Out of Abundance

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

OUT OF ABUNDANCE

Josh 19:1-9

19:1 The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. 2 It included: Beersheba (or Sheba), Moladah, 3 Hazar Shual, Balah, Ezem, 4 Eltolad, Bethul, Hormah, 5 Ziklag, Beth Marcaboth, Hazar Susah, 6 Beth Lebaoth and Sharuhen — thirteen towns and their villages; 7 Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan — four towns and their villages— 8 and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, clan by clan. 9 The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.

NIV

Now we come to the chapter where the inheritance was given to the rest of the tribes, with the first going to the tribe of Simeon. Their land included the city of Beersheba, which is mentioned thirty-nine times in the Old Testament. The most memorable thing is that Abraham dug a well there and made a treaty with Abimelech, and then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree and called upon the name of the Lord. There was also the time when Jacob reached Beersheba, he offered sacrifices to the God of his father Isaac. So Simeon received this historic city within his territory. This is our first lesson of the day. We have the most ancient of history within our souls, for the eternal God, the Spirit who brooded over the waters of the deep before the six days of creation, dwells within us. Our history also includes our inheritance of eternal life with our Lord Jesus, in the place within the new city of Jerusalem, which is the territory of God. Our second lesson for today comes from the fact that Simeon received their inheritance in the middle of the land given to Judah because Judah had received more than they needed. There are two ways we can approach this truth. First, we can see that we have been given our physical inheritance, that is, the blessings of the Lord in all that we have right out of the hand of God. Sure, some have been given more, and some have been given less than we have, but all we have has been given from the hand of God. In fact, when upon life’s billows we are tempest tossed, when we are discouraged, thinking all is lost, count our many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise us what the Lord has done. Count our blessings, name them one by one, and see what God has done. When we look at others with their lands and gold, think that Christ has promised us his wealth untold. Count our many blessings. Money cannot buy our reward in heaven, nor our home on high, so we count our many blessings and we name them one by one for they have all been given by hand of God. Secondly, because Judah had so much, Simeon received their inheritance right out of the abundance of Judah. We know we tithe from our abundance, giving back to God, or the work of God, from what he has given us. However, we wonder if someone might need some portion from our abundance. We may need to ponder on that and be sensitive to the Spirit when he inspires us in that area. Let us always be thankful for our inheritance from the abundance of our Lord, and be aware when the Spirit may want us to give a portion of our abundance, which could be the abundance of life, or wealth.