SERIES G --- THE PROMISED LAND --- LESSON 13

VICTORY WON

EAST OF THE JORDAN RIVER

From Joshua 12:1-6

These are the kings whom the Israelites defeated, whose land they occupied east of the Jordan River, from the valley of the Arnon River northward to Mount Hermon, including all the eastern desert:

1 -- King Sihon of the Amorites, who lived in Heshbon. His kingdom was from Aroer, on the edge of the Arnon Valley and from the middle of that valley to the Jabbok River, the boundary of the Ammonites. It also included the half of Gilead north of the Jabbok River and the Arabah that reached from the Dead Sea and Mount Pisgah on the south to the western shores of the Sea of Galilee on the north.
2 -- King Og of Bashan, one of the last of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and Edrei. The boundaries of his kingdom were from Mount Hermon on the north to Salecah and Bashan on the east, to the borders of the Geshurites and Maacathites on the west and south to the northern half of Gilead bordering on King Sihon’s territory. Moses and his people had conquered these people and Moses gave the territory to the tribe of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

THE CONQUEST OF THE LAND

WEST OF THE JORDAN RIVER

From Joshua 12:7-24

Joshua and his army conquered the following kings west of the Jordan River. The territory reached from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, west of Mount Seir. After conquering the land, Joshua divided it among the tribes of Israel that did not settle east of the Jordan. This territory included the hill country, the lowland, the Arabah, the slopes and the wilderness. Its peoples included the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. The thirty-one kings and their cities included Jericho, Ai near Bethel, Jerusalem, Hebron, Jarmuth, Lachish, Eglon, Gezer, Debir, Geder, Hormah, Arad, Libnah, Adullam, Makkedah, Bethel, Tappuah, Hepher, Aphek, Lasharon, Madon, Hazor, Shimron-meron, Achshaph, Taanach, Megiddo, Kedesh, Jokneam in Carmel, Dor in the coast of Dor, Gilgal and Tirzah.

THE LAND YET TO BE CONQUERED

From Joshua 13:1-13

The years passed and Joshua became an old man. One day Adonai spoke to him. ‘There is still much land to be conquered, but you are getting old,’ Adonai said. ‘The lands which have not been conquered include the lands of the Philistines, the Geshurites, the five cities of the Philistines; Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath and Ekron; as well as the lands of the Canaanites which lie from the brook of Egypt to the southern boundary of Ekron. It also includes the lands of the Avvite to the south and other Canaanite lands to the north, from Mearah, which belongs to the Sidonians, as far as Aphek by the boundary of the Amorites. There is also the land of the Gebalites and all Lebanon from Baal-gad at the foot of Mount Hermon to the entrance of Hamath. ‘I will now drive out the Sidonians before the Israelites in the mountains from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim. As you divide the land for a permanent possession, include this part as a division among the nine tribes and one of the half-tribes of Manasseh as I have commanded you to do.’ The Levites did not receive an inheritance of land. The tribes of Reuben and Gad, as well as the other half-tribe of Manasseh, had already received their inheritance from Moses on the eastern side of the Jordan River. Their inheritance was from Aroer, adjoining the valley of the Arnon River, as well as the city in the centre of the valley, to the plain between Medeba and Dibon. It included the cities of Sihon, king of the Amorites, who reigned at Heshbon to the Ammonite border, as well as Gilead and the land of the Geshurites and Maacathites and Mount Hermon, all of Bashan to Salecah and all of the kingdom of Og, king of Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and Edrei and was one of the last of the Rephaim. Moses had driven out the Rephaim, but because the people of Israel had not driven out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, they are still there today.

THE WAY THE LAND WAS DIVIDED

EAST OF THE JORDAN RIVER

From Joshua 13:14-33

The tribe of Levi was the only one which did not receive part of the land. Their support came from the offerings given to Adonai. The land itself was divided among the other tribes according to the number of people in each. The land for the tribe of Reuben stretched northward from Aroer on the edge of the Arnon Valley past the city in the middle of the valley to the plain beyond Medeba. Some of the cities of the plain in this territory included Heshbon, Dibon, Bamoth-baal, Beth-baal-meon, Jahaz, Kedlemoth, Mephaath, Kiriathaim, Sibmah, Zereth-shahar on the hill overlooking the valley, Beth-Peor, the slopes of Mount Pisgah and Beth-Jesimoth. There were also cities on the tableland. King Sihon’s kingdom was part of the inheritance of Reuben. He was the king whom Moses defeated, along with his chiefs, Evi, Rekem, Zur, Hur and Reba. Balaam the son of Beor was also killed along with the other Midianites. The western border of Reuben’s territory was the Jordan River and the Dead Sea. The land given to the tribe of Gad included Jazer, the cities of Gilead and half of the land of the Animonites, as far as the city of Aroer which is near Rabbah. It went from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim and from Mahanaim to the border of Debir. The following places were in the valley: Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, Zaphon and the rest of King Sihon’s kingdom. The western border was the Jordan River northward to the Sea of Galilee, then turning to the east. The land given to the half-tribe of Manasseh, which they received according to the number of people in the tribe, went northward from Mahanaim, including all Bashan, which had been the kingdom of King Og. It also included the sixty tent-cities of Jair of Bashan. Half of Gilead, as well as Ashtaroth and Edrei were given to half of the descendants of Machir, Manasseh’s son. This is the way Moses divided the land on the plains of Moab, across the Jordan River to the east of Jericho. Moses gave no land to the Levites, for he told them that Adonai was their inheritance.

COMMENTS

THE CANAAN LANDSCAPE

After many years of fighting, organized resistance to Joshua and the people of Israel was crushed. Now it was time to divide the land which YHVH had Promised His people and for Israel to claim their inheritance. Canaan was small enough to fit into a corner of Egypt’s vast empire. Even so, compared to Egypt’s flat plateaus, it contained a striking variety of landscapes. In the east the Jordan River slowly twisted down from the snowfields of Mount Hermon, through the Jordan Rift Valley. The scenery here changed so quickly that every few miles the gorge had a special name. Desert-like canyons and dangerous waterfalls gave way to a small tropical flood plain, before the Jordan descended to the Dead Sea, hundreds of feet below sea level. The forested mountains of Upper Galilee eased into the smaller hills and valleys of Lower Galilee. Below the Jezreel Valley were the high mountains of Samaria, covered with millions of wild flowers. The unusually rich soil supported not only fruit, but also livestock famed for their milk and meat. Farther south the land became increasingly hostile. In Judah water was scarce and the rugged mountains were almost impossible to cross. Even more desolate were the deserts of Judah, cruel wastelands of barren rock disturbed only by occasional dust storms. Less than thirty-five miles west, sea breezes maintained the mild climate of the Shephelah, blessed with plentiful springs and wells. Farther west, fields and olive groves ripened near sand dunes that stretched inland several miles from the sea. Canaan was a Promised Land of beauty, plenty and challenge