Today was all about explaining the distribution of the allotted lands to each tribe. It began with the tribe of Judah.
“Judah is the first of the west bank tribes to have its territory delineated. First the outer limits are listed, then the area apportioned to Caleb and Othniel; finally the Canaanite cities allotted to the clans of Judah are named region by region.”
Then it went on to discuss the allotment for the tribes of Joseph, Ephraim and Manasseh. Two chapters are devoted to the lands given to the “house of Joseph.” Following Judah, the Joseph tribes were given priority.
Today was pretty difficult to follow and journal about because it gave so many different names and places. Most of them I couldn’t even pronounce, let alone keep straight. It explained the locations of their allotments in terms of borders to the north, south, east. It was very specific!
One part I found interesting, was that in some of the places, they did not drive out or destroy the Canaanites who were living there. They were made to do forced labor, but I thought that was one of the rules God commanded of them? Weren’t they supposed to completely drive them out of the land?
Lastly, the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua, asking him why they were not given more land, for they only got one portion as their inheritance. They were a numerous people and the Lord had always blessed them.
Joshua told them to go into the forests and clear ground for themselves in the hill country. They seemed a little nervous to do this because the Canaanites who were in that area had chariots of iron. Joshua basically told them, ‘So what? You say you are a numerous people, go and take the land. Who cares if they have chariots of iron.’ They were told to go and drive out the Canaanites if they wanted to have more land.