In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua said to the people of Israel, “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. And they shall divide it into seven parts: Judah shall abide in their coast on the south, and the house of Joseph shall abide in their coasts on the north, You shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description here to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, saying, Go and walk through the land, and describe it, and come again to me, that I may here cast lots for you before the LORD in Shiloh”, and in chapter eighteen and verse nine of Joshua we learn how, “the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities” where we read,
And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.
The verse reads, “And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the men went” or “and the male human beings who were chosen left and departed” “and passed through the land” which means “and walked, proceeded and traversed the district, territory and region”, “and described it by cities” or “and made record of and wrote about it, the land, through the encampments, guarded places and towns” “into seven parts in a book” which means “in seven portions, shares and divisions within a missive, document or writing”. Joshua or the writer shared how the “three men who were chosen from the tribes of Israel” departed, traversed the territory, made record of the land, divided the land into seven portions and put their finding within a missive or document to give to “Joshua”.
The verse continues, “… and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and came again to Joshua” which means “and returned to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation” “to the host” or “to the encampment or camp of the armed people of Israel” “at Shiloh” which means “in the location of Shiloh whose name means ‘place of rest’ and was a city in Ephraim and temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, the place where Samuel grew up”. Joshua or the writer shared how the dispatched “men” returned to “Joshua” and the encampment located in “Shiloh”.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn how the men who were chosen by the tribes of Israel did as they were charged, and went through the territory, recorded what they saw, divided the land into “seven” portions, put their findings in a document and presented it to “Joshua”. God’s plan for dividing the promise land among the people of Israel was coming together, and there were practical acts that needed to be followed. “Joshua” and these men from Israel obeyed, and now the distribution of the properties was to be carried out. God also has a plan of salvation for the people of the world through His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to be obedient to that truth as we live in His presence and fulfill His desire to be pleasing to Him. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)
Next time we learn how, “Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD”, 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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