joshua 18 through 20

Read Joshua 18 through 20 at Bible Gateway.

The Hebrew paragraph divisions for today’s chapters are:

Jos 18:1-10 {p} Seven tribes survey the land + Joshua divides it before the LORD
Jos 18:11-20 {p} The borders of Benjamin
Jos 18:21-28 {p} The cities of Benjamin
Jos 19:1-9 {p} The cities of Simeon within Judah
Jos 19:10-16 {p} The borders and cities of Zebulun
Jos 19:17-23 {p} The borders and cities of Issachar
Jos 19:24-31 {p} The borders and cities of Asher
Jos 19:32-39 {p} The borders and cities of Naphtali
Jos 19:40-48 {s} The borders and cities of Dan
Jos 19:49-51 {p} The inheritance of Joshua
Jos 20:1-9 {p} The six cities of refuge on either side of the Jordan

The strong themes of these chapters:

Jos 15:1-19 {p} The borders of Judah + Caleb’s inheritance
Jos 15:20-59 {sx10+p} The cities of Judah’s inheritance in the south, highland, and lowland
Jos 15:60-63 {s+p} The cities of Judah’s inheritance in the wilderness + Jebusites remained
Jos 16:1-10 {p} The inheritance of Ephraim
Jos 17:1-18 {s+p} The inheritance of Manasseh + Joseph receives the forest country
Jos 18:1-39 {px8} Seven tribes survey the land + The inheritance of Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali
Jos 19:40-51 {s+p} The inheritances of Dan + Joshua; the divisions finished
Jos 20:1-9 {p} The six cities of refuge on either side of the Jordan

There is a chiastic structure which covers several of the chapters that we have been reading:

Jos 14:1-19:51
1a) Jos 14:1-5, These are the inheritances which Eleazar, Joshua, heads divided + they divided the land;

1b) Jos 14:6-15, Caleb’s inheritance;

1c) Jos 15:1-17:18, The borders and cities of the two tribes, Judah and Joseph;

1d) Jos 18:1, The tabernacle raised in Shiloh + the land subdued;

1e) Jos 18:2, Seven tribes who had not yet received their inheritance;

1f) Jos 18:3-6, Command to survey the land given;

central axis) Jos 18:7, “But the Levites have no part among you, for the priesthood of the LORD is their inheritance;”

2f) Jos 18:8-9, Command to survey the land fulfilled;

2e) Jos 18:10a, Joshua cast lots for the seven tribes’ inheritance;

2d) Jos 18:10b, In Shiloh before the LORD + the land divided;

2c) Jos 18:11-19:48, The borders and cities of the seven tribes;

2b) Jos 19:49-50, Joshua’s inheritance;

2a) Jos 19:51, These are the inheritances which Eleazar, Joshua, heads divided + they made an end of dividing.

The question I was asking myself this morning, is, why out of all these chapters upon chapters of detail concerning the inheritance of the land, is the central axis Jos 18:7, that the Levites do not receive an inheritance among the tribes because the priesthood of YHVH is their inheritance?

“Priest” is in Hebrew, Strong’s H3548, kohen, כֹּהֵן kaph + hey + nun. In the ancient Hebrew pictographs, the kaph is the open palm, the hand used to bless others rather than to work or fight. The hey is the man with his arms upraised in wonder, surprise, or worship, so look, reveal, breath. The nun is the seed, so also, son, generation, continuation.

The kaph-nun combination paints the picture of the opening (kaph) of the seed (nun), so the going down of the root to provide a firm foundation for the plant above the ground. The verb form, then, means to stand, as the root provides the support that enables the plant to be upright; the concrete noun means a root; and the abstract concept is sureness. The addition of worship (hey) in the central position, the heart of the word, tells us that worship is the heart of our root and our firm foundation.

The dictionaries and lexicons say pages of things about kohen. But when you boil it all down, the priesthood enables the people to worship the LORD their God, who is their root and firm foundation. And today’s central axis reveals that this office, this service, is as valuable as land and the material blessings of this life that land represents. YHVH revealed this same thing to Abraham:

After these things the word of the LORD came to Abram in a vision, saying, “Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward.” Gen 15:1

We have already seen that the one nation Israel was set apart from all other nations, to serve as the “priesthood” nation in all things pertaining to God: Israel received and kept the way and commandments of the LORD; Israel offered sacrifices for the nations every year at Tabernacles; it is from Israel that the word of the LORD goes forth; especially the Word that was made flesh, full of grace and truth: Messiah Yeshua.

And all who have made Jesus Christ Savior and Lord, enter into the office and service of priest:

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 1 Pet 2:9.

We do so by learning to walk in His ways and commandments in our own lives, so that His kingdom may come, beginning with our own households. Kingdoms have kings, Amen? Citizens of kingdoms (that is us) obey their king. Those who do not are outlaws, literally, outside the Law. So when we submit to our King and obey His commandments in our households, we are allowing His kingdom to come in our households. We do so by proclaiming God’s word, by witnessing to the truth, to the Lord Jesus Christ, to everyone who enters our sphere of life; by interceding for them; by bringing them to the place where the Sacrifice of the Spotless Lamb may be applied to their lives; and by making disciples of every nation. He is our inheritance, our exceedingly great reward!