Alright folks, there’s something really important you’ve got to understand concerning the divvying up of the territory among the Israelites.
The truth is…
…it was a long, drawn-out and serious pain-in-the-neck process.
Understand the Bible at times moves forward at breakneck speed with simple paragraph transitions actually representing a whole decade or more passing by.
However, since these paragraphs only contain the barest of information or the final outcomes are explained in just one or two sentences, we sometimes get the idea we’re reading about an event that took place over just a couple of days when the opposite is true.
Here’s the raw reality of what went down when the Promised Land was being divided up among the tribes of Israel.
FIRST, the territorial borderlines were constantly being argued over.
Some tribes downright despised the piece of real estate they had been given and and quickly said “We don’t want this piece of crap teeming with hostile Canaanites”.
SECOND, some tribes were like “Screw it! We’re outta here!” and they just picked up and moved out of their assigned area entirely.
As a result of this rebellious activity, some territorial boundaries were either made bigger or smaller depending on the nature of the complaints coming forth about the land assigned.
Understand these kinds of conflicts over land went on and on and on for literally hundreds of years even if the Scripture only has one or two paragraphs describing the matter.
To get a better understanding, take a look at any modern day war the US has fought in the Middle East.
It’s easy to take a look at some map of a country we went to war with and say in a simplistic fashion “Yup, we conquered it” when the reality on the ground is much, much different.
The reality is that more often than not, the US soldiers may have taken control of some cities and towns but within the same region, other pockets of rebellion remained untamed.
This was the same reality the ancient Israelites were facing when they received their land inheritance.
Initially, an Israelite tribe was given a piece of territory whose borders were outlined in only a very general way.
But once an Israelite tribe entered into the territory they had inherited, the simple fact of the matter is there were some cities they controlled (the cities they lived in) and other cities over which the enemy still held control over.
Heck, it’s just like that today with the Gaza Strip.
That piece of land belongs to Israel.
Period.
And Israel has every God-given right to drive out all the foreigners residing there and if the Bible is true, it will be done.
And wait a minute, not just the Gaza Strip but Lebanon too also belongs to Israel.
Here’s another interesting reality we have to contend with.
For whatever reason we’re not given, Manasseh had taken control of some towns in territory that would eventually be handed over to the tribes of Asher and Issachar.
To be clear, Manasseh had taken control of these towns way before Asher and Issachar had received their land inheritance.
What I’m trying to say is…
…when Asher and Issachar eventually received their designated plots of land, inside those plots of land were towns and cities already owned by Manasseh…
…AND Manasseh didn’t want to give up those towns and cities even after Asher and Issachar moved in.
These are the kinds of thorny situations that arose when the land was being distributed.
Heck, it was almost as complicated as trying to cash a US government stimulus check at a local bank in a foreign country.
In other words, it was frustrating as all hell.
Are you feeling me homies?
I feel like the Lord is impressing a really important lesson onto my heart here and it is this.
Any project worth doing in life is inevitably going to be filled with its roadblocks and frustrations.
That’s just the nature of life and if the Scripture is true, this is something we have to be resolved to accept.
It seems like every New Agey, Law of Attraction business growth course out there is peddling this idea of “effortless prosperity” and that…
…all you have to do is just “feel into” what you want to happen in your life and then money, clients and other good things will just come tumbling into your life like magic unicorns flying in from the sky.
Well, the Scripture paints a totally different reality of life.
The Lord has reserved our “Promised Land” for us.
But darn it!
We’re gonna have to fight for it!
Yet, we’re are promised victory but we still need to get our butts out onto the battlefield.
Leave a Reply