Now Joshua was old and advanced in years when the Lord said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed." (13:1)
Could this be an inference to the clergy? That there are those whereby land and possessing it, their home and their possessions is not the gift that God gives them but instead the gift He gives is his very self. They are scattered among the people, among the tribes. There are people set aside for the purpose of ministry.
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Message: An Incomplete Conquest
Time: Joshua "Yahweh saves" led Israel, under God's command, to victorious conquest of the Promised Land. The book spans about 25 years, beginning about 1406 BC. The conquest of Canaan, numerous military campaigns and regathering of the nation are major components.
What the Lord is Saying: Chapter 12 of Joshua is a list of the kings that were defeated. It is a comprehensive list. Chapter 13 specifies the areas that have not yet been defeated.
These are some passages that are a little hard to come to terms with or rather many people to come to terms with - this idea that God is simply about love and yet in these verses, and passages, we have people that are falling, being overtaken, killed so that Joshua and the people of Israel, as called by God will come out ahead. God has given them the land of Canaan. It is their gift and yet in that gift they still have a response - to receive it - to follow through. They still must stand up to these people, to these kings and overthrow them. A war or fighting is actually not really mentioned. What is mentioned is the people falling.
To me is the reality that some people come out on top and some people do not. We see this throughout life. The have's and the have-nots. Some have peace in their life and some do not. Some follow God and live their lives in obedience to Him while others do not.
I know often we want God to fit into the box that we want Him to be. The kind and gentle God that allows all people everywhere to be part of the saved. I was speaking to a co-worker about this last night and she was in that camp - not really wanting to believe that this message of salvation is restrictive or has tons of rules, but rather is simply full of love and acceptance. That life is more or less what you want it to be. And religion she thinks is just a big jumble of all of these different ideas and beliefs - a conglomeration of all the ideas and doesn't matter who you are what you call him, it all seems fine and no one should be dogmatic thinking their way is the only way. That is the world we live in right now where everyone is right.
But the reality of our scripture and what we read is not everyone is coming out on top. And yet I am not sure if it is as restrictive as many today make it out to be. In some ways there is some extreme to this idea I think. I think we all must remember that God looks at our hearts and I think he sees in ways we do not see. We only see actions and words.
In chapter 12, there is an exhaustive list of "the kings of the land whom the sons of Israel defeated and whose land they possessed" helping us see that while they did not govern every inch, there was enough of the land that they possessed to show they are a success.
The first six verses speak of the land that Moses had defeated. Then in verse 7, is "the land whom Joshua and the sons of Israel defeated (smote) beyond the Jordan toward the west." Moses to the sunrise (the east) and now Jordan to the west. Again, the list is not exhaustive but still represents a lot of land that has been conquered - enough.
In chapter 13, verse 1 is the mention that there is still "land remains to be possessed." And in this description again is the promise of God in verse 6, "I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel." Many lands are described as a gift of God's inheritance to them. In verse 14 though it is mentioned "to the tribe of Levi he did not given an inheritance" but as stated in verse 33, "the Lord, the God of Israel, is their inheritance."
Deuteronomy 18:1 states, “The Levitical priests, the whole tribe of Levi, shall have no portion or inheritance with Israel; they shall eat the LORD’S offerings by fire and His portion."
Could this be an inference to the clergy? That there are those whereby land and possessing it, their home and their possessions is not the gift that God gives them but instead the gift He gives is his very self. They are scattered among the people, among the tribes. There are people set aside for the purpose of ministry.
I saw this quote in the pulpit commentary:
"For the law is entrusted to the priests and Levites, and they devote their energies to this alone, and without any anxiety are able to give their time to the Word of God. But that they may be able to do this, they ought to depend upon the support of the laity. For if the laity do not allow the priests and Levites all the necessaries of life, they would be obliged, to engage themselves in temporal occupations, and would thus have less time for the law of God. And when they had no time to spare for the study of God's law, it is thou who wouldst be in danger. For the light of knowledge that is in them would grow dim, because thou hast given no oil for the lamp, and through thy fault it would come to pass, what the Lord said, 'If the blind lead the blind, shall they not both fall into the ditch?'" (Orig., Hom. 17 on Joshua)
This perhaps is revolutionizing my thinking. I have always been of the opinion that there should be lay people, or bi-vocational ministries. I think we need to do a better job of people shouldering the load of service. But maybe we do try to do this. It seems our church has minimal staff at the moment. We need these ministers and clergy to lead us down the right path, studying scripture and speaking it to us in the right way.
Summary: Land to the east and the west has been conquered, but other lands still remain not possessed. To the tribe of Levi (the priests), the Lord is their inheritance.
Promise: We must continue to believe to secure our whole inheritance.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, your plan is consistent and true. Thank you for setting aside the tribe of Levi and clergy, our leaders to show us the way for piety, to be our model and to lead us in the right understanding of your truth. Thank you God for providing us great leaders, great teachers. These people give me a greater desire to learn and know your truths and to walk with You, growing in my dependence of You. May you unmask and remove the deception of people. I am reminded of that truth I have seen that we need to train ourselves daily in your word, train myself for Godliness and if I don't, I will get trained by the world and its ways. Thank you for keeping me close to You and Your word and Your ways. You chose Your people. Thankful for this. Want me to be grafted in and pray they would be. Draw more people to You.
