From Aroer’s River - Joshua 13:9

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Jehovah God told Joshua, “divide this land for an inheritance unto the nine tribes, and the half tribe of Manasseh, with whom the Reubenites and the Gadites have received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond Jordan eastward, even as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them”, and in chapter thirteen and verse nine of Joshua we discover how Jehovah God said the inheritance included territory, “from Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon” where we read, 

From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;

The verse reads, “From Aroer, that is upon the bank of the river Arnon, and the city that is in the midst of the river, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “from Aroer” which means “separate and apart from Aroer whose name means ‘ruins’ an was a city on the north bank of the river Arnon, the southern point of the territory of Sihon the king of the Amorites and later of Reuben; modern 'Arair'”, “that is upon the bank of the river Arnon” or “that exists on the edge or border belonging to the flowing waters known as ‘Arnon’ whose name means ‘rushing stream” and was a river and surrounding valley in south Palestine which forms the border between Moab and the Amorites, “and the city” which means “and the dwelling place and town” “that is in the midst of the river” or “that exists within the middle or center pertaining to the flowing waters”. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God referred to the location of “Aroer” that is situate upon the boarder of the “Arnon” river, and the town that was built in the middle of the “river”.

 

The verse goes on to say, “… and all the plain of Medeba unto Dibon;” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “and all the plain” which means “and each, every and the whole of the desert wilderness” “of Medeba” or “belonging to Medeba whose name means ‘water of rest’ and was a town in Moab assigned to Reuben and located four miles (6 km) southwest of Heshbon; still existent” “unto Dibon” which means “toward Dibon whose name means ‘wasting’ and was a town in Moab on the east side of the Jordan which was taken over by the Israelites and rebuilt by the children of Gad”. Joshua or the writer shared how Jehovah God recognized every part of the territory of desert wilderness that belonged to “Medeba to Dibon” as land which was provided to the tribes of “Reuben, Gad and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how Jehovah God reviewed with “Joshua” how He gave the tribes of “Reuben, Gad and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh” the area which was on the eastern side of the “Jordan River” from “Aroer” which was located on the edge of the “Arnon” river as well as the desert wilderness belonging to “Medeba and Dihon”. These locations may not be familiar to us, but they were well known by “Joshua” and the people of “Israel”. God promised the people of “Israel” that they would be given these territories, and they received them. He has promised us forgiveness of sins and eternal life with Him when we surrender our lives to His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was resurrected from the dead after three days. Let all who read these words yield themselves to Jesus and receive all God has for them in this life and in the eternal life to come. 

Next time we see how the inheritance included, “all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites”, 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".