Joshua 14:1-5Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them.

2 Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses. 3 Moses had granted the two-and-a-half tribes their inheritance east of the Jordan but had not granted the Levites an inheritance among the rest,

4 for the sons of Joseph had become two tribes—Manasseh and Ephraim. The Levites received no share of the land but only towns to live in, with pasturelands for their flocks and herds. 5 So the Israelites divided the land, just as the LORD had commanded Moses.

Home: Where Everything Is Not So PerfectJoshua 13-19

Three realitiesThe Job is never done

Most things cannot be conqueredEquity is impossible

Joshua 13When Joshua was old and well advanced in years, the LORD said to him, “You are very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over. 2 “This is the land that remains: all the regions of the Philistines and Geshurites:

Moses began this journey to the promised land

Joshua brought them homeHowever, the job is not done

It is never done

12 …Moses had defeated them and taken over their land. 13 But the Israelites did not drive out the people of Geshur and Maacah, so they continue to live among the Israelites to this day.

Sometimes we fail to conquerSometimes we fail to conquer

from lack of drive or desire We do not want do it

We do not careOften we do not see the need

Joshua 14Now these are the areas the Israelites received as an inheritance in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel allotted to them. 2

Their inheritances were assigned by lot to the nine-and-a-half tribes, as the LORD had commanded through Moses.

10 … “So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day.

Before we get to dividing the land…Caleb’s claim is addressed first

A portion of land is given to Caleb for his faithfulness

It is within the boundaries of the land given to the tribe of Judah

Starting at chapter 15 there is an interesting process

The order and length of time spent on each group is revealing

It lest us know the 12 tribes…Are not created equal

Are not rewarded equally

Chapter 15: Judah (and Caleb)Chapter 16: EphraimChapter 17: Manasseh

Chapter 18: Benjamin

Chapter 19: Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan

Joshua 15The allotment for the tribe of Judah, clan by clan, extended down to the territory of Edom, to the Desert of Zin in the extreme south.

13 In accordance with the LORD’s command to him, Joshua gave to Caleb son of Jephunneh a portion in Judah—Kiriath Arba, that is, Hebron.

Joshua 16The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan of Jericho…

4 So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance. 5 This was the territory of Ephraim, clan by clan:

10 They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor.

Joshua 1712 Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region. 13 However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.

The family is separated in segmentsJudah, Joseph’s sons

Benjamin and Simeon in the middleThen the rest

They each have their pastGood and bad qualities

Their own character and history

Joshua 184 Appoint three men from each tribe. I will send them out to make a survey of the land and to write a description of it, according to the inheritance of each. Then they will return to me. 5 You are to divide the land into seven parts.

6 After you have written descriptions of the seven parts of the land, bring them here to me and I will cast lots for you in the presence of the LORD our God.

7 The Levites, however, do not get a portion among you, because the priestly service of the LORD is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh have already received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. Moses the servant of the LORD gave it to them.”

Joshua 1811 The lot came up for the tribe of Benjamin, clan by clan. Their allotted territory lay between the tribes of Judah and Joseph:

Joshua 19The second lot came out for the tribe of Simeon, clan by clan. Their inheritance lay within the territory of Judah.10 The third lot came up for Zebulun, clan by clan:

17 The fourth lot came out for Issachar, clan by clan. 24 The fifth lot came out for the tribe of Asher, clan by clan.32 The sixth lot came out for Naphtali, clan by clan:

40 The seventh lot came out for the tribe of Dan, clan by clan.

49 When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, 50 as the LORD had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for—Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there.

The division began with a portion of land given to Caleb

in the land of JudahIt ends with a portion of land

given to Joshua in EphraimCaleb and Joshua book-end

the tribes

This is no coincidenceTells us who is in the lead

Who is more likely to succeedWho is/was faithful

It is propheticIt sets a precedent

Putting it all togetherThere is still work to do no matter

how well we do our jobWhether it is home, work or other

parts of life – the work is never doneUntil we are welcomed in heaven –

work, family and life are under construction

Putting it all togetherSome issues/people cannot be

conqueredSometimes we do not want to conquer

and sometimes we simply cannotOur problems are managed, abated, mitigated, medicated, postponed or

altogether ignored

Putting it all togetherEquity is by nature inequitable

Equity is difficult to define Equal shares or meritResults or potential or faithfulness (loyalty)

In this world discovering what is equitable and fair is dificult

We all want to arriveWe want to finish; to complete

This life does not allow itWe are either unable or unwilling to

conquer issues and problemsWe can not be fair or equitable

As a result, home is not necessarily the restful place we want it to be

We are the Federated Church.

Our Mission is to…

Seek Christ, Serve Christ and Share

Christ.