All the Cities of the Plain and the Kingdom of Sihon - Joshua 13:21

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “Moses gave unto the tribe of the children of Reuben inheritance according to their families. And their coast was from Aroer, that is on the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain by Medeba. Heshbon, and all her cities that are in the plain; Dibon, and Bamothbaal, and Bethbaalmeon, and Jahazah, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath, and Kirjathaim, and Sibmah, and Zarethshahar in the mount of the valley, and Bethpeor, and Ashdothpisgah, and Bethjeshimoth,…”, and in chapter thirteen and verse twenty-one of Joshua we learn about, “all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites” where we read,

And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.

The verse reads, “And all the cities of the plain, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, which reigned in Heshbon, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and all the cities” which means  “and each, every and the whole number of the dwelling places or towns” “of the plain” which means “belonging to the level place, table-land or concord”, “and all the kingdom of Sihon” or “and each, every and the whole of the reign, dominion, sovereignty and royal power belonging to Sihon whose name means ‘warrior’ and was the king of the Amorites at the time of the conquest and defeated by Moses in Transjordan” “king of the Amorites” which means “royal ruler and leader belonging to the Amorites whose name means ‘a sayer’ and was one of the peoples of east Canaan and beyond the Jordan, dispossessed by the Israelite incursion from Egypt”, “which reigned in Heshbon” or “who ruled and had dominion within Heshbon whose name means ‘stronghold’ and was the capital city of Sihon, king of the Amorites, located on the western border of the high plain and on the border line between the tribes of Reuben and Gad”. Joshua or the writer referred to how every one of the dwelling places which were located within the level place and everywhere within the royal dominion belonging to “Sihon” who was the royal ruler of the “Amorites” and ruled within the city of “Heshbon” were according to the following. 

 

The verse goes on to say, “… whom Moses smote with the princes of Midian, Evi, and Rekem, and Zur, and Hur, and Reba, which were dukes of Sihon, dwelling in the country.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “whom Moses” which means “that Moses whose name means drawn out and was the prophet, lawgiver and leader of the exodus” “smote with the princes” or “hit, beat, struck and killed alongside and accompanying the chiefs, captains, leaders and exalted governors” “of Midian” which means “belonging to Midian or Midianite whose name means ‘strife’ and was the tribe descended from Midian” “Evi” whose name means “my desire and was one of the chiefs of Midian”, “and Rekem” whose name means “variegation” and was “one of the five kings of Median killed by the Israelites”, “and Zur” whose name means “rock” and was the father of Cozbi and one of the five Midianite princes who were slain when Balaam fell”, “and Hur” whose name means “hole” and was “the fourth of the five kings of Midian who were slain with Balaam after Peor, “and Reba” whose name means “four” and was “one of five kings of Midian slain by the Israelites when Balaam fell, “which were dukes” which means “who existed as princes” “of Sihon” or “belonging to Sihon whose name means ‘warrior’ and was the king of the Amorites at the time of the conquest and defeated by Moses in Transjordan”, “dwelling in the country” which means “inhabiting, living and abiding within the land, territory, district and region”. Joshua or the writer included “the cities of the plain, the kingdom of Sihon, princes of Midian, Eve, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba who were “dukes of Sihon” and were living in the territory as regions that were also conquered by “Israel” and distributed by “Moses” to the tribe of Reuben” for an inheritance from God. 

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how carefully Jehovah God provided for the people of “Israel”, and in this case, the “tribe of Reuben”. God told “Moses” and “Joshua” that He would be with them and go before them to give them the promise land. The “tribe of Reuben” received their portion of the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and the names of the places listed above were given to them. God loves the people of Israel, and He is their provider and protector. God loves us as well, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way for all who put their faith and trust in Him as their “Savior and Lord” to be forgiven of their sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide them into all truth and empower them to live according to that truth so that they too shall receive all the inheritance He has purposed and planned for them in this life and in Heaven to come. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8; Colossians 1:12)

Next time we learn how Jehovah God shares about, “Balaam also the son of Beor”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".