He Promised

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

HE PROMISED

Josh 13:15-33

15 This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan: 16 The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, and from the town in the middle of the gorge, and the whole plateau past Medeba 17 to Heshbon and all its towns on the plateau, including Dibon, Bamoth Baal, Beth Baal Meon, 18 Jahaz, Kedemoth, Mephaath, 19 Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth Shahar on the hill in the valley, 20 Beth Peor, the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth Jeshimoth 21-all the towns on the plateau and the entire realm of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon. Moses had defeated him and the Midianite chiefs, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba — princes allied with Sihon — who lived in that country. 22 In addition to those slain in battle, the Israelites had put to the sword Balaam son of Beor, who practiced divination. 23 The boundary of the Reubenites was the bank of the Jordan. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the Reubenites, clan by clan. 24 This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Gad, clan by clan: 25 The territory of Jazer, all the towns of Gilead and half the Ammonite country as far as Aroer, near Rabbah; 26 and from Heshbon to Ramath Mizpah and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir; 27 and in the valley, Beth Haram, Beth Nimrah, Succoth and Zaphon with the rest of the realm of Sihon king of Heshbon (the east side of the Jordan, the territory up to the end of the Sea of Kinnereth). 28 These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the Gadites, clan by clan. 9 This is what Moses had given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, that is, to half the family of the descendants of Manasseh, clan by clan: 30 The territory extending from Mahanaim and including all of Bashan, the entire realm of Og king of Bashan — all the settlements of Jair in Bashan, sixty towns, 31 half of Gilead, and Ashtaroth and Edrei (the royal cities of Og in Bashan). This was for the descendants of Makir son of Manasseh — for half of the sons of Makir, clan by clan. 32 This is the inheritance Moses had given when he was in the plains of Moab across the Jordan east of Jericho. 33 But to the tribe of Levi, Moses had given no inheritance; the LORD, the God of Israel, is their inheritance, as he promised them.

NIV

Once again, we are in a place where all the territories are enumerated from city to town or gorge to valley, plateau to hill country. The one phrase that keeps being repeated that was made in the previous verses and now again here is about their inheritance was, “As he promised them”. However, it is also interesting that the inheritance of the tribe of Levi is, “The LORD, the God is Israel”. Who would rather have land than the LORD, the God of Israel? This makes us wonder how much, if any, of an inheritance we receive from either our parents or some family member and how much value, if any, we have put on that inheritance. Are we trying to leave our possessions or whatever amount of money we have as an inheritance for our children? All the tribes received land as an inheritance just as the LORD had promised. Property still seems to be one of the valued possessions today. Many of us have numerous or various possessions which either have been stored somewhere or spend time using daily. The question, as believers, is how much value have we placed in things, compared to the value we have in Christ Jesus, and having the LORD as our inheritance. When it all comes down to our last breath, none of the things of this world matter as much as a hill of beans. We have yet to see a trailer hitched to a hearse, although the Pharaohs of Egypt and Emperors of China thought all their stuff would do them good in the afterlife; they were dead wrong. The only inheritance that matters is the Lord God, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, and our Savior. The Israelites received what the LORD promised them. Jesus promised our inheritance was a place he went to prepare for us. We have already received what God has promised; it is ours, not just for a few years, but for all eternity. Everything in this world will wear out eventually, but our home in heaven will never cease. Let us live looking forward to the day when we our Jesus we will see, when we look upon his face, the one who saved us by his grace, when in our inheritance we will walk with our Lord. We always keep this before our eyes and hearts because it will be just as He promised.