Joshua 13:8-33 – Living with the right perspective

Joshua 13:8-33, deal with the distribution of the lands east of Jordan to Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh. Remember Moses actually promised these lands to them with a proviso. During their journey, Moses and the children came to these lands and fought the enemy forces within it. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh saw that the lands were good pasture for their flock. So, they requested for those lands. Moses promised them these lands with a proviso that they must go with the rest of the tribes into Canaan to help them possess it, before they could come back and possess the lands east of Jordan.

One wrong thing these two and a half tribes committed was that they didn’t clear their possessions totally of the foreigners. They allowed two groups of people, the Geshurites and the Maacathites, to live with them. This conscious and willful disobedience to the Lord brought with it drastic consequences. Judges 2:1-5 reflected for us what happened as a result of their disobedience. An angel of the Lord came from Gilgal to them in Bochim and warned them of the result. Here the Lord disappointingly told them, "I brought you up from Egypt and brought you into the land that I swore to give to your fathers. I said, 'I will never break my covenant with you, and you shall make no covenant with the inhabitants of this land; you break down their altars.' But you have not obeyed my voice. What is this you done? So now I say, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides and their gods shall be a snare to you."  

The tragic end was that they eventually ended up worshipping the gods of the heathen nations. They were the first to claim their inheritance but they were also the first to lose it. We lose our testimony when we become influenced by the world to adopt their stance. Bear in mind that our testimony for the Lord will be drastically eroded to zero when we consistently run with the standards of the world.  

Here is a word concerning the tribe of Levi. In verse 33, we are told why the tribe of Levi was not given any portion of the land. However, this was not a disadvantage to them just because they were not allotted any land. In fact, they were the privileged lot. Why? Because the Lord God of Israel Himself would be their inheritance. What a privilege! To have Yahweh as the source of everything in life speaks of endless provision. Come to think of it, isn’t it far better to have the Lord God as a possession than all the material things in this world? This reminds us not to be obsessed with material possession. It is far better to be rich in spiritual things than to be rich in material things. Be mindful that this world is not our home and we are just passing through. So, let us set our affection on eternity. Let’s have an eternal perspective. Because when we have such a perspective, we will keep only a gentle grasp on our possessions here and now. We know that everything in life will eventually pass away, but with God, we will have endless eternity!