The Border Toward Luz - Joshua 18:13

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. And their border on the north side was from Jordan; and the border went up to the side of Jericho on the north side, and went up through the mountains westward; and the goings out thereof were at the wilderness of Bethaven”, and in chapter eighteen and verse thirteen of Joshua we learn how, “the border went over from there toward Luz” where we read,

And the border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward; and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lies on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.

The verse reads, “And the border went over from there toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Bethel, southward;” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the border” or “and the edge, circuit and boundary” “went over from there” which means “was delineated, extended and traced out separate and apart from the wilderness of Bethaven” “toward Luz” or “to Luz whose name means ‘almond tree’ and was the early name of Bethel and probably the name of the town in close proximity to the actual location of the altar and pillar of Jacob”, “to the side of Luz” which means “toward the shoulder, slope and under-setter belonging to Luz”, “which is Bethel” or “that exists as Bethel whose name means ‘house of God’ and was ancient place and seat of worship in Ephraim on the border of Benjamin, identified with Luz (former name)’”, “southward” which means “in a southern direction”. Joshua or the writer shared how the boundary of the territory given to the “tribe of Benjamin” extended from the wilderness of “Behhoron” to “Luz” and toward the shoulder of “Luz” that existed as “Bethel” in a southern directions. 

 

The verse continues, “and the border descended to Atarothadar, near the hill that lies on the south side of the nether Bethhoron.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “and the border” which means “and the edge, circuit and boundary” “descended to Alarothadar” ” or “went down or in a downward direction toward Alarothadar or Ataroth-adar or Ataroth-addar whose name means ‘crowns of glory’ and was a Gadget town on the west border of Benjamin”, “near the hill” which means “adjoining the mount or rising above the plain” “that lies on the south side” or “that rests upon the shoulder or slope in the southern direction” “of the nether Bethhoron” which means “belonging to the lower Bethhoron whose name means ‘house of hollowness’ and was a town located eight hundred feet (245m) lower than the upper Beth-horon”. Joshua or the writer shared how the boundary of the territory given to the “tribe of Benjamin” also went down to “Atarothadar” which was located close to the rising above the plain that rests upon the southern shoulder belonging to the lower “Bethhoron”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we learn more about the boundaries of the land that was provided to the people of “Benjamin”. It went from the “wilderness of Bethhoron” to “Luz”, to the shoulder of “Luz” in a southern direction which was “Bethel”, went down to “Atarothadar” which was close to the rising above the plain that rested upon the southern shoulder of lower “Bethhoron”. All of these areas may be unfamiliar to us, but they were well-known and important for establishing the people of “Benjamin”. These boundaries were all part of God’s provision of the territory within the promise land for the people of Israel, and He desires to provide for us eternally in a like manner. God sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind, and He raised Him from the dead after three days so when we yield our lives to Him as our personal “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 empower us to live in a manner that is pleasing to Him and willing to receive every boundary and possession He desires to give. 

Next time Joshua or the writer says, “the border was drawn there”, 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".