If you are joining us in reading through Joshua, Judges, and Ruth today’s reading is Joshua 13:15-33 and the devotion is taken from verses 15-21. This is what Moses had given to the tribe of Reuben, clan by clan: The territory from Aroer on the rim of the Arnon Gorge, … —all the towns on the plateau and the entire realm of Sihon king of the Amorites, who ruled at Heshbon. Moses had defeated him and the Midianite chiefs, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba—princes allied with Sihon—who lived in that country. Verses 15-33 really address the tribes that Israel defeated and the land that they inherited through their victory. The book of Joshua makes it very clear exactly the territory that was to belong to the Israelites. If you take those words as well as the words in Genesis, Deuteronomy, and Exodus you find that basically the land from the Nile River on the west to the Tigris and Euphrates River on the east is the land that Israel will eventually possess. At no time in its history has Israel possessed this promised amount of land. The closest they came was when Solomon was king and he possessed up to what is now present-day Iraq. God is faithful when he makes a promise; he will eventually keep that promise. Today in the Middle East we have the struggle of those who live in Palestine and those who live in Israel. Both claim to have the right to the land. The Israelites base their rights on Abraham and his descendants and the conquering that Joshua and others did before the birth of Christ. The Palestinians hold that they possess the Abrahamic promises and the fact that they have been in the land since the birth of Christ. This then becomes a religious problem and not just a political one. Who has the promises of Abraham? Who is the true heir to the land that God promised? This is a terrifically difficult question to answer. By virtue of antiquity the Jews would have the right to the land. By virtue of longevity in the land the Palestinians would have the right. But it can only be solved one way and that is by looking at the promises of God. Israel through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and how God has dealt with them throughout history validate the demands that Israel owns the land when God’s physical kingdom takes place.
Posted on: Thu, 22 Jan 2015 11:00:01 +0000
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