Categories: Joshua

Joshua 19

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Joshua 19 Commentary

by Brad Boyles

When the people of Israel finished dividing up the land, they gave Joshua son of Nun a part of the land as his own. 50 As the LORD had commanded, they gave him the city he asked for: Timnath Serah, in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the city and settled there. 51 Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders of the families of the tribes of Israel assigned these parts of the land by drawing lots to consult the LORD at Shiloh, at the entrance of the Tent of the LORD’s presence. In this way they finished dividing the land.

Joshua 19:49-51

When they had finished dividing up all the land, still one remained to receive his portion. Joshua waited patiently for his inheritance to be given as the Lord had promised. This ending to Joshua 19 strikes me as such a powerful example of humility. We see a similar theme in the Gospels.

Just as Joshua took a back seat to the tribes, Jesus humbled Himself before us.

This, however, is not the way it shall be among you. If one of you wants to be great, you must be the servant of the rest; 27 and if one of you wants to be first, you must be the slave of the others— 28 like the Son of Man, who did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life to redeem many people.”

Matthew 20:26-28

I believe you can measure the confidence of a true leader by the humility characteristic alone. To a leader who has an accurate and measured understanding of their place and purpose, service will come naturally.

Joshua brings his whole nation to the glorious riches of the Promised Land and then proceeds to wait, in the Spirit of Jesus Christ, as each is given what they were told. We see no complaining, or hurrying. We do not read of any kind of irritation or conflict. Joshua was content to wait for others even to receive his place of permanent residence. It’s a vital lesson for us today. I love these thoughts from the Preacher’s Homiletical Commentary…

(King) Ahab, who brings his people to ruin, turns his face to the wall, like a sulky child, and will eat no bread, because he cannot get Naboth’s vineyard; Joshua, who brings the whole nation to rich possessions, waits, in the spirit of a true man, till others are satisfied, ere he thinks to ask even a home for himself.

Preacher’s Homiletical Commentary

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