Joshua 14:1-5 Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them.

2 Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the L ORD had commanded through Moses. 3 Moses had granted the two-and-a-half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,

4 for the sons of Joseph had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. 5 So the Israelites divided the land, just as the L ORD had commanded Moses.

Three realities The Job is never done Most things cannot be conquered Equity is impossible

Joshua 13 there are still very large areas of land to be taken over When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the L ORD said to him, “You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over. 2 “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites:

Moses began this journey to the promised land Joshua brought them home However, the job is not done It is never done

did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah 12 …Moses had defeated them and taken over their land. 13 But the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.

Sometimes we fail to conquer Sometimes we fail to conquer from lack of drive or desire We do not want do it We do not care Often we do not see the need

Joshua 14 Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. 2 Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the L ORD had commanded through Moses.

10 … “So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the L ORD promised me that day.

Before we get to dividing the land… Caleb’s claim is addressed first A portion of land is given to Caleb for his faithfulness It is within the boundaries of the land given to the tribe of Judah

Starting at chapter 15 there is an interesting process The order and length of time spent on each group is revealing It lest us know the 12 tribes… Are not created equal Are not rewarded equally

Chapter 15: Judah (and Caleb) Chapter 16: Ephraim Chapter 17: Manasseh Chapter 18: Benjamin Chapter 19: Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan

Joshua 15 The allotment for the tribe of Judah, clan by clan, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south. 13 In accordance with the L ORD ’s command to him, Joshua gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion in Judah— Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron.

Joshua 16 The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan of Jericho… 4 So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance. 5 This was the territory of Ephraim, clan by clan:

They did not dislodge the Canaanites 10 They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.

Joshua 17 the Canaanites were determined to live in that region did not drive them out completely 12 Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.

The family is separated in segments Judah, Joseph’s sons Benjamin and Simeon in the middle Then the rest They each have their past Good and bad qualities Their own character and history

Joshua 18 4 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. 5 You are to divide the land into seven parts.

6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the L ORD our God.

7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the L ORD 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 L ORD gave it to them.”

Joshua 18 between the tribes of Judah and Joseph 11 The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

Joshua 19 Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah. 10 The third lot came up for Zebulun, clan by clan:

17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, clan by clan. 24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher, clan by clan. 32 The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan: 40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, clan by clan.

Joshua in the hill country of Ephraim 49 When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, 50 as the L ORD had commanded. 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.

The division began with a portion of land given to Caleb in the land of Judah It ends with a portion of land given to Joshua in Ephraim Caleb and Joshua book-end the tribes

This is no coincidence Tells us who is in the lead Who is more likely to succeed Who is/was faithful It is prophetic It sets a precedent

Putting it all together There is still work to do no matter how well we do our job Whether it is home, work or other parts of life – the work is never done Until we are welcomed in heaven – work, family and life are under construction

Putting it all together Some issues/people cannot be conquered Sometimes we do not want to conquer and sometimes we simply cannot Our problems are managed, abated, mitigated, medicated, postponed or altogether ignored

Putting it all together Equity is by nature inequitable Equity is difficult to define Equal shares or merit Results or potential or faithfulness (loyalty) In this world discovering what is equitable and fair is dificult

We all want to arrive We want to finish; to complete This life does not allow it We are either unable or unwilling to conquer issues and problems We can not be fair or equitable As a result, home is not necessarily the restful place we want it to be