on) the Jordan. Those who were before the coming of Christ called to the altar in faith. It didn’t matter if they were under law, the law comes from the Lord, it anticipated the coming of the Lord, and the people of faith under the law called out to the Lord.

As for the word replica used in this passage, it is the Hebrew word tavnit. It is the same word used in modern Hebrew Bibles to describe the pattern noted in Hebrews 8 –

“For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; ⁵ who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, “See that you make all things according to the pattern [Heb: b’tavnitho (literally, in His form)] shown you on the mountain.” Hebrews 8: 4, 5

The things of the tabernacle, including the altar, were only typological representations of Jesus. He is the Altar. The replica of the altar built by these tribes was an anticipation of Christ to come.

As this is so, and as that altar in Israel was the altar of Yehovah, it is a logical and necessary deduction from this passage that Jesus is Yehovah incarnate. He is ha’elohim, “the God” who stands in relation to man.

This is what the passage before us is about. David was a man under law. However, our text verse today showed us that despite being under law, he was not imputed sin according to the law. But by the very nature of law, sin is imputed.

Therefore, he – by default – was a man of faith in something greater than the law. When he sinned by taking Bathsheba, God’s prophet spoke to him in 2 Samuel 12:13, saying, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” The Lord’s mercy was bestowed upon David apart from the law.

David thus deduced that if this occurred, then God’s other divine attributes were also to be realized in our relationship with Him only apart from the law. The law then must have had another purpose than to bring man into a right relationship with God.

Although David didn’t have a full comprehension of the work of the Messiah, he did understand the blessedness of man who received God’s righteousness apart from the law. It is this faith in God’s people who were under the law that is revealed in Joshua 22.

To close, I would ask you to consider your own trek towards the inheritance. How do you think it will come about? If you suppose it is through something you have done or need to do, then you have failed the test.

However, if you will simply have faith that God has done the work and all you need to do is accept that, you will be saved. God cannot deal with you unless you first remove yourself from the equation concerning effort. Christ has done that. Now, just believe. This is what pleases God.

Closing Verse: “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, ⁶ just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works:
⁷ ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
⁸ Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.’” Romans 4:5-8

Next Week: Joshua 23:1-16 The Faithfulness of the Lord has been unveiled… (Not One Word Has Failed) (54^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Lord God of Gods, Part III

Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation
The heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him as well
Heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad
And the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them: pretty swell

Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said
To the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children
———-of Manasseh this word
“This day we perceive that the LORD is among us
Because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD

“Now you have delivered the children of Israel
Out of the hand of the LORD; things are looking swell”

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned
From the children of Reuben and the children of Gad
From the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan
To the children of Israel, and brought back word to them
———-that things weren’t so bad

So the thing pleased the children of Israel
And the children of Israel blessed God in a manner heartfelt
They spoke no more of going against them in battle
To destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt

The children of Reuben and the children of Gad
Called the altar, Witness
“For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God
So it is; so we confess

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

³⁰ Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. ³¹ Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, “This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the Lord. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord.”

³² And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. ³³ So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.

³⁴ The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

 

 

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson.

Joshua 22:21-29

The Lord God of gods, Part II

Our passage today will anticipate Christ. If it didn’t, it would be out of line with any other passage we have looked at from Joshua. We’ll see hints of this as we go along, but when we get to the end of the chapter, we will see what the overall typology is telling us.

However, there are also lessons concerning our own lives. The verses here speak to us about the importance of communication, reconciliation, and unity within Israel. Since we are a part of the commonwealth of Israel, the same should be true for the body of Christ.

As we saw in the last passage, when the western tribes of Israel heard about the altar, they assumed that the eastern tribes were rebelling against God by setting up a false altar. They gathered an army to prepare for war against their fellow Israelites.

But before rushing into battle, they sent a delegation led by Phinehas the priest, to investigate. After lodging their complaint against the eastern tribes, here we will see how those tribes explain building the altar.

Text Verse: “So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; ²⁰ for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19, 20

The tribes that gathered at Shiloh in preparation for war were restrained, allowing things to play out with the delegation. The eastern tribes were slow to speak, allowing the delegation to state its complaint before responding. In the passage today, the western tribes will be swift to hear.

Nothing is recorded concerning them speaking while those from east of the Jordan are allowed to finish with their response.

We can learn from this. I know I can. I find it hard to keep from interrupting when I disagree with someone. If you don’t already know this, ask any member of my family or anyone I do mission work with each week. I’m not the patient “listen and be silent” sort. Hat’s off to you if you are.

As for this passage in Joshua, the entire episode between the tribes could have been avoided if the western tribes had simply communicated their intentions. At the same time, they probably never imagined that the actions they were taking would get the other tribes in such a huff, so the blame can only go so far. Sending the delegation was the right thing to do.

As you read the Bible, think about things like this. There is an endless stream of lessons we can derive from just thinking about the circumstances of whatever passage we read. Above all, however, think about how the passage is pointing to Jesus.

God selected these words for more than just a quick life application about keeping quiet while others talk. He selected them because they are relevant to the greater plan of redemption laid out in the Bible. This is certain.

Such great things as this are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Border Between Us and You (verses 21-25)

In the Joshua 22:10-20 sermon, Phinehas and ten rulers from each tribe of Israel that settled in Canaan came to the eastern tribes and questioned them concerning the altar they had built. They reminded those tribes east of the Jordan about the matter of Peor, the trespass of Achan, and the tragedy those events brought upon Israel. Now, those of the eastern tribes will respond concerning their actions…

²¹ Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered

If you remember, the structure of the passage was provided concerning the use of the word shevet or mateh being used to translate the word “tribe.” Also, we saw a list of times the definite article was used before mentioning the half-tribe of Manasseh.

In this case, the word is shevet, the political aspect of the tribe. Also, there is an article before Manasseh –half tribe the Manasseh. Thus, there is a sense of separation being conveyed by these people in their response to the accusations…

^{21 (con’t)} and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel:

Rather than said, it reads, spoke: vaydaberu eth rashe alpe Yisrael – “and spoke to heads thousands Israel.” Their words are a statement without any participation from their audience. It will be a declaration of innocence. Further, their words are especially highlighted in Scripture because they are a key part of the special literary device that is found in this passage…

²² “The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods,

The words form the center of the chiasm. They are not complicated and yet they are widely translated: El Elohim Yehovah El Elohim Yehovah. A few examples –

The God of gods — Jehovah, the God of gods – Jehovah (YLT)
The Lord the most mighty God, the Lord the most mighty God (DR)
The Mighty One, God, Jehovah, the Mighty One, God, Jehovah (ASV)
The LORD is the greatest God! (CEV)
God, God, the LORD, God, God, the LORD (JPS Tanakh)

El means God, coming from ayil, a ram. That comes from ul, the body, but by implication “to be strong.” Thus, it signifies might or strength. Elohim is a majestic plural of El that refers to God while indicating a fulness within Him. It can also be a plural, gods, when referring to other gods. The Tetragrammaton, YHVH (יהוה), is the divine name – Yehovah.

As it is two standard nouns followed by a proper noun, and as it is probably referring only to the true God, not other gods in relation to Him, I think the sense is – God! Even God – Yehovah! The repetition is given as a strong emphatic proclamation.

The first use of each word helps explain the magnificence of the title. El was first seen in Genesis 14:18 –

“Then Melchizedek king of Salem brought out bread and wine; he was the priest of God [el] Most High. ¹⁹ And he blessed him and said:
‘Blessed be Abram of God [el] Most High,
Possessor of heaven and earth;
²⁰ And blessed be God [el] Most High,
Who has delivered your enemies into your hand.’” Genesis 14:18-20

He is the God of strength and power who can deliver one from all enemies because He possesses all power and authority in heaven and on earth. It is a claim made by Jesus in Matthew 28:18, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” To have all authority is to possess what that authority extends over.

Next, Elohim, was first seen in the first sentence of the Bible –

“In the beginning God [elohim] created the heavens and the earth.” Genesis 1:1

He is the Creator God who is before all things and by whom all things exist and thus also subsist. These are qualities ascribed to Jesus by the apostles –

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1

“And *he* is before all, and all things subsist together by him.” Colossians 1:17 (Darby)

The divine name of God, YHVH (יהוה), or Yehovah, was first seen in Genesis 2 –

“This is the history of the heavens and the earth when they were created, in the day that the Lord [YHVH] God made the earth and the heavens, ⁵ before any plant of the field was in the earth and before any herb of the field had grown. For the Lord [YHVH] God had not caused it to rain on the earth, and there was no man to till the ground; ⁶ but a mist went up from the earth and watered the whole face of the ground.
⁷ And the Lord [YHVH] God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being.” Genesis 2:4-7

Among countless other aspects indicated by this name, He is the personal God who interacts with His creation, who shaped man in His image, and who possesses the breath of life within Himself. Numerous verses of the New Testament convey to us that this is Jesus. John sums it up nicely –

“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life— ² the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us.” 1 John 1:1, 2

It is to this majestic God that the eastern tribes appeal, saying…

^{22 (con’t)} He knows, and let Israel itself know—

The highly emphatic nature of the words continues here: hu yodea v’Yisrael hu yeda – “HE knows, and Israel – HE shall know.” They are making the strongest defense utterable concerning the matter at hand. The Lord is already aware of their intentions concerning the matter, and Israel will realize (the verb is imperfect) it as well.

From there, they call for proper discernment on the matter at hand because an action is required by their accusers…

^{22 (con’t)} if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord,

They take the words of their accusers and restate them, thus highlighting the gravity of the matter: im b’mered v’im b’maal b’Yehovah – “if in rebellion and if in transgression in Yehovah.”

These words form the main clause of the conditional statement. In them, their accusers had used the verb forms of the words rebel and transgress several times in their address. Those of the eastern tribes now use the noun form, stating that if they are found to be in the state of rebellion or transgression, they should not be delivered.

Having come with the highly emphatic and solemn pronouncement of the titles and name of God, nothing could be more convicting or acquitting. Either there is absolute guilt or there is absolute innocence in what they have done.

^{22 (con’t)} do not save us this day.

al toshienu ha’yom ha’zeh – “not do save us the day, the this.” The words are parenthetical to elicit the highest degree of consideration by their accusers. And more, they continue with the challenge to exercise discernment, saying…

²³ If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord,

More precisely, “to build to us altar to turn from after Yehovah.” It is a part of the conditional statement. If we have built this altar for a purpose that will mean departing from following after the Lord, we should not be saved. Also…

^{23 (con’t)} or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings,

It says, “and if to ascend on it burnt-offering and present-offering,” These words define how they could turn from following the Lord.

The offerings were to be made by the priests at the sanctuary currently located in Shiloh. This is said in direct response to the accusation against them in verse 16, “in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord?”

The olah, or burnt offerings, are those that are wholly burnt up to the Lord. The minkhah, or present-offerings, are normally bloodless and voluntary. They are gifts presented, such as grain offerings. Also…

^{23 (con’t)} or if to offer peace offerings on it,

More precisely, “and if to make on it sacrifices-peace.” The shelamim or peace offerings are a sacrifice for fellowship between two parties where both partake of the sacrifice. As such, some is given to the priest as the Lord’s portion and some is returned to the offeror as his portion.

If this is not the Lord’s altar for offerings, then it is, by default, an acknowledgment of other gods and that these various sacrifices and offerings are being offered to them for appeasement, petitioning, and fellowship. This could not be allowed to stand. Further, the men of the eastern tribes acknowledge that if this was their intent…

^{23 (con’t)} let the Lord Himself require an account.

The words are emphatic: Yehovah hu yebaqesh – “Yehovah – HE will seek.” The meaning is that the Lord Himself would intervene and require an accounting for their apostasy. They know this, and so it would be the epitome of stupidity to do what they have been accused of.

When laid out as the thought is presented, the sense is clear –

Protasis: If it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord:

Emphatic parenthesis: (do not save us this day!)

Protasis continued: …if we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it…

Apodosis: …let the Lord Himself require an account.

On the other hand…

²⁴ But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying,

Rather, “And if not, from anxiety from word we have done this, saying.” In other words, if the Lord doesn’t find anything wrong in their intentions, then there must be another reason that they have built the altar. The very thing that brought them to build the altar is just the opposite of what they have been accused of.

In this, a new word, deagah, is introduced. It is a noun signifying the state of anxiety. As for what would cause this state of anxiety, they explain that with their next words…

^{24 (con’t)} ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel?

Literally: “Tomorrow may speak your sons to our sons saying, ‘What to you and to Yehovah, God of Israel?’” The meaning is that at some point in the indefinite future, maybe even tomorrow itself, the ten tribes in Canaan will say to the eastern tribes, “What relationship exists between you and the Lord, the God of Israel?”

It is as if the eastern tribes are not really a part of those who have fellowship with the Lord. As such, they are outsiders and do not deserve the benefits of partaking in the covenant promises. Their thoughts are not without validity. This is seen in their continued explanation…

²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad.

It is of note that the half-tribe of Manasseh is excluded from their words. Like much of the discourse so far, the wording is very precise. It reads, “And border gave Yehovah between us and between you, sons Reuben and sons Gad – the Jordan.”

The state of anxiety is that at some point in time, those in Canaan will say, “If you were really a part of us, you would be living on this side of the Jordan. Therefore, the Lord Himself has divided us, separating you from us. Therefore…”

^{25 (con’t)} You have no part in the Lord.”

ein lakhem kheleq b’Yehovah – “Naught to you portion in Yehovah.” The border that exists between the tribes is evidence that those tribes were purposefully separated from the Lord.

This then is the purpose for having built the altar on the west side of the Jordan. If the Jordan was supposedly a border that excluded them from a portion in the Lord, then why is their altar built on the western side, above the Jordan? The claim was made within Canaan proper and the altar testifies to it.

Without that, the claim would stand…

^{25 (con’t)} So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the Lord.’

v’hishbitu benekhem eth banenu l’bilti yero eth Yehovah – “And caused your sons our sons to cease fearing Yehovah.” The idea being expressed is that of fellowshipping, worshiping, and all other interactions – both internal and external – in relation to the Lord.

The division of the land is noted explicitly in the books of Moses. However, those in Canaan could make the argument that the worship of the Lord is reserved for them alone. In Numbers 34, it says –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ² ‘Command the children of Israel, and say to them: “When you come into the land of Canaan, this is the land that shall fall to you as an inheritance—the land of Canaan to its boundaries. … This shall be your land with its surrounding boundaries.”’” Numbers 34:1, 2 & 12

Within those verses the borders were carefully defined. After that, it then said –

“Then Moses commanded the children of Israel, saying: ‘This is the land which you shall inherit by lot, which the Lord has commanded to give to the nine tribes and to the half-tribe. ¹⁴ For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and the half-tribe of Manasseh has received its inheritance. ¹⁵ The two tribes and the half-tribe have received their inheritance on this side of the Jordan, across from Jericho eastward, toward the sunrise.’” Numbers 34:13-15

Therefore, using, or rather, misusing the words of Moses, the western tribes could unjustly say that the eastern tribes were excluded from the inheritance of the Lord…

How could we turn away
From following the Lord Jesus?
It is He who our sin debt did pay
Such a marvelous thing He has done for us

And how could another turn us back
And tell us we have no part in Him?
That would be the worst kind of attack
Such a thought is dark and grim

He is our God, and to Him, we shall cling
Forever and ever it shall be so
Jesus Christ our Lord and King
No other god shall we ever know

II. You Have No Part in the Lord (verses 26-29)

²⁶ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar,

The word translated as “now” has less to do with time as it does to suggest something. We may say, “Now, look here.” We aren’t saying, “Look here at this time.” Rather, it is an interjection, “Hey, look here.” That is the sense of what is being said.

The wording, as before, continues to be very detailed, “And we say, ‘Make, pray, to us to build the altar.’” By using the definite article, it is then set in contrast to verse 23 –

“to build to us altar to turn from after Yehovah.”
“to us to build the altar.”

They are not building “an altar” for ritual purposes to turn from following the Lord. Rather, they have a particular purpose for it that excludes such a notion. Thus, they are building “the altar…”

^{26 (con’t)} not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,

lo l’olah v’lo l’zavakh – “not to burnt-offering and not to sacrifice.” The whole burnt offering would be for appeasement and the sacrifice would be for atonement, fellowship, etc. The altar is not intended for such things as this. Rather, they explain, saying…

²⁷ but that it may be a witness

It is emphatic: ki ed hu – “for witness IT.” This is why it is called “the altar.” It has a specific purpose that has nothing to do with “an altar” that would replace the altar of the Lord. Rather, it is to be a witness…

^{27 (con’t)} between you and us and our generations after us,

It is much more precise: “between us, and between you, and between our generations after us.” The altar stands between each principal entity as a witness…

^{27 (con’t)} that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him

la’avod eth avodath Yehovah l’phanav – “to serve service Yehovah to His face.” The meaning is that they fully intend to serve the Lord at the location where the tabernacle is located, not where this altar is located. The altar stood only as a witness to this fact. As for serving before the Lord at the tabernacle, that was to be…

^{27 (con’t)} with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings;

Instead, it reads: “in our burnt offerings, and in our sacrifices, and in our peace offerings.” Rather than the previous verse where the purpose of the altar was explained, this is a listing of the things that the people offer on the altar.

It is in the presentation of these things that they would perform the service of the Lord. To ensure that they would never be deprived of this right, they built the altar so…

^{27 (con’t)} that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the Lord.”’

This now fully explains the state of anxiety that prompted them to build the altar in the first place. At some future point (lit: tomorrow), they may be kept from their portion in the Lord. They had considered this as a possibility, they had pondered how they could ensure this would never be the case, and thus they built the altar as a witness to keep it from ever being considered…

²⁸ Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come,

Rather than “or,” it says “and.” In other words, they are assuming that this is something that will happen quickly. They will be considered as being excluded from the portion of the Lord and it will become the customary way of dealing with them: “And we say, and it will become, for they say unto us, and unto our generations tomorrow…”

^{28 (con’t)} that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made,

The words leave out any definite articles: “And we said, ‘See, replica altar Yehovah which made our fathers.’” There is one altar of the Lord and this is a replica of it. As it is on the western side of the Jordan, it was built to witness to those within Canaan that those east of the Jordan worshiped the Lord just as they did.

As Yehovah’s altar could not have been replicated in such an exacting manner if they hadn’t seen it, then this was clear evidence that they had always been followers of the Lord, they were entitled to fellowship at the Lord’s altar, and they were to participate in full communion with those of Israel west of the Jordan.

And to ensure that its purpose was perfectly understood, they once again repeat the same sentiment already stated in various ways…

^{28 (con’t)} though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’

It is an exacting repetition of the words of verses 26 and 27. The words are singular and there is an emphatic pronouncement: “not to burnt offering and not to sacrifice; for witness IT between us and between you.”

Being a repetition, the entire thought provides its own extra emphasis. They are innocent of the charges against them and they adamantly repudiate them while also explaining what the purpose of the altar is. With that, they continue their protestations, saying…

²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord,

The words are a denial of rebellion and are a direct part of the chiasm: khalilah lanu mimenu limrod Yehovah – “Profane thing to us from rebelling in Yehovah.” The idea itself is utterly repugnant to them. It would be something that was defiling in and of itself and it would be a mark of rebellion against the Lord. That is then further explained with the words…

^{29 (con’t)} and turn from following the Lord this day,

The logical progression of rebellion is that one will first turn away in thought and then in reality. Their consciences are clear because their thoughts were pure in regard to this matter. They are adamant that their intention was not…

^{29 (con’t)} to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices,

Again, the words are singular, offering and sacrifice. It is a description of the purpose of the altar, not a list of the things that will be offered on it. Thus, it is an acknowledgment that there is one valid altar on which those things can be accomplished, their replica is not that altar. That is expressly stated with their next words…

*^29 (fin) besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His tabernacle.”

milbad mizbakh Yehovah elohenu asher liphne mishkano – “beside altar Yehovah our God which to face His tabernacle.” The meaning of their words is clear. There is one altar to the Lord. No other is acceptable and they acknowledge this.

Their replica was solely for the purpose of proving, and thus maintaining, their rights if they were ever questioned by those who lived on the western side of the Jordan.

Remembering that the altar was a typological representation of Jesus, as were all of the sacrifices and offerings made upon it, the symbolism is clear. These tribes have acknowledged that there is one way, and one way alone, to be right with God and that is through faith in Jesus Christ.

He is the true Altar, He is the ultimate fulfillment of the burnt offering, the gifts presented, the sacrifices, and everything associated with each of these things. God is showing us in real historical events what He expects of us.

There were innumerable events that happened within the history of Israel that were just as important to the general population as what we are seeing in Joshua 22. But God only chose events that would explain to us what He wants us to see in regard to Jesus.

We cannot build our own path back to God. We cannot obtain any other suitable sacrifice for atonement. No other offering except Christ, or one done in Christ, can be considered a pleasing aroma to God. There is no fellowship with God except as it is connected with faith in Jesus.

These things are to be taken as axiomatic because this is how the Bible has revealed them to us. To God, everything concerning our relationship with Him is nothing but Jesus and it is Jesus plus nothing. Everything that happens between God and us occurs only because of Jesus.

We have to remember this. The eastern tribes of Israel only had the law, but that law, in its entirety, points to Jesus. In acknowledging the precepts of the law, they were implicitly but expressly anticipating Jesus. This is why God has placed this account into His word.

There are only five verses left in the account and we will finish them up next week. One never knows though, there may be five more sermons before we finish things up. You’ll just have to wait and see J. Until then, remember these words about Jesus.

He and He alone is to be considered our Altar of Meeting before God. Any other representation of Him is to be for our identification with Him. For example, a cross is an identification with the Lord, a reminder of what He has done. It should never be considered as a source of power or of idolatry.

The same is true with a building where the church meets. That is not the church. It is simply a place to gather and remind us that we are the church. Unfortunately, we get these things out of whack and what should serve a lesser purpose begins to take our attention away, coopting what should be our greater focus.

So, let us fix our eyes on Jesus as we continue down life’s path. If we do that, things sure will go better for us. And let us be ever grateful to God for His goodness to us in sending Jesus to direct that path all our days. Yes, let us thank God for Jesus.

Closing Verse: “Therefore the king asked advice, made two calves of gold, and said to the people, ‘It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, O Israel, which brought you up from the land of Egypt!’ ²⁹ And he set up one in Bethel, and the other he put in Dan. ³⁰ Now this thing became a sin, for the people went to worship before the one as far as Dan.” 1 Kings 12:28-30

Next Week: Joshua 22:30-34 He is the one that every true believer applauds, as sure as can be… (The Lord God of Gods, Part III) (53^rd Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Lord God of Gods, Part II

Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe
———-of Manasseh
Answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel
“The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods
He knows, and let Israel itself know as we now tell

“If it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD
Do not save us this day
If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following
———-the LORD
Or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, acting
———-in that way

“Or if to offer peace offerings on it
Let the LORD Himself require an account
But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying
Please let us now our thoughts recount

‘In time to come your descendants may speak
To our descendants, saying
“What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel?”
If such they are relaying

“For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us
You children of Reuben and children of Gad
You have no part in the LORD
So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing
———-the LORD. That would be really bad

“Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar
Not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice
But that it may be a witness between you and us
And our generations after us, this was our advice

“That we may perform the service of the LORD before Him
With our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our
———-peace offerings too
That your descendants may not say to our descendants
———-in time to come
‘You have no part in the LORD, beat it now… shoo!’

“Therefore we said that it will be
When they say this to us or to our generations in time to come
That we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD
Which our fathers made; stop acting dumb’

“Though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices is it
But it is a witness between you and us, so we admit

“Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD
And turn from following the LORD this day
To build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings
———-or for sacrifices
Besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before
———-His tabernacle. No way!

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

²¹ Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel: ²² “The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord, do not save us this day. ²³ If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the Lord Himself require an account. ²⁴ But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the Lord.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the Lord.’ ²⁶ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, ²⁷ but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the Lord.” ’ ²⁸ Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’ ²⁹ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn from following the Lord this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before His tabernacle.”

 

 

Artwork by Doug Kallerson

Joshua 22:10-20
The Lord God of gods, Part I

There is a whole lot going on concerning the structure of Joshua 22. Starting with verse 10, there is a chiasm that will continue through the last verse of the chapter. As a reminder, a chiasm is a literary device that begins with a thought, proceeds through a series of thoughts, it then normally will have an anchor or pivot verse on which the chiasm hinges, and then it will give the same basic thoughts as it has just stated in reverse order.

Chiasms are not limited to the words alone though. They can repeat numbers, directions of travel, thoughts, grammatical structures, and more. Anything that is repeatable within the text can be a part of a chiasm. As for the one in this passage, we can go over it together –

Joshua 22:10-34 – The LORD, God of gods.
A great misunderstanding. (11/22/07)
a 22:10  Impressive Altar
—–b 22:12  Preparation for war against tribes across Jordan
———-c 22:13  Phinehas sent
—————d 22:16-18  Turn away from following the LORD; He will be angry with us
——————–e 22:18  Discussion of rebellion
————————-f 22:19  The land is defiled by an unauthorized altar
——————————g 22:20  Wrath on Israel because of Achan’s trespass
———————————–x 22:22 – The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods
——————————g 22:23  “If because of trespass, let God require it of us”
————————-f 22:26-28  The land is not defiled; it is not an altar for sacrifice
——————–e 22:29  Denial of rebellion against the LORD
—————d 22:31 The LORD is among us; we are delivered from His hand
———-c 22:32  Phinehas returns
—–b 22:33  Cancellation of war preparation against tribes across Jordan
a 22:34 – Altar called “Witness”

As you can see, the thought develops to an anchor verse which is the highlight of the passage. This is not unusual. Rather, it is quite often the case. The entire flood of Noah, from Genesis 6 through Genesis 9, forms a chiasm that anchors on the words, “And God remembered Noah.”

The Bible is literally filled with chiasms. Entire websites have been developed to record them as they are found.

Text Verse: “For I know that the Lord is great,
And our Lord is above all gods.” Psalm 135:5

It’s a great feeling to find a chiasm, see if anyone else has discovered it, and then to be confident you are the first person to ever have known it existed. As Joshua was recorded almost 3500 years ago, that’s a long time for it to wait to be revealed.

As I said, there is a lot going on in Joshua. Another interesting pattern is found in Joshua 22. This deals with the naming of the tribes. The tribe of Manasseh, for example, is mentioned ten times in the chapter.

Five times, it is referred to with an article – the Manasseh. Why would that be? All three tribes east of the Jordan – Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh – are mentioned repeatedly in the chapter. However, three times only Reuben and Gad are mentioned.

Also, as we saw last week, two different words for “tribe” are used in the chapter. The word mateh is used once in verse 1 when referring to the genealogical half-tribe of Manasseh. It is used once again when referring to the tribes west of the Jordan in verse 14. Every other use is the word shevet which speaks of the political aspect.

Here is the breakdown of those things relating to the tribes west of the Jordan. Of note is that when the article is used before Manasseh, a separation is being highlighted. When it is not used, an inclusiveness is indicated. The difference is subtle, but it is evident –

1 to the Reubenite, to the Gadite, and to half tribe (mateh) Manasseh
7 and to half tribe (shevet) the Manasseh
9 sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and half tribe (shevet) the Manasseh
10 sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and half tribe (shevet) the Manasseh
11 sons Reuben, sons Gad, and half tribe (shevet) the Manasseh
13 unto sons Reuben, and unto sons Gad, and unto half tribe (shevet) Manasseh
15 unto sons Reuben, and unto sons Gad, and unto half tribe (shevet) Manasseh
21 sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and half tribe (shevet) the Manasseh
25 sons Reuben and sons Gad
30 sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and sons of Manasseh
31 unto sons Reuben, and unto sons Gad, and unto sons of Manasseh
32 from sons Reuben and from sons Gad
33 sons Reuben and sons Gad

As you read the Bible, make mental notes of patterns. Eventually, things will start to jump out at you that will teach you about what is being conveyed. Pay attention and enjoy this precious word. After all, it is God’s superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. A Great, Impressive Altar (verses 10-13)

In the previous passage, Joshua dismissed the tribes who were settled east of the Jordan. Upon their dismissal, the passage ended with these words –

“So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.” Joshua 22:9

The events that are to take place here occur after that…

¹⁰ And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan,

More precisely, it reads: vayavou el g’liloth ha’yarden asher b’erets k’naan – “and went unto circles the Jordan which in land Canaan.” The men of these tribes departed from Joshua and came to the areas of the Jordan that are situated prior to crossing of the Jordan.

The word g’liloth signifies an area comprised within borders and thus a circuit. It comes from galal, to roll away. It is the same root word as Gilgal and Galilee, both of which signify Liberty, as if a burden is rolled off of someone. In this case, it is a feminine plural construct meaning circuits or regions, or more literally circles. We could define it as “Liberties.”

The Jordan means the Descender. Canaan signifies Humbled, Humiliated, or Subdued. Typology is being developed within the literal, historical story. Once in this location…

^{10 (con’t)} the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.

This is where the chiasm of this passage begins, referring to the impressive altar. The preposition means upon, above, or over: vayivnu bene reuben u-bene gad va’khatsi shevet ham’nasheh al ha’yarden mizbeakh gadol l’mareh – “and built sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and half-tribe the Manasseh upon the Jordan altar, whopping to sight.”

The word for tribe, shevet, speaks of the political aspect of the tribe rather than mateh, the genealogical aspect. The matter being addressed is a matter of the religious/political aspect of tribal matters. The genealogy of the people is less important in this matter than how the people are conducting themselves.

The battles to subdue Canaan have been completed. Thus, what they are doing is not unlike what Moses did after defeating Amalek –

“Then the Lord said to Moses, ‘Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.’ ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-Lord-Is-My-Banner; ¹⁶ for he said, ‘Because the Lord has sworn: the Lord will have war with Amalek from generation to generation.’” Exodus 17:14-16

Moses built an altar as a testimony and a witness to what had happened and what was anticipated into the future. As for the names, Reuben means See a Son. Gad means Fortune. Manasseh means both To Forget and From a Debt.

An altar is a place where man meets with God. In this case, it specifically says they have built it upon (above, over) the Jordan. Most translations say near or by the Jordan. In fact, only Smith’s Literal Translation properly rendered the preposition. Not only is it upon the Jordan, but it is massive. As it says, “whopping to sight.”

The words of the previous clause “which is in the land of Canaan” signify that the altar itself is built in Canaan proper. However, some scholars disagree with that based on the words of the next verse…

¹¹ Now the children of Israel heard someone say,

Though the intent is unchanged, it more literally, it reads, “And heard, sons Israel to say.” Word came back to the other tribes of Israel west of the Jordan what had been built.

^{11 (con’t)} “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar

It is not “an altar,” but “the altar”: hineh banu bene reuben u-bene gad va’khatsi shevet ham’nasheh eth ha’mizbeakh – “Behold, have built sons Reuben, and sons Gad, and half-tribe the Manasseh the altar.”

The reason this is important is because it appears obvious to the other tribes that this specific altar is intended to replace the altar of the Lord. That will be seen more clearly in verse 22:28. With that now understood, the next wording is very precise but is also very argued over…

^{11 (con’t)} on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.

The same preposition, el (in, into, toward) is used three times in this clause: el mul erets k’naan el g’liloth ha’yarden el ever bene Yisrael – “into front land Canaan, into circles the Jordan, into side sons Israel.” Some scholars demand that the words signify “over against,” and thus on the other side of the Jordan, but the wording does not seem to support this conclusion.

The same phrase, el mul, was seen in Joshua 8:33 where it said, “His half toward front [el mul] Mount Gerizim and his half toward front [el mul] Mount Ebal.” There, the meaning was that the people were standing in front of each mountain facing the ark.

Thus, the use here indicates the altar is in front of the land of Canaan as well. It is within its borders. This is more evidently supported by the thought expressed in verse 25. The purpose of building the altar is to validate a right that has already been granted.

Despite the scholarly disagreement, the use of the preposition al (above, on, over) in verse 10 tells us that regardless of which side of the Jordan it is actually on, it is to be taken as if it is resting above the Jordan. Considering that the Jordan is symbolic of Christ Jesus, this is the important thought to be considered. With that, it next says…

¹² And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

The chiasm continues here with the preparation for war. It says: vayishmeru bene Yisrael vayiqahlu kal adat bene Yisrael Shiloh la’aloth alehem la’tsavah – “And heard sons Israel, and assembled all congregation sons Israel, Shiloh, to arise against them to the war.”

There was to be one place of worship and for bringing sacrifices and offerings to the Lord. That was currently located in Shiloh, or Tranquility. This is explicitly stated in the law –

“You shall not at all do as we are doing here today—every man doing whatever is right in his own eyes— ⁹ for as yet you have not come to the rest and the inheritance which the Lord your God is giving you. ¹⁰ But when you cross over the Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to inherit, and He gives you rest from all your enemies round about, so that you dwell in safety, ¹¹ then there will be the place where the Lord your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the Lord. ¹² And you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, you and your sons and your daughters, your male and female servants, and the Levite who is within your gates, since he has no portion nor inheritance with you. ¹³ Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; ¹⁴ but in the place which the Lord chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.” Deuteronomy 12:8-14

As this is perceived to be a violation of that law, Israel has met at Shiloh, the place authorized for such offerings, and it is from here that the gathering determined to go against the tribes east of the Jordan. However, before they actually send out the armies, they determine to first send a delegation to determine the situation…

¹³ Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead,

This is the first time the article has been omitted from before the name of Manasseh since the first verse of the chapter: vayishlekhu bene Yisrael el bene Reuven v’el bene gad v’el khatsi shevet m’nasheh el erets ha’gil’ad eth pin’khas ben el’azar ha’kohen – “And sent sons Israel unto sons Reuben and unto sons Gad and unto half-tribe Manasseh, unto land the Gilead, Phinehas son Eleazer the priest.”

The omission of the article is because the other half-tribe of Manasseh is among the delegation being sent. That will be seen in the next verse. Hence, there is a sense of inclusiveness rather than division.

With the naming of Phinehas, another step in the unfolding chiasm is given. The name pin’khas, or Phinehas, means Mouth of Brass, and thus, Mouth of Judgment because brass signifies judgment. Eleazer means Whom God Helps.

This is the first mention of Phinehas in Joshua. As the son of the high priest, he is sent on behalf of the congregation. Even if Eleazar had other sons, Phinehas had proven himself zealous for the Lord in Numbers 25 when he ran a spear through the Israeli man and the Midianite woman who were in bed together. Because of his deed, the account said –

“Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: ¹¹ ‘Phinehas the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, has turned back My wrath from the children of Israel, because he was zealous with My zeal among them, so that I did not consume the children of Israel in My zeal. ¹² Therefore say, ‘Behold, I give to him My covenant of peace; ¹³ and it shall be to him and his descendants after him a covenant of an everlasting priesthood, because he was zealous for his God, and made atonement for the children of Israel.’” Numbers 25:10-13

The Gilead means the Perpetual Fountain. Along with Phineas, others accompanied him…

What is this treachery that you have done?
What is this that you have committed against the Lord?
This is not acceptable, not from anyone
You have rebelled against His word

What is it that we can do to make things right?
How shall we deal with what’s been done?
Your transgressions are exposed in the light
Beside our God, there is to be none

Just wait! You have misunderstood what we have done
Our actions were accomplished with pure intent
We have put our trust in the Holy One
Let us explain what our actions have meant

II. Do Not Rebel Against the Lord (verses 14-20)

¹⁴ and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel;

va’asarah n’siym imo nasi ekhad nasi ekhad l’beith av l’kol matoth Yisrael – “and ten leaders with him, leader one, leader one, to house father to all tribes Israel.” The nasiy’ signifies one who is lifted up. He is a leader and this would be the main leader in the tribe of each of the father’s houses.

These would be the leaders of the nine tribes and the half-tribe residing in Canaan.

Ten “signifies the perfection of Divine order … It implies that nothing is wanting; that the number and order are perfect; that the whole cycle is complete.” Bullinger

Phinehas cannot be considered an eleventh. Rather, it is ten plus one. He is not representing Levi but rather the spiritual leadership among the tribes. Also, the word for tribe is mateh, referring to the genealogical aspect of the tribes.

As seen in the last sermon, all of the uses of shevet pertain to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh. One use of mateh (verse 1) also refers to the eastern half-tribe of Manasseh and the other, which is seen here, pertains to the ten tribes west of the Jordan.

This structure reveals the political nature of what is transpiring, but it also reveals that it is still a family matter concerning the tribes of Israel. This current use of mateh is referring to the family structure of the western tribes, and is further defined, saying…

^{14 (con’t)} and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel.

A literal reading is, “and man head their fathers they to thousands of Israel.” This would be the highest official of the tribe who presided over all lesser divisions within the tribe as proposed by Jethro in Exodus 18 and to which Moses agreed to. Of these men…

¹⁵ Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,

The article before Manasseh is once again not used here. This is because Manasseh west of the Jordan is a part of the delegation. All of the twelve tribes are represented along with Phinehas the priest. Despite this, the political rather than the genealogical aspect of the half-tribe (shevet) of Manasseh is indicated.

Understanding these nuances, the dialogue between the sides begins with the words…

¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord:

It is an amazing declaration: koh am’ru kol adat Yehovah – “Thus says whole congregation Yehovah.” They don’t say, “the whole congregation of Israel.” They are speaking to a part of Israel. But they now claim they are the entirety of the congregation of the Lord. This is based on the assumption that these being addressed have cut themselves off from the Lord through a treacherous act. As it says…

^{16 (con’t)} ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel,

mah ha’maal ha’zeh asher mealtem b’elohe Yisrael – “What the transgressing, the this, which you have transgressed in God Israel.” The word maal signifies to transgress, act treacherously or unfaithfully, etc. It was first used in Leviticus. It could be considered a priestly word where one acts in a manner that violates the stipulations of a covenant.

It was used in Numbers 5 concerning a woman who defiled herself by being unfaithful to her husband. This is what is being ascribed to these two-and-one-half tribes now. They have supposedly spurned their God by building an unapproved altar which has caused them…

^{16 (con’t)} to turn away this day from following the Lord,

This is a portion of the chiasm where they have turned away from the Lord: la’shuv ha’yom me’akhare Yehovah – “to turn back the day from after Yehovah.” The idea between the previous clause and this one is that these people have transgressed in (against) the God of Israel by turning back from following after the Lord. It is a very strong accusation of apostasy…

^{16 (con’t)} in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord?

bivnotkhem la’khem mizbeakh limradkhem ha’yom b’Yehovah – “in your building to you altar to rebel you, the day, in Yehovah.” Here the word marad is used. It signifies the act of rebelling. The last time it was used was in Numbers 14, the chapter where the people rebelled against the Lord and were thus sentenced to perishing in the wilderness –

“If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ ⁹ Only do not rebel [marad] against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” Numbers 14:8, 9

If the Lord was upset enough at the congregation to bring forty years of wilderness wandering upon the people until all the adults had perished, how could these people now think to escape His wrath? But more, another terrible incident is mentioned as a reminder…

¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us,

The words read, “The little to us iniquity Peor?” It is as if the sins of the past were still hanging heavily upon the people and this would only make it worse. From what is said, one can assume Phinehas is speaking because he reminded them of the incident of Peor. The account began with these words –

“Now Israel remained in Acacia Grove, and the people began to commit harlotry with the women of Moab. ² They invited the people to the sacrifices of their gods, and the people ate and bowed down to their gods. ³ So Israel was joined to Baal of Peor, and the anger of the Lord was aroused against Israel.” Numbers 25:1-3

Despite 24,000 people who worshiped Baal being killed, Phinehas knew the stain remained upon them…

^{17 (con’t)} from which we are not cleansed till this day,

The words here are rather amazing coming from the son of the high priest: asher lo hitaharnu mimenu ad ha’yom ha’zeh – “which no purifying from until the day the this.” It is as if Phinehas fully comprehended the words of Hebrews 10 that would be written after the coming of Christ –

“For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. ² For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. ³ But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. ⁴ For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Hebrews 10:1-4

Despite Israel having the annual Day of Atonement, there was no purification from what occurred, only a reminder of the guilt the nation bore. It is a most incredible statement to have been uttered at this early stage of the Law of Moses.

And not only had the sacrifices not purified them, the wrath that had been poured out on the people was only stayed because of the actions of Phinehas…

^{17 (con’t)} although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord,

It is not “a plague.” Rather: vayhi ha’negeph ba’adat Yehovah – “and was the plague in congregation Yehovah.” What occurred wasn’t arbitrary or happenstance. Rather, it was a targeted outpouring of the wrath of the Lord against the congregation.

Most of the same people that were alive at the time of the plague were still alive. The event wasn’t long ago and more turning from the Lord would again kindle His wrath.

And the idea of building an altar isn’t for the purpose of a single incidence of rebellion. Rather, an altar is something that is returned to again and again. Peor was a single offense. Imagine what continuous rebellion could result in.

¹⁸ but that you must turn away this day from following the Lord?

These words follow logically after the first clause of the previous verse with the other clauses being parenthetical. Also, in the words, the verb is imperfect and there is an emphasis concerning the addressee –

The little to us iniquity Peor? … And YOU are turning away this day from after Yehovah.

The statement smacks of total incredulity. “How could anyone forget what happened there? And yet, you have forgotten and you are set to make things infinitely worse for us…”

^{18 (con’t)} And it shall be, if you rebel today against the Lord, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

This continues the chiasm with the discussion of rebellion: “And it is you rebelling the day in Yehovah and tomorrow unto all congregation Israel He will be angered.” It is not just that these men will be held responsible for the transgression, but the entire congregation will be affected.

The obvious meaning, without it having been said, is that war is brewing to stop the impending judgment of the Lord. With that understood, an offer of appeasement is made…

¹⁹ Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord,

Ellicott says, “This suggests that they might have built the altar in it [meaning the land] to sanctify it. But it would hardly be intelligible unless the altar was, as we supposed, on the eastern side.” But that doesn’t logically follow. The assumption is that the Lord sanctifies the land.

If the Lord dwells in Canaan, as is clearly the case because His tabernacle is there, then building an altar elsewhere would be pointless. The altar was certainly on the west side of the Jordan. But more importantly, the text reads that it was built above (upon, over) the Jordan. The Jordan itself is the focus of its location.

It wouldn’t make much sense to build an altar that wasn’t central to all of the people west of Jordan for their use if the purpose of the altar was to sanctify the land. But this altar isn’t centrally located at all.

It is the thought of the land being unclean that the delegation proposes. As this is so, instead of worrying about another altar, the tribes are invited to cross over to…

^{19 (con’t)} where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us;

asher shakan sham mishkan Yehovah v’heakhzu b’tokenu – “where abides there tabernacle Yehovah and take possession in our midst.” The mishkan, or tabernacle, was mentioned many, many times in Exodus and Numbers. The last time it was mentioned was in Numbers 31:47 and it will only be mentioned here and in Joshua 22:19 & 29.

The mishkan is the actual dwelling place of the Lord. That word is derived from shakan, also used in the verse, which signifies “to dwell.” That mishkan is surrounded by the ohel, or tent. The entire edifice, including its surroundings, is known as the miqdash, or sanctuary. It is the tabernacle itself that Phineas refers to, the place where the Lord dwells.

He appeals to the two-and-one-half tribes to return to Canaan, where the tabernacle resides, and thus where Yehovah resides, and take possession there.

^{19 (con’t)} but do not rebel against the Lord, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God.

More precisely, it reads: “and not in Yehovah rebel, and with us not rebel, in your building to you altar from besides altar Yehovah our God.” If the people feel that the land in which they dwell is defiled, for whatever reason, then they should determine to not live there.

Building another altar won’t solve the matter and it is considered an act of rebellion against both the Lord and against the people of Israel. As this is so, then it could only lead to a state of war between the two. That is assured because another example from recent history is next introduced…

²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel?

Like the previous incident of Peor, this occurred just a few years before, not long after the people crossed the Jordan into Canaan. And Achan’s crime didn’t just bring punishment upon himself. Rather, the battle of Ai was lost and soldiers died because of it –

“So the Lord said to Joshua: “Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. ¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you.” Joshua 7:10-12

In this, the matter had to be resolved before the Lord’s presence would be with them again. As such…

*^20 (fin)And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”

Once the perpetrator was identified, Achan, his family, and all he possessed were devoted to destruction. The point is that if these tribes do not turn from their act of rebellion, Israel will be forced to not only destroy them, but their families and all they possessed. Until that happened, the delegation believed that the Lord would not be with them.

As for the names, Achan means Serpent of Trouble. Zerah, coming from zarakh, signifies Rising of Light.

Concerning this passage, we have more to learn before we can discover why it is included in Joshua. We are being presented with typology concerning other things. And so, we have to get through the passage before that can be fully fleshed out and explained.

As for the historical context of what is being seen, these events actually occurred. As has been seen, quite a few of the historical sites in Joshua are known. The location of this altar is debated, but there is at least one known possibility for where it is.

The detail provided concerning the location and those who were involved in building it verifies its authenticity. If the story wasn’t true, there would be little value to it.

As for the moral nature of what is being said, there are several points worth considering. First, at the time of Joshua, it is evident that Israel was under sound leadership and Joshua was determined to have the people under him comply with the law.

Oddly, however, Joshua is not mentioned at all in the Hebrew text of this chapter. His name is included in the last verse of the Greek text. Either way, the lack of prominence of his name in the passage is notable.

Another point from a moral perspective is that if you are going to do something that affects others, it is always good to tell them what you are up to.

Next week, we will see the reason for the actions taken by the tribes east of the Jordan, but no explanation would have been needed if they had told the western tribes what they were doing in advance. To finish today, we can turn to the comments of Matthew Henry who says this –

“At first sight it seemed a design to set up an altar against the altar at Shiloh. God is jealous for his own institutions; we should be so too, and afraid of every thing that looks like, or leads to idolatry. Corruptions in religion are best dealt with at first. But their prudence in following up this zealous resolution is no less commendable. Many an unhappy strife would be prevented, or soon made up, by inquiries into the matter of the offence. The remembrance of great sins committed formerly, should engage us to stand on our guard against the beginnings of sin; for the way of sin is down-hill.”

He is right. Later in Israel’s history, they will not guard against such things nearly so carefully. That will eventually lead to ever-increasing sin and rebellion against the Lord. Eventually, there was no remedy and the punishments promised in the law came upon them.

Churches today are following the same unholy path. We are disregarding the warnings set forth in Scripture and ever-increasing wickedness is being introduced right into what should be the sacred meeting place of the saints. For those who practice such things, it cannot go well.

Let us be on guard and stand firm in our faith, grounded in the word, and acting faithfully to follow in the steps of the Lord who purchased us from the power of sin and the devil with His own precious blood.

Closing Verse: “They joined themselves also to Baal of Peor,
And ate sacrifices made to the dead.
²⁹ Thus they provoked Him to anger with their deeds,
And the plague broke out among them.
³⁰ Then Phinehas stood up and intervened,
And the plague was stopped.
³¹ And that was accounted to him for righteousness
To all generations forevermore.” Psalm 106:28-31

Next Week: Joshua 22:21-29 Despite the odds, this sermon we will get through… (The Lord God of gods, Part II) (52^nd Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Lord God of Gods, Part I

And when they came to the region of the Jordan
Which is in the land of Canaan, on that date
The children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe
———-of Manasseh
Built an altar there by the Jordan—an altar impressive and great

Now the children of Israel heard someone say
“Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and
———-of Manasseh half the tribe
Have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan
In the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side”

And when the children of Israel heard of it
The whole congregation without haw or hem
Of the children of Israel
Gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them

Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest
To the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half
———-the tribe of Manasseh with words to tell
Into the land of Gilead
And with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house
———-of every tribe of Israel

And each one was the head of the house as well
Of his father among the divisions of Israel

Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad
———-and to half the tribe of Manasseh
To the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying
“Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD:
These words they were then conveying

‘What treachery is this that you have committed
Against the God of Israel
To turn away this day from following the LORD
What is the meaning, please open your mouth and tell

‘In that you have built for yourselves an altar
That you might rebel this day against the LORD in this way?
Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us
From which we are not cleansed till this day?

‘Although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD
But that you must turn away this day from following the LORD
———-as well?
And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD
That tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation
———-of Israel

‘Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean
Then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD
Where the LORD’s tabernacle stands
And take possession among us according to our word

‘But do not rebel against the LORD
Nor rebel against us; this action is so odd
By building yourselves an altar besides
The altar of the LORD our God

‘Did not Achan the son of Zerah
Commit a trespass in the accursed thing in his obliquity
And wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel?
And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

¹⁰ And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar. ¹¹ Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.” ¹² And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

¹³ Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, ¹⁴ and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel. ¹⁵ Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying, ¹⁶ “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the Lord? ¹⁷ Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord, ¹⁸ but that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the Lord, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. ¹⁹ Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the Lord, where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the Lord, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.’”

 

 

 

 

 

 

Artwork by Douglas Kallerson.

Joshua 22:1-9
So Joshua Blessed Them

One of the questions I have never been dogmatic about in my response is whether those of Israel saved before the coming of Christ would be raised at the rapture or not. The verses in Scripture are not definitive enough to tell us one way or the other.

However, the passage today appears to typologically provide an answer to that question. By the end of the sermon, you will know the answer as the typology instructs us.

As with several passages we have seen in Joshua, such as the battles of Gibeon and Ai as well as the inheritance of Caleb, there are little issues that need to be uncovered for us to understand exactly what God is doing.

One might say, “Well, this is what the Bible says about that issue.” But then someone might come along and say, “Yes, but then what about this issue?” There are seemingly unimportant issues that suddenly need to be addressed. And God covers each of them so carefully in typology.

Text Verse: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, ¹⁷ that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17

This is a good text verse to use in today’s sermon because Paul was referring to the Old Testament when he wrote it to Timothy. There are words about being obedient to Moses and the law there, but how do they apply to a believer in Jesus, someone not under the law?

How can it be that a story seemingly about troops returning home from war with all kinds of riches instructs us in doctrine? If you stay awake or don’t leave before we’re done unpacking the typology today, you will see. The word is the gift that just keeps on giving. It is an endless source of amazing detail for us to consider.

Wonderful things, such as the explanation revealed in today’s passage, can be accomplished by a careful study of God’s superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Return With Much Riches (verses 1-9)

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh,

The names are in the singular, speaking to the people as clans descending from an individual: az yiqra Yehoshua la’reubeni v’la’gadi v’la’khatsi mateh m’nasheh – “At that time called Joshua to the Reubenite and to the Gadite, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh.”

This is important to understand because many commentaries assume that those being discharged here had not been home for seven or more years. For example –

“And the time during which these soldiers must in this case have remained separated from their wives and families was a very long one.” Pulpit Commentary

This is incorrect. As was seen early in Joshua, only a portion of the men went to battle while most stayed in their land of inheritance, building, tending to flocks, providing protection, etc.

Without the text saying it, the meaning is that the men rotated into and out of service. While some served, others remained in their land. At set intervals, they would then enter service while the others returned home. Thus, referring to the tribe in the singular means that this arrangement, involving these two-and-a-half tribes will now end. There will no longer be a need for their presence in Canaan.

The land has been subdued sufficiently for all of the tribes to receive their inheritances. The lots have been cast, the borders have been set, the cities have been named, the Levites have received their cities, and now dwelling in the inheritances that have been granted will take place.

As for the opening word, az, it signifies “at that time.” Exactly what that means is debated. The last specific detailing of a major new event was recorded at the opening of Chapter 18 –

“Now the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. ² But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance.” Joshua 18:1, 2

After that, the land was surveyed and apportioned out to the remaining seven tribes, Joshua received his inheritance, the cities of refuge were designated, and then the Levitical cities, including the priestly cities, were detailed. That detail then ended with –

“So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵ Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.” Joshua 21:43-45

Therefore, it might be assumed that what is being detailed came at this point in the chronology of events, following in time directly after the closing words of Joshua 21. However, the events could actually be connected with the statement that closed out the main subduing of the land at the end of Chapter 11 –

“So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the Lord had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.” Joshua 11:23

If this is the case, then all of the detail concerning the division of the land from Chapters 12-21 would be a long insert into the narrative without regard to chronology. Either way, what is stated in these verses is necessary to show that the words of Moses were fully followed.

As for the names, Joshua means The Lord is Salvation. Reuben means See a Son. Gad means Fortune. Manasseh has a dual meaning of To Forget and From a Debt.

² and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you,

The words are in the plural, you all. He called the tribe as a whole and speaks to all of the men of the tribe. His words refer to the order given by Moses in Numbers 32.

The men of these tribes came before Moses and asked that their inheritance be granted east of the Jordan, something that got Moses highly miffed at them, thinking they would discourage Israel from entering their inheritance.

After agreeing to the expectation that they would accompany Israel into battle to subdue the land, Moses accepted their request –

“So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel. ²⁹ And Moses said to them: ‘If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession. ³⁰ But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.’” Numbers 32:28-30

These tribes faithfully fulfilled their obligation to the words of Moses. Moses means He Who Draws Out.

^2 (con’t) and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.

va’tishmeu b’qoli l’kol asher tsiviti etkhem – “and have hearkened in my voice to all which I commanded you.” This refers to what Joshua said to these men in Chapter 1 –

“And to the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh Joshua spoke, saying, ^13 ‘Remember the word which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, ‘The Lord your God is giving you rest and is giving you this land.’ ¹⁴ Your wives, your little ones, and your livestock shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of the Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren armed, all your mighty men of valor, and help them, ¹⁵ until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land which the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it, which Moses the Lord’s servant gave you on this side of the Jordan toward the sunrise.’” Joshua 1:12-15

Joshua proclaims that these men have fully complied with the commands set before them.

³ You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day,

The words “many days” sum up the entire war campaign, at least six or seven years. However, if the narrative follows after the division of the land, it could be somewhat longer. Joshua’s point is that they have been faithful as long as they were needed…

^3 (con’t) but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.

ush’martem eth mishmereth mitsvath Yehovah elohekhem – “and have hearkened charge – command of Yehovah you God.” Without the Lord directly speaking about this matter in Numbers 32, the men who came before Moses responded to his words, saying –

“As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do. ³² We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.” Numbers 32:31, 32

Whether Moses went before the Lord with the matter, or simply set the conditions, he was the representative of the Lord. Either way, their response acknowledges that the conditions were as the Lord had said.

The same is true for the leadership of Joshua as well. Thus, what was spoken by the Lord directly, or through His representatives was heeded as the word of the Lord. Because of their faithful obedience, Joshua continues with…

⁴ And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them;

Rather than “as He promised them,” it says, “as He spoke to them.” The verb translated as “rest” is nuakh, to settle down or cease. The Greek translation uses the word katapauó, the same word used in Hebrews 4 when making a point about the promised rest of God. The noun form, katapausis, the state of repose or a place of rest, is also used in that passage.

There, the author of the epistle makes a point about the greater work of Christ that the events in Joshua only anticipated. For now, the men of Israel have been given rest according to the word of the Lord…

^4 (con’t) now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession,

Rather than “return,” it more precisely, it says v’atah penu ulku lakhem l’aholekhem el erets akhuzathem – “and now turn to you to your tents unto land your possession.” Only now is this truly their possession. Until this point, it has been conditional. With their obligations fulfilled, they can now turn to their possession.

The words “to your tents” are not referring to their military tents which will be packed up and carried home. Rather, this is a poetic way of saying “your homes.” Cities and houses had been built, but the nostalgic use of tents was a reminder of their years living in tents while wandering in the wilderness. Now, the wandering is over and they will turn to the land of their possession…

^4 (con’t) which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.

asher nathan lakhem Mosheh eved Yehovah b’ever ha’yarden – “which gave to you Moses, servant Yehovah, in side the Jordan.” It speaks of the promised inheritance that came before crossing the Jordan. With the inheritance of Israel granted, they too receive what was promised to them at that time.

The Jordan means The Descender. With the grant complete, Joshua next admonishes them concerning their obligations…

⁵ But take careful heed to do the commandment

The verb is imperative: raq shimru meod laasoth eth ha’mitsvah – “Only! Watching very to do the commandment.” The tsivah is a positive precept, coming from tsavah, to command, charge, etc. It is something one is ordered to do as in an obligation. Here, the entire body of commandments cumulatively comprises one commandment. That is then supplemented with…

^5 (con’t) and the law

v’eth ha’torah – “and the law.” The word torah, or law, is derived from yarah, to throw or shoot. One can think of someone aiming to hit a mark. Thus, it speaks of a precept or a statute that one is to aim for. The entire body of the Pentateuch is called The Torah.

This, like the previous word tsivah, speaks of the entire body of law. Each law or precept cumulatively comprises one law. Joshua speaks of these as one whole…

^5 (con’t) which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you,

Hence, this body of law is called The Law of Moses. Using the word tsivah again, Joshua charges them to remember Moses and be obedient to what he has spoken on behalf of the Lord. As such, the commandment and the law are considered two sides of the same coin. With that, Joshua continues by explaining exactly what that means…

^5 (con’t) to love the Lord your God,

Of this, John Gill says, “…of which keeping the commands of God is an evidence.” Although it is true that keeping the commands is an evidence of loving Yehovah, that is not what is being said.

These words do not form an evidence. Rather, they are a command. “You are to love Yehovah your God.” Obeying the commands is the evidence of obeying these words which are a condensed form of Deuteronomy 6:5 – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”

What does it mean to love Yehovah? In the context of what is being conveyed, which is doing His commandments, it means to obey His commandments.

One cannot say, “I love Yehovah,” and yet not obey His commandments. Because He is God, His words reflect who He is. Unlike humans who lie for any reason, thus demonstrating a disconnect between their words and who they are, there is no disconnect between the Lord and His words.

Along with loving Yehovah, they are next reminded…

^5 (con’t) to walk in all His ways,

The NKJV leaves off the conjunction, making it seem as if this is explaining the last clause. It isn’t. Rather, it is a further command: v’la’leketh b’kal d’rakav – “and to walk in all His ways.” Because His words reflect who He is, His ways are revealed in His words. Thus, to walk in all His ways is commanded so that His people will be like Him. And more, they are admonished…

^5 (con’t) to keep His commandments,

Again, the conjunction is missing: v’lishmor mitsvotav – “and to keep His commandments.” A part of the way you keep the commandment and the law is to keep the individual commandments. Understanding this, the words of James are more fully understood –

“For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10

One cannot say, “Well, I didn’t commit adultery and so I have kept the commandment” if he has just killed his neighbor. It is a single body comprised of many individual parts. One must do them all…

^5 (con’t) to hold fast to Him,

The necessary conjunction is again missing, and the words are stronger and more personal: u-l’dav’qah bo – “and to hold fast in Him.” The Pulpit Commentary remarks, “…as though regarding not so much isolated actions as principles of life.”

To cling in Him is to reside in Him and refuse to let go of that state. This command is unlike the state of believers in Christ. The term “in Christ” signifies the position of the believer, but it is a position that is securely maintained not by the believer but by God in Christ. As for Joshua’s words, they continue with…

^5 (con’t) and to serve Him

This must go beyond the written law itself, although the written law may define what this means in broad terms. In other words, if a king is chosen by the Lord, serving the Lord would include serving the king. When a prophet of the Lord spoke, serving the Lord would include heeding the word of the Lord from that prophet.

Both the offices, king and prophet, are defined in the law of Moses. Thus, serving the Lord includes the people’s actions in relation to those who fill these offices. With that, Joshua says…

^5 (con’t) with all your heart and with all your soul.”

Though speaking to all the people (you all), the words heart and soul are singular: b’kal l’vavkhem u-b’kal naphsh’khem – “in all to your heart and in all your soul.” As for these words, they surely do not qualify only the last clause, “to serve Him.” Rather, they are given to qualify each clause. Setting the thought off will give the true sense of what is said –

“Only! Watching very to do the commandment and the law which commanded you Moses, servant Yehovah – to love Yehovah your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to hold fast in Him, and to serve Him – with all your heart and with all your soul.”

The heart refers to the understanding and mental assent of the person. The soul speaks of that which animates and impels a person. To understand the meaning, it could be paraphrased, “in all your attitude and in all your actions.” Everything that comprises the person is to be dedicated to this type of faithful obedience to the Lord. Understanding that, it next says…

⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

As Joshua blessed Caleb upon the designation of his inheritance in Chapter 14, so he blesses all of the men who have officially received their inheritances east of the Jordan, sending them away after his words of admonishment and encouragement.

Next, as a note to ensure clarity for exactly who is being referred to, Manasseh is clearly specified. What is said here should be taken as a parenthetical insert. Thus, it should read –

So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

(⁷ Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward.)

And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, ⁸ and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

With that understood, the parenthesis begins…

⁷ Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan,

The verb has no object. Thus, the words “a possession” should be italicized: v’lakhatsi shevet ham’nasheh natan Mosheh ba’bashan – “And to the half tribe the Manasseh gave Moses in the Bashan.” Because Manasseh’s inheritance was divided, falling on both sides of the Jordan, these words are given. Of note is that in verses 1 and 14, the word for tribe is mateh, the genealogical aspect of the tribe. However, the word shevet, meaning the political aspect of the tribe, is mentioned seven times in the chapter, including this verse.

All of the uses of shevet pertain to this half-tribe of Manasseh. One use of mateh (verse 1) refers to this half-tribe of Manasseh and the other (verse 14) pertains to ten tribes west of the Jordan. This is certainly being structured this way to reveal the political nature of what will transpire starting in verse 10.

Verse 1 was given to denote the genealogical heritage (mateh) of this half-tribe. From this verse on, it denotes the political (shevet) aspect. As for the Bashan, it means The Place of Fertile Soil.

^7 (con’t) but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward.

The words are being very precise: u-l’kheshyo natan Yehoshua im akhekhem m’ever ha’yarden yamah – “and to his half gave Joshua with their brothers from side the Jordan, westward.” Moses gave the land east of the Jordan; Joshua gave the land west of the Jordan. This now ends the parenthesis and the narrative continues with…

^7 (con’t) And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,

v’gam ki shil’khem Yehoshua el aholekhem v’barakhem – “And also, for sending them, Joshua, unto their tents, and he blessed them.” Because of the way the narrative reads, Ellicott said, “It is noteworthy that of all the tribes of Israel who followed Joshua, and remained with him, this half tribe alone is mentioned as receiving a special blessing.”

One can see from the way I have parenthetically divided it that this is incorrect. The parenthesis is simply to provide clarity of what is occurring concerning the two half-tribes of Manasseh. As such, these words refer to the same blessing as verse 6. Removing the parenthesis shows this –

So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. … And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, ⁸ and spoke to them, saying…

With that understood…

⁸ and spoke to them, saying,

Rather, it says, “and said to them, saying.” Using “said” indicates participation by the one being addressed. That participation is…

^8 (con’t) “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing.

More precisely, it reads, “In riches great, return unto your tents, and in livestock much very, in silver, and in gold, and in bronze, and in iron, and in garments much very.” Using the word “in” gives the sense of them almost swimming in these things. They were adorned with them and they were carrying them.

As for the word translated as riches, it is a new word, nekes, coming from an unused root meaning to accumulate. Thus, it signifies treasure, riches, or wealth. Of all of this booty, Joshua says…

^8 (con’t) Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

Most commentators say that this means those who stayed behind and didn’t go to battle. As I have said on several occasions, the troops rotated in and out of the battles, going home on leave, replacing wounded or killed soldiers, etc.

Thus, this is a general statement that whoever is on the other side awaiting the final release of the warriors is to be included in sharing the spoils. This had occurred regularly over the past seven years. Joshua is simply making a general blessing and statement that their time of commitment is over, so they should go back and fraternally unite with those who await them…

⁹ So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed

The actions of the warriors are stated first: “And returned, and went, sons Reuben and sons Gad, and half-tribe the Manasseh.” They had been granted their leave and so they immediately took it…

^9 (con’t) from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan

It more closely reads, “from the sons of Israel, from Shiloh.” Israel means He Strives with God. Shiloh means Tranquility. Canaan means Humbled, Humiliated, or Subdued. The warriors turn from this area…

^9 (con’t) to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession,

The Gilead means The Perpetual Fountain. This land has now been designated as their permanent possession…

*^9 (fin) which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

asher nokhazu bah al pi Yehovah b’yad Mosheh – “which had obtained they upon mouth Yehovah in hand Moses.” Until studying this passage, I wasn’t settled as to whether these tribal inheritances pictured those of Israel saved prior to Christ’s coming or any of Israel who were saved prior to national Israel.

The wording of this passage pretty much clears it up. This pictures those saved apart from the church age. It is not referring to Jews saved during the church age. After study, it seems obvious, but it is never good to be dogmatic without a set reason for it. In this case, the text has cleared it up, especially verses 7 and 9.

These people have obtained their inheritance as granted by Moses and according to the word of the Lord in the hand of Moses. In other words, they anticipated the coming Messiah in faith through their time under the law, thus receiving their inheritance.

With this thought, the verses are ended. The precision of the wording in the passage today has been remarkable, clearly defining what has transpired and will transpire in the future as redemptive history continues to unfold.

Don’t lay up for yourselves treasure on the earth
Where moth and rust destroy
Rather, save up for what is of heavenly worth
And which leads to eternal joy

Treasures in heaven! That’s where it’s at
Not stuff that thieves can break in and steal
Eternal rewards – try shooting for that
Heavenly things! That’s the real deal

For where your treasure is
That is where your heart will be also
Give up on the earthly stuff, gee whizz
The things of this life have gotta go

Go for the eternal, that’s where it’s at
Yes, heavenly rewards – try shooting for that

II. Pictures of Christ

The passage we have looked at is an explanatory note confirming the salvation of those who anticipated the coming of Messiah while living under the law of Moses, prior to the incarnation of Jesus Christ. This will be seen as we continue.

Verse 1 opened with Joshua calling those of the eastern tribes. Joshua, the Lord is Salvation, anticipates Jesus. The three tribes look to the state of those saved by the work of Christ: the Reubenite, See a Son; the Gadite, Fortune; and half the tribe of Manasseh, He Shall Forget/From a Debt. The names explain their state as has been seen numerous times.

Verse 2 was Joshua’s words to them noting that the people had kept all the words of Moses, He Who Draws Out, along with all that Joshua had commanded them. They were faithful to the writings of Moses and to the word of the Lord through the mouths of the prophets who came after Moses.

This doesn’t mean that they were sinless under the law, nor should this be assumed. Rather, they anticipated Messiah and observed Moses. Jesus, during His ministry, noted that Moses wrote of Him (John 5:39 & 46). Thus, to heed Moses is to believe the word and anticipate the Messiah.

Those who believed received the promise of their inheritance prior to Israel’s acceptance of the finished work of Christ. One could argue, “That’s illogical, Charlie. Israel’s national acceptance of Christ was detailed in Joshua 3 & 4. We’re in Joshua 22 now.”

Such a thought would be a misunderstanding of the structure of Joshua. Joshua has been a continuous stream of pictures concerning the work of Christ, the ending of the law, the church age, the rapture of the church, and so much more. That has all been detailed throughout Joshua.

Joshua has been carefully detailing redemptive history in categorical segments, not in chronological order. But it has not yet detailed the salvation of those of Israel who have lived under the law.  There is an inheritance that awaits those of Israel who were saved by faith in the Messiah outside of the church age. Those saved during the church age, both Jew and Gentile, receive their inheritance at the rapture.

Verse 4 noted that “Lord your God has given rest to your brethren.” This demands an understanding of the purpose of and who the addressees are in the book of Hebrews.

Paul’s letters define what is going on during the church age. Whether Hebrews is written by Paul or not (I believe it is) doesn’t bear on what the intent of Hebrews is conveying. It is written to Hebrew believers.

Its placement in Scripture after Paul’s signed epistles indicates that it is an epistle pertaining to those Hebrews who are coming to faith after the church age. In other words, it is addressed to Israel, under the law, as defined in the 70 7’s of Daniel 9.

Of those 490 years, 483 years have occurred. Seven more years are promised to Israel to bring them out of the law and into the New Covenant. This is explicit. Hebrews explains things to these people that they need to know and hold fast to.

Having said that, this does not mean that information in Hebrews does not pertain to those in the church. Christ is our High Priest, atoning Sacrifice, and so forth. But the subject matter is addressed to the Hebrew people coming out of the law. That is clearly and precisely seen throughout the epistle.

Two key thoughts will substantiate this. The first is what it says of the Old Testament saints and those who are being addressed in Hebrews –

“And all these [Old Testament saints], having obtained a good testimony through faith, did not receive the promise, ⁴⁰ God having provided something better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us [those coming out of the law].” Hebrews 11:39, 40

Again, and to make sure you get this, it is the placement of the epistle, after the church-age epistles, that reveals who is being addressed. Even if Paul wrote the epistle, he is a member of the church and will be taken at the rapture. But his words are addressed to those Jews of the end times.

The second key thought is –

 ^“In that He says, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.” Hebrews 8:13

The law is still in effect for Israel, although it is obsolete and no longer useful as a means of obtaining a propitious relationship with God. Now that Messiah has come, it can no longer serve the purpose for which it was given, meaning to anticipate the Messiah.

The words “ready to vanish away” show us this. Israel, after the coming of Messiah, cannot be saved by faith in the coming Messiah because He has already come. This is the point of the words.

With that understood, there has to be a provision for those who were saved under the time of the law who believed in the coming Messiah (before His incarnation) or the Messiah that has come (after the rapture). The latter is what those final seven years of law are for, until national Israel believes and is saved.

With national Israel saved and having received their inheritance and rest, it still needs to be revealed what will happen to those who were of faith under the law before Christ’s coming. That is explained here. Joshua releases them to the land of their possession “which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan,” meaning before national Israel’s salvation.

With that, verse 5 reminded them to observe Moses by keeping the commands of the Lord, loving Him, etc. This seems like a note of reinserting the law, but that is to misunderstand both the words of Jesus and the purpose of Hebrews as well.

Moses only anticipated Jesus. To properly observe Moses is to come to Christ and be obedient to Him. That was clearly and unambiguously seen in the sermon where Moses said this –

“And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. ¹⁸ I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. ¹⁹ And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him.’” Deuteronomy 18:17-19

To be obedient to Moses, a person under the law must be obedient to Christ Jesus who replaces Moses. This is what I referred to a moment ago without citing the verse –

“For if you believed Moses, you would believe Me; for he wrote about Me. ⁴⁷ But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe My words?” John 5:46, 47

With that understood, verse 6 said that Joshua (anticipating Jesus) sent them away to their tents. In other words, he is sending them to their inheritance. However, it was at this time that the parenthetical thought carefully defined Manasseh as being two half-tribes.

The half-tribe east of the Jordan is being referred to. They were given by Moses (He Who Draws Out) a possession in the Bashan, the Place of Fertile Soil. This is a reference to those saved prior to the return of Christ at Israel’s national salvation. While still under the law (Moses) they believed the word of Messiah (in The Place of Fertile Soil) and were saved.

As elsewhere, including quite a few times in Joshua, Manasseh is singled out as a tribe, using that name to explain that God in Christ is the one who forgets man’s sin because Jesus paid their debt (To Forget/From a Debt).

The use of both mateh (22:1) and shevet (22:7) shows us that this pertains to both the genealogical (individual) and political (national) nature of those of Israel who are saved. This was clearly seen in the two statements made by Joshua –

“And to the half tribe the Manasseh gave Moses in the Bashan…”

“…and to his half gave Joshua with their brothers from side the Jordan, westward.”

As I said, Moses gave the land east of the Jordan; Joshua gave the land west of the Jordan. This does not mean they were saved by adherence to Moses, but that they received their inheritance while under Moses. It is Joshua (anticipating Jesus) who actually bestows the inheritance upon both as recorded in the book of Joshua.

With that thought, the parenthesis ended. It was a necessary insert to clarify what was going on. If translations had recorded this parenthesis earlier, the typology would have been much more evident.

Verse 8 then expanded on the blessing that began in verse 6 noting all the riches the men had obtained. As was seen, the word nekes comes from an unused root meaning to accumulate. Thus, it signifies treasure, riches, or wealth. What they accumulated is only a foreshadowing of the true, heavenly riches that are coming for those in Christ. Jesus, speaking to Israel under the law said to the people –

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 16:19-21

This is what is foreshadowed in the great treasure laid up by the half-tribe of Manasseh here in Joshua.

Verse 9 noted that the three eastern tribes departed. They have the sonship, they have the fortune, and their sins are forgotten because of Christ having paid their debt. Their departure was said to be from Shiloh, Tranquility.

They had received their rest in the land of Canaan, Humbled, and were going to the Gilead, the Perpetual Fountain, eternity in Christ, in the land of their possession.

The key idea of this passage is found in verse 4. “And now, the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren.” It cannot be that this passage in Joshua stands as the promised rest of God. That is clearly seen in the words of Hebrews 4 which builds upon the words of Psalm 95.

To understand that rest, you may need to go back and watch the Joshua 1:10-18 passage where that is fully explained in the second section of the sermon. In short, remember that in verse 4, I noted that the Greek translation uses the word katapauó, the same word used in Hebrews 4 about the promised rest of God. The noun form, katapausis, the state of repose or a place of rest, is also used in that passage. Here is what a part of that passage says –

“For if Joshua had given them rest [katapauó], then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. ⁹ There remains therefore a rest [sabbatismos] for the people of God. ¹⁰ For he who has entered His rest [katapausis] has himself also ceased [katapauó] from his works as God did from His.
¹¹ Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest [katapausis], lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:8-11

Joshua’s statement to these tribes only anticipates what Jesus actually provides to His people. David understood this and spoke of another day, knowing that Joshua did not provide the promised rest of God. However, Christ Jesus did.

But the Jews under the law who were saved through faith in Messiah must wait for their inheritance which will be given only when national Israel receives their grant. That is made clear in today’s passage.

The church, both Jew and Gentile, will receive the fulfillment of their inheritance at the rapture. All others will receive theirs after the tribulation when the nation comes to Jesus. That will be evident when we read our closing verse today.

As for the question concerning whether Old Testament saints would also be raptured, my answer in the future will be, “The typology of Joshua points to “No.”

The rapture is reserved for those of the church since the coming of Christ. Nothing is lost if this is incorrect, but the typology surely leans in that direction. Other verses in the Old Testament seem to point to that as well, but it is the typology here that pretty much sets it for me.

As for you, if you want to be a part of what the Lord is doing during the church age, including the rapture of the church, you need to be saved by the Lord first. It’s such a simple thing, but it is the necessary requirement God has set forth for you. Let me tell you how you can appropriate what He offers through Jesus…

Closing Verse: “And at that time your people shall be delivered,
Every one who is found written in the book.
² And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake,
Some to everlasting life,
Some to shame and everlasting contempt.
³ Those who are wise shall shine
Like the brightness of the firmament,
And those who turn many to righteousness
Like the stars forever and ever.”
…
“But you, go your way till the end; for you shall rest, and will arise to your inheritance at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:1-3 & 13

Next Week: Joshua 22:10-20 All will be ok despite the odds, yes, when the story is done… (The Lord God of Gods, Part I) (51^st Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

So Joshua Blessed Them

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the
———-tribe of Manasseh
And said to them what they could now do
“You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD
———-commanded
And have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you

You have not left your brethren these many days
Up to this day and so to you I applaud
But have kept the charge
Of the commandment of the LORD your God

And now the LORD your God has given
Rest to your brethren, as He promised them
Now therefore, return and go to your tents
And to the land of your possession, that precious gem

Which Moses the servant of the LORD
Gave you on the other side of the Jordan, according to his word

But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law
Which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you
To love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep
———-His commandments
To hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and
———-with all your soul, being faithful and true

So Joshua blessed them and sent them away
And they went to their tents on that very day

Now to half the tribe of Manasseh
Moses had given a possession in Bashan as you may have heard
But to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession
Among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward

And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents
He blessed them, and spoke to them, saying
“Return with much riches to your tents
With very much livestock, so he was conveying

“With silver, with gold
With bronze, with iron too
And with very much clothing
Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren
———-so you shall do”

So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe
———-of Manasseh returned
And departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh
Which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead
To the land of their possession they did go

Which they had obtained according to the word
Of the LORD by the hand of Moses just as they heard

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, ² and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. ³ You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. ⁴ And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. ⁵ But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” ⁶ So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

⁷ Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, ⁸ and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”

⁹ So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Joshua 21:34-45
The Cities of Merari

One of my frequent recommendations to people, usually in our Thursday Bible studies, is to get a Bible with decent footnotes. I don’t mean a study Bible with brief little comments at the bottom. Those are generally worthless.

Instead, footnotes will often give you the meat of what is going on in a translation. Of our verses today, the NKJV provides a footnote for Joshua 21:36 –

Joshua 21:36 So with LXX, Vg. (cf. 1 Chr. 6:78, 79); MT, Bg., Tg. omit vv. 36, 37

The meaning is that the LXX (the Greek Septuagint) and the Vg (Latin Vulgate) are as they have translated. However, the MT (Masoretic Text), the Bg (be’ur Gra), and the Tg (Targums) omit verses 36, 37.

Without even doing a deep study, we can be certain that the Masoretic Text is rong. The oldest manuscript of theirs is from the 11^th century. The be’ur Gra commentary was done by Elijah ben Solomon Zalman in the 18^th century, so this also is much later. And the targums are not the greatest source of reliable information because they are based on faulty oral tradition, although they do provide additional support at times.

The Greek Septuagint is a translation from the Hebrew dated around 250BC. The Latin Vulgate is translated from the Hebrew around AD382. Therefore, it’s pretty certain on the surface that verses 36-37 belong there. Without them, the obvious statement found in verse 41 concerning there being forty-eight Levitical cities would be incorrect.

Text Verse: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15

It is certain that if a copy of a manuscript of Shakespeare’s work was found containing spelling errors, transpositions, margin notes, missing words or sentences, etc., anyone who evaluated it would say, “This is a copy of Shakespeare’s work.” In fact, it would be ridiculous to say otherwise.

And yet, naysayers of the Bible demand perfection of transmission to be a part of the process of conveying His word. If such perfection does not exist (which it could not because of the nature of man), then to them it somehow cannot be God’s word. The thinking is biased and flawed.

It is a trap that too many have fallen into, thus believing that God has somehow preserved His word in an exacting manner that is 100% infallible in one particular version or another. Some people say the LXX is the only infallible translation. Some say the Masoretic Text is inspired and infallible, and some say only the 1611 King Jimmy Version is, etc.

It is an irresponsible way of looking at things. God has preserved His word by giving us an innumerable number of documents by which we can tell what is accurate and what is not. This is true with the two contended verses in Joshua 21 as it is with all other such discrepancies. Cambridge says this concerning verses 36-37–

“This verse and the succeeding have the Masoretic note appended that they are not found in the Masora or true tradition. Kimchi therefore rejects them. But they are found in the LXX. and the rest of the ancient versions, and they are necessary to make up the number of forty-eight cities. Dr. Kennicott, as well as Michaelis, Rosenmuller, and Maurer defended their genuineness. So does Knobel, who complains that Rabbi Jacob Ben Chajim, in his Rabbinical Bible of 1525, has very improperly omitted these towns on the authority of the Masora, and that many editors have foolishly imitated him. They have no doubt been omitted by the mistake of a copyist, who passed on from the אַרְבָע (four) of ver. 35 to that of ver. 37, omitting all that lay between.”

In other words, what has occurred is a very common scribal error known as a homeoteleuton. There is a repetition of endings in words that confuses the scribe as he looks to a source text and then back to the copy he is making. He looked at the end of verse 35 –

Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities.

He then looked back to continue and his eyes looked to the ending of verse 37 –

Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities.

He then proceeded on to verse 38 not realizing what he had done. This is why God has preserved His word in multiple manuscripts and in multiple languages. It is because man is fallible.

If you don’t understand this, go back and watch the Exodus 25:10-22 sermon entitled The Ark of the Covenant and the Seat of Mercy. God shows us in typology exactly what we need to know.

Do we have a sure word? We sure do. What we will look at today is the word of God and great things are to be found in His superior word. And so, let us turn to that precious word once again, and… May God speak to us through His word today, and may His glorious name ever be praised.

I. Twelve Cities (verses 34-40)

The Levitical cities have been presented from the tribes in this chapter. The tribal designations and the number of cities were named first. From there, a detailed listing of each has been provided. The first son of Levi to be detailed was that of Kohath.

Those designations were divided between the priestly class and the other Kohathites who were Levites. Next came the sons of Gershon. Now, the final group of Levites, those of Merari, are to be given their detailed listing of cities. That begins with…

³⁴ And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites,

Rather than an adjective, a verb is used: u-l’mishp’hoth bene marari hal’viyim ha’notarim – “And to families sons Merari, the Levites, the remainings.” The meaning is that everything that is remaining is to be designated to the Levites of the youngest son, Merari.

The name Merari comes from marar, to be bitter or to be strong. The i at the end may be possessive, and so it means either Bitterness or Strong or My Bitterness or My Strength. The cities of his allotment are named, beginning with…

^{34 (con’t)} from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land,

Zebulun means Glorious Dwelling Place. Jokneam means either People Will Be Lamented or Let the People Acquire. Kartah was not listed in the cities of Zebulun as recorded in Joshua 19. This is the only time it is mentioned in Scripture. It comes from qereth, a city. That then comes from qarah, to meet or befall. Thus it means City or Place of Meeting.

³⁵ Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land:

“Yay! We get Dimnah. We’re number one! We’re number one!” Well, maybe not. Dimnah is also found only here in Scripture. Scholars agree it is from the word domen, dung. Hence, it means Dung Heap.

Nahalal is identical to nahalol, found only in Isaiah 7:19. There, it is translated as pastures or watering holes. Young’s says, “commendable things.” That then comes from nahal to lead or guide to a watering place or a place of rest. The most known use of that is found in Psalm 23 –

“He leads [nahal] me beside the still waters.” Psalm 23:2

Strong’s defines it as Pasture. I define it as Led to Rest.

^{35 (con’t)} four cities;

As we have seen, Bullinger says –

“It is emphatically the number of Creation; of man in his relation to the world as created; while six is the number of man in his opposition to and independence of God. It is the number of things that have a beginning, of things that are made, of material things, and matter itself. It is the number of material completeness. Hence it is the world number, and especially the ‘city’ number.” Bullinger

³⁶ and from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land,

Reuben’s tribal land is east of the Jordan. And more, Zebulun doesn’t even have a border on the Jordan. Thus, the sons of Merari are somewhat divided from one another.

Reuben means See, A Son. Bezer, or Betser, comes from batsar, meaning to enclose or make inaccessible, and so it means Fortress or Defense. However, it is identical to the word betser, which means precious ore. That is seen only in Job 22 –

“Then you will lay your gold in the dust,
And the gold of Ophir among the stones of the brooks.
²⁵ Yes, the Almighty will be your gold
And your precious silver.” Job 22:24, 25

The idea is that the ore is what people use as a defense or a protection, but the person would put away this protection and trust in the Lord as his gold – his protection – instead.

Jahaz, or Yahats, was seen in Joshua 13. It means Trodden Down. It is where the battle between Israel and Sihon took place as is recorded in Numbers 21:23.

³⁷ Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land:

Both cities were also named in Joshua 13. Kedemoth means Ancient Times, Antiquity, or Beginnings. Mephaath means something like Place of Radiance. Abarim notes that it more precisely would be Place of Radiant Theophany.

^{37 (con’t)} four cities;

This now makes eight total cities. Added to that are…

³⁸ and from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer),

As always, the order of the Hebrew places the emphasis on the fact that it is a city of refuge by stating that first. Only then is the city named: u-mimateh gad eth ir miqlat ha’rotseakh et Ramoth ba’gilad v’eth migrasheha – “And from tribe Gad city refuge the slayer, Ramoth in the Gilead and her common-land.”

Gad is also east of the Jordan. Reuben is furthest south while Gad is on Reuben’s northern border, extending as far north as the half-tribe of Manasseh.

Gad means Troop or Fortune. Ramoth comes from rum, meaning “high” or “exalted.” Thus, it signifies Heights or Lofty Place. The Gilead means The Perpetual Fountain. Also…

^{38 (con’t)} Mahanaim with its common-land,

Mahanaim means Two Camps. It is where the angels met Jacob in Genesis 32:1, giving rise to the name. Eventually, a city was built there. David will flee there after his son Absalom temporarily overthrows him. It is mentioned at various times elsewhere in the Old Testament.

³⁹ Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land:

Heshbon means Intelligence. Jazer, or yatser, means Helpful or He Shall Help.

^{39 (con’t)} four cities in all.

With these final four cities, the designating of the Levitical cities by name is complete…

⁴⁰ So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

The verse more precisely reads: “All the cities to sons Merari, to their families, the remainings from families the Levites. And were their lot cities two ten.”

It is a closing statement on the entire granting of cities within the tribal inheritances for Merari and thus for all the sons of Levi. As for Merari, there are twelve cities granted. It is the number of perfection of government or of governmental perfection.

Four cities and four more, well that makes eight
Add another four and twelve is what you get
Out of these twelve, the typology is great
They tell us that in Christ, our future is set

Let us cherish this wonderful word each day
And enjoy everything that our eyes alight upon
Whatever the words before us say
May we consider them before our eyes move on

There is treasure to be found in this word
It tells us about our glorious Savior Jesus
And so, let us be attentive to what we have heard
Such wonderful things He has done for us

II. The Good Word (verses 41-45)

⁴¹ All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands.

This is exactingly in accord with what was stated by the Lord in Numbers 35 –

And the Lord spoke to Moses in the plains of Moab by the Jordan across from Jericho, saying: ² “Command the children of Israel that they give the Levites cities to dwell in from the inheritance of their possession, and you shall also give the Levites common-land around the cities. ³ They shall have the cities to dwell in; and their common-land shall be for their cattle, for their herds, and for all their animals. ⁴ The common-land of the cities which you will give the Levites shall extend from the wall of the city outward a thousand cubits all around. ⁵ And you shall measure outside the city on the east side two thousand cubits, on the south side two thousand cubits, on the west side two thousand cubits, and on the north side two thousand cubits. The city shall be in the middle. This shall belong to them as common-land for the cities.
⁶ “Now among the cities which you will give to the Levites you shall appoint six cities of refuge, to which a manslayer may flee. And to these you shall add forty-two cities. ⁷ So all the cities you will give to the Levites shall be forty-eight; these you shall give with their common-land. ⁸ And the cities which you will give shall be from the possession of the children of Israel; from the larger tribe you shall give many, from the smaller you shall give few. Each shall give some of its cities to the Levites, in proportion to the inheritance that each receives.” Numbers 35:1-8

The listing of the cities here in Joshua fulfills this mandate of the Lord through Moses. As the cities of refuge were designated as a part of this allocation, and as they have been specifically named during this allocation, the total number of cities must reflect this when they are considered.

In other words, despite being forty-eight cities, it is six plus forty-two that is highlighted above all else. It is to be remembered that the cities are not necessarily inhabited only by Levites. Nor are the Levites restricted only to these cities.

Rather, these cities are designated as Levitical cities for the sake of ensuring the people of Israel were tended to by the Levites in a manner appropriate to the tribal land in which they dwelt. Dispersing the Levites as has been done will ensure that this is the case.

⁴² Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it;

The Hebrew is very precise in its presentation: tihyenah he’arim ha’eleh ir ir u-migrasheha sivivothekha – “Were the cities, the these, city city, and her common-land around her.” It is a way of referring to each city independently and not as a class of cities collectively. The collective is then next referred to…

^{42 (con’t)} thus were all these cities.

ken l’kal he’arim ha’elleh – “thus to all the cities, the these.” Each city was given its own common-land to surround it, and thus it was for all of the cities of the Levites. There was nothing spoken by the Lord that failed to be done.

Because this allocation to the Levites is the last part of the distribution of the land according to inheritances and according to law, there will obviously be a concluding statement to that fact as well. That is next seen…

⁴³ So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers,

This is the culmination of promises that went back approximately 480 years. The book of Joshua began in the first month of the year 2555 Anno Mundi as can be dated from Joshua 4:19. It is now seven or so years later. So it is somewhere around 2562AM. For context, the call to Abram was in the year 2084AM –

“Now the Lord had said to Abram:
‘Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
² I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
³ I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.’
⁴ So Abram departed as the Lord had spoken to him, and Lot went with him. And Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from Haran. ⁵ Then Abram took Sarai his wife and Lot his brother’s son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people whom they had acquired in Haran, and they departed to go to the land of Canaan. So they came to the land of Canaan. ⁶ Abram passed through the land to the place of Shechem, as far as the terebinth tree of Moreh. And the Canaanites were then in the land.
⁷ Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, ‘To your descendants I will give this land.” And there he built an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him.’” Genesis 12:1-4

This promise has been repeated to Isaac, Jacob, and the people of Israel numerous times since then. Thus, the words are given as a confirmation of each instance of those words since they had originally been spoken to Abram. The promises were made and they have been fulfilled…

^{43 (con’t)} and they took possession of it and dwelt in it.

As is the case with the cites, the land is also referred to in the feminine in Hebrew: vayirashuha vayesh’vu bah – “and they possessed her and dwelt in her.” The same feminine language is used of the land elsewhere. A notable example is in Ezekiel 33 –

“For I will make the land most desolate, her arrogant strength shall cease, and the mountains of Israel shall be so desolate that no one will pass through.” Ezekiel 33:28

The intent is that there is to be a mutual blessing between the people and the land, and the land with her people, while the Lord superintends over both. That state of blessing began at this point. With the land and city allocations complete, Israel should live contentedly before the Lord because…

⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest all around,

vayankh Yehovah lahem misaviv – “And rested, Yehovah, to them from around.” It is as if the Lord set them down in the land with no need for care or worry about external pressures. Some see this as contradictory because the land is not fully subdued and there were enemies remaining.

But that is not the point of the statement. The land was divided, the people were allocated their parcels, cities were designated for the Levites, and everything was within Israel’s ability to handle.

If any of our parents gave us a piece of property with a house properly secured with gates, doors with locks, weapons of defense, etc., the parents could just as easily say, “We have given you rest in your own home.” It would be illogical to say, “Yes, but there are neighbors who don’t like me, the grass will keep growing, there will be bills for water and electricity, and so on.”

Life goes on. Suitable provision has been made, but there is a point where the person has to say, “I will keep the house secure, I will mow the lawn, I will pay the bills, etc.” This is the state in which Israel is now. They have been rested in the land and now it is their responsibility to provide for themselves by accepting and maintaining their inheritance. The Lord had provided exactly what He promised…

^{44 (con’t)} according to all that He had sworn to their fathers.

Again, the words are given to show the faithfulness of the Lord to His spoken word. He has promised, and His word is an oath in and of itself. The written record here was not questioned by the people at the time. Thus, it cannot be rightly questioned by anyone later. This is confirmed in the next words…

^{44 (con’t)} And not a man of all their enemies stood against them;

v’lo amad ish biphnehem mi’kal oy’vehem – “And no stood man in their faces from all their enemies.” Again, this does not mean there were not enemies around them. It means that there was no active resistance or engagement against them.

The land and the people were suitably subdued. Therefore, any failure to continue to subdue it would be the fault of Israel. The Lord has done what He promised. As it says…

^{44 (con’t)} the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand.

The singular mixed with the plural is notable: eth kal oy’vehem natan Yehovah b’yadam – “all their enemies gave Yehovah into their hand.” It is a group of people with one hand. The enemies had been sufficiently delivered into it, and all they needed to do was act on what they now possessed. With that, the final verse of the chapter is a celebratory note of victory…

*^{45 (fin)} Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.

A literal translation is: “Not fell word from all the word, the good, which had spoken Yehovah unto house Israel. The all came.” One can mentally think of the Lord speaking His promises in the past. Since they were spoken, they have floated upon the stream of time in exactly the same way they were first spoken.

Not a single word of prophecy falls out of the line as they continue forward until this point in time, at which they have come rushing into the present and settle as if it was into a house with an open door. The words entered and were considered fulfilled.

This is the faithfulness of the Lord to His spoken word.

Not a word of the Lord shall ever fail us
We can hold fast that it is faithful and true
It is the word that tells about Jesus
Of all that He has done and will do

Not a word will fail of every good thing
Which the Lord has spoken to us
Complete trust in this word to us will bring
A fulfilled hope in the message of Jesus

It is the word of God a light for the way
As we travel through this darkened world
Until comes that most marvelous day
When Christ shall descend as the heavens are unfurled

The book is written and it will come about
Let us be firm and fixed, never having a doubt

III. Explaining the Typology

For the third and last time, we have been provided with a listing of the Levitical cities, other than the priestly cities, for the sons of Levi. As with the Levites of Kohath and Gershon, these allotments detail aspects regarding Christ as the Firstborn in His work under the law.

However, the main content of the passage is mostly centered on the naming of the cities. So, this will not only reflect the work of Christ, but also how it applies to His people, meaning their state in Him.

As we saw, the name Merari means either My Bitterness or My Strength. They are two sides of the same coin because bitterness includes the idea of that which is strong. It looks to the work of Christ. It was a work of bitterness but it is accomplished in the strength of the Lord.

The three tribal allotments of Merari are Zebulun, Reuben, and Gad. They speak of the granting of the Glorious Dwelling Place (Zebulun) as Jesus’ rightful due based upon the proof of God’s declaration of His Sonship – See a Son (Reuben). That, in turn, reflects the fact that in the resurrection is realized His Fortune (Gad).

Within these allotments, the cities were named. The Levitical cities reflect the state of those within the inheritances, meaning believers in Christ. These started with four in Zebulun, Glorious Dwelling Place. Jokneam means Let the People Acquire. It is the allowance of the inheritance because of the work of Christ.

Kartah means City. It speaks of the city Zion, or the New Jerusalem, where believers are already citizens as noted in the New Testament, such as in Galatians, Hebrews, and Revelation. One example is –

“…for this Hagar is Mount Sinai in Arabia, and corresponds to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children— ²⁶ but the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all.” Galatians 4:25, 26

Dimnah, Dung Heap, has its own special meaning for believers. It is the response to the present Zion, meaning the Jerusalem “which now is.” Paul explains that in Philippians –

“But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. ⁸ Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish [skubalon, dung], that I may gain Christ.” Philippians 3:7, 8

Finally in Zebulun is Nahalal, Led to Rest. We have been led to rest in Christ, our Glorious Dwelling Place. As it says in Hebrews 4, “For we who have believed do enter that rest.”

Next were the four cities of Reuben, See a Son. The first is Bezer, Defense. In Christ we rest in Him as our Defense, having laid aside our own protection. Jahaz, Trodden Down, looks to the total victory found in Christ concerning anything that would keep us from our own state of sonship –

“And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.” Romans 16:20

Kedemoth, Ancient Times, refers to the promise fulfilled in Christ and in which we participate –

“…according to the faith of God’s elect and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness, ² in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, ³ but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior.” Titus 1:1-3

Mephaath, Place of Radiance, or as Abarim notes Place of Radiant Theophany, surely looks to our faith in Jesus, the manifestation of God in humanity –

“God was manifested in the flesh,
Justified in the Spirit,
Seen by angels,
Preached among the Gentiles,
Believed on in the world,
Received up in glory.” 1 Timothy 3:16

Lastly, Gad, Fortune, also had four cities. The first was Ramoth in the Gilead, or Heights in the Perpetual Fountain. This refers to the state of believers, even now in the heavenly places, sealed with the Holy Spirit. That is a sanctuary city which speaks of being completely secure and hidden in Christ.

That was followed by Mahanaim, Two Camps. This city speaks of the salvation of both Jews and Gentiles. Taken together with Ramoth in the Gilead, both thoughts are found in Ephesians 2 –

“…and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places (Ramoth) in Christ Jesus, … For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, ¹⁵ having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two (Mahanaim), thus making peace, ¹⁶ and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. ¹⁷ And He came and preached peace to you who were afar off and to those who were near. ¹⁸ For through Him we both have access by one Spirit (the Gilead) to the Father.” Ephesians 2:6 & 14-18

One might argue that because they are now one, that would defeat the purpose of the name Two Camps. However, Paul never says that Jews are no longer Jews. The term is reserved for them exclusively. Thus, even though there is one church body, there are two major divisions within it, Jews and Gentiles, despite what replacement theology teaches.

That is followed by Heshbon or Intelligence. It refers to the state of those who are in Christ. Paul contrasts the faith of believers with the intelligence of the world, demonstrating that the wisdom of God is far above what they possess –

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise;
the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
…
“For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength.” 1 Corinthians 1:19 & 25 (NIV)

Lastly is Jazer, or Helpful/He Shall Help. It is an obvious position in Christ –

“The Lord is my helper;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?” Hebrews 13:6

The three divisions of four cities, totaling twelve speaks of the effects of Christ’s work covering the entire earth (four) and forming the perfection of government (twelve) out of His people.

Thus the allocation of the Levitical cities is complete, forming a consistent and marvelous set of pictures of the work of Jesus Christ and the effects of His work as realized in His people.

In total, the sets of Levitical cities were said to equal 48 –

The priests (verse 19), 13 cities;
The non-priestly Kohathites (verse 26), 10 cities;
The Gershonites (verse 33) 13 cities;
The Merarites (verse 40) 12 cities.

Total (verse 41), 48 cities.

As the cities of refuge were specifically and emphatically noted, prior to the naming of the city, it should be restated what the entire picture of these cities tells us.

The obvious immediate division of 48 by 12 is that it signifies the perfection of government while 4 represents the number of material completeness. It is the world number, and especially the “city” number.

Thus, in these cities, one can see a representation of the kingdom of God in the world. However, there is a special focus on man which is represented by the six cities of refuge. It is a marvelous picture of God, working through Christ, and forming a universal government, highlighted by those who come to take refuge in Him.

With that, the final verses had a strong emphasis on the fact that this was the completed work of the Lord – “the Lord gave to Israel,” “The Lord gave them rest,” “the Lord delivered all their enemies.” The typology is evident. Jesus Christ has done everything necessary to bring us to God’s rest.

There is nothing lacking in His work and there is nothing that we can do to add to it. This does not mean that we are to just sit idly by and whittle away our time. The inheritance is secured, but our state within it is up to us, just as it was for Israel.

God has not removed them from the equation, even though they have been faithfully unfaithful to Him. And more, He will bring them to the state of exaltation that He promised them. The same is true with us. But how do we want our eternity to be set?

Rewards and losses are coming at the Bema seat of Christ. So let us endeavor to do the work of spreading His name now while we can.

As for the evaluation of the final words of the chapter, rather than merely think of Israel and the Lord’s fulfillment of His word to them, listen again and think of God’s people, His redeemed, and Jesus’ fulfillment of the word for us –

“Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.”

One can picture the Lord speaking His promises in the past. Since they were spoken, they have floated upon the stream of time in exactly the same way they were first spoken.

Not a single word of prophecy falls out of the line as they continue forward until this point in time, at which they have come rushing into the present and settle as if it was into a house with an open door. The words entered and were considered fulfilled.

This is true for every person who has ever come to Christ. From the first promises of a Redeemer in Genesis 3, all the way through Scripture, every single promise of God is realized in the salvation of each individual who calls out to Him.

And more, there are other promises, future to us now, that God has made. We can be as sure of their coming to pass as we are of those that have been realized already. Be sure to trust Christ today. What He has done, and what God will continue to do through Him, is as certain as the rotation of the earth as each day unfolds; even more so. Let us trust in Him to the glory of God who has spoken forth His word.

Closing Verse: “For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. ²¹ Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, ²² who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.” 2 Corinthians 1:20-22

Next Week: Joshua 22:1-9 It’s the best, without any haw or hem… (So Joshua Blessed Them) (50^th Joshua Sermon)

The Lord has you exactly where He wants you. He has a good plan and purpose for you. It is He who has defeated the enemy and who now offers His people rest. So, follow Him and trust Him and He will do marvelous things for you and through you.

The Cities of Gershon, the Levites

And to the families of the children of Merari
The rest of the Levites as was planned
From the tribe of Zebulun
Jokneam with its common-land

Kartah with its common-land
Hold on, there are more
Dimnah with its common-land
And Nahalal with its common-land: cities four

And from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its common-land
Jahaz with its common-land, totaling up the score
Kedemoth with its common-land
And Mephaath with its common-land: once again cities four

And from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land
———-(a city of refuge for the slayer)
Mahanaim with its common-land, a portion not so small
Heshbon with its common-land
And Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all

So all the cities for the children of Merari
According to their families, all the men
The rest of the families of the Levites
Were by their lot twelve cities, yes two and ten

All the cities of the Levites
Within the possession of the children of Israel
Were forty-eight cities with their common-lands
Together, they have a marvelous story to tell

Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it
Thus were all these cities, really quite a bit

So the LORD gave to Israel all the land
Not a part or just a bit
All of which He had sworn to give to their fathers
And they took possession of it and dwelt in it

The LORD gave them rest all around
According to all that He had sworn to their fathers; just as planned
And not a man of all their enemies stood against them
The LORD delivered all their enemies into their hand

Not a word failed of any good thing
Which the LORD had spoken to the house of Israel
All came to pass
Such a marvelous story to tell

Lord God, turn our hearts to be obedient to Your word
Give us wisdom to be ever faithful to You
May we carefully heed each thing we have heard
Yes, Lord God may our hearts be faithful and true

And we shall be content and satisfied in You alone
We will follow You as we sing our songs of praise
Hallelujah to You; to us Your path You have shown
Hallelujah we shall sing to You for all of our days

Hallelujah and Amen…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

³⁴ And to the families of the children of Merari, the rest of the Levites, from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam with its common-land, Kartah with its common-land, ³⁵ Dimnah with its common-land, and Nahalal with its common-land: four cities; ³⁶ and from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer with its common-land, Jahaz with its common-land, ³⁷ Kedemoth with its common-land, and Mephaath with its common-land: four cities; ³⁸ and from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead with its common-land (a city of refuge for the slayer), Mahanaim with its common-land, ³⁹ Heshbon with its common-land, and Jazer with its common-land: four cities in all. ⁴⁰ So all the cities for the children of Merari according to their families, the rest of the families of the Levites, were by their lot twelve cities.

⁴¹ All the cities of the Levites within the possession of the children of Israel were forty-eight cities with their common-lands. ⁴² Every one of these cities had its common-land surrounding it; thus were all these cities.

⁴³ So the Lord gave to Israel all the land of which He had sworn to give to their fathers, and they took possession of it and dwelt in it. ⁴⁴ The Lord gave them rest all around, according to all that He had sworn to their fathers. And not a man of all their enemies stood against them; the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. ⁴⁵ Not a word failed of any good thing which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. All came to pass.