YOUTH STS LESSON 162 DESCRIPTION AND DIVISION OF CANAAN

TEXT: Joshua 13:1-33; 14:1-15; 15:1-63; 16:1-10; 17:1-18; 18:1-28; 19:1-51; 20:1-9; 21:1-45

MEMORY VERSE: “Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed” (Joshua 13:1).

The task of dividing the land of Canaan to the children of Israel was a great one. Joshua was divinely appointed for this great task. Since his appointment, he has conquered Jericho and Ai through faith and obedience to God. From the victories recorded already, he “took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses…” (Joshua 11:23). Yet, in our text, the Lord challenged him that “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed” (Joshua 13:1). He was charged by the Lord to divide the land by lot to the children of Israel for an inheritance (Joshua 13:6). Hence, as long as the land was not divided to the children of Israel, the task remained unfinished.

Question 1: What is believers’ unfinished task today?
Believers’ unfinished task today is preaching of the gospel of Christ. Paul said, “I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise. So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also” (Romans 1:14,15). In chapter 20, the Lord commanded the children of Israel to build cities of refuge. In obedience to this instruction, they appointed cities of refuge for themselves. The cities of refuge are an allegory of the redemption we have in Christ today. Also in chapter 21, the children of Israel had started settling into the Promised Land which had been divided to each tribe as the Lord commanded. However, the Levites and priests who were the ministers of the Lord were yet to be settled in their respective places where they were meant to dwell and teach the people the way of God.

THE DIVINE CHALLENGE TO JOSHUA. Joshua 13:1-33; 14:1- 15; 15:1-63; 16:1-10; 17:1-18; 18:1-28; 19:1-51;1:6-8; Psalm 92:12-15; Genesis 17:1; 1 Samuel 3:3-10; Joshua 23:1-11; Deuteronomy 31:1-6).

“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed” (Joshua 13:1). Joshua had been following and serving the Lord from his youth (Exodus 33:11; Numbers 14:6, 24, 38). Yet, the Lord challenged him to serve Him more. The Scripture says, “Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them” (Ecclesiastes 12:1).

Question 2: What spiritual qualities did Joshua possess that enabled him to serve the Lord?

The spiritual qualities in the life of Joshua that enabled him serve the Lord include:

(i) faith in God (Numbers 14:6-8),

(ii) consecration to the Lord (Numbers 32:12),

(iii) reverence and honour to the Lord (Joshua 5:14),

(iv) courage in God (Joshua (10:25) and

(v) obedience to God (Joshua 11:15). As young people, the Lord calls on us to serve Him fervently, faithfully and fruitfully. “Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord” (Romans 12:11). Although Joshua had achieved great things for the Lord, he was challenged for greater service. Jesus said, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:2). In Joshua chapter eleven verse twenty-three, the Scriptures says that Joshua had taken the whole land. In our text, the Lord said, “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed”.

There should be no confusion about these verses. The whole land which Joshua took in chapter 11 was the land that the Lord mentioned by names to Moses (Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 7:1). Both were the inheritance the Lord gave to Israel as a nation. They had possessed part of the inheritance in chapter eleven. But in chapter thirteen, “there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed”. God commanded Joshua to divide the land to the children of Israel for inheritance by lot. He assured Joshua with promises to drive out the inhabitants of the land before the children of Israel. This was to give Joshua assurance and courage to face the task before him.

Question 3: How was the land to be divided among the children of Israel and why?

“Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God” (Joshua 18:6). The division of the land among the nine and half tribes was not a simple task. It required careful direction and time. The dividing of the land was to be by casting lots before the Lord. This was to avoid partiality and show that God Himself settled them in the areas best suited for them. For us today, the great commission is divided into two major parts; namely: evangelisation and follow-up. Evangelisation is a way of reaching sinners with the gospel that will bring peace and joy into their lives.

Only those who have known Christ and experienced the transforming power of the gospel that are entrusted with the responsibility of preaching it. No matter how many people are saved through our preaching, there are still “very much land” or people who need the gospel. Necessity is laid upon every Christian youth to evangelise (1 Corinthians 9:16). After preaching the gospel and fruits are gathered, there is need for follow-up of the converts. Follow-up is what we do to preserve the fruits of evangelism. Through it, we help those who have just been saved to become consistent and steadfast in the Lord.

It involves teaching them basic Bible doctrines, impartation and demonstration of the life of Christ before them. “And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them” (Joshua 14:1). The fulfilment of God’s plan for Israel was not without human efforts. No doubt, God has the ability and capacity to accomplish divine purposes without human intervention. However, in His wisdom, He has always engaged human agents.

Question 4: How was the land distributed among the children of Israel?

“By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe” (Joshua 14:2). Moses gave them instruction regarding how to distribute the land. It is very commendable that after his death, Joshua, Eleazar and the elders did not distribute the land according to their own imaginations. “As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD What a lesson to all commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:15). What a lesson to all believing youths and their leaders! Today, even with the presence of church leadership, some are deviating in dressing, marriage, worship and ministration.

Every believing youth should make up their minds to do all that are written in the word of God without preference. We should all uphold the standard of the word of God everywhere. “Forty years old was I when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadeshbarnea to espy out the land; and I brought him word again as it was in mine heart” (Joshua 14:7).

Caleb revealed that he was forty years old at that time. This means that he waited for forty-five years before God fulfilled His promise to him. He was neither discouraged nor weak in faith, but waited for it. While waiting, he enjoyed many benefits from God.

(1) He was preserved from evil (Joshua 14:10);

(2) he enjoyed long life (Joshua 14:10); and

(3) his physical strength did not decrease (Joshua 14:11). His request for the mountain, where the dreaded Anakims dwelt, was a testimony to his faith in the power of God to do as He promised.

DIVINE CHARGE TO APPOINT CITIES OF REFUGE. Joshua 20:1-9; Exodus 34:1; Deuteronomy 12:32; Proverbs 24:21; 30:6; Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8

“The LORD also spake unto Joshua, saying, Speak to the children of Israel, saying, Appoint out for you cities of refuge, whereof I spake unto you by the hand of Moses” (Joshua 20:1,2). It was an initiative of God that the children of Israel should appoint for themselves cities of refuge. This instruction came to them while they were still wandering in the wilderness. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall appoint you cities to be cities of refuge for you; that the slayer may flee thither, which killeth any person at unawares” (Numbers 35:9- 11).

Redemption plan then and now is entirely God’s making. No one can get saved by his own device (Psalm 49:6-9). If anyone would get saved, it has to be through God’s way. Otherwise, it becomes a self-righteous effort, which usually would produce no justification from God (Romans 10:3).

Question 5: What can we learn from the reminder to set aside cities of refuge?

At this time, the Israelites were already in the land God promised them. Hence, a reminder was served. God did not change His original plan. It is important to note that God does not change His will with passage of time. When Moses broke the table of the law first given to him, God said to him, “…Hew thee two tables of stone like unto the first: and I will write upon these tables the words that were in the first tables, which thou brakest” (Exodus 34:1). He would write the words as “in the first tables”! He had strictly commanded the Israelites never to add to or change His instructions.

Any change to it renders it impotent and makes the agent of such change a liar. How may we apply this to our lives today? The Bible, though has been for centuries, should not have its content changed for any reason. Everything should left as “in the first”. Any change would bring damnation and eternal pain on the person who does it, regardless of his status (Revelations 22:18,19).

Furthermore, our Lord Jesus Christ does not change. All the good He did when He was physically on earth, He still could, and indeed, does today. In the land of Canaan, “…they appointed Kedesh in Galilee in mount Naphtali, and Shechem in mount Ephraim, and Kirjatharba, which is Hebron, in the mountain of Judah” (Joshua 20:7). Also, “…on the other side Jordan by Jericho eastward, they assigned Bezer in the wilderness upon the plain out of the tribe of Reuben, and Ramoth in Gilead out of the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan out of the tribe of Manasseh” (Joshua 20:8).

It is worthy of note that anywhere the children of Israel were, there was a city of refuge very accessible to them. God wanted everyone to benefit from the saving plan from the avenger of blood. The cities were widely distributed so that they were “appointed for all the children of Israel, and for the stranger that sojourneth among them” (Joshua 20:9).

DIVINE COMMAND FOR THE INHERITANCE OF THE LEVITES. Joshua 21:1-45; 18:1-10; Numbers 35:1-8; Romans 4:13-20; Hebrews 10:36; 2 Peter 3:9.

“Then came near the heads of the fathers of the Levites unto Eleazar the priest, and unto Joshua the son of Nun, and unto the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel” (Joshua 21:1). The manner in which the heads of the Levites approached the leadership of Israel to ask for the promised inheritance has a lot of lessons for youths today. Previously, they had been promised by the Lord through Moses, that “the children of Israel should give unto the Levites of the inheritance of their possession cities to dwell in; and ye shall give also unto the Levites suburbs for the cities round about them” (Numbers 35:2).

As Joshua divided the land, they decided to send their representatives to approach Eleazar the priest and Joshua to request their own portion of the land as commanded by God. They had trusted in God that His promise would not fail and depended on the leadership to carry out their requests. After the presentation of the request of the leadership of the Levites, Joshua and all Israel did not argue but rather obeyed the command of the Lord. “And the children of Israel gave unto the Levites out of their inheritance, at the commandment of the LORD, these cities and their suburbs” (Joshua 21:3).

Israel obeyed and reallocated the suburbs and other lands to the priests and the Levites. The personal interest of the other tribes did not overshadow their willingness to give the Levites the land apportioned to them by Joshua. As Christian youths, we should be willing to sacrifice for the good of our brethren. In school, we should be ready to teach others, share our textbooks with them and support them from our pocket money when necessary. However, youths should be careful to avoid giving from their school fees or helping each other to their own hurt or destruction.

That is, if anyone is in need of help that is beyond their ability, they could refer such to a more mature person such as pastors or their own Christian parents. Helping to teach your classmate in the exam hall is crossing the border of acceptable assistance to cheating, which has earthly and eternal regrettable consequences. The division of the land was done in such a way that those families with similar responsibilities in the tabernacle were on the same lot. This was accepted by everyone without any prejudice. We do not have record of any of the Levites fighting to be given any choice land. For them, it was a time of service and they knew that they were being allocated the land due to their responsibility.

The Levites, who were descendants of Aaron the priest, were given the cities closest to Jerusalem because their responsibilities required them to be close to the temple (Joshua 21:4,919). The descendants of Kohath, who was the second son of Levi, received their inheritance In the hill country (Genesis 46:11). They were appointed to bear the Ark, which was located in the hill country (verses 5, 20-26; Numbers 4:15).

The descendants of Gershon, the first son of Levi were responsible for the tabernacle’s coverings and other textiles and were allocated the cities in the North (Joshua 21:6,27-33; Numbers 4:24-26). Merari’s descendants were from the third son of Levi; they guarded the tabernacle and transported its frames (Numbers 4:29-33). They were allocated lands in the cities of Zebulun, Reuben and Gad (Joshua 21:29-33).

Question 6: What inheritance should believers aspire to have?

“Though the Levites were apportioned physical lands from the Lord, today, believers and ministers are not expected to fight for earthly inheritance. The Lord wants everyone to set his affection on things above, not on things on the earth” (Colossians 3:2). The unsaved first needs to repent and change their way of life before they can aspire to this eternal inheritance. The inheritance that God gives is incorruptible, for only the pure and holy, and it is the abode of God. Saved youths will be allocated “To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4).