Please forgive this rough draft format, as these are my raw study notes on the book of Joshua, although they are a bit better formatted than former efforts. I felt a great sense of urgency to publish them rather than waiting until I had the time to pretty them up. Thank you and I pray that God blesses and encourages you through this material. I’m not sure of the condition of the world at the time of this publication. But at the time of its writing, summer 2009, things are looking increasingly bleak with the economy and unemployment, there is a renewal and increase of racism, and godly principles of living being disregarded. Are these the first stages of birth pains? The last? God only knows. And He is very busy these days. Stay strong and very courageous. Encourage each other. Pray. Jesus is coming to deliver His people and judge the wicked…Stacey
Take a few minutes to pray and savor chapter 13 of the Old Testament book of Joshua. Then return here and ponder the thoughts, answer the questions, and be sure to leave comments about your own revelations…
13:1-7 – God tells an aging Joshua that there is land left to conquer. How old is Joshua? Probably around 85, like Caleb. See 14:7, 18.
13:7 – Divide the land for nine tribes and ½ tribe of Manasseh. Which nine tribes? Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Zebulun, Issachar, Ephraim, Benjamin, Judah and Simeon.
Why not all tribes? Because this was the division of the land west of the Jordan.
Why Manasseh? They had their inheritance already. Because Manasseh inherited land on both sides of the river.
13:8-33 – The land that Gad, Reuben and Manasseh inherited on the east side of the Jordan is described.
13:8 – The other half of the tribe of Manasseh? Who is that? Was the half-tribe divided in half? The tribe wasn’t divided, but the land inheritance was.
13:13 – The Geshurites and Maacathites remained in the land. Look them up. What was the result of them being left alone?
The Geshurites will be raided by David in 1 Samuel 27:8. David’s wife, Maacah, was the daughter of Geshur’s king. Their son was Absalom. Some scholars say that Geshur was a Philistine city.
The Ammonites would hire the Maacathites to fight David in 2 Samuel 10:6. Maacah was also the name of Abram’s brother, Nahor. Apparently, that is who this city is named for. These people sided with the Ammonites against David.
13:14 – The tribe of Levi receives no land inheritance.
13:15-23 – Reuben’s inheritance is detailed.
13:21-22 – Some of those defeated by Moses are mentioned.
13:24-28 – Gad’s inheritance is mapped.
13:29-31 – Manasseh’s inheritance is mapped.
• The book of Joshua teaches us many things including the fact that we must pursue a relationship with the Lord for ourselves rather than leaning on others’ relationships with Him. Joshua followed Moses as leader of Israel, after all. What have you learned and applied to your life from today’s reading that will help you persevere in your relationship with Christ?
• How do you observe God proving to Israel that He is with Joshua as He was with Moses in today’s text? How does it apply to your own life and relationship with Him?
• What attributes of God do you see in this book?
• What verse of scripture seemed to be God speaking directly to you? What is He teaching you in these verses? How does He want you to respond?
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