Inheritance
Joshua 13:1 — 21:45
Caution
This is a dangerous passage. If either you or I mishandle this text, much is at stake—eternal things—so let’s prepare ourselves well with some cautions before running into this haphazardly. I said this was a dangerous text and I have two specific cautions in mind:
Most of the passage we have in front of us concerns itself with the details of tribal allotments, the specifics of boundary lines, and geographic descriptors. If I handle this wrong, or you approach it from the wrong angle, we could potentially come to the conclusion that this is largely irrelevant to us today and therefore boring. That’s why I say this is a dangerous passage. This is God’s living Word; if we ever get to the point of thinking it is irrelevant and boring, then we are in a dangerous place. So despite all the geographic details in this passage, this is not a passage about geography.
It may also be possible to completely miss the point of this passage in another way, and when I first sat down to read and pray through this passage I almost made this mistake. You see, I got to the passage in chapter 14 where the now 85 year old Caleb comes to see Joshua and says, “Mate, I don’t feel a day over 40! See that mountain over there, the one with the giants still holding the high country, give me that mountain! I can take it!” — Now that will preach! Then I started noticing all the references to tribal allotments and land to be settled, and I started thinking about all the motivational things I could say to help cast a vision in front of you about the land yet to inhabit, about the zeal we should have, and the blessings you could experience if only you’d be like Caleb, or like Joshua, or like Judah — that you would enlarge your vision and God would rain down an inheritance on you. Yep, that’ll preach! The problem is, of course, is that it is complete garbage! It’s a message that sells books, and increases online giving, and funds private jets, but it isn’t what this text says, nor is it faithful in any shape or form to the gospel. I could preach this text, you could read this text, and come away with an anti-gospel message. That’s dangerous.
With this in mind I intend on shaping the rest of this post through five questions:
What’s the story?
What is ’inheritance’?
What’s the point?
What’s the big deal?
What’s grace got to do with it?
What’s The Story?
To see the point of this story, we need to see it as a part of a much bigger story. We won’t have time to explore all of where this story leads, but we can make sense of it by backtracking a bit to see where this story came from. To do that, we need to remind ourselves of two big themes: covenants and generations.
Covenants are a legally bound contract between two parties (or people). Sometimes they were conditional (if you do this, then I will do that), or they could take the form of an unconditional covenant (I will do this, regardless of what you do). Many times, these covenants take the form of promise and blessing, and they form the foundation for the Biblical idea of inheritance.
An understanding of generations will help us place this story (in Joshua) in a specific place in space and time. So to do that it might be helpful for us to summarise this a bit to make it tangible for you.
Generation 1: Abraham: An idol-worshiper called out from a foreign country with the guarantee that God would be his God, and that he would be given both family (a nation), and land. This is called the Abrahamic Covenant. (Genesis 12, 15, 17)
Generation 2: Isaac: Though he was the second born to Abraham, he was the child of promise via Sarah (Abraham barren wife), and received the ongoing blessing of God’s covenant with Abraham. (Genesis 26)
Generation 3: Jacob/Israel: Again, though not the first-born, and despite the fact that he manipulated his brother and deceived his father, Jacob is the surprising recipient of God’s blessing. (Genesis 27, 28) God later reestablishes his covenant with Jacob and then changes his name from ‘Jacob (deceiver)’ to ‘Israel (you have struggled with God and with men and have prevailed)’ (Genesis 32)
Generation 4: Jacob’s 12 sons: Jacob eventually father’s 12 sons: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Issachar, Zebulun, Joseph, and Benjamin. As the story of this family unfolds they eventually end up in Egypt to escape famine, but are eventually enslaved for 400 years, during which they continue to grow and form the 12 tribes (family groups) of Israel. Under Moses and then Joshua, these twelves tribes are the ones we find who are about to receive the fulfilment of the covenant God had made with Abraham more than half a century earlier.
What Is ‘Inheritance?’
This passage is about inheritance. Now one of our cautions at the beginning of this post was about misreading this theme and twisting the details to make this about ‘achieving’ an inheritance, or somehow thinking we ‘earn’ an inheritance. But that couldn’t be further from the truth.
This isn’t about the Israelites (or Caleb) earning anything, or even being worthy of anything. This, from beginning to end, is about the worth of God, the ability of God, the faithfulness of God. This is about God!
“Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess. This is the land that yet remains: (He now gives a fairly comprehensive list of the remaining nations) 6. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you. Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh.” (Joshua 13:1–7, ESV)
“These are the inheritances that the people of Israel received in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the fathers’ houses of the tribes of the people of Israel gave them to inherit. Their inheritance was by lot, just as the LORD had commanded by the hand of Moses for the nine and one-half tribes. For Moses had given an inheritance to the two and one-half tribes beyond the Jordan, but to the Levites he gave no inheritance among them. For the people of Joseph were two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. And no portion was given to the Levites in the land, but only cities to dwell in, with their pasturelands for their livestock and their substance. The people of Israel did as the LORD commanded Moses; they allotted the land.” (Joshua 14:1–5, ESV)
“Thus the LORD gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their fathers. And they took possession of it, and they settled there. And the LORD gave them rest on every side just as he had sworn to their fathers. Not one of all their enemies had withstood them, for the LORD had given all their enemies into their hands. Not one word of all the good promises that the LORD had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” (Joshua 21:43–45, ESV)
I want you to make a simple observation here: Who made this happen? Who is the focus on? Who should get the credit? It’s God, isn’t it? God is the hero of this story. God is the one who keeps his promises. God is the giver of an inheritance. Israel didn’t earn this, they received this.
Rethinking Caleb
In case you’re not convinced, let’s go back and consider Caleb for a moment.
“Then the people of Judah came to Joshua at Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, “You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God in Kadesh-barnea concerning you and me. I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh-barnea to spy out the land, and I brought him word again as it was in my heart. But my brothers who went up with me made the heart of the people melt; yet I wholly followed the LORD my God. And Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land on which your foot has trodden shall be an inheritance for you and your children forever, because you have wholly followed the LORD my God.’ And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, just as he said, these forty-five years since the time that the LORD spoke this word to Moses, while Israel walked in the wilderness. And now, behold, I am this day eighty-five years old. I am still as strong today as I was in the day that Moses sent me; my strength now is as my strength was then, for war and for going and coming. So now give me this hill country of which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day how the Anakim were there, with great fortified cities. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.”” (Joshua 14:6–12, ESV)
Was Caleb really claiming his strength as the reason why he should take this hill country? Was he really saying that he had the vision and the will to take on these giants, that’s why he should get this inheritance? We need to read this carefully and notice what Caleb is calling on to justify this claim. And to do that well we would need to go back to Numbers 13 and 14 to see what had happened some 45 years earlier.
Summary: 12 spies were chosen to scout the promised land. All of Israel had just been liberated from Egypt, they had been delivered from Pharaoh’s army by the miracle of God’s salvation at the Red Sea, and had now come to the southern boarder of Canaan. After 40 days of waiting, the spies return with their report for the people. All of them were amazed by the fruitfulness of the land, and the promise it held as a great land for their nation. But only two of them said they should enter it. The rest, overwhelmed and fearful of the obstacles and challenges that would need to be overcome, urged the people to flee back to Egypt to live as slaves again.
Only Joshua and Caleb called on the faithfulness of God to deliver the people and fulfil His promises. “And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:6–9, ESV)
So why was Caleb, now an 85 year old man, so confident to take on the giants in the mountains? It wasn’t because he felt so energetic. It was because he knew God hadn’t changed. That God was faithful. That God kept his Word. That God wouldn’t let him down. Simply—Caleb knew God. “It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out just as the LORD said.” (Joshua 14:12)
What’s The Point?
God is faithful to His Word and always fulfils his promises. Israel didn’t earn their inheritance, they were given it. Just as we don’t earn our inheritance, it is a gift from God.
What’s The Big Deal?
I mean, why does this matter? Should we even be concerned with this? Well, the short answer, actually, the only answer, is ‘Yes!’. Yes, this is a big deal.
It’s a big deal because people have been misunderstanding this issue for all of history. And while you might not have realised it yet, this is a central issue in the gospel. If you misunderstand the issue of ‘inheritance’, you misunderstand the good news of Jesus Christ, and twist it into something that is no ‘good news’ at all.
For example, consider the guy that comes to meet with Jesus and Luke records the conversation they had:
Luke 18:18 — And a ruler asked him, “Good Teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?”
Before we look at how Jesus responds, I want you to notice what this guy is asking. Basically he’s saying, “Jesus, I want eternal life. What do I need to do to inherit it?” Did you see it? “How do I earn it? What do I need to do so that God will look at me and have no choice but to reward me?”
Let’s look at how Jesus responds:
“And Jesus said to him, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except God alone. You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery, Do not murder, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother.’ ” And he said, “All these I have kept from my youth.” When Jesus heard this, he said to him, “One thing you still lack. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” But when he heard these things, he became very sad, for he was extremely rich.” (Luke 18:19–23, ESV)
Let me summarise Jesus’ answer:
Jesus: You’ve got to be good. And by the way, only God is good
Guy: Yep, nailed it. I’ve been good all my life.
Jesus: Umm, okay, I’ll let that one slide. You've also got to reject the idol you worship, and instead, make me the centre of your life
Jesus: Hello? Anyone there?
Here’s the point Jesus is making. Even if you wanted to earn your inheritance, you can’t. We don’t have the capacity. No one does. At least, no one apart from Jesus himself.
And that’s his point!
What’s Grace Got To Do With It?
Inheritance and grace go hand in hand. We can’t talk about one without talking about the other. So let’s finish here with a few quotes from the Apostle Paul as he wrote to Christians in the first century, and by the Spirit, wrote to us:
“And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32, ESV)
“For if the inheritance comes by the law, it no longer comes by promise; but God gave it to Abraham by a promise.” (Galatians 3:18, ESV)
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory. In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.” (Ephesians 1:7–14, ESV)
Let me make this as clear as possible: God is faithful to His Word and always fulfils his promises. Israel didn’t earn their inheritance, they were given it. Just as we don’t earn our inheritance, it is a gift from God. This gift of Jesus, the inheritance of the saints, comes to you today by grace, and through faith.”
“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:4–9, ESV)
If you know him today, bow down and worship him! He is the hero of your story.
If you don’t know him today, bow before him in repentance and faith. He is the hero of your story.
Let me finish with this blessing that Peter gives:
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3–5, ESV)
