Joshua 18-19 Bible Study (Inheritance for the Rest of the Tribes) | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Would you meet me in your Bibles in the book of Joshua chapter 18 as we continue in our Bible study through this precious book? And as we find our way to that chapter, we're gonna pray one more time and ask the Lord to help us in the reading and studying of his word. Are you glad to be in the house of the Lord? Amen. Amen.

Father, we thank you for open doors in your house tonight. We do not take it for granted. Lord, we have tasted of what it's like to have the local church taken away from us, and, Lord, we realize how precious it is. Help us never forget. We ask, Lord, that as we study your word, on this night, many people will go out and try to fight for something that has no value, try to fight for things that do not have eternal worth.

But, Lord, tonight, we are here because we are your soldiers, and we fight for a kingdom that will not be shaken. We pray that you would equip us, empower us, convict us, encourage us, whatever we need to be more like your son. We pray that it would be your voice through this word that would be heard, not men's opinions. Lord, we want your word and your word alone. In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen. If you've been following with us in the book of Joshua, you know that we are in a section where now Joshua as a leader is not leading his people into conquest, but is now dividing the land amongst the tribes. And up to this point, we have dealt with five different tribes, and it's amazing how much attention the Holy Spirit gives to these tribes receiving their inheritance and doesn't skim over it. And now we've come to Joshua chapter 18 where Joshua is continuing in this mission in his latter portion of life. And up to this point, again, we have discovered the spiritual lessons from five different tribes.

And in the next two chapters tonight, we have spiritual lessons from the remaining tribes. And if you look here in verse two, this is the summary of what's gonna be happening. There remain among the people of Israel seven tribes whose inheritance had not yet been apportioned. That's what we're gonna be seeing from this moment on. And as you know, over the past few weeks, we've been given charge from the New Testament to realize that every portion of the Old Testament has been granted to us for our encouragement.

That they are there to give us lessons of spiritual truths, though they are painted in a different picture. And so it demands us, every time you read on your own or we come together, we do not skip over parts where we feel like have no value to practicality. We are drawn to these things even more, should we not be, to see, Lord, you have included this here. Surely you have something to say to us. And so we read from verse one.

Then the whole congregation of the people of Israel assembled at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting there, the landlaid subdued before them. Interesting. Before we get into these seven tribes, we are told and we are reminded rather of something that is crucial to the worship of the nation of Israel, and that is something that we know as the tabernacle. The tabernacle in the book of Joshua has not been given much attention like in Exodus where almost half of that book is given to us in the detailed construction of this tent. Nevertheless, the Old Testament itself testifies to the very importance of this structure because it's prophetic, surely.

And we are now reminded here that though the people have been advancing into the land, they have not forgotten about the worship center of their nation, this tent of meeting, the tabernacle. And what are we told about this tabernacle? We're told that it's moved locations. Now here's bible study. This is not a sermon per se.

So you can say this out loud if you know the answer. When Israel came through the Jordan, where did they camp for seven years? What was the name of the city or the town? Anybody know? Oh, we may have to go back to those chapters and redo bible study if we don't.

What was the name of the place that they were parked in? Where were the 12 stones that came out of the Jordan River? Who said it? Gilgal. Gilgal.

You got it. Gilgal. Gilgal was the headquarters for the nation of Israel when they crossed the Jordan. This is where they came to rest, to worship, to be reminded of the faithfulness of God, and now they moved headquarters to a place called Shiloh. Now if this verse stands alone, we think that this was a move on the Israelites.

They wanted to move it just for convenience. Maybe they're going further in, and they just thought we gotta move locations. It's too far ahead. But listen. When we go to Jeremiah seven twelve, we are told something different.

Listen to what the Lord says in Jeremiah chapter seven verse 12. The Lord says, go now to my place that was in Shiloh, where I made my name dwell at first. Now we read this in Joshua 18, and we think this is man's idea. But when we come to the commentary in Jeremiah, we we realize it was God's idea. God was the one who called the people to move the tent to this place.

And we wonder why. Was it for convenience? Sure. Maybe. Maybe it was just more realistic.

But when we understand what Shiloh means, perhaps we have a deeper understanding of why God did this, at least in part. Shiloh simply means the place of rest. The place of rest. And this is where the tabernacle would rest, would remain for almost four hundred years from this moment on. But it's amazing how God decided out of all the places in the land of Canaan to take his house, the house of worship, and to plant it in a place known as the place of rest.

Can you imagine an Israelite asking for directions to the house of God? Where is this tabernacle that I must go to to give my sacrifice? And they would be told, Oh, it's found at the place of rest. It's found at the place of rest. And then there would be this association now between where you come to meet with God, the worship, the sacrifices, the presence of God, the feasts, and it would continually for many, many years be linked to the place of rest.

And so it's almost as though there is a connection being made here that where God is, there is rest. There is peace. There is repose. There is a stability. And this is what I believe the Lord is doing here.

He is in essence creating a sermon based on the address of his own house. And it's almost to say, if you wanna know the address for supernatural tranquility, go where God is. Be where God is. Meet with God. Obey God.

Submit to God. Surrender to God. Worship God. Sacrifice to God. We're not talking about a rest that the world understands, and we might understand, is this idea of ceasing of activity or work.

That's external. And all of us know that even if you try to rest in such a way, you don't really get rest. Proof? When you come back from vacation, you know you need a vacation from your vacation. That's the proof.

You are just as exhausted as you were when you went. Why? Because true rest is internal. It's a matter of the soul. And so real is the rest that God gives you that you don't need an experience necessarily to get that rest.

Oh, does God, yes, commend us for for taking a break and and understanding we're human? Absolutely. But there is a rest that this world is craving and needing that is not found in the external. It's internal. And here we see that God's presence is associated with this place.

And what's so amazing about this is that this inward peace can only come from being rightly related to God. It affects everything. You being rightly related to God is not just a matter of you going to heaven and not going to hell. It does something to you today and for the rest of your days. And what you and I know, what you and I inherit in this life is what we're just saying about there is something of heavenly peace, contentment.

What is a soul who does not have this rest? What does it feel like? It feels like an internal turmoil, this constant wandering and searching and experimenting for something to bring me to a place of satisfaction. A person who does not have the supernatural peace is a person that can't sit still in life. They always need the new, they always need what's trending, they all they're not satisfied with what they have, they are constantly searching and yearning for something to finally put them at ease.

And you cannot find that in anything else except in the maker of your soul. And so God here says, my house of worship where you're gonna meet with me is gonna be at this place called the place of rest. The tabernacle of God, which is significant and prophetic as we know, because John tells us in John one that what? The word became flesh and did what? Dwelt among us.

And that word dwelt is the same word as what? Tabernacled. Tabernacled. God one day would not manifest his glory in a tent adorned with gold and colors as it was in the Old Testament. He would now come and wrap himself in flesh in the person of Jesus Christ, and he is the fullness of the glory of God.

And would you know it, one day the person of Jesus Christ who is the radiance of the glory of God would say these words that you and I have memorized and maybe have on our walls, maybe have in our screen backgrounds, come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden. And I will give you what? Rest. Rest. It's the same idea.

In the Old Testament, we have a picture here of coming to God in the New Testament, and we don't have to go to a physical location because God, in the person of Jesus Christ, makes his abode with us and that rest goes where we go. It remains with us wherever we go. Whatever kind of house you live in, what kind of church building you have does not matter. It does not affect this rest. It remains.

And that is the price that Jesus Christ paid for that reality to be known and those who put their faith and trust in him. And so we are reminded here something of a lesson of the presence of God, of the promise of God, of being rightly related to him. They planted this place called Shiloh, the very house of the Lord. And then from there, we move on. We read verse two.

We know what the rest of these chapters are gonna be about, the seven tribes of Israel receiving their inheritance. And it's a very different tone than what we read of before because Joshua steps up as a leader now. And look what Joshua says in verse three. So Joshua said to the people of Israel, how long will you put off going in to take the possession of the land which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you? What's happening here?

We just read that these seven tribes did not receive their inheritance, and we're wondering why. Bad weather? No. Circumstances? No.

Not outside of themselves. We know why. Joshua steps up as a leader. He looks at the seven tribes that are now at Shiloh, and he he asked, how long will you put off going in to take possession? The fault lied with them.

You have a majority of the tribes now have come to a place where they are not like the ones that we read of before. In what sense? We read of two and a half tribes. Here's the land of Canaan, beyond the Jordan, that decided to settle not in the land of Canaan, but outside of the land and have some kind of connection to the promised land. There's some spiritual lessons there.

Then we studied a tribe that attempted to overthrow their enemies that were occupying their land, and they tried and they tried and they tried, but they gave up because of their lack of faith, and they allowed them to settle. And then we discovered another tribe that came up to their inheritance but didn't even try to overthrow them. They had a different strategy. They said, Let's make them do forced labor so that we can be at a greater advantage for personal gain. But here's where these seven tribes differ.

They did not even make an attempt to go and claim their inheritance. They weren't even interested in it. You think about that. They didn't even commence the journey. They did not even step foot outside of where they were for so long.

This is what we see in these tribes, pure apathy. Apathy. Can you imagine that after all these years being placed in this moment, you have seven tribes that are sitting in their tents not having an interest in the inheritance that God had purchased for them. Now why was that? We have no understanding why.

Was it because they got comfortable as nomads? Like, I kinda like living in tents. I kinda like this whole thing where we're just moving along as we go. Did they become comfortable living so close to one another around this new headquarters? Were they fearful of going out and actually having to fight?

Were they lazy? We don't know why, but one thing is for certain, they were not in the will of God. They were not in the will of God at this point. And what they are really showing is essentially what many Christians live like. I want you to think about this.

This is true for many professing Christians in the new covenant, in what sense? They show little to no interest and only apathy in obtaining what God had purchased for them in Christ. They don't wanna be out in the world. Okay? They don't wanna be out there with the Canaanites.

They don't wanna be out there worshiping idols. But at the same time, there is no sign of desire to grow in the grace of Jesus. It's a spiritual neutrality. It's a stillness of the soul and not the good kind of stillness. You just stay where you are and you're comfortable right there.

It's the type of believer that stands still in their faith. There is no hunger for heavenly things. No hunger. What you see essentially is that these tribes hung around the tabernacle, right? They weren't separated from the house of God per se.

They weren't drifting back, but they were those who, like many believers, they'll come to church consistently. They'll they'll come and they'll sit under teaching, and they'll have friends within the community of faith, but you never hear them talking about personal testimonies of what God is doing in them or through them. Never. That you can find them talking about everything else in the world and being very passionate about it, but you don't ever hear them talking about who God is to them, what they've discovered in the word, how they are being challenged or comforted by the Lord in a personal way, it's almost totally absent from their language and their experience and in their fellowship. They're not evil.

They're not out there sinning necessarily, but they are just content with being exactly where they were when they first met Christ. And they failed to interpret life through spiritual lenses. Again, they're not wicked sinners, but they're not soldiers either. They can't imagine fighting for spiritual things, and there's zero excitement shown in them for the things of God. This is the type of Christian that if somebody were to ask you, hey, do you know so and so?

Are they a Christian? This is how you would answer, yeah, yeah, yeah, Yeah. Have you ever had that dilemma wondering if somebody was really saved? Because you're confused. You know that they come to the church.

You know that they love the things of God in terms of being here and doing the attendance thing per se, but not anything about them, do you get an idea of passion and desire and pursuit? They're just kind of there. They're just there. And so even in your own mind, you're wondering, like, They're not out in the world. They're not outright rebellious.

I don't think I've had a conversation with them ever about the things of God, though. And in fact, when I watch your life, it seems like though they are not in sin, they are interested in about everything except moving forward in the Lord. Wouldn't that be a terrible thing for somebody to ask about you if you're a believer and the other person being confused about the answer? What does the word of God say about these type of believers? Well, we get an idea based on what the word of God is gonna say about these seven tribes.

What is a true leader supposed to interpret when he sees a people that live like this? What does Joshua do? Verse three, he outright rebukes them. How long will you put off going in to take possession of the land? As a leader, Joshua was not pleased with this standard of spirituality that the majority of the tribes have convinced themselves of.

And you know what? Though they were parked at Shiloh, though they were near the house of God, what I love about Joshua is that he does not attempt to justify what is happening here. You know what Joshua doesn't say? Well, at least they're not beyond the Jordan. At least they didn't they didn't die in the wilderness like their parents.

It could be worse. Right? It could be worse than this. I mean, they're at least near the house of God. They're not bowing before idols.

They're good. You know, many leaders justify or many leaders interpret success that way in their own churches. They'll see people coming on a Friday night per se just like this maybe, and though they have no idea where people are at spirit in their spirituality, and maybe they do have an idea of where they're at spirit spiritually, they don't think that's a matter of concern as long as they're here because they could be at the club on a Friday night instead, but they're in the house of God. Where are they at spiritually? I don't know.

I don't think they're they're just there. It could be worse. Or others who again measure success by the attendance. Do you know a true preacher will not be satisfied with the result of a message from people saying, that was a good word, brother. Thank you.

If that is what a preacher covets, we should weep for that preacher. You read the Apostle Paul and you get no hint of that. Paul wept. Paul groaned. Paul was broken over the churches that would not mature in Christ.

Joshua, he had that mentality. He didn't look at these seven tribes and he goes, well, we're we're at least in. We're in the land of Canaan. We're good. It could be worse.

No. He looked at them. He waited long enough, because we get an idea here that it's been a stretch of time, and he outright challenges them. How long are you gonna stay the way you've been for so many days, weeks, months, years? He wasn't satisfied because a true leader isn't.

A leader will declare from the pulpit when he sees in the church a blanketed type of distraction or lack of motivation in the things of God. A true leader, if he knows his congregation well enough, will even approach some of his congregants individually and inquire what is going on, how are things with you and the Lord. This is something absolutely crucial about true godly leadership. They are called to prod those who show stagnation in their spirituality. They will not try to justify it.

They will not measure success a different way. When they see somebody growing cold, they'll turn up the heat. Whatever grace has been given to them, they will do what they need to do. This is what shepherds have been called to do. Listen, if what I just described what a leader looks like and sounds like offends you, then you have missed what the local church is about.

You've completely missed it. And I believe in America, for many of our generation, they have missed it. For the longest time, even to this day, we are losing touch with even church discipline. Church discipline is a lost art in the American church of our generation. We don't wanna be challenged.

And sometimes if churches get big enough and there's not enough shepherds in that church, what does church become? Maybe you even attended one of those services. You just come in and you come out. Nobody knows your name. Nobody knows your life.

There's no accountability. And we have measured for ourselves Christians and even leaders have measured the standard of success for the church attendances and who and how many people hear the message when it is much more intimate than that? And Joshua here didn't sit back and say to himself again, we crossed this and we crossed that, and they weren't like their parents and it could be worse. He said, you're missing what God has purchased for you. You're totally missing it.

And this is the pain of his heart here. He's not acting in self righteousness. This is a genuine concern of a shepherd for his people. And what does he do? He comes to a place where he gives them the reason why he is so upset.

What does he say in the second part? Which the Lord, the God of your fathers, has given you. God paid a price for you. He delivered you from Egypt. He brought you through the sea.

He provided you throughout the wilderness. He brought you through another river. He defeated your enemies. And you are now here with all of this opportunity in the things of God and you're not you're gonna even make one move towards it. Do you realize that this has nothing to do with me, Israelites?

This has everything to do with your God and what lengths he went to to make sure that you would know a different life than you did back in Egypt. Does the new covenant give us that same motivation? You better believe it. You can turn there if you want, but here's a scripture that makes that loud and clear. In first Peter one seventeen to 19, look what the apostle Peter says to the new covenant church.

And if you call on him as father how do you have the right to call on God as father when you accept his son? If you call on him as father who judges impartially according to each one deeds, Can you imagine? Your father is also your judge and mine. Conduct yourselves with fear throughout the time of your exile. What is Peter trying to do?

He's trying to promote a way of life amongst the believers, and this is what he wanted to promote. If God is really your father, you will travel as look at this language of Israelites and Exodus. As an exile, you're gonna walk through this life in a holy, reverential fear. Verse 16, Be holy as I am holy. He is promoting a way of life.

He's promoting what it means to grow in God, growing in your salvation, and then he gives the ignition. He gives the reason why. He gives the motivation for why we should live in a certain standard. What does he say here? Verse 18, Knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot.

So see what he's doing? Do you realize the lengths in which your God has gone to? To purchase you, to ransom you, to deliver you, to save you from judgment, to save you from the power of sin over your life. And here's the possibility, just like these tribes for new covenant believers, to be purchased, to be sealed, to be redeemed, but to be parked in one place and having no pull in their hearts to say, oh, God, let me know every inheritance that you have purchased for me in Christ. I wanna know it all.

I wanna know the fullness of the Holy Spirit. I wanna know victory over sin. I wanna know boldness. I wanna know what it's like to bear fruit. I wanna know what it's like to have disciples.

I know I wanna know what it's like to come to your word daily and weekly and to receive revelation because you've given me new lens. I wanna know it. I wanna desire it. Does that say something to us that the fact that seven out of the 12 tribes were like this? Does that say something of the ratio of new covenant believers too that a majority are under this kind of a spell?

That a majority think like this. They're safe, they're around the tent, but there's no hunger, no desire, no longing. You and I should strive for more. You and I should push forward for more. And you and I have heard over and over in this bible study, men of God throughout the word of God, that I've even testified that there is so much in God, that it will take eternity itself to plunge the depths of his glory and to reach the heights of his mercies.

There's so much in God. And you know when that journey begins? Not when you die. Now this is eternal life that they may know you. I wanna know him now.

And I wanna step into eternity as only just a transition from what I've been doing in this life. Knowing him and loving him and worshiping him. Can you imagine coming before the Lord? You know what would be an amazing study? To study the different ways the Bible shows us how Christians will respond to his coming.

There are many different reactions, and not all of them are smiles and hallelujahs. But what a joy it would be to just transition from this life to the next, doing what you were doing your whole life, only now without the limitations of this sinful flesh, the temptations of this world, and the distractions of this life. Joshua looks at them and he says, how long are you gonna do this? Do you think that stirred them? Do you think that made them uncomfortable?

Do you think that made some people mad? Maybe. But here's one of the descriptions of a shepherd or leadership that has failed in their leadership. If you want any book to look at to see the failure of leadership over God's people, read the book of Jeremiah, and you'll see over and over again, indictment after indictment concerning the leadership. And here's one of them, you've probably heard this word more than once.

You've read it in Jeremiah six fourteen. Look what the Lord says, they have healed the wound of my people lightly. Saying, Peace, peace when there is no peace. Let's translate it. Saying, It's all good.

It's all good when it really isn't all good. What were the what were these shepherds doing? Man, there was judgment looming over the the nation of Israel. And they were giving them a false comfort. And they were healing They were attempting to heal their wound, but lightly.

They wanted to tiptoe around the issues. They didn't wanna confront it head on. They didn't wanna call it out. They didn't want the awkward confrontation. But a mark of a leader in love and passion for the glory of God and the well-being of the sheep under him will look you in the eye with love oozing out of those eyes and say, where are you with the Lord?

Where are you in God? How are things? Do you still love him as you did before? Are you still pursuing him? What are the distractions in your life?

Joshua loved his people enough to confront them. He did not let them stay. Can you imagine if Joshua didn't say anything? Just think about that. I was reading this today and I thought to myself, what if Joshua did not say a word for whatever reason?

Here's one possibility, they would have stayed exactly where they were for years and years and years. But he didn't. He had too much passion. He had too much revelation of what God had done for them, and he had too much understanding of where they can go if they just put it in gear. How long are you gonna stay like this?

And what does he do? Well, in verse four, he gives them instructions. Provide three from each tribe, and I will send them out that they may set out and go up and down the land. They shall write a description of it with a view to their inheritances, and then come to me. So let's just stay in this theme here of Joshua's leadership.

Not only does he rebuke them, because it's one thing to rebuke. There are some people who find pleasure in rebuking. I don't know why, but they do. Maybe it's a power trip kind of thing, but there is necessity in rebuking. But here is the link.

He rebuked, but he also came to help. He gave a shaking word, but he also stepped in to give direction into know knowing how they can advance from this place. It's one thing to look at somebody even if you're not in leadership and to constantly pound them for their lack of passion and consistent things of God. It's a whole another thing to to come with a nudge, but also to come with a plan. And that's what Joshua does.

He says, Listen, I'm gonna show you how you can maximize this and how you can now move from this place that you're at. And he gives a list of instructions. Now notice what Joshua doesn't do because there's a fine line here. Joshua, in their state of complacency, doesn't say, You know what? I'm just going to do it for you.

Okay, let's go and let's go fight for them. No, he doesn't do that. And that's how many people who find themselves in these kind of situations like these tribes expect other people to do. They want their leaders to do their praying for them. They want their leaders to do the heavy lifting for them.

You know, oftentimes when people might ask for prayer, a good question to ask is, Well, are you praying for the same thing? You'll be amazed to know how many parents will ask for prayer for their kids who are youth and teenagers. And sometimes, humbly, I'll ask, are are you praying too so we can partner in prayer? Or do you just wanna dish it off and just say, well, I got things to do. I'm too busy to pray.

A preacher once said that, that he had a a woman come up to him and say, please pray for my son. He's into drugs. And he says, are you praying for it? She says, oh, I'm too busy. I can't.

That's how we interpret things. But Joshua here is a wise leader. He gives direction. He points them where they need to go. He leads them in this sense.

And he says, go out. And what's the risk if they didn't choose to go out? Look at verse five. They shall divide it into seven portions. Judah shall continue in his territory on the South, and the house of Joseph shall continue in the territory on the North.

You know, while these seven tribes were sitting in the same place, Judah and these other tribes are already enjoying their inheritance. And so what can happen is what often happens even on our day. You have some believers that are taking advantage of the things of God and walking the things of God while others are still in the same place, and here's what you lose if you're that type of believer, time. Time, time, time, time. And listen, God is forgiving, but time is not.

God is forgiving, time is not. You can't get back time. Don't waste your time. This should have been a shock to them. Yeah.

Judah, these tribes, they're there. They've been there while you've been here. Let's go. And I love what happens. In verse eight, we get the reaction of these tribes.

So the men arose and went. How simple, How appropriate. How clean. How perfect. There's no attempt to justify it.

Not just justify it. There was no attempt to wallow and complain and be overly burdened with guilt of why they've stayed in the same place for so long when they could have been like Judah, and they could have been like Manasseh, and why did I waste my life, and why did I waste my teenage years, why did I waste my college career, why, why, why? People act like that when they are awakened from their slumber. No? That's just as paralyzing as anything else.

Where God gets a hold of your heart, he opens your eyes, you realize what I've been doing with my life, my Christian life, and then for the next who knows how long, you can barely even move because all you're doing is regretting the fact that you haven't been moving. Brother, I wasted it, and then I blew it, and I did this, and I did that. Get up and go. Go. God wants you to go.

God didn't cut you off. He's saying get up now and move forward. Stop wasting time wallowing in it, and move forward and enjoy it. Go. He will empower you.

The promise was still the same for these tribes as it was before. He will be with you. He will give it to you. Yes. You can you can understand that you wasted time, but there's still time.

You still have breath in your lungs. Go and claim the promises in Christ Jesus. People have this idea that if you feel guilty about your past all the time, you're really godly. Should we reflect on the fact that we have sinned and that our sin cost Christ so much? Sure.

Should we reflect on our past to realize the magnitude of the grace of God? Sure. Should you wallow in your sin to the degree where you don't move and think you're worthy? No. That's not God's will for your life either.

That's a tactic of Satan, to keep you so bound and guilty of your past that you think, I might as well just live like this anyway. I blew it already. The men arose and went. As simple as that. And as they got up and went, we come now to chapter 19, because from the rest of this chapter down to 19, what do we read of?

We read of now the seven tribes and their inheritance in great detail, as you know. Now Benjamin is in the rest of chapter 18. But when we come to 19, we come to a group called Simeon. And what's interesting about Simeon is that his experience of the inheritance is much different than the other tribes. And it can be summarized really in verse nine of chapter 19.

Let's look at it. The inheritance of the people of Simeon formed part of the territory of the people of Judah Because the portion of the people of Judah was too large for them, the people of Simeon obtained an inheritance in the midst of their inheritance. Do you notice what the Holy Spirit is highlighting here? Simeon did not have their unique portion of land. Simeon was caught up in the inheritance of the tribe of Judah.

In other words, Judah's inheritance was somewhat shared. Now that is not a good thing. And it is not because the land of Canaan didn't have enough space for Simeon to have a portion of the promise. To understand why Simeon was in the midst of Judah, we have to understand the history of Simeon. And when you and I understand what Simeon experienced in their past relationship with God as a people, then we understand that what's happening here is in fact an act of judgment.

It's an act of judgment. Turn your bibles to Genesis 49 and let's see what God says when Israel, Jacob, was declaring his blessings and his prophetic words over his different sons. When he comes to Simeon and Levi, we are told in Genesis 49 verse five. Simeon and Levi are brothers. Well, we know they're brothers.

Why is the Lord telling us they're brothers? They weren't just brothers in in blood. They were brothers in shedding blood. What tied these two brothers together was an incident that you're familiar with, I'm sure, where they slaughtered an entire city, viciously and gruesomely. Simeon and Levi are brothers.

Weapons of violence are their swords. Let my soul come not into their counsel. Oh, my glory, be not joined to their company. For in their anger they killed men, and in their willfulness they hamstrung oxen. Do You know how brutal is to hamstrung an an animal?

Like, it went beyond just showing a city not to mess with their family. They were acting with torturous manifestations. For in their anger, they killed men, and their willfulness, they hamstrung oxen. Cursed be their anger, for it is fierce, and their wrath, for it is cruel. Now look at this.

I will divide them in Jacob and scatter them in Israel. So as the brothers are standing there before their father and this word is being spoken over the brothers, specifically Simeon and Levi, they got a hint of what's coming ahead. They are not going to have their own land. They're gonna be sprinkled here and there as an act of discipline. We say, well, they made a mistake.

It was a grave mistake. It was a mistake that if you read the story, it goes beyond just murder. Do you remember the story when their sister Dina was raped? And what was the trick? What was the deception?

If you wanna marry part of our family, you need to do what? You need to get circumcised. So you get circumcised, and then we'll get together once you get healed up and stuff, and and we'll and we'll have a wedding, and we'll we'll we'll join together. And we are told that when they were in the the state is still being sore, that's when Simeon and Levi came with their swords and they slaughtered them when they were the weakest. They used the sign of God's covenant as a means for destruction.

They took a symbol of what God had given Israel to show that this is you and me in relationship, in contract forever, in binding covenant. They took that symbol and they used it for genocide. So it's not just murder, it was taking God's word. It was taking God's sign of the covenant for their selfish sinful ways, and they were gonna pay for it. So what happens?

Well, you come to Joshua and you see this manifested. When it comes to Simeon, what happens? He is now absorbed with Judah to the point where throughout the years, he's gonna disappear. Now you know what's amazing? And when we were together in Deuteronomy, not just Jacob declaring blessings over the tribes, Moses did.

Remember? Now let's go there quickly to just get an idea. Go to Deuteronomy 33. And this was a question that this some of most of you were here for this. I just want you we're not gonna read any portion just yet.

I want you to just scale through the book, rather the chapter 33 of Deuteronomy, and look at the different tribes and the sons of Israel that are mentioned. Verse six, Reuben, verse seven, Judah, verse eight, Levi, verse 12, Benjamin, verse 13, Joseph, 17, Ephraim and Manasseh, 18, Zebulun, Issachar, 20, Gad, 22, Dan. Anybody missing? We have Naphtali, 23, 24, Asher. Who's missing?

Simeon. Moses doesn't even include Simeon in his final blessings before he's taken into glory. Now here's the natural question. Simeon and Levi were indicted with the same judgment because they were condemned for the same crime. But what do we read of when we come through the book of Joshua?

That not only does Levi have places to live, they are scattered, but they are what? Priests. They're not even gonna have land because God is their inheritance. Talk about honor. Talk about privilege.

Talk about a heritage. And here's my question, why not Simeon, why Levi? Did God just arbitrarily decree, you know what? Simeon, no, Levi, yes. I changed my mind.

Why God? Why don't you guys just change my mind? No. The reason why Levi had that great honor is found in Deuteronomy 33. Now look here in verse eight.

And of Levi he said, give to Levi your Thummim and your Urim to the godly one, whom you tested at Massa, with whom you quarreled at the waters of Meribah, who said of his father and mother, I regard them not. He disowned his brothers and ignored his children, for they observed your word and kept your covenant. Levi is not only a part of the blessing here with Moses's decrees, he is now brought to a place of teaching the rest of the tribes the laws of God. I mean, you can hand it out You could have handed out to so many other tribes. Why Levi?

Levi of all Levi, the one who who went with Simeon and slaughtered a city, that's who's gonna teach Israel the things of God? And this is why. Because when Moses was up on that mountain receiving the law of God and the rest of the nation of Israel were partying, Moses comes down. He stands at the gate. He says, whoever is on the Lord's side, come to me.

That is grace, by the way. You know, nobody had to be slaughtered on that day if everybody had responded, but one tribe responded, Levi. Levi shows up, and Moses says, well, you showed up. That's great. Now let's put it to the test.

You take a sword and you put it on your sides, and I want you to run up and down that camp and slaughter everybody, including your family, if you see them. Go. And Deuteronomy 33 tells us, we see it in Exodus, but we see it in detail in Deuteronomy 33, that what they used the sword for in the past for unrighteousness was now reversed by using the sword for righteousness. And they even obeyed God's word to the point where they had to kill their own family members. What does it say here?

Who said of his father and mother, I regard them not. When Moses gave that word, you know what the Levites said when they looked at each other? We may have to kill our fathers and our mothers, but if this is what God wants, we will obey. And God in heaven saw this act of obedience that was great. It was a great price.

And so moved was his heart that he said not only because he had said earlier in Genesis that you will be scattered in the land, but look at the wisdom of God. He didn't reverse the judgment necessarily. They were still scattered in the land in different cities, but he turned the judgment around and made it a thing of ministry. They were still scattered in Israel, but they were priests now. They were priests.

Oh, yes, you will still be sprinkled here and there, but you will be living in cities where people will run to hide and you will keep them as an act of my grace. If you wanna know the heart of God, if you wanna know how quick he is to respond to mercy in reverse and change the future of even the most wicked of sinners, I challenge you to read your Bibles. Go to Kings. Go to Judges, and see how God's heart moves when a man or a woman repents. It is amazing.

It is amazing. So moving is repentance on our part. By the way, God doesn't do our repenting for us. So moving in the heart of God is our choosing to turn away from sin that not only is he willing to forgive, he like Levi is willing to even use. And he's so quick to forgive, and he's so quick to restore, and he's so quick because his mercy is not just in forgiveness, his mercy is to display you and to display me.

Being used for his glory to show the world what God is willing to do with a mess. Simeon didn't repent. Simeon didn't have the heart to cry out to God. Simeon, who knows what went through his mind to stay in that state, but Levi had enough sense to say, we might have had a past, but God is still worthy of our obedience today. You know, they didn't move on Moses's call to action based on the premise of the promise that they were gonna be priests necessarily.

They paid the price, a great price, and God rewarded them with a great reward. And so Simeon, their history, it's very sad. Their future, even sadder. Levi, what a picture of hope. What a picture of the goodness of God.

Here's what I wanna say to you through this Bible study with this lesson at this point. Give your sin in repentance to God and see what he'll do with it. And so when Simeon in verse nine, being amongst the inheritance of Judah, we learn something else. Go to Joshua 18 in verse 10. How did Joshua determine the lots of these seven tribes, what he's done before?

Joshua cast lots for the for them in Shiloh before the Lord. So remember, we talked about lots, how it seemed like a random act of rolling dice. But you know what's amazing? This confirms that this wasn't just random chance. This act of, yes, rolling dice almost in our modern imagery was completely connected to God's knowledge.

And even though it looked like things were just happening, and they're doing it in Shiloh, they're doing it in the presence of God. God had in mind what he had said to Simeon, and he had allowed it to be determined through this casting of lots. The sovereignty of God in all matters of life is shown here. He considers every detail of of what you and I experienced in those. He is totally aware and in control.

I love that. They're casting lots, and Simeon can't escape what God had said so many years before because God already decreed it, and the will of God prevails. And now we see these different tribes, and we're not gonna get into them. Zebulun, and Issachar, Naphtali. And all for a sudden, we come to verse 49 of chapter 19, and what do we read?

When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua, the son of Nun. You and I have reached a milestone in the book of Joshua. The mission of Joshua, managing and giving to his people what they needed in concerning their land is done. It's over. It's finished.

And now at the end, Joshua himself is going to receive a portion of the land. And what I love about this is that we get a model of a wonderful leader. Do we not? Joshua received it last. Joshua put every single tribe before him, every single person before him.

He had put his rights aside, and if there's anybody who had a right to claim things first, it was Joshua. And this is how this whole thing, this whole section is is sandwiched. Who are we introduced to in the beginning of this whole section? Caleb. Caleb came first in the tribe of Judah and said, Joshua, remember what God promised.

I need my inheritance now. And now we read through all these chapters, and we come to the end of this section. And who is it? Joshua. The two men who originally spied the land out.

And they've experienced the faithfulness of God, even in their old age. God promised them things might have looked shaky, questionable, but they are now experiencing it. God brought them through his word, was faithful. And now we see Joshua about to experience it. And Joshua shows us something, that he was more concerned about the others.

He was more concerned about their pleasure, so to speak. And he served them to advance forward. And now it comes to him, and he doesn't assume that he has the right to say, you know what? Since I'm a leader, I'm gonna I'm gonna just take that. No.

What does it say? It says here, the people of Israel gave an inheritance according to the command of God. So now the people turn it. It turns now. The tables have turned.

The people in connection to God say, okay, Joshua. This is it. You have the right to choose. And this is the humility of this leader. He asks for it.

He doesn't demand it. What does it say? By command, verse 50, of the Lord, they gave him the city that he asked. I I would like that. The humility, the lowliness here.

The the the lack of I'm a leader, I get it my way first, I want it, and you serve my purposes. No. He left it to them, he left it to God, and when he had the chance to ask, he asked, and he received it. And what does Joshua do? Joshua comes to this place and it says here, he rebuilt the city and settled in it.

He rebuilt the city. He rebuilt the city. He rebuilt the city. So when Joshua, even as an old man, comes into his portion, he works and he moved things around and he fought, so to speak. You know why that's important?

Because Joshua, though he rebuked and though he called them out, he lived it. He lived it. He exemplified it. He didn't just come up to them and just say, what are you doing? Just sitting here doing nothing.

Yes, as a leader he did, but then he showed them that it was worth working for. It was worth advancing for. It was worth moving forward for, and they saw that in this old man. He showed that to them. If you want more authority in your life to to convince and stir others, live it before you preach it.

Show it with your life that it's worth giving your young years and advancing in the things of God rather than settling and staying in the same place. You want your word to have more weight for the glory of God? Let people nod their head as you're speaking because they know that even without a word, you live the thing. And Joshua was an example to them. I'm gonna go forward and I'm gonna work.

You know, we talked about those tribes that didn't wanna go forward. They wanted the easy way out. Remember? Remember that tribe, the the tribe that he was from, Ephraim? Joshua, we know we have this land, but it's too small.

Can you give us this and this? You're from Ephraim. Right? You can you can hook it up. And he says, Go and cut down those trees, and you'll have more land.

Oh, no. It's still not gonna be enough. Excuse after excuse after excuse. And Joshua was from the same tribe and he didn't make any excuses. He went and he rebuilt it himself.

He worked. He sweated for the glory of God. He moved forward. Oh, this is where you get authority. Now all for a sudden, a section of the book of Joshua is concluded, and we think, finally, Joshua can retire.

Joshua's done. He led them into conquest. He fought battles. So many of his years were given into such difficulties, and we thought he was done after seven years. No.

Old man Joshua, I need you to divide the land. And then once he finishes, surely he is done. Nope. Verse one of chapter 20. And the Lord said to Joshua, say to the people of Israel, God still has some work for Joshua to do.

Because until Joshua gives his last breath, he's gonna serve God. And you and I, as long as we have the ability to move and breathe and have our being, God has some work for you to do. It might change in different seasons, but it's not done till he gives you glory. And that's the joy of serving God, that it never gets old, even when we get old. Let's pray.

There's any call to action in our hearts in light of this bible study. Let it be, Lord, I wanna know the fullness of your blessings and your promises that Christ has purchased for me. And, Lord, help me continually walk with the revelation of the price of your blood for me to be a Christian, a son of God, a daughter of God. Lord, I don't wanna stay stagnant. I don't wanna remain in the same place I was last year or two years ago.

I don't know what it means, Lord, to grow in you, but I want to grow in you. I may not have the full picture of what that means, but Lord, all I want to know is that I'm moving forward. Please help me move forward. Help me not be dull. Help me not be distracted in life.

Help me not be like those tribes that were content where they were when there is so much to explore. Let my heart hunger. Let my vision be clear. Let your word ever be before me, and help me in those moments where temptation is so strong to believe that your promises are better, that your will is greater. Father, tonight, if there's anybody that was convicted by the thought of these seven tribes reflecting what it could be of a Christian, we pray that that would not describe one person in this place.

That, lord, if people were to look at our lives, they would see very clearly that they are consumed with the things of god. They love the things of god. They're passionate about the things of god. They talk about god as though he was their friend. And if there's anything that excites them in life more than anything in life is when the name of Jesus comes up and when the word of God is opened.

Lord, that cannot be faked. That has to be done by your Holy Spirit, and we submit to you tonight to make that real in our lives that we would be a people like Joshua who would know who would know that there is more. And then and when the time comes when it's very tempting to remain content, to know the price that you paid, to know more. Lord, help us realize that you've given us a gift, but we have to unwrap it. And we ask that you would help us do that tonight.

In Jesus' name, amen.