In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are you slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?”, and in chapter eighteen and verse four of Joshua we learn how Joshua asked, “Give out from among you three men for each tribe” where we read,
Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise,
and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.
The verse reads, “Give out from among you three men for each tribe: and I will send them, and they shall rise, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “give out from among you” or “provide and assign in the midst and middle of you, the people of Israel” “three men for each tribe” which means “three male human beings on behalf of every clan or people group”: “and I will send them” or “and I, Joshua, shall dispatch and assign them, the three men from each tribe”, “and they shall rise” which means “and they, the three men from each tribe, will stand up, come on the scene and establish themselves”. “Joshua” instructed the people of Israel to assign three male human beings from every one of the clans, and he would dispatch them as they stood up to come on the scene.
The verse continues, “… and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them; and they shall come again to me.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and go through the land” which means “and walk, depart, proceed and traverse the district, region and territory”, “and describe it” or “and record, write down and subscribe to it, the territory or region” “according to the inheritance of them” which means “in keeping with the possession, property and heritage belonging to them, the tribes of Israel”; “and they shall come again to me” or “and they, the three men from each tribe of Israel, will return and be brought back to me, Joshua”. Joshua instructed the three men from the tribes of “Israel” to traverse the territory and make record of it in keeping with the share and portion they were to obtain, and they were to return to him afterward.
When we consider the words in this verse, we see how “Joshua” instructed the people of “Israel” to select “three men” from every one of their clans, and he would dispatch them to proceed throughout the territory, keep a record of what they saw and return to him afterward. God told the people of “Israel” how to begin to move toward their possessing of their territory. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and when we yield our lives to His Son Jesus as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we are willing to seek, explore and receive everything He desires to give to us. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 1:18)
Next time Joshua says, “they shall divide it into seven parts”, 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".
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