We shall continue with the study of the Book of Joshua this week.
For devotional purposes, the reading of the territories may appear to be a bit boring, but it is helpful to read passages like this with the help of a map of the Bible relevant to the time of Joshua. You may come to notice that the territories allotted to Judah and Benjamin were the most extensive among the tribes described in chapters 13-19:
(1) The account of Caleb is being repeated in Judges 1:9-15. Please also read that passage to get a better understanding of the events.
(2) In taking the land so allotted, apart from the help of the Lord, what help did Judah get in taking part of the land?
(3) Why was the event surrounding Caleb being repeated so many times in the Bible? What significance might it have?
(4) What might be the reason for Caleb, instead of conquering Kiriath Sepher himself, giving an opportunity for someone to capture it with the reward being the marrying of his daughter?
(5) What kind of a wife did his daughter, Acsah, prove to be?
(6) What is the main message to you today that you can apply to your life?
(1) Probably, we do not find the reading of the names of all these towns very relevant to us. However, imagine yourself being a modern-day descendant of the tribe of Judah:
a. What might the mentioning of your town mean to you?
b. How might the awareness that this is part of God’s Promised Land mean to you?
c. Given the current political and spiritual situation in Israel, how would you view this promise of God?
(2) What relevant thoughts might the above reflections have on you as a Christian?
(3) What is your “Promised Land”?
(4) How has the possession of your “Promised Land” come about?
(5) This allotment to Judah ends on a sour note in v. 63. What further insight does Judges 1:19 provide concerning their failure?
(6) What are the spiritual implications of their failures?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how may you apply it to your life?
(1) As we read the allotment to the descendants of Joseph, take a moment to reflect on how the life of Joseph differed from those of his brothers. If you had to choose a word to describe Joseph, what might that be?
(2) While Judah was chosen over Joseph in the Messianic lineage, how did God reward Joseph for his faithfulness to Him?
(3) It does appear that the blessings of a godly person do get passed on to future generations. What then might be your legacy to your future generations?
(4) Again, as a footnote, this allotment to Ephraim also ends on a sour note. How does this footnote differ from the last one in 15:63 for Judah?
(5) Does such a difference matter? Why or why not?
(6) What might be the warning it gives to us today?
(7) What is the main message to you today and how might you apply it to your life?
This passage highlights the allotment to the daughters of Zelophehad. What do you think is the reason for the biblical author to mention this event in particular?
(1) It
appears that the designation of daughters as “sons” who would then be able to
inherit family property had parallels in Ancient Near East cities during the
Late Bronze Age (Hess, Joshua, 258), and Joshua and the Israeli leaders
certainly affirmed this right: “So Joshua gave them an inheritance along with
the brothers of their father, according to the Lord’s command.” (Jos.
17:4) What does this tell us about
“women’s rights” in this respect even in the time of Joshua? (Num. 27:8-11)
(2) However, if the
right of these daughters was there in the first place, why then did they
have to go to the high priest, Joshua and the leaders to ask for it,
saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our
brothers”? (17:4) (Num. 27:1-7)
(3) What lesson should we learn from this event?
(4) As we read this passage of allotment, we get a sense that sometimes the demarcation lines might not be very neat among tribes, and we know that even during the allotment, the size of some tribes did play a part in the determination of land so allotted in order to be fair (Num. 26:54):
a. If you were an Israelite of the time, how should you look upon the allotment of the land and its fairness?
b. How should one look at his tribal loyalty or distinctiveness as part of the People of God?
c. Have you ever complained to God about not being fair to you?
(5) What is the main message to you today and how might you apply it to your life?
(1) Why did the people of Joseph complain?
(2) Was their complaint justified? Why or why not?
(3) What was Joshua’s immediate reply?
(4) Was the excuse of the people of Joseph lame or valid? Why?
(5) How does it speak to their spiritual condition and their mentality?
(6) What word would you use to most appropriately describe their attitude?
(7) Why was Joshua so tough on them?
(8) What
have you learned in avoiding the same mistake in the following areas?
a. Life in general
b. Your relationship with God
(9) What is the main message to you today and how might you apply it to your life?
It appears that as some of the tribes (in fact, five tribes) began to conquer and move into parts of the Promised Land, Joshua had moved their headquarters from Gilgal to Shiloh together with the Ark of the Covenant (where it remained until the time of Eli in 1 Sam. 1):
(1) Why did Joshua put the blame for not occupying the remaining Promised Land on the people of Israel?
(2) What were they “waiting” for?
(3) What reasons might have contributed to their “waiting”?
(4) How did the survey of the remaining land (which had already been conquered but not occupied) differ from the spying of the land (by the 12 spies)?
(5) As much as the remaining land would be allotted to the remaining seven tribes, do you get a sense that they were to take possession by themselves, or with the help of the five tribes who had already possessed a good part of their land?
(6) How was the ultimate decision concerning specific allotment of land made? (See v. 10) What was its significance?
(7) As we continue to read more of the process of allotment to each tribe (and thus each family), reflect on the following thought of the psalmist (David’s inheritance was passed on to him as part of the tribe of Judah):
“Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup, you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Ps. 16:5-6)
How did David look at his assigned “lot”? Was he talking about land only?
Can you say the same about your assigned “lot” from the Lord? Why or why not?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how might you apply it to your life?
(1) How did Joshua allot the land to the Simeonites? (19:9)
(2) Was it also made “in the presence of the Lord”?
(3) What was his basis for taking away land from the tribe of Judah which was allotted to them with God’s permission earlier?
(4) How did the people of Judah react to it?
(5) What can you learn from them?
(6) Caleb and Joshua were the two faithful spies and both were rewarded with the land they asked for. While Caleb was the first to claim his land, Joshua was the last to claim his. How does this speak to the kind of leader Joshua exemplified?
(7) Although we know that Joshua was the successor of Moses and in exercising the leadership of dividing the land, he was the spokesman for the Lord, yet the Bible repeatedly puts Eleazar the priest ahead of Joshua (14:1 and 19:51). What might be its message?
(8) What is the main message to you today and how might you apply it to your life?