Joshua 18:2–3: “But there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet received their inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: ‘How long will you neglect to go and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers has given you?’”

April 8th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

In the original language, the Hebrew sentence structure suggests that a large amount of time had passed since the first 5 tribes had settled in their territories. These remaining 7 tribes had grown complacent and were satisfied with their life on the western bank of the Jordan River. Why did they stay there and not go take all that God had for them? Remember that these people had not lived in permanent dwellings for a generation. They were afraid of anything new, even if it was ultimately for their good. They lacked the faith and courage to go where God wanted to take them. So they found themselves living in disobedience to such a degree that Joshua finally had to confront them and tell them to step up and follow the Lord.

Many of us today and no doubt many believers down through the ages have found ourselves in similar situations. We become satisfied with the status quo and grow tired of the battle. We must carefully guard against letting complacency creep into our spiritual lives, sapping our strength and vision. Proverbs 29:18 reminds us that without a vision, people perish. Joshua did the work of an encourager, reminding them of the vision God had given and prodding them into obedient action. We all need mature believers in our lives who love us enough to confront us in our times of spiritual apathy. Is God calling you to a change of location? Seek Him again. God waits for us to call on Him for His strength and vision.

“LORD, please guide us this day as we follow You.”

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Joshua 18 KJV

¹ And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. ² And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. ³ And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you? ⁴ 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. ⁵And 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. ⁶ Ye shall therefore describe the land into seven parts, and bring the description hither to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the LORD our God. ⁷ But the Levites have no part among you; for the priesthood of the LORD istheir inheritance: and Gad, and Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh, have received their inheritance beyond Jordan on the east, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave them. ⁸ 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. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ And Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the LORD: and there Joshua divided the land unto the children of Israel according to their divisions. ¹¹ And 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. ¹² 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 Beth-aven. ¹³ And the border went over from thence toward Luz, to the side of Luz, which is Beth-el, southward; and the border descended to Ataroth-adar, near the hill that lieth on the south side of the nether Beth-horon. ¹⁴ And the border was drawn thence , and compassed the corner of the sea southward, from the hill that lieth before Beth-horon southward; and the goings out thereof were at Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, a city of the children of Judah: this was the west quarter. ¹⁵ And the south quarter wasfrom the end of Kirjath-jearim, and the border went out on the west, and went out to the well of waters of Nephtoah: ¹⁶ And the border came down to the end of the mountain that liethbefore the valley of the son of Hinnom, and which is in the valley of the giants on the north, and descended to the valley of Hinnom, to the side of Jebusi on the south, and descended to En-rogel, ¹⁷ And was drawn from the north, and went forth to En-shemesh, and went forth toward Geliloth, which is over against the going up of Adummim, and descended to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben, ¹⁸ And passed along toward the side over against Arabah northward, and went down unto Arabah:  ¹⁹ And the border passed along to the side of Beth-hoglah northward: and the outgoings of the border were at the north bay of the salt sea at the south end of Jordan: this was the south coast.  ²⁰ And Jordan was the border of it on the east side. This was the inheritance of the children of Benjamin, by the coasts thereof round about, according to their families. ²¹ Now the cities of the tribe of the children of Benjamin according to their families were Jericho, and Beth-hoglah, and the valley of Keziz, ²²And Beth-arabah, and Zemaraim, and Beth-el, ²³ And Avim, and Parah, and Ophrah, ²⁴ And Chephar-haammonai, and Ophni, and Gaba; twelve cities with their villages: ²⁵ Gibeon, and Ramah, and Beeroth, ²⁶ And Mizpeh, and Chephirah, and Mozah, ²⁷ And Rekem, and Irpeel, and Taralah, ²⁸ And Zelah, Eleph, and Jebusi, which is Jerusalem, Gibeath, and Kirjath; fourteen cities with their villages. This is the inheritance of the children of Benjamin according to their families.