Fear God, serve faithfully, abandon your idols, obey the Lord

Text Joshua 24 Time 11 07 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We come this week to the final chapter of Joshua, what we call Joshua 24. Most of the chapter is taken up with a final speech to the people by Joshua before his death at the age of 110. The speech is in verses 1-28 and includes the responses of the people. Then we have a final footnote rounding off the whole book in verses 29-33. Joshua's speech was given in very different circumstances to ours today but I do not think it is difficult, if we are Christians, to see obvious parallels between what Joshua said to the people then and what Jesus says to his people here today.

So Joshua assembles all the tribes of Israel at Shechem. No doubt this means representatives of all the tribes. He summoned the elders, leaders, judges and officials of Israel, and they presented themselves before God. He then said to all the people, This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says and proceeded to speak the Word of God.

We can divide up what he says into two parts. First, he summarises their history, which is also our history as believers, in verses 1-13. Then in verses 14-24 he urges them to fear the LORD, to serve him faithfully and to abandon all forms of idolatry. There is some dialogue here as Joshua does not merely want them to say they will serve the LORD. He is looking for a genuine commitment from them. Thirdly, verses 25-28 tell us how Joshua formally made a covenant for them and set up a stone of witness. Covenants are important in the Bible and here once again we have reference to an agreement between God and his people. Finally, we have a historical footnote that also has things to teach us about serving the LORD.

1. Believer, do not forget your history

Joshua begins by summarising their history, going back as far as Abraham and his call. He gives the history in four parts.

1. From the call of Abraham to slavery in Egypt

Joshua goes right back to the time Long ago when their ancestors, including Terah the father of Abraham and Nahor, lived beyond the Euphrates River and worshiped other gods. Joshua wants them to remember their godless and pagan beginnings.

We ought to remind ourselves of that from time to time too. Even if we were brought up in Christian homes that was our background by nature.

3 But God says I took your father Abraham from the land beyond the Euphrates and led him throughout Canaan and gave him many descendants. It all began with the call of Abraham. I gave him Isaac, says the LORD and to Isaac I gave Jacob and Esau. I assigned the hill country of Seir to Esau, but Jacob and his family went down to Egypt. As Abraham's family grew, God's hand was on them guiding them and that included their going down to Egypt, which was at first, you recall, because there was famine in Canaan. So with us when we heard God's call it wasn't one that took us straight to the Promised Land in many cases. First, there was what we might call a sojourn in Egypt.

2. From slavery in Egypt to life in the wilderness

Joshua continues speaking for God Then I sent Moses and Aaron, and I afflicted the Egyptians by what I did there, remember the ten plagues and I brought you out. Then came the crossing of the Red Sea When I brought your people out of Egypt, you came to the sea, and the Egyptians pursued them with chariots and horsemen as far as the Red Sea. But they cried to the LORD for help, and he put darkness between you and the Egyptians; he brought the sea over them and covered them. You saw with your own eyes what I did to the Egyptians. Then you lived in the wilderness for a long time. God miraculously brought them through the Red Sea and drowned the Egyptians just as for every believer, he has converted them and defeated all their enemies. He has delivered us from slavery. Remember that.

3. From life in the wilderness to the conquest of the land east of the Jordan

We read then (8-10) of how God brought them to the land of the Amorites who lived east of the Jordan. They fought against you, but I gave them into your hands. I destroyed them from before you, and you took possession of their land. There is also a reminder of how Balak son of Zippor, the king of Moab, prepared to fight against Israel and sent for Balaam son of Beor to put a curse on them. But God refused to listen to Balaam, so he blessed them again and again, and God delivered them out of his hand.

4. From the conquest of the land east of the Jordan to the conquest of the rest of the Promised Land

Finally (11, 12) they crossed the Jordan and came to Jericho. The citizens of Jericho fought against them, as did also the Amorites, Perizzites, Canaanites, Hittites, Girgashites, Hivites and Jebusites, but God says I gave them into your hands. I sent the hornet ahead of you, which drove them out before you - also the two Amorite kings. You did not do it with your own sword and bow. And (13) So God gave them a land on which they did not toil and cities they did not build; so that at that very time they were living in them and eat(ing) from vineyards and olive groves that they did not plant.

We too, thanks to conversion, are enjoying many wonderful things in life - good things from God. what blessings are ours in Christ. Never forget them.

As Paul writes to the Ephesians (2:1-10) As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, ... All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions - it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Believer, never forget how God has brought you from being dead in your transgressions and sins to being created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

2. Fear the LORD, serve him faithfully and abandon your idols - no easy task

Having rehearsed this history, Joshua now calls on the Israelites to act in the light of it. He says Now fear the LORD and serve him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your ancestors worshiped beyond the Euphrates River and in Egypt, and serve the LORD.

Three things are required - fear of the LORD, faithful service and the abandonment of idols. He is a little sarcastic, it seems, when he comes to this third requirement. He says (15) But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your ancestors served beyond the Euphrates, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you are living. If you're not going to serve the LORD then choose. Are you going to serve the old gods or the new ones? But as for me and my household, he asserts we will serve the LORD.

A dialogue then follows

The people say (16-18) Far be it from us to forsake the LORD to serve other gods! It was the LORD our God himself who brought us and our parents up out of Egypt, from that land of slavery, and performed those great signs before our eyes. He protected us on our entire journey and among all the nations through which we traveled. And the LORD drove out before us all the nations, including the Amorites, who lived in the land. We too will serve the LORD, because he is our God. Given all that the LORD has done for them why would they bother with false gods?

But Joshua pushes them further (19, 20) You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you. Do you know what you are doing asks Joshua. It is dangerous to turn to God if you are then going to turn away. He is holy. He is jealous. Aren't you in danger of raising his ire?

But the people are sure (21) No! We will serve the LORD.

And so Joshua says (22) You are witnesses against yourselves that you have chosen to serve the LORD.

"Yes, we are witnesses," they replied.

And so Joshua says very practically Now then ... throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.

24 And the people said to Joshua, "We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.

Is that our response too? Are we determined to serve God and obey him, well aware of the consequences of a failure to do so? Yes, we ought to doubt ourselves but still we must act and do what is right. Search out the idols that remain and remove them.

3. Solemnly commit yourselves to serving the LORD and obeying him

We read next (25) that On that day Joshua made a covenant for the people, and there at Shechem where Abraham had met with God so long ago and where Jacob returning from the east had urged his family to bury their household gods, he reaffirmed for them decrees and laws. Other religions did not feature covenants but the LORD was a Gd who made covenants with his people. There was a sacrifice and Joshua also (26-28) recorded these things in the Book of the Law of God. Hence the record of it that we have here. He also took a large stone and set it up there under the oak near the holy place of the LORD. "See!" he said to all the people. "This stone will be a witness against us. It has heard all the words the LORD has said to us. It will be a witness against you if you are untrue to your God." Then Joshua dismissed the people, each to their own inheritance.

This is a reminder to us that there ought to be solemn moments when we dedicate ourselves to serving and obeying God. This is a solemn moment now - let's dedicate ourselves now to the Lord.

There was a preacher in Wales towards the end of the 18th century called Christmas Evans. At one point his preaching was blighted by a way of thinking that was popular at the time called Sandemanianism - a dry way of looking at the gospel that had little place for experience. He wrote

The Sandemanian heresy affected me so far as to quench the spirit of prayer for the conversion of sinners and it induced in my mind a greater regard for the smaller things of the kingdom of heaven than for the greater. I lost the strength which clothed my mind with zeal, confidence and earnestness in the pulpit for the conversion of souls to Christ. My heart retrograded in a manner and I could not realise the testimony of a good conscience. On Sabbath nights after having been in the day exposing and vilifying with all bitterness the errors that prevailed, my conscience felt displeased and reproached me that I had lost nearness to, and walking with God. It had disastrous results among the churches. I lost in Anglesey nearly all my old hearers and we thus almost entirely took down what had taken 15 years to raise.

Evans met and began to read the writings of Andrew Fuller and that set him thinking. He alsop heard a sermon by one Thomas Jones, who preached against the heresy. On his way home from this service, Evans had a remarkable experience of God that got Sandemanianism out of his system for ever. It was one of those solemn moments we are thinking about. He relates the story himself,

I was weary of a cold heart towards Christ and his sacrifice and the work of his Spirit; of a cold heart in the pulpit, in secret and in the study. For 15 years previously I had felt my heart burning within as if going to Emmaus with Jesus. On a day ever to be remembered by me, as I was going from Dolgellau to Machynlleth, climbing up towards Cader Idris, I considered it to be incumbent upon me to pray, however hard I felt in my heart and however worldly the frame of my spirit was. Having begun in the name of Jesus, I soon felt as it were, the fetters loosening and the old hardness of heart softening, and, as I thought, mountains of frost and snow dissolving and melting within me. This engendered confidence in my soul in the promise of the Holy Ghost. I felt my whole mind relieved from some great bondage. Tears flowed copiously and I was constrained to cry out for the gracious visits of God, by restoring to my soul the joys of his salvation and to visit the churches in Anglesey that were under my care. I embraced in my supplications all the churches of the saints and nearly all the ministries in the principality by their names. This struggle lasted for three hours. It rose again and again, like one wave after another, or a high, flowing tide driven by a strong wind, till my nature became faint by weeping and crying. I resigned myself to Christ, body and soul, gifts and labours, every hour of every day that remained for me and all my cares I committed to Christ. The road was mountainous and lonely and I was wholly alone and suffered no interruption in my wrestling with God.

After this his old pulpit power returned to him. A new spirit of prayer came on the believers in Anglesey and within two years, 600 people were added to the Churches.

Pray for times like that.

4. Consider this final historical note and the final call for faithfulness

The book finishes with these footnotes about Joshua, the people, Joseph's bones and the High Priest Eleazar

Joshua 29, 30 After these things, Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died at the age of a hundred and ten. And they buried him in the land of his inheritance, at Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash.

The people. In verse 31 we are told that Israel served the LORD throughout the lifetime of Joshua and of the elders who outlived him and who had experienced everything the LORD had done for Israel.

Joseph's bones 32 And Joseph's bones, which the Israelites had brought up from Egypt, were buried at Shechem in the tract of land that Jacob bought for a hundred pieces of silver from the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem. This became the inheritance of Joseph's descendants.

Eleazar 33 And Eleazar son of Aaron died and was buried at Gibeah, which had been allotted to his son Phinehas in the hill country of Ephraim.

Past blessings point to future ones for all who look to God

Text Joshua 23 Time 04 07 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We have now reached the last but one chapter of Joshua. Both of the final chapters preserve speeches given by Joshua towards the end of his life. In Chapter 23 Joshua reminds Israel of the blessings that they have already received from God since entering the Promised Land. These blessings are to be an incentive to them to go on and complete the work of conquering that has so largely been completed.

If we are Christians today we can identify with what Joshua has to say. We too have known many, many blessings from God. Like the people under Joshua who were brought into Canaan under Joshua and who had by this time won many victories over the Canaanites, in becoming Christians we have been brought into a wonderful promised land under Jesus. In his speech Joshua wants the people now to look to the future and to be strong and obedient and to love God and not simply to fall into Canaanite ways and so be lost. If they do not do so, what terrible times they will face. We who have been Christians for any length of time are in a similar situation. We have entered the Promised Land of the Christian life under Jesus but there is still a lot of ground to cover. We need to be strong and obedient and to love God and to fight against remaining sin in our lives.

Four things then this evening

1. God who gave his people past victories can be expected to give them future ones too

We read first in verses 1 and 2 that After a long time had passed and the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them, Joshua, by then a very old man, summoned all Israel - their elders, leaders, judges and officials - and said to them ... So a good deal of time has passed since the beginning of the book, how long is not clear but in that time the LORD had given Israel rest from all their enemies around them. The job was more or less done but there was still work to do, Joshua was aware. And so near the end of his life he makes this important speech to Israel, to their elders, leaders, judges and officials.

From the opening of his speech we can pick out three important things to notice

1. Here is a reminder that we have seen the LORD fight for us in the past

Joshua begins I am very old. You yourselves have seen everything the LORD your God has done to all these nations for your sake; it was the LORD your God who fought for you. It is important that as Christians we remember all that God has done for us. These people had seen the Canaanites defeated and Joshua is reminding them of the fact and especially of the fact that it was the LORD your God who fought for you. They did not bring about the victories solely by themselves. It was Gd who had done it. This is often acknowledged in Scripture. So for example in Psalm 44:2, 3 we read of God

With your hand you drove out the nations and planted our ancestors; you crushed the peoples and made our ancestors flourish. It was not by their sword that they won the land, nor did their arm bring them victory; it was your right hand, your arm, and the light of your face, for you loved them.

We have not saved ourselves if we are Christians. No, God has done it. He has saved us from our sins and we ought to acknowledge it.

2. Here is a reminder that there is still ground to be won

Joshua goes on (4) Remember how I have allotted as an inheritance for your tribes all the land of the nations that remain - the nations I conquered - between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea in the west. Yes, there have been many victories and much land has been taken but do not forget, says Joshua, that all the land between the Jordan and the Mediterranean Sea has been allotted to the tribes as their inheritance and it all must be taken. In a similar way - Yes, God has saved you and that is reason for rejoicing but you are not yet the man or woman God intends you to be. There is plenty of room for improvement - sins to be put to death and good deeds to be done.

3. Here is an assurance that, as promised, the LORD will drive out our remaining enemies

Then comes the repeated promise in verse 5 The LORD your God himself will push them out their remaining enemies for your sake. He will drive them out before you, and you will take possession of their land, as the LORD your God promised you. As God has promised they can look forward to further blessings. More land will be taken, more victories will be known. And so for the believer, we can be confident that God will continue to work in our lives. As Paul said to the Philippians in Philippians 1:6 he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. God has not finished with you yet. He will continue to work in you until you are the person he wants you ultimately to be. Past victories are bound to give way to future ones in Christ.

When I was a young boy my father was not very good at taking me to see the football games I wanted to see. He was much more a lover of grass roots football and so he took me to games like the local factory team or under 21 internationals. My dad liked to spot the players who were going to become big names in the future. He himself had played football alongside a man who went on to be a professional player with Ipswich Town in the period when Ipswich were working their way up the leagues to eventually be Division One champions in 1961-62. My dad knew then that the most ordinary players could improve and rise to the heights. We ought to think something like that with regard to the Christian life - we begin as young believers but we can make progress. Indeed, who knows how far we may go, by the grace of God, if we keep looking to him.

2. God will give victory to those who are strong, obedient, set apart to him and who love him

In verses 6-11 Joshua then begins to exhort the people. He doesn't take the view, of course they will know further victories under God. He sees that this is not absolutely guaranteed. Certain things need to happen if the people are to go on in the right direction and know further victories. He calls for five things

1. Be very strong

He begins Be very strong. If this is going to happen they need courage, they need to be strong, very strong. Be brave, he says.

There are many examples of bravery in the history of God's people. Those stories should encourage us to be strong in our own day. In the sixteenth century one of the greatest preachers of his day was Hugh Latimer. On one occasion he was to preach before the king, Henry VIII. As he thought about what to preach he realised that what he had to say would not go down very well with the king.

As he began his sermon he said, “Latimer! Latimer! Do you remember that you are speaking before the high and mighty King Henry VIII; who has power to command you to be sent to prison, and who can have your head cut off, if it please him? Will you not take care to say nothing that will offend royal ears?”

He then paused and continued, “Latimer! Latimer! Do you not remember that you are speaking before the King of kings and Lord of lords; before him, at whose throne Henry VIII will stand; before him, to whom one day you will have to give account yourself? Latimer! Latimer! Be faithful to your Master, and declare all of God’s Word.”

Latimer eventually died in the reign of Henry’s daughter, Queen Mary but he had already begun on the right road long before. Be very strong.

2. Be careful to obey

Then it goes on be careful to obey all that is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, without turning aside to the right or to the left. At the same time we must walk the narrow road of obedience that leads to God. Yes, we are not saved by our obedience but if we truly belong to the Lord then we will be careful to obey him.

3. Practice separation

7 Do not associate with these nations that remain among you; do not invoke the names of their gods or swear by them. You must not serve them or bow down to them. It is hard to imagine now what a pressure was on the Israelites to conform to the idolatry all around them but it was as real as that on us today to conform to the society in which we live. We must not conform. We must rather be separate - in the world but not part of it. Separated to God. As we sometimes put it - the boat in the water but keeping the water out of the boat.

4. Hold fast to the LORD, remembering his blessings

8-10 But you are to hold fast to the LORD your God, as you have until now. The LORD has driven out before you great and powerful nations; to this day no one has been able to withstand you. One of you routs a thousand, because the LORD your God fights for you, just as he promised.

Up until now they had held fast to the LORD. They must now go on in the same way. They had known great success as the LORD had promised and that should encourage them to go on.

It is the same for us. Hold fast to the LORD right to the end.

5. Be careful to love the LORD

The final thing is in verse 11 So be very careful to love the LORD your God. Never give up loving the LORD.

3. God will not accept compromise with the enemy so be warned of its fatal consequences

That is all very positive but in verses 12 and 13 it is put in a more negative way. Three things

1. Recognise the danger of turning away and being joined to the enemy

12 But if you turn away and ally yourselves with the survivors of these nations that remain among you and if you intermarry with them and associate with them ... that was a real danger and they needed to face up to it. It is important that you know that there are people who profess to be Christians but then they begin to live as unbelievers again. It is foolish to simply think that will never happen to me. It is a real danger.

Following the severe flood events of 1998 and 2000, the UK Environment Agency prioritised the need to increase public flood risk awareness. And so they produced a report drawing on data collected during research undertaken for the Environment Agency. A paper was produced contributing to understanding one aspect of flood awareness: people’s recognition that their property is in an area that is potentially at risk of flooding. They called the paper "It'll never happen to me". The title reflected the way so many people assumed that they would never be flooded even though they were living on a flood plain. Let's not make that mistake. It could happen to you.

2. The result of such an action would be dire

Verse 13 spells out what would happen if they did turn away then you may be sure that the LORD your God will no longer drive out these nations before you. Instead, they will become snares and traps for you, whips on your backs and thorns in your eyes. To fail to separate would be totally counter-productive. The remaining people would become snares and traps for them, whips on their backs and thorns in their eyes. It is the same for us today. We know we should put remaining sin to death but sometimes we fail to do that. Does it bring us any pleasure or blessing? Not in the end. How miserable it is for us. Be warned.

3. Such an action may even result in destruction

Verse 13 carries on ... until you perish from this good land, which the LORD your God has given you. It may come to that, which it did with the exile many years later. Don't forget how far a person may fall once God lets go.

4. God's promises never fail nor do his threats so to violate the covenant will mean destruction

Finally, in verses 14-16, we have reminders that God's promises never fail but then nor do his threats. To violate the covenant must mean destruction.

1 God's promises never fail

14 Now I am about to go the way of all the earth. Joshua is about to die and so he speaks with great solemnity. You know with all your heart and soul that not one of all the good promises the LORD your God gave you has failed. Every promise has been fulfilled; not one has failed. This has been said before but here it is again. Not one promise has been allowed to fall. They have all been fulfilled. Never forget that.

2. His threats don't fail either

But if his promises do not fail nor do his threats. 15 But just as all the good things the LORD your God has promised you have come to you, so he will bring on you all the evil things he has threatened, until the LORD your God has destroyed you from this good land he has given you. We are happy to believe what the Bible says about heaven but we must be equally willing to believe what it says about hell. Yes, those who continue with the Lord can be sure that he will bring them safely to heaven but those who fail to continue, they can only expect judgement.

3. To violate the covenant is to invite God's wrath

16 If you violate the covenant of the LORD your God, which he commanded you, and go and serve other gods and bow down to them, the LORD's anger will burn against you, and you will quickly perish from the good land he has given you. Nothing could be plainer. To turn from the Lord is to invite his wrath. it is to court great danger. Do not make that mistake.

On 10 March 1997 there was a multiple-vehicle collision on the M42 motorway near Bromsgrove in Worcestershire. Three people were killed and more than 60 others were injured in the crash. It happened in dense fog during the early morning rush hour.

At around 6:20 am a lorry came on to the M42 from a slip-road at a speed of 56 mph and, after slowing to 32 mph rammed into the rear of a tanker, which then struck a car in front and exploded. The ensuing pile-up involved 160 vehicles on a 400-yard stretch of the motorway, including 30 on the opposite carriageway 20 minutes later.

Five air ambulances and 25 ambulances ferried injured drivers and passengers from the scene to three hospitals. Several cars and lorries were burnt to a shell and more than 30 occupants had to be cut free from their vehicles by firefighters.

You see what happened then. People continued to drive blindly forward not realising the danger that was just ahead until it was too late. Wisdom demands that we rather be ready for danger. Recognise the danger that faces us all and avoid it by looking to God.

Christian Unity - some lessons from Joshua 22

Text Joshua 22 Time 27 06 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

There is a fascinating account in Luke 9:49, 50 of a conversation between Jesus and John. It begins with John saying Master, ... we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us. Do not stop him, Jesus said, for whoever is not against you is for you. That attitude of 'he is not one of us, let's stop him' is more common than you might think and it is the very opposite to the kind of unity that Jesus wants us to know and enjoy.

We are working our way through the Book of Joshua and our chapter tonight is Joshua 22. In this chapter the fighting men of the tribes Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, whose land lay east of the Jordan, return home to their wives and children, having played their part in supporting their brothers in conquering the land west of the Jordan.

A problem arises, however. The Trans-Jordan tribes decide to build an imposing altar at Geliloth on the west bank of the Jordan river. They build it not for burnt offerings or sacrifices but as a witness between them and the West Jordan tribes that they too worship the LORD. Their concern was that in the future West Jordanians may say to the Trans-Jordan tribes 'You have no share in the LORD.' If that happened, they could simply point to the replica altar and say, look, this is a proof that we are really one with you.

However, this attempt at unity backfires and the West Jordanians come chasing after them with war in their bones. They believe this is a rebellion, an apostasy, and they challenge the Trans-Jordanians on it. Thankfully, they are able to explain themselves and war is averted.

So what we have here is a chapter about unity among the people of God. How easy it is to fall out, how easy for there to be misunderstandings. Such misunderstandings must be dealt with, however, and not allowed to smoulder. Three things then this evening

1. Christian unity - be thankful for others, urge them to obedience and bless them

Three things regarding Christian unity come out in the first nine verses.

1. Be thankful for others

We read first in verses 1-3 how Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said to them, You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. For a long time now - to this very day - you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you. Their mission, of course, was given to them by Moses and we can read about it back in Numbers and Deuteronomy. It is spoken of in Joshua 1, before the conquest gets underway. There, Joshua reminds the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh of their commitment. Their wives, children and livestock were welcome to stay in the land that Moses gave them east of the Jordan, but all their fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them says Joshua until the LORD gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the LORD your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise. Now their mission was complete and it was time to return to their families. Before they leave Joshua expresses the thankfulness of all the community for all that they have done.

A similar sense of thankfulness ought to possess us when we think of what others have done for us. We should be thankful for our leaders who have the rule over us. We should be thankful for our predecessors and what they have provided us with - buildings and other assets. We should be thankful for those who do things like cleaning and preparing and helping us in evangelism. It is all done only through people making great sacrifices. Be thankful and show you are thankful.

J A Broadus was a nineteenth century American Baptist pastor who became President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. I like the story of how as soon as he was converted he witnessed to his red haired school friend Sandy Jones and Sandy was also converted. Sandy was a little awkward but as soon as he was converted he went straight to Broadus and held out his hand and said, “I thank you, John, I thank you, John.”

Dr Broadus went on to became a great scholar, president of a theological seminary but every summer he would go back home and whenever he did an awkward, red-haired old farmer, in his plain clothes, with red sand on his boots, would come up to him, stick out his great bony hand and say: “Howdy, John. Thank you, John, thank you, John. I never forget, John.” We all have reasons to be thankful to one another. Let's not forget it.

2. Urge one another to obedience

Next, in verses 4 and 5 we see how Joshua urges them to future obedience Now that the LORD your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. Joshua does not simply assume that they will continue to obey. Rather, he urges them to continued and broad obedience. Love God, obey him, stick with him and serve him with all your heart and soul.

Again, this should be reflected in the way that we interact with each other. Let's encourage each other to obedience as best we can.

3. Bless each other

The last thing is what he says to them in verses 6-9. We are told Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. A footnote in verse 7 points out that Moses had given land in Bashan to one half of the tribe of Manasseh, while the other half inherited land on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites. It goes on When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, saying, "Return to your homes with your great wealth - with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing - and divide the plunder from your enemies with your fellow Israelites." So that is what happened the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses. The point here, however, is that they went with Joshua's blessing.

I don't know if you know the name of Benjamin West (1738-1820) an American artist who settled in London. There is a story of West that when he was a young boy he decided to draw a picture of his sister. He got out bottles of ink and succeeded in making a big mess. When his mother got home, she said,“What a beautiful picture,” and kissed him. Later in life he said, “That kiss made me a painter.” It was the way his mother blessed him that made all the difference. We can't always say 'how beautiful', sometimes we need to come out and say 'what a mess' but if we do it right we can be a great blessing to people.

We ought to show the same willingness to bless our brothers and sisters in what they do. We are not all doing the same thing. Some are working at this and some at that but we ought to pray for one another and seek to bless one another whatever they are doing. Certainly it does not help if we criticise others or are envious of them.

So here are three things to help us in the matter of Christian unity - be thankful for each other, exhort each other to do right and bless or encourage each other as best you can.

2. Christian unity - beware of giving the wrong impression or of over reacting to something

So then we read in verses 10-20 of what happened next and the reaction to it. We read that When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. Now we will find that this was done in perfect innocence but that is not how it seemed to the Western Israelites.

It is the easiest thing in the world to misinterpret the actions of another person or group of people. This happens all the time. You see someone in the street staggering about, their legs all wobbly, and you assume they are drunk. In fact they had been affected by their medication or they have Parkinson's or some other disease that is slowly causing them to lose muscle control.

The young man you saw racing to push the woman over was actually pushing her out of the way of the bricks about to fall on her from above.

I have told you how many years ago when my father-in-law was pastor in Aberystwyth there was a couple in another church and they were very taken with all the Charismatic teachings that were so popular then. He thought that some of the things they had gone for were rather silly and embarrassing. Then one Saturday morning he was in town and he saw this couple pass in their car and on the windscreen sunstrip they had placed their names Ken and Barbara - a bit of a fad in the late seventies and early eighties as people tried to personalise their cars inexpensively, usually young people. My father-in-law thought to himself "Typical! Another charismatic excess!" But then he bumped into the man a few days later and he said he'd seen him driving around and Ken said "Oh so embarrassing". Their teenage daughter had bought the customisation kit for them as a present and although they felt silly with their names up, they did it for their daughter's sake!

I've mentioned to you before a deacon in my home church who often slept during the morning service - but not because he was bored but only because he had just come off a late shift and would prefer to be in church than in bed.

11-14 And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them. First, however, they wisely decided to send a delegation. Jaw jaw before war war, as Churchill might have put it. So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead - to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans.

We are told (15ff) that When they went to Gilead this is what they said to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh - ... The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? That's the way they saw it. How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now? Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? A reference to the apostasy with the Moabites in a previous generation. Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! And are you now turning away from the LORD? It's the same thing all over again they argue.

They go on If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel. They saw very keenly the unity of Israel even though some tribes lived one side of the Jordan and some the other. They are racking their brains to think of how things could have gone so wrong and so they generously say If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD's land, where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. They think of another instance of rebellion in the life of the nation to make their point that what one part did affected the other part - When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things, did not wrath come on the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.

At this distance, it does seem like a lot of fuss about nothing but you must see it as they saw it then. On the one hand the Eastern Israelites had done something very simple, very innocent, that they never thought would be considered rebellious. On the other hand, you can see how the western Israelites thought the easterners were forming some sort of break away group that was going to start worshipping at a new altar (although having said that the altar appears to have been on the western bank of the Jordan not the eastern and so the western interpretation was rather harsh.)

The lesson no doubt is that on one hand we should seek to avoid doing anything needlessly offensive and on the other not be too quick to jump to what may be the wrong conclusion. That is particularly so at this time when many churches have had disagreements over covid and how to react and some have even left churches. It is easy to think on one hand that someone is being rather cavalier about dealing with the pandemic or on the other that someone is being too cautious. Let's just give one another the benefit of the doubt as best we can. More generally people do tend to jump to conclusions - he uses the AV or the NIV, so he can't be any good. They use this hymn book or that hymn book or no hymn book at all, so they must be bad. Avoid such knee jerk reactions

3. Christian unity - the importance of talking and understanding differing points of view

Finally in verses 21-34 we read of how the situation was resolved. First, the men from east of the Jordan explain themselves and their altar. 22-29 The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! they begin And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the LORD himself call us to account. But then they explain No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you - you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD. That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar - but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.' They go on And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD's altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.' Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle.

Far from rebelling then, they were simply trying to avoid future misunderstanding.

When Phinehas and the other leaders heard this, we read, they were pleased. They say to the men of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD's hand.

With that they were happy to return west where they explained things to the rest of the Israelites who were glad to hear the report and praised God. That was the end of all talk of war. Finally, there is a footnote to say that the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us - that the LORD is God.

I have told you how I was once in a supermarket when someone wanted to buy several boxes of Paracetamol but they were told you can only buy one or two packs at a time. Now at first I thought, what is the point? If you are keen to take an overdose you can just go to several chemists and buy two packs in each. Apparently, however, this rule does make a difference. People tend to try and commit suicide on impulse when feeling low and if you make it more difficult you can prevent deaths. It's like jumping of a bridge. You might think that if you put barriers at one bridge people will just go to another one but apparently that is not what happens.

In 1985 "baby on board" stickers in backs of cars became popular (this is long before tfL began giving out badges with the words). Parodies soon emerged - "Baby I'm Bored", "Pit Bull on board", and "Mother-In-Law in Trunk" were popular. It began in America but waned there, although you see them here still - plus "Princess on board" and "Little Person on board". I always used to think the signs were rather silly. But then I was told that they are put there to guide any rescuers if there is some sort of an accident. Apparently this is wrong too and they were just designed to encourage other drivers to drive more sensibly. The thing is, they were never intended just for people to show off about their baby.

So, as we said before, jaw jaw is better than war war. Here is a reminder of the importance of keeping the channels of communication open and talking to one another. Once things are explained they can take on a very different complexion to what we had at first thought.

The Levites placed throughout israel and the conquest summarised

Text Joshua 21 Time 20 06 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We come this week to Joshua 21 where we read of the final tribal allotment of land, that to the Levites. The Levites, of course, are different in that they are given land all over Israel not just in one place.

There are three movements in the chapter - an introduction and the main matter on the Levites in verses 9-20. There then comes a conclusion for the book so far.

1. Consider the opening statements made about the Levites

In verses 1-8 we read Now the family heads of the Levites approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the heads of the other tribal families of Israel at Shiloh in Canaan and said to them, "The LORD commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock." So, as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance:

and then you read how The first lot came out for the Kohathites, according to their clans. The Levites who were descendants of Aaron the priest were allotted 13 towns from the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin.

Next The rest of Kohath's descendants were allotted 10 towns from the clans of the tribes of Ephraim, Dan and half of Manasseh.

Then The descendants of Gershon were allotted 13 towns from the clans of the tribes of Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and the half-tribe of Manasseh in Bashan.

And finally The descendants of Merari, according to their clans, received 12 towns from the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Zebulun.

Verse 8 concludes So the Israelites allotted to the Levites these towns and their pasturelands, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. Three things here

1. The Levites make their approach

The final lot was not assigned until the Levites made their claim. An inheritance is provided as with the other tribes but they must ask for it. Ask, and it shall be given you. They are an example in this. Note how they build their claim on a good foundation - not their own merits but God's command (The LORD commanded through Moses that you give us towns to live in, with pasturelands for our livestock they say). God provides for us but he will have us pray for these blessings.

He commands today that ministers be provided for. We should all consider our role in this

They did not make their claim until all the rest of the tribes were provided for, of course. Until then the various tribes could not give anything to the Levites. It showed humility, modesty and patience for the Levites to be willing to be served last. We too should be the same.

2. The Levites are provided for immediately, without dispute.

It says that as the LORD had commanded, the Israelites gave the Levites the following towns and pasturelands out of their own inheritance .... God decided how many there would be - 48 in all. Presumably it was done by Joshua and the others deciding how many towns each tribe was to give. So God had commanded (Numbers 35:8) The towns you give the Levites from the land the Israelites possess are to be given in proportion to the inheritance of each tribe: Take many towns from a tribe that has many, but few from one that has few. And here it is happening - and, it would seem, they gave some of the best and most considerable places. It looks like they chose them in a way that would mean there were Levites everywhere in Israel. No-one would be too far from a Levite city.

On the other hand the giving was at the Lord's command. This was an act of obedience. They gave the number God commanded. It was right that the Levites should not ask for more. The Israelites kindly included the pasturelands around the towns in their allotment

3. When the 48 cities were chosen, they were divided into four lots and then distributed by lot among the different Levite clans.

The first lot went to Aaron and his sons, who were the only priests. They were given 13 cities by the tribes of Judah, Simeon and Benjamin. In God's wisdom then though Jerusalem was not made a Levite city, it being still in Jebusite hands, the priests were given towns near Jerusalem. In due time that would be the holy city, where their main work would be.

The second lot went to the rest of the Kohathites. They were given the cities that lay in Dan, which was next to Judah, and Ephraim and the half-tribe of Manasseh, which was next to Benjamin. So these Kohathites lived next to Aaron's sons.

Gershon was the eldest son of Levi and so his children were put before Merari but not Kohath, even though younger. This is all part of God's mysterious providence.

The Merarites were last and furthest off.

2. Consider the main statements made about the Levites

In verses 9-42 we have more detail about the four allotments to the Levites.

First (9-19) we read how the first lot fell to the Aaronites who were given cities From the tribes of Judah and Simeon ... Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron), with its surrounding pastureland, in the hill country of Judah. (Arba was the forefather of Anak.) But the fields and villages around the city they had given to Caleb son of Jephunneh as his possession. So to the descendants of Aaron the priest they gave Hebron (a city of refuge for one accused of murder), and

Libnah, Jattir, Eshtemoa, Holon, Debir, Ain, Juttah & Beth Shemesh, together with their pasturelands - 9 towns from these 2 tribes.

and from the tribe of Benjamin ... Gibeon, Geba, Anathoth and Almon ... with their pasturelands - 4 towns

The total number of towns for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, came to 13 ... with their pasturelands

Then comes the rest of the Kohathites (20-26) they were allotted towns from the tribe of Ephraim: In the hill country of Ephraim they were given Shechem (a city of refuge ...) and Gezer, Kibzaim and Beth Horon, ... with their pasturelands - 4 towns.

Also from the tribe of Dan they received Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Aijalon and Gath Rimmon ... with their pasturelands - 4 towns.

From half the tribe of Manasseh they received Taanach and Gath Rimmon...with their pasturelands - 2 towns

All these 10 towns & their pasturelands were given to the rest of the Kohathite clans.

Third, the Gershonites (27-33). Their towns came from the half-tribe of Manasseh, Golan in Bashan (a city of refuge ... ) and Be Eshterah ...with their pasturelands - 2 towns;

from the tribe of Issachar, Kishion, Daberath, Jarmuth and En Gannim...with their pasturelands - 4 towns

from the tribe of Asher, Mishal, Abdon, Helkath & Rehob...with their pasturelands - 4 towns

from the tribe of Naphtali, Kedesh in Galilee (a city of refuge ...), Hammoth Dor and Kartan...with their pasturelands - 3 towns.

The total number of towns of the Gershonite clans came to 13, together with their pasturelands.

Finally, the Merarites (34-42) The Merarite clans (the rest of the Levites) were given:

from the tribe of Zebulun, Jokneam, Kartah, Dimnah and Nahalal...with their pasturelands - 4 towns

from the tribe of Reuben, Bezer, Jahaz, Kedemoth and Mephaath...with their pasturelands - 4 towns

from the tribe of Gad, Ramoth in Gilead (a city of refuge ...) Mahanaim, Heshbon and Jazer, together with their pasturelands - 4 towns in all.

The total number of towns allotted to the Merarite clans who were the rest of the Levites came to 12

The towns of the Levites in the territory held by the Israelites were 48 in all...with their pasturelands. Each of these towns had pasturelands surrounding it; this was true for all these towns

1. The Levites were dispersed among the tribes and not allowed all to live in any one area.

By this means they would find work to do and be able to provide for themselves to some extent. They were open to scrutiny by the people in away that they would not have been had they all lived in one place. The eyes of all Israel were on them and they would have lived in the light of that fact.

2. Every tribe in Israel was honoured by the presence of at least some Levite cities.

They were all God's people, and therefore they all had Levites among them. It showed the kindness of God to them. it made it easy for the people to receive advice and instruction from the Levites. The Levites were like salt preserving the life of the nation - just as we who believe are to be the same in society today. At the same time because potentially there is a minister in every church we are all provided for.

3. Some 13 cities, including some of the best, were given to the priests, the sons of Aaron.

The Aaronites proved to be a large clan in the end even though two of aaropn's sons were out to death. God saw how they would flourish in due time and provided fro them.

4. Some Levite towns are mentioned later in Scripture - Hebron is where David began his reign. Mahanaim is where he had his headquarters when he fled from Absalom. The first Israelite considered a sort of king was Abimelech, son of Gideon, and he reigned in Shechem, another Levite city. Anathoth was where Jeremiah was from.

5. The number of Levite cities altogether was more than most tribes, except Judah, even though Levi was one of the smaller tribes. It is a reminder of God's kindness and a call to be kind to his servants. Of course, unlike the Levites, the tribes had olenty of unwalled towns and other areas not mentioned by name. Levites were provided for so that they could live comfortable and useful lives, as should eb the case with ministers today.

3. Consider the concluding statements made of a more general nature

Verses 43-45 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. Then The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hands. And Not one of all the LORD's good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Dale Ralph Davis calls these verses the theological heart of the book and yet some commentaries do not give the verses the attention they deserve. One writer suggests that verse 43 summarises Chapters 13-21 So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there and verse 44, Chapters 1-12 The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD gave all their enemies into their hands. Verse 45 then sums up the whole book - Not one of all the LORD's good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Three things here about God's promises

1. God had promised to give the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan as a possession, and now at last he had done it. They possessed it and lived in it. Though they had long not benefited from the promise and it had been a long time coming now at last all the difficulties were over and Canaan was now their own.

One day we who believe will know something similar - heaven will be ours forever.

2. God had promised to give them rest in that land, and now they had rest.

The trudging through the wilderness was over, the wars in Canaan were over. They were now living in their own land. it was quiet and peaceful, though there were still Canaanites remaining. But with the right spirit all was going to be well. It was only when their own sin and folly reasserted itself that they lost that peace. Watch out!

3. God had promised to give them victory and success in their wars, and this promise was also fulfilled.

There was no one left to face them. Wherever they turned their forces had seen success. Yes, there were Canaanites now remaining in many parts of the land and later on that would be a problem but that did not contradict God's promise. In Exodus 23:28-30 he had said

I will send the hornet ahead of you to drive the Hivites, Canaanites and Hittites out of your way. But I will not drive them out in a single year, because the land would become desolate and the wild animals too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out before you, until you have increased enough to take possession of the land.

At this point Israel held as much land as they needed and could manage. The Canaanites merely kept possession of some less cultivated parts of the country until Israel, in due time, would become numerous enough. It was only later that Israel had problems with the Canaanites and that was due to their own cowardice and laziness. God used the Canaanites to punish them at that time.

This is always the case then - God's promises can be trusted. He always fulfils them. Never doubt him.

Christ our city of refuge

Text Joshua 20 Time 12 06 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We are looking at the final chapters of the Book of Joshua. We have seen now how the land was distributed among the various tribes and in Chapter 20 we have a short description of how the Cities of Refuge were designated. The Cities of Refuge are first mentioned in Exodus 20 and then again in Numbers 35 and Deuteronomy 4 and 19 as well as here.

Like so much in Scripture the Cities of Refuge point to Jesus Christ and his power to save. In order to properly understand how that is so we need first to understand exactly what was prescribed regarding these cities of refuge and so we will begin there and then come on to how they teach us about Christ and his redemption.

1. Understand the plan behind the cities of refuge

Before we come to the content of the chapter, let me explain what happened when a person was killed in ancient Israel. When a person was killed in ancient Israel it was the responsibility of a person designated by the dead man's family, a man known as the avenger of blood, to hunt down the killer and see that the killer himself was put to death for his crime. What the Cities of Refuge dealt with was the situation where someone kills a person accidentally and unintentionally. Rather than saying that the avenger of blood must be called off, the killer is told to run to what was called a City of Refuge. He is not automatically safe there, certainly not if he is guilty of murder but if it was truly manslaughter then he could find refuge.

So Joshua 20 begins Then the LORD said to Joshua: Tell the Israelites to designate the cities of refuge, as I instructed you through Moses, so that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee there and find protection from the avenger of blood.

Verse 4 explains how When they flee to one of these cities, they are to stand in the entrance of the city gate and state their case before the elders of that city. Then the elders are to admit the fugitive into their city and provide a place to live among them.

It then says (5) If the avenger of blood comes in pursuit, the elders must not surrender the fugitive, because the fugitive killed their neighbour unintentionally and without malice aforethought.

We are told, verse 6, that They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.

Then in verses 7 and 8 the cities to be set apart are listed (working north to south) Kedesh in Galilee in the hill country of Naphtali, Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim, and Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the hill country of Judah. Also East of the Jordan (on the other side from Jericho) (and this time the middle then south then north) they designated Bezer in the wilderness on the plateau in the tribe of Reuben, Ramoth in Gilead in the tribe of Gad, and Golan in Bashan in the tribe of Manasseh.

We learn elsewhere that all of these were Levite cities occupied by men from this priestly tribe. They are also all in hill country or high up so that they could be seen from a distance. So there are six cities, three on one side of the Jordan and three on the other side. On the western side, Kedesh is in the north, Shechem in the middle and Hebron on the south, with a similar pattern to the east of the Jordan for Bezer, Ramoth and Golan.

Kedesh is 180 km north of Hebron and if you imagine going south east from Kedesh to Golan due south to Ramoth then back south west to Shechem and south east to Bezer and south west to Hebron, there is not much more than 50 or 60 km between each city - about a day's journey.

If the places were in England, very roughly it would perhaps be something like Chingford, Cambridge and Peterborough (going north) on one side and (going north again) Reading, Milton Keynes and Leicester on the other.

The chapter ends (9) Any of the Israelites or any foreigner residing among them who killed someone accidentally could flee to these designated cities and not be killed by the avenger of blood prior to standing trial before the assembly.

2. Understand how the cities of refuge point us forward to Jesus Christ and his redemption

I think that if we meditate on what is revealed about the cities of refuge here and elsewhere in the light of the redemption in Christ revealed in the New Testament we will see some worthwhile things.

1. We are all sinners and we are rightly exposed to the danger of death

Just as every individual who killed in the Old Testament was then pursued by an avenger of blood so there is an avenger of blood who is pursuing all of us because we too are guilty. He will drag us down to hell if we are not rescued by some means or another.

Do you realise that?

2. There is a place of refuge in Christ for all who are guilty

In verse 3 we read that anyone who kills a person accidentally and unintentionally may flee to a city of refuge and find protection from the avenger of blood. In a similar way, every guilty sinner who flees to Christ will find refuge in him.

The very reason Christ came is to save the guilty. He justifies sinners who repent and trust in him. By nature we are lost and without hope but if we flee to him to find safety then all will be well. He provides a hiding place for the guilty. He protects them and saves them.

3. God himself has appointed Jesus as the refuge for condemned sinners

Just as the cities of refuge were chosen and designated by God so Jesus Christ has been appointed by God as the refuge for condemned sinners. It is the Father who sent the Son, having chosen him for the task before the beginning of time. As Peter says of Jesus in Acts 4:12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved. Not only did God send him but he allowed him to die, then raised him to life and seated him at his own right hand. Peter says (Acts 10:38) God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.

We can go into more detail. Some older commentators try to make something of the meanings of the names of the cities (Kedesh is holiness, Hebron refers to friendship or fellowship and Bezer means stronghold or refuge, etc). That is probably to go too far but these things can be noted.

There were six cities, an adequate number for Israel and pointing to the sufficiency of Christ. Jesus is the sufficient Saviour for all. In him there is room for as many as shall come.

Then there is the way the cities were spaced out over various places throughout the kingdom. There is also the accessibility of Christ then. Christ is accessible to all sinners. God has provided everything that might make you want to come to Christ - in many cases, godly parents or ministers. You have grown up, in many cases, with Bibles you can read and churches that preach the gospel and good Christian books. All are designed to point you to Christ. They lead you away from the cross-roads and by-ways of human reason and human error and self-righteousness that would lead you astray, to the Lord Jesus Christ. They say to you "Flee! flee! Flee for refuge and lay hold on the hope set before you!"

In 2 Peter 3:9 we read The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. Christ wants all to come to him. None who come will be turned away.

The roads that led to the cities of refuge would have been broad, well constructed roads and this reminds us of the free, full and plain declarations of the gospel of Christ that we find in Scripture and in the mouths of God's servants. Act on them.

4. Each city of refuge pictures the salvation that is found in Jesus Christ

Once you were inside the city you were safe. In a similar way, once you repent and put your faith in Christ, then you are safe. Once you are in Christ, you are as safe as can be. As long as you remain in him, no harm can possibly come to you. (See John 15). Hell is not possible and heaven is certain. Once you belong to Christ, you are delivered from present condemnation and from the prospect of eternal death. In Christ there is ample provision.

5. The Cities of Refuge remind us that full salvation is dependent on Christ's death

In verse 6 it says They are to stay in that city until they have stood trial before the assembly and until the death of the high priest who is serving at that time. Then they may go back to their own home in the town from which they fled.

Given that Christ is our High Priest it is perhaps legitimate to point out that without the death of Christ full salvation would not be possible.

6. Just as the Cities of Refuge were the only hope for the guilty so Christ is the only hope today

Jesus Christ is the only refuge there is for sinners. John 3:18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son. He alone can deliver from hell and from the wrath of God.

3. Hear these final applications

1. Think of the terrible misery and the peril of the careless sinner. It is like a person who has killed someone but is somehow oblivious to the fact that the avenger of blood is already on the road, coming to wreak vengeance on him. Are you awake to your danger?

2. The absolute necessity of repentance before God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In those days, if you entered the city of refuge, all would be well; if you did not. you were at the mercy of the avenger of death. So now outside of Christ, there is no hope for you at all.

3. It is a reminder of how urgent we should be about waking people up to their danger and trying to persuade them regarding the truth

4. You need to come to Christ without delay

In those days it was imperative that the guilty got to the city of refuge as soon as possible. In a similar way we must flee to Christ without delay. In 2 Corinthians 6:1, 2 Paul says As God's co-workers we urge you not to receive God's grace in vain. For he says, In the time of my favour I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you. I tell you, now is the time of God's favour, now is the day of salvation.

You know that proverb Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1) Another says Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed - without remedy. (Proverbs 29:1)

5. How happy are those who have been delivered from the power of Satan, and have come to enjoy the forgiving love of God. Within the city of refuge all our interests are secure both for time and eternity.

Learning from the settlement of the last six tribes of Israel

Text Joshua 19 Time 05 06 21 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

I want us to return this evening to the Book of Joshua as we still have a few chapters to cover. Joshua can be divided into three or four parts

1 (1-4) Entering the land 2 (5-12) Taking the land and then 3 (13-21) Possessing the land.

We are in the section of the book where the land is divided among the people. So far we've looked at how the land was given to the tribes of Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh and Benjamin. We know that land had already been allotted to two and half tribes on the east of the Jordan (Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh) and that the Levites did not receive an inheritance like the others. There were six more allotments to be made then in Joshua 19. Here we read of the allotments to Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan. At the end of the chapter we read also of the allotment to Joshua the leader of God's people at this time.

I've mentioned before how my father was a big football fan and he would say to me sometimes things like "Grimsby lost on Saturday" or "I notice that Halifax Town beat Lincoln midweek". At first I would wonder why he was telling me about teams hundreds of miles away. Sometimes I would ask and sometimes it would dawn on me - Grimsby losing or Halifax winning was important because of the way it affected Newport County's position in the table! A lot of things are like that - they seem wholly irrelevant but once you spot the connection, they suddenly become relevant. I'm interested in Grimsby and Halifax as I'm interested in Newport County.

Eleri's sister was never much interested in cricket growing up but then she married a man who loves cricket and soon she became a minor expert on the game.

I'm saying this because we are potentially confronted by a chapter of little interest to us.

As Dale Ralph Davies observes a war film is always going to be more interesting than watching land surveyors at work. For that is what we have in this section - a description of the land that the Israelites took.

However, our only real problem is that we don't see its relevance. If we could put ourselves in the sandals of an Israelite of the time we would have no problem - what part of the land is going to come to my tribe? Where am I going to be living? If I said I'd bought the houses in this street and I wanted to give one to each of you and to listen as I describe who's getting what, you'd be eager to hear. So let's try and see how this would have sounded to the first people who heard it.

Otherwise I want to make four points

1. Note the importance of God's providence and prophecy

Firstly, it is worth bearing in mind here, as in all things, both God's providence and prophecy. In the opening nine verses we are told that

The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon according to its clans. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. It included: Beersheba (or Sheba), etc, etc ... - thirteen towns and their villages; Ain, Rimmon, Ether and Ashan - four towns and their villages - and all the villages around these towns as far as Baalath Beer (Ramah in the Negev). This was the inheritance of the tribe of the Simeonites, according to its clans. The inheritance of the Simeonites was taken from the share of Judah, because Judah's portion was more than they needed. So the Simeonites received their inheritance within the territory of Judah.

Because things were done by lot then it turned out that Simeon had the second grant of land. However, because Judah had been given more than they needed there was room for Simeon and so their territory was allotted within Judah. At the same time this fulfilled the prophecy of Jacob in Genesis that said that Simeon, like Levi, would be scattered in Israel. So both were scattered but by different means.

Issachar was older than Zebulun but in God's providence the younger brother came out first. We have commented before how God loves to do such things, turning the expected order on its head. Again prophecy is fulfilled. Genesis 49:13 Zebulun will live by the seashore and become a haven for ships; his border will extend toward Sidon. Matthew Henry says "The lot of God's providence exactly agrees with the plan of God's counsel, like a true copy with the original. If prophecy says, Zebulun shall be a haven of ships, Providence will so plant him."

In verses 40-48 we read that The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan according to its clans. The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, etc, etc ... These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Dan, according to its clans.

Dan was a numerous and powerful tribe. Perhaps it was placed between Judah on the east, the Philistines on the west, Ephraim on the north and Simeon on the south as the tribe best able to deal with the vexatious Philistines and not be overawed by its powerful Israelite neighbours. That was the case to some extent but they ended up, as verse 47 says, finding that their territory was lost to them, and so they went up and attacked Leshem, took it, put it to the sword and occupied it. They settled in Leshem and named it Dan after their ancestor. This is related at the end of Judges.

The lesson here is that we must accept our lot, recognising God's Providence and bearing in mind what he has revealed in Scripture.

2. Recognise that some are more blessed than others and can accommodate others

There is perhaps a lesson to be learned in what happened with Judah and Simeon. In this life there are some who are so blessed and so large hearted that they seem able to bear not only their own load but that of another too. They have a capacity for helping others. That is what Judah ended up doing for Simeon. For it to work Judah had to be magnanimous and it took some humility from Simeon. Judah could have resented losing so many cities and Simeon could have complained at not having their own distinct territory but that did not happen, as far as we know. From Judah came David and many other kings but we know of no-one significant from the tribe of Simeon, though no doubt there were many godly people in the tribe down the years. Of course, when the kingdom split, Simeon found itself within Judah and do not so tempted to follow the idolatry of the north. What a good influence.

There is a general call here then to be humble in our circumstances then. If you are overshadowed by someone else, do not resent it and if you are the one doing the overshadowing then do it with grace and kindness.

3. Consider places mentioned here and their later history

1. Simeon - Beersheba (2) was the southernmost town in the land and Ziklag (5) was the city later occupied by the Philistines that was given to David and that in his time was attacked by Amalekites but David rescued the captives they carried off.

2. Zebulun - Gath-Hepher (13) is where Jonah came from.

3. Issachar - Tola, one of the judges, was from Issachar as was Baasha, one of the kings of Israel. Of Issachar we read (17-23) The fourth lot came out for Issachar according to its clans. Their territory included: Jezreel, where Ahab later had his palace near Naboth's vineyard Kesulloth, Shunem, where the good woman who looked aftee Elisha lived Hapharaim, Shion, Anaharath, Rabbith, Kishion, which could refer to the River Kishon on whose banks Deborah and Barak defeated Sisera Ebez, Remeth, En Gannim, En Haddah and Beth Pazzez. The boundary touched Tabor, also mentioned in connection with Deborah and Barak Shahazumah and Beth Shemesh, where the ark was later received from the Philistines and ended at the Jordan. There were sixteen towns and their villages. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Issachar, according to its clans.

3. Asher (24-31) In the New Testament we are told that Anna the prophetess was of the Tribe of Asher. The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher according to its clans. Their territory included: Helkath, Hali, Beten, Akshaph, Allammelek, Amad and Mishal. On the west the boundary touched Carmel and Shihor Libnath. Carmel was near the coast and is the mountain where Elijah would successfully defeat the prophets of Baal. Verse 27 says that the boundary then turned east toward Beth Dagon, a name the Philistine must have given it (House of Dagon) touched Zebulun and the Valley of Iphtah El, and went north to Beth Emek and Neiel, passing Kabul on the left. It also says (28-31) that It went to Abdon, Rehob, Hammon and Kanah, as far as Greater Sidon. The boundary then turned back toward Ramah and went to the fortified city of Tyre, turned toward Hosah and came out at the Mediterranean Sea in the region of Akzib, Ummah, Aphek and Rehob. There were twenty-two towns and their villages. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Asher, according to its clans.

4. Dan. Verses 41-46 The territory of their inheritance included: Zorah, Eshtaol, both cities mentioned in connection with the story of Samson Ir Shemesh, Shaalabbin, Aijalon, Ithlah, Elon, Timnah, Samson married a Philistine girl from there, Ekron, also a Philistine town, Eltekeh, Gibbethon, Baalath, Jehud, Bene Berak, Gath Rimmon, Me Jarkon and Rakkon, with the area facing Joppa on the coast.

This reminds us of how important it is to get to know our Bibles and that includes Bible geography. These days it is easy to look up maps online too and learn more that way. It will help us appreciate the Bible better.

4. Do not forget that all this points us to Christ

Always when reading Scripture we want to notice when it points us to Christ. That happens here. So for example, although Jesus was born in Bethlehem and belonged to the tribe of Judah, he grew up in Nazareth which is within the territory of Zebulun. In verses 10-16 eighteen towns are mentioned - Sarid ... Maralah ... Dabbesheth ... Jokneam ... Kisloth Tabor ... Daberath ... Japhia ... Gath Hepher ... Eth Kazin ... Rimmon ... Neah ... Hannathon ... Iphtah El ... Kattath, Nahalal, Shimron, Idalah and Bethlehem (not the one in Judah). Nazareth was so obscure it was not mentioned but that is where Messiah grew up.

In verses 32-39 we read about how The sixth lot came out for Naphtali according to its clans: Their boundary went from Heleph and the large tree in Zaanannim, passing Adami Nekeb and Jabneel to Lakkum and ending at the Jordan. The boundary ran west through Aznoth Tabor and came out at Hukkok. It touched Zebulun on the south, Asher on the west and the Jordan on the east. The fortified towns were Ziddim, Zer, Hammath, Rakkath, Kinnereth, Adamah, Ramah, Hazor, Kedesh, Edrei, En Hazor, Iron, Migdal El, Horem, Beth Anath and Beth Shemesh. There were nineteen towns and their villages. These towns and their villages were the inheritance of the tribe of Naphtali, according to its clans. Kinnereth is the name used for the Sea of Galilee or the Sea of Tiberias as the Romans called it. In Naphtali were Capernaum and Bethsaida, names familiar to us because Jesus also lived there and did many miracles in these places.

So here are some subtle pointers to the coming Messiah for those who are awake to join the dots. Finally, when we read in verses 49, 50 of how When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the LORD had commanded we ought to remember that Joshua and Jesus are the same name and we ought to be on the look out for things to learn about Messiah. They gave him the town he asked for - Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

Perhaps we can make these points

1. Though the eldest and greatest man in all Israel, one whom we may have expected to receive his allotment first, Joshua deliberately leaves himself to last. His concern was for the people not for himself. let the people be saved first. And so our Saviour was concerned first to save his people.

2. His allotment was as the LORD commanded. No doubt when God Caleb his inheritance through Moses (14:9) he also told Joshua what he would receive too. In John 17:24 Jesus speaks to his Father about the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world. We all look forward to the glory of heaven but he has a glory beyond that.

3. He chose to live among his own people. Rather distinguishing himself from his own people Joshua lived among them. Again he points us to Christ who has lived with us here on earth and will live with us in heaven.

4. When it says that the people gave the place to Joshua perhaps we should have in mind how Christ's people give him all glory and honour and he accepts it.

5. Joshua built up the town and settled there just as presumably Christ prepared a place for himself first in heaven before he went there and then prepared places for others. Matthew Henry says "Our Lord Jesus thus came and dwelt among us, not in pomp but poverty, providing rest for us, yet himself not having where to lay his head. Even Christ pleased not himself."

Lessons in spiritual thinking and living

Text Joshua 18 Time 22 11 20 Place Childs Hill Baptist Church (Zoom)

We are in the section of Joshua where the land is divided among the people. So far we have looked at how the land was given to Judah and to Ephraim and Manasseh. We know that land had already been allotted to two and half tribes on the east of the Jordan and that the Levites did not receive an inheritance like the others. There were seven more allotments to be made then.

We come next to Joshua 18 where this final exercise begins and we read about the allotment to Benjamin. The allotment to Benjamin is in verses 11-28 and the first ten verses are by way of introduction to Chapters 18 and 19.

1. Centralisation, Control, Commissioning a survey - lessons in spiritual thinking

There are three things to note in the opening four verses.

1. Centralisation

In verse 1 we read that The whole assembly of the Israelites gathered at Shiloh and set up the tent of meeting or tabernacle there. For many, many years, before the ark and the Temple were in Jerusalem, they were based in Shiloh. Shiloh was pretty central in the territory of Ephraim, a few miles north of Bethel. It is here that at this time Joshua set up the tent of meeting or tabernacle permanently. God speaks about this in Deuteronomy 12.

It begins These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you to possess - as long as you live in the land.

First, he says negatively Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains, on the hills and under every spreading tree, where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods. Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones, etc ... wipe out their names from those places. You must not worship the LORD your God in their way.

Then positively But you are to seek the place the LORD your God will choose from among all your tribes to put his Name there for his dwelling. To that place you must go; there bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, etc ... There, in the presence of the LORD your God, you and your families shall eat and shall rejoice in everything you have put your hand to, because the LORD your God has blessed you. You are not to do as we do here today, everyone doing as they see fit, since you have not yet reached the resting place and the inheritance the LORD your God is giving you. But you will cross the Jordan and settle in the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, and he will give you rest from all your enemies around you so that you will live in safety. Then to the place the LORD your God will choose as a dwelling for his Name - there you are to bring everything I command you: your burnt offerings and sacrifices, your tithes and special gifts, etc ... And there rejoice before the LORD your God - you, your sons and daughters, etc ... and the Levites .... Be careful not to sacrifice your burnt offerings anywhere you please. Offer them only at the place the LORD will choose in one of your tribes, and there observe everything I command you.

Of course, under the new covenant there is no temple or at least not in the same way. Under the new covenant every individual is a Temple of the Holy Spirit and then together we who are believers form a spiritual temple for God's praise. Perhaps the application is that at the heart of our thinking must be the worship of God. It is not an extra but something central. Is that how we think?

2. Control

Then in verses 2 and 3 it says but there were still seven Israelite tribes who had not yet received their inheritance. So Joshua said to the Israelites: "How long will you wait before you begin to take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given you?"

Time is moving on and still the Israelites have not really taken control of the country. Many Canaanites have been untouched. Things go on in great swathes of the country - the Baal worship and the wickedness - very much as they were going on before Israel invaded. How long are they going to take before they really begin to control the country in the way that they should?

Now in a similar way, there is a question here for some of us who have been Christians for a while. How long will you wait before you begin to live the Christian life that the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has given to you? When God saved you it was not his purpose that you should live as you had been living in the past. He did not plan merely superficial and limited changes either. No, his purpose was to completely revolutionise your life. Now I know the revolution has begun but has it been halted somewhere along the line? Are you possessing your possession as we might put it? Are you really living the Christian life as it should be lived. Romans 8:13 if despite having been converted you live according to the flesh, you will die; you will go around as though you had never been saved but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live you will live as a Christian, as you really should.

Let me challenge you then. Are you really living the Christian life to the max? Is it all and everything to you? Can you say with Paul, for to me to live is Christ? That is how it should be. Possess your possession.

3. Commissioning a survey

What happens next is interesting. In verse 4 Joshua says Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. So at this stage Joshua proposes sending men out to do a survey. These are the pioneers of this sort of work - the work carried out in more recent times by Mason and Dixon in America and Burke and Wills in Australia. These anonymous men were to survey the land and describe it, setting out what inheritances were available and then return to Joshua.

Now this is in part the work that Christian ministers do. They have ideally visited the parts of the Christian life that others have not and can describe them and show the way to them too. That is what I am trying to do here. I am trying to show you the shape of the Christian life if you are going to live it. It begins with worship like this on the Lord's Day and goes on with prayer and praise and holy living, fighting against sin wherever it lurks. This is your heritage in Christ.

2. Description, Division, Distribution - lessons in spiritual living

Next we go on to look at verses 5-10. In verse 5 these men are told that they are to divide the land into seven parts. Judah is to remain in its territory on the south and the tribes of Joseph in their territory on the north. After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them the tribes here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God. The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.

So the focus is now not on Judah or Ephraim and Manasseh or the Levites or the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan. Rather, it is on the remaining tribes who have not been allocated land - Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan. What we have then in verses 8-10 is how the men describe the land and return to Joshua who divides it by lot and then the beginning of the distribution of the land.

1. Description

8 As the men started on their way to map out the land, Joshua instructed them, "Go and make a survey of the land and write a description of it." As we have said, this is what is going on now. I am describing to you now what the Christian life is like. So, for example, if we go to the end of one of Paul's New Testament letters, we will see there the sort of thing that ought to be going on in our lives. So taking 1 Thessalonians 5:16-22 as an example I would say to you

Rejoice always, Do everything you can to stay joyful. Don't give in to the temptation to be morose and discouraged.

pray continually Begin the day with prayer, end it with prayer, pray at certain points. Try and keep a spirit of prayer throughout the day.

give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus. Don't take anything for granted. Thank God each time you eat, thank him at the end of the day. Be thankful even when everything seems to be going wrong. There are always reasons to be thankful.

Do not quench the Spirit be sensitive to the Spirit. He will only be active where we are open to his ministry and are not driving him away with our unbelief, our unloving ways and our despair.

Do not treat prophecies with contempt but test them all; our attitude to the Word of God and to the Word of God preached ought to be receptive. There must not be contempt but a willingness to believe.

hold on to what is good, reject every kind of evil. Here is a final catch all. If anything is good, hold on to it. If it is evil then reject it, whatever its source.

A lot more could be said but you see the drift.

2. Division

Joshua goes on. Once these men have described what they see Joshua says Then return to me, and I will cast lots for you here at Shiloh in the presence of the LORD. So following the description comes the dividing up of the land among the different tribes left. Verse 9, 10a So the men left and went through the land. They wrote its description on a scroll, town by town, in seven parts, and returned to Joshua in the camp at Shiloh. Joshua then cast lots for them in Shiloh in the presence of the LORD.

A story is often told about a man arriving at church very late indeed one Sunday morning, so late in fact that it looked as though the service was over, which it was. And so he said to a man in the church near the door, “Is the sermon done yet?” The man replied, “It all depends what you mean by done. The sermon has been preached certainly, it is done in that sense or over, but it has yet to be done by anyone.” You see his point.

The old Puritans were always very careful about this. They would arrange their sermons in a particular order - first the text and its explanation and then the doctrine to be drawn from this text and finally the application or uses.

I remember when Sinclair Ferguson was ministering in Glasgow in the Tron church there was a bit of fuss about what he should wear in the pulpit. I remember him saying once, jokingly, that he was trying to arrange a sponsorship deal with Nike so that he would wear the sort of ecclesiastical robe some were keen for him to wear and when he came to the end of the sermon he would simply turn his back on the congregation, lift his arms and they would see the Nike tick on his back and the Nike slogan Just do it! Because in the end the application or use is the most important thing. So let's not miss the use or application here.

Just as the land was first described then divided so let each of you start looking for something to take away from this sermon. What are you actually going to do about what I am saying? In one sense the application will be different for different people. I don't know where you are at present.

Some of you perhaps are ignorant. You don't know much about how to live the Christian life. Of the ignorant, some perhaps are arrogant and not ready to learn from me. I want to try and wake you up to the fact and urge you to begin seeking God more earnestly. Others of you know you are ignorant and weak and I hope something I say will help you to know how you should be living.

Then others are quite knowledgeable. You have heard many sermons on these sorts of subjects. You've read whole books on living the Christian life. That may have made you big headed so that you feel there's not much you can learn from me. Again, I want to try and wake you up and remind you that the question is not how many sermons you've listened to this week but how much you are putting into practice what you here. And then those of you who know a lot I want gently to remind you of those things and to encourage you to go forward in the things of God.

3. Distribution

Of course, the final bit is in verse 10b and there he distributed the land to the Israelites according to their tribal divisions. This is what is described next. For us this is the ongoing life that we live after the sermon is a distant memory. This is life in the real world. For all of us the parameters are different and so our lives will be different, just as each of the tribes inhabited different terrain and found themselves in different circumstances. Take temperament as an example. We are all different. You have people like Luther and Spurgeon who were very jolly men and to the point but who suffered with depression. There are scholarly types like Calvin and Henry Martyn and I suppose John Wesley. There are emotional types like George Whitefield. The thing is we need to be godly whatever our temperament or circumstances. We need to live out the Christian life in our own sphere.

3. The inheritance of Benjamin - an example of God's goodness

We read in verse 11 that The first lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin according to its clans. The territory is then described. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah to the south and Joseph to the north. It then says that (12, 13) On the north side their boundary began at the Jordan, passed the northern slope of Jericho within Benjamin and headed west into the hill country, coming out at the wilderness of Beth Aven near Ai and just east of Bethel From there it crossed to the south slope of Luz (that is, Bethel) and went down to Ataroth Addar on the hill south of Lower Beth Horon. That is the northern border.

Next the west (14) From the hill facing Beth Horon on the south the boundary turned south along the western side and came out at Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim), a town of the people of Judah. This was the western side.

Then the south (15-19) The southern side began at the outskirts of Kiriath Jearim on the west, and the boundary came out travelling east at the spring of the waters of Nephtoah. The boundary went down to the foot of the hill facing the Valley of Ben Hinnom, south east of Jerusalem north of the Valley of Rephaim. It continued down the Hinnom Valley along the southern slope of the Jebusite city Jerusalem and so to En Rogel. It then curved north, went to En Shemesh, continued to Geliloth, which faces the Pass of Adummim, and ran down to the Stone of Bohan son of Reuben. It continued to the northern slope of Beth Arabah and on down into the Arabah which today means the area immediately south of the Dead Sea but was then used for the whole area of the Jordan Rift Valley. It then went to the northern slope of Beth Hoglah and came out at the northern bay of the Dead Sea, at the mouth of the Jordan in the south. This was the southern boundary.

20 The Jordan formed the boundary on the eastern side.

These were the boundaries that marked out the inheritance of the clans of Benjamin on all sides.

We then have a list of its towns in groups of 12 and 14 - The tribe of Benjamin, according to its clans, had the following towns: Jericho, Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, Beth Arabah, Zemaraim, Bethel which became the centre of idol worship in Israel later, Avvim, Parah, Ophrah, Kephar Ammoni, Ophni and Geba Which was made a Levite town- twelve towns and their villages. (21-24)

Gibeon, mentioned earlier in the book as the place where those deceivers who fooled Joshua came from Ramah, Beeroth, Mizpah, Kephirah, Mozah, Rekem, Irpeel, Taralah, Zelah, Haeleph, the Jebusite city (that is, Jerusalem), Gibeah mentioned in Judges, the name means hill and so is called Gibeah of Benjamin sometimes or Gibeah of Saul as Saul reigned there and Kiriath - fourteen towns and their villages.

This was the inheritance of Benjamin for its clans.

As with the other tribes Benjamin had its boundaries and to be a Benjaminite you really had to live in certain towns and not elsewhere. In a similar way God has given certain boundaries to us all to live within. And so for example, we can eat and drink and own things but only if they are ours not someone else's, we can drink alcohol but we must never get drunk, we can be in a sexual relationship but only in marriage, we can say many things but those things must be true and we must not gossip or slander people or misuse God's name. We can worship God in various ways but we must not make an image or bow down to idols. We can work long and hard but on the Lord's Day we must focus on worshipping him. And so on. Obviously our circumstances will impinge on our ability to obey. If you were in Benjamin getting to Jerusalem to worship God was easy once the temple was in Jerusalem, although at this time it was in Shiloh and so a little effort was required. And so some of us have no taste for alcohol and so are not likely to get drunk or we do a job that is not likely to involve Sunday work. Others will not find things so easy.

The thing is that whoever we are we must love and serve the Lord as the Benjaminites and others sought to do.