The Men Arose and Went Away - Joshua 18:8

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Joshua said, “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 in chapter eighteen and verse eight of Joshua we learn how Joshua said, “the men arose and went away” where we read,

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.

The verse reads, “And the men arose, and went away: and Joshua charged them that went to describe the land, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the men arose” or “and the male human beings rose and got up”, “and went away” which means “and walked, departed and proceeded forward”: “and Joshua charged them” or “and Joshua whose name means ‘Jehovah is salvation’ ordered and commanded them, the men who departed” “that went to describe the land” which means “who left to make record of and write about the district, territory and region”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. Joshua or the writer shared how the “three men” who were chosen from each of the tribes of Israel got up, departed as “Joshua” ordered and left to write about the the territory.

 

The verse goes on to say, “… 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.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “go and walk through the land” which means “depart and traverse the territory, district and region”, “and describe it” or “and make record of and write about it, the territory”, “and come again to me” which means “and return to me, Joshua”, “that I may here cast lots for you” or “so I, Joshua, can throw, hurl and fling pebbles or stones to make decisions” “before the LORD” which means “in front and in the presence of Jehovah who is the existing One and the proper name for the One True God” “in Shiloh” or “within Shiloh whose name means ‘place of rest’ and was a city in Ephraim and the temporary home of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle, the place where Samuel grew up”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Joshua” told the “men” who departed to traverse the territory to make record of what they saw and return to him so he could throw pebbles to make decisions in the presence of Jehovah God.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how the time had come for the “three men” who were chosen from each of the tribes of “Israel” to depart, traverse the territory not yet obtained by Israel, record about it and return to “Joshua” so he could throw pebbles to make decisions concerning those areas. God’s plan for dividing the promise land continued, and these men along with Joshua would in a practical way divide the land among the seven tribes who had not received their inheritance yet. God wants to give to people, and because He loves us, He gave His Only Begotten Son Jesus to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days. When we yield our lives to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and give us His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and give us the ability to live according to that truth as we receive all He desires to provide. (See John 3:16; 16:13; Acts 1:8; Ephesians 3:20)

Next time we learn how, “the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities”, 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".