Israel fought, and prevailed and took the land God had promised them in Joshua 11:18 “For many days Joshua made war with all these kings”. Then, the days of war were over, yet in Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and Yahweh said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed”. It wasn’t that Joshua had failed, he had been faithful in all God asked of him. But it is a recognition that Gods plans and purposes span beyond of the limits, the frailty, of any one mans life. It was time to give the inheritance to the Tribes of Israel. It was time for them to possess their own lands. It was time for Israel, the people, to believe God for themselves and take God at his word in Joshua 13:6 “I will drive them out from before the Israelites; only allocate it to Israel as an inheritance just as I have commanded you”.
A Great Army Like Sand on the Seashore
Joshua Captured All the Cities of These Kings
For Many Days Joshua Made War
The entrance of Israel into this land took time in
Joshua 11:18 For many days Joshua made war with all these kings.
and “Joshua took all this land” in Joshua 11:16 and “he captured all their kings, struck them, and killed them” in Joshua 11:17 because the Lord was using Israel to bring judgment against these people in
Joshua 11:20 For it was Yahweh that hardened their hearts, to meet Israel in war in order to utterly destroy them without mercy, that they would destroy them just as Yahweh commanded Moses.
Even so, this was no easy task and required, as the Lord had told Joshua in the beginning, that he be “strong and very courageous”. So, the war was over in
Joshua 11:23 Joshua took all the land according to all that Yahweh had spoken to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel, according to their tribal divisions, and the land rested from war.
The Israelites Defeated Them
As A Possession to the Tribes of Israel
Very Much of the Land Remains to be Possessed
As much as Joshua had done, there was still much more to do. The days of war were over, but Israel had not yet taken possession of the land in
Joshua 13:1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and Yahweh said to him, “You are old and advanced in years, and very much of the land remains to be possessed.
This was not a rebuke of Joshua or a complaint that Joshua had not done what had been asked of him, in fact, throughout the preceeding record there are many statements confirming that Joshua had fulfilled what he had been commanded to do as in
Joshua 11:15 Just as Yahweh commanded Moses his servant, so Moses commanded Joshua, and Joshua did; he left nothing undone that Yahweh had commanded Moses.
There are though, two remaining facts:
- Joshua was advanced in years, maybe eighty-five having begun this campaign at eighty.
- While the kings of the region had been deposed and their governments and armies demolished, “very much of the land remains to be possessed”.
The charge to possess the land and drive out the remaining people falls to the tribes that are inheriting and the Lord delegates this work to them with his promise “I will drive them out from before the Israelites; only allocate it to Israel as an inheritance just as I have commanded you.” in Joshua 13:6.
Divide This Land as an Inheritance
From the beginning, Joshua was charged with taking the land and delivering it to Israel as their inheritance and now, the Lord tells Joshua it is time to divide the land in
Joshua 13:7 “Therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
There were twelve tribes, but two and a half tribes had taken their inheritance from land before they crossed the Jordan river so the record of the division of land begins with them in
Joshua 13:8 With it the Reubenites, and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them beyond the Jordan to the east, just as Moses Yahweh’s servant gave to them:
Then, there is this ominous statement relating to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and the possession of their inheritance in
Joshua 13:13 But the Israelites did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites; Geshur and Maacah live among Israel to this day.
- Joshua 11:16–23 For Many Days Joshua Made War
- Joshua 13:1–6 Very Much of the Land Remains to be Possessed
- Joshua 13:7–14 Divide This Land as an Inheritance
- Joshua 11:1-23
- Joshua 12:1-24
- Joshua 13:1-14