“I am giving you every place you will step on with the sole of your foot, as I said to Moshe. All the land from the desert and the L’vanon to the great river, the Euphrates River — all the land of the Hitti — and on to the Great Sea in the west will be your territory.”-Joshua 1:3-4
The first 5 verses of Joshua is a sort of summary of the promises the Lord first made to Abraham concerning the land the Israelites would inherit.
It’s also important to remember there are essentially two pieces of real estate we’re dealing with here.
The first piece is the land on the west side of the Jordan River.
This was the actual Promised Land set aside for only Israel.
The second piece of land was the territory on the east side of the Jordan River.
This set of land was NOT part of what God promised to Israel.
Yet, in spite of this, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of the tribe of Manasseh decided to settle there.
Apparently Moses was fine with this as long as these 2.5 tribes who settled outside of Holy Land territory promised to send troops to support Joshua’s army when Israel launched its attack on the Canaanites.
And by the way, this is also sure-fire evidence that the land on the east of the Jordan was not part of what God had promised to Israel.
Why?
Because Moses had entered this territory and God had already judged Moses and told him he would never set foot inside of Promised Land.
So the next time you fly into Israel, be especially appreciative that you’re able to get into the Holy Land…
…because the greatest Biblical prophet who ever lived didn’t make it.
So enjoy your spirit and info!
I understand your points about Moshe but can’t quite reconcile it all to the verse that says the Land will extend to the Euphrates River as that, even at that time, should be alot further east than the Jordan. Can you explain this? TIA