Joshua 13-21 - Claiming the Riches of Our Inheritance

Today, we will begin to look at a new section of the Book of Joshua in chapters 13-21. We need to remember that the Book of Joshua is an historic record of the people of Israel under Joshua’s leadership, conquering and taking control of the Promise Land and then dividing the land as an inheritance to the twelve tribes of Israel. At the same time, Joshua is a spiritual lesson book teaching us how to conquer our enemies by faith, and also how we can claim the inheritance that we have in Jesus Christ as believers.   In chapters 10-12, Joshua had successfully completed the first half of his divine commission. He had conquered the enemy and was in control of the land and the cities (1:1-5). Now he had to fulfill the second part of that commission and divide the land so that each tribe could claim their inheritance and enjoy what God had given them (v. 6). (See Num. 34-35.)   The word inheritance is found over fifty times in these nine chapters and is a very important word. The Jews inherited their land. They didn't win their land as spoils of battle or purchase their land as in a business transaction. The Lord, who was the sole owner, leased the land to them. "The land must not be sold permanently," the Lord had instructed them, "because the land is Mine and you are but aliens and My tenants" (Lev. 25:23). Imagine having God for your landlord!   The "rent" God required was simply Israel's obedience to His Law. As long as the Jewish people honored the Lord with their worship and obedience, He would bless them, make their land productive, and keep their nation at peace with their neighbors. When Israel agreed to the blessings and curses at Mt. Gerizim and Mt. Ebal (Josh. 8:30-35), they accepted the conditions of what is called "The Palestinian Covenant."   Their ownership of the land was purely the gracious act of God; but their possession and enjoyment of the land depended on their submission and obedience to the Lord. (See Lev. 26 and Deut. 27-30 for the details of the Palestinian Covenant.) The Promised Land was a gift of God's love; and if the Israelites loved the Lord, they would want to obey Him and please Him in the way they used His land (Deut. 4:37-39). Unfortunately, they eventually defied the Lord, disobeyed the Law, and defiled the land; and God had to chasten them in the land of Babylon.   As we look at this section of Joshua, we will find that there were four main stages in the distribution of the land. And in each of these stages, we will discover spiritual lessons for God's people today who want to enjoy their spiritual inheritance in Christ.   Jesus, begin His first recorded message in Matthew 5-7 with these words, “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven” (v. 3). “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth” (v. 5). We can begin to claim the “riches of our inheritance in Christ” (Ephesians 1), when we humble ourselves by admitting that we are a sinner and accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior. And then by yielding the ownership of our life and possessions to the Lordship of Christ. When we humbly give up everything to Him, it is then that we will discover that we can truly experience life and enjoy living the abundant fulfilled life on earth that Jesus promised in John 10:10. “… I have come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly”.   God bless!