Immerse: Kingdoms Full Volume - Flipbook - Page 40
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IMMERSE
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KINGDOMS
17:16–18:11
The descendants of Joseph responded, “It’s true that the hill country
is not large enough for us. But all the Canaanites in the lowlands have
iron chario ts, both those in Beth-shan and its surrounding settlements and
those in the valley of Jezreel. They are too strong for us.”
Then Joshua said to the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the descendants of Joseph, “Since you are so large and strong, you will be given more
than one portion. The forests of the hill country will be yours as well.
Clear as much of the land as you wish, and take possession of its farthest
corners. And you will drive out the Canaanites from the valleys, too, even
though they are strong and have iron chario ts.”
Now that the land was under Israelite control, the entire community of
Israel gathered at Shiloh and set up the Tabernacle. But there remained
seven tribes who had not yet been allotted their grants of land.
Then Joshua asked them, “How long are you going to wait before taking
possession of the remaining land the Lord, the God of your ancestors, has
given to you? Select three men from each tribe, and I will send them out to
explore the land and map it out. They will then return to me with a written
report of their proposed divisions of their new homeland. Let them divide
the land into seven sections, excluding Judah’s territory in the south and
Joseph’s territory in the north. And when you record the seven divisions
of the land and bring them to me, I will cast sacred lots in the presence of
the Lord our God to assign land to each tribe.
“The Levites, however, will not receive any allotment of land. Their role
as priests of the Lord is their allotment. And the tribes of Gad, Reuben,
and the h alf-tribe of Manasseh won’t receive any more land, for they have
already received their grant of land, which Moses, the servant of the Lord,
gave them on the east side of the Jordan River.”
As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua commanded
them, “Go and explore the land and write a description of it. Then return
to me, and I will assign the land to the tribes by casting sacred lots here in
the presence of the Lord at Shiloh.” The men did as they were told and
mapped the entire territory into seven sections, listing the towns in each
section. They made a written record and then returned to Joshua in the
camp at Shiloh. And there at Shiloh, Joshua cast sacred lots in the presence
of the Lord to determine which tribe should have each section.
The first allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Benjamin. It lay
between the territory assigned to the tribes of Judah and Joseph.