Even though much of the land was conquered, more needed to be done. May we see sin in Australia conquered by the cross of Christ.
Joshua 12: Kings Defeated by Moses
1 Now these are the kings of the land whom the people of Israel defeated and took possession of their land beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise, from the Valley of the Arnon to Mount Hermon, with all the Arabah eastward:
2 Sihon king of the Amorites who lived at Heshbon and ruled from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and from the middle of the valley as far as the river Jabbok, the boundary of the Ammonites, that is, half of Gilead,
3 and the Arabah to the Sea of Chinneroth eastward, and in the direction of Beth-jeshimoth, to the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, southward to the foot of the slopes of Pisgah;
4 and Og king of Bashan, one of the remnant of the Rephaim, who lived at Ashtaroth and at Edrei
5 and ruled over Mount Hermon and Salecah and all Bashan to the boundary of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and over half of Gilead to the boundary of Sihon king of Heshbon.
6 Moses, the servant of the LORD, and the people of Israel defeated them. And Moses the servant of the LORD gave their land for a possession to the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
Kings Defeated by Joshua
7 And these are the kings of the land whom Joshua and the people of Israel defeated on the west side of the Jordan, from Baal-gad in the Valley of Lebanon to Mount Halak, that rises toward Seir (and Joshua gave their land to the tribes of Israel as a possession according to their allotments,
8 in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, in the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negeb, the land of the Hittites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites):
9 the king of Jericho, one; the king of Ai, which is beside Bethel, one;
10 the king of Jerusalem, one; the king of Hebron, one;
11 the king of Jarmuth, one; the king of Lachish, one;
12 the king of Eglon, one; the king of Gezer, one;
13 the king of Debir, one; the king of Geder, one;
14 the king of Hormah, one; the king of Arad, one;
15 the king of Libnah, one; the king of Adullam, one;
16 the king of Makkedah, one; the king of Bethel, one;
17 the king of Tappuah, one; the king of Hepher, one;
18 the king of Aphek, one; the king of Lasharon, one;
19 the king of Madon, one; the king of Hazor, one;
20 the king of Shimron-meron, one; the king of Achshaph, one;
21 the king of Taanach, one; the king of Megiddo, one;
22 the king of Kedesh, one; the king of Jokneam in Carmel, one;
23 the king of Dor in Naphath-dor, one; the king of Goiim in Galilee, one;
24 the king of Tirzah, one: in all, thirty-one kings.
Joshua 13: Land Still to Be Conquered
1 Now Joshua was old and advanced in years, and the LORD said to him, "You are old and advanced in years, and there remains yet very much land to possess.
2 This is the land that yet remains: all the regions of the Philistines, and all those of the Geshurites
3 (from the Shihor, which is east of Egypt, northward to the boundary of Ekron, it is counted as Canaanite; there are five rulers of the Philistines, those of Gaza, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Gath, and Ekron), and those of the Avvim,
4 in the south, all the land of the Canaanites, and Mearah that belongs to the Sidonians, to Aphek, to the boundary of the Amorites,
5 and the land of the Gebalites, and all Lebanon, toward the sunrise, from Baal-gad below Mount Hermon to Lebo-hamath,
6 all the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon to Misrephoth-maim, even all the Sidonians. I myself will drive them out from before the people of Israel. Only allot the land to Israel for an inheritance, as I have commanded you.
7 Now therefore divide this land for an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh."
The Inheritance East of the Jordan
8 With the other half of the tribe of Manasseh the Reubenites and the Gadites received their inheritance, which Moses gave them, beyond the Jordan eastward, as Moses the servant of the LORD gave them:
9 from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland of Medeba as far as Dibon;
10 and all the cities of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, as far as the boundary of the Ammonites;
11 and Gilead, and the region of the Geshurites and Maacathites, and all Mount Hermon, and all Bashan to Salecah;
12 all the kingdom of Og in Bashan, who reigned in Ashtaroth and in Edrei (he alone was left of the remnant of the Rephaim); these Moses had struck and driven out.
13 Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day.
14 To the tribe of Levi alone Moses gave no inheritance. The offerings by fire to the LORD God of Israel are their inheritance, as he said to him.
15 And Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the people of Reuben according to their clans.
16 So their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the Valley of the Arnon, and the city that is in the middle of the valley, and all the tableland by Medeba;
17 with Heshbon, and all its cities that are in the tableland; Dibon, and Bamoth-baal, and Beth-baal-meon,
18 and Jahaz, and Kedemoth, and Mephaath,
19 and Kiriathaim, and Sibmah, and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley,
20 and Beth-peor, and the slopes of Pisgah, and Beth-jeshimoth,
21 that is, all the cities of the tableland, and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses defeated with the leaders of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land.
22 Balaam also, the son of Beor, the one who practiced divination, was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain.
23 And the border of the people of Reuben was the Jordan as a boundary. This was the inheritance of the people of Reuben, according to their clans with their cities and villages.
24 Moses gave an inheritance also to the tribe of Gad, to the people of Gad, according to their clans.
25 Their territory was Jazer, and all the cities of Gilead, and half the land of the Ammonites, to Aroer, which is east of Rabbah,
26 and from Heshbon to Ramath-mizpeh and Betonim, and from Mahanaim to the territory of Debir,
27 and in the valley Beth-haram, Beth-nimrah, Succoth, and Zaphon, the rest of the kingdom of Sihon king of Heshbon, having the Jordan as a boundary, to the lower end of the Sea of Chinnereth, eastward beyond the Jordan.
28 This is the inheritance of the people of Gad according to their clans, with their cities and villages.
29 And Moses gave an inheritance to the half-tribe of Manasseh. It was allotted to the half-tribe of the people of Manasseh according to their clans.
30 Their region extended from Mahanaim, through all Bashan, the whole kingdom of Og king of Bashan, and all the towns of Jair, which are in Bashan, sixty cities,
31 and half Gilead, and Ashtaroth, and Edrei, the cities of the kingdom of Og in Bashan. These were allotted to the people of Machir the son of Manasseh for the half of the people of Machir according to their clans.
32 These are the inheritances that Moses distributed in the plains of Moab, beyond the Jordan east of Jericho.
33 But to the tribe of Levi Moses gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance, just as he said to them.
Things to think about…
1. Josh 12 mentions the Amorite king Sihon king of Heshbon and the Ammonite king Og king of Bashan who were defeated by Moses and lists the 31 kings that were destroyed by the armies of Israel under Joshua. The three tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh were given the eastern side – the land conquered under Moses and the other 9 tribes were given the land on the west of the Jordan River conquered under Joshua. What testimony are we leaving our children with respect to the spiritual land (lives) that have been conquered by Christ under our leadership and direction. Pray that this year we may see more conversions within our sphere of influence.
2. Note that in Josh 12:10 the city of Jerusalem was taken and yet we read in the time of David that he had to retake it. Why? The issue was in the period of the Judges which would come after Joshua that Israel fell away and were overtaken by the nations that were still left in the land of Canaan due to Israel’s rebellion. Jerusalem was obviously a city they lost during this period.
3. Joshua had been fighting all his life and yet much of the land was still to be conquered. Most of it concerned the south west which was under Philistine control. These nations had iron chariots. The promise to Joshua however was that God would “drive them out from before the people of Israel”, Josh 13:6. The arm of the Lord is far more superior than man’s arm of flesh. As we pray for unsaved friends and family let’s continue to trust in the Lord’s strength and not our own.
4. Note that even though much of the land was conquered the testimony at the time of writing the book of Joshua was “Yet the people of Israel did not drive out the Geshurites or the Maacathites, but Geshur and Maacath dwell in the midst of Israel to this day”, Josh 13:13. What do we do when God has given us a promise and yet we do not see it fulfilled. Is it our fault or the Lord’s? Sometimes our battles can make us very weary. The church is there to encourage us all on our journey, ‘Therefore lift your drooping hands and strengthen your weak knees’ Heb 12:12 which is a quote from Is 35:3.
5. It is interesting that there is a single verse here in Joshua 13:22 that refers to the demise of Balaam the son of Beor. There are 3 whole chapters devoted to this man, his prophecies and the story of his talking donkey in Num 22-24. Jude in the NT also devotes some commentary on him. Will we see Balaam in heaven? I don’t think so. Even though he spoke the Word of the Lord, his heart was still hardened to deceive even though some of the words of his mouth honoured the Lord. The testimony here has an air of judgement. It says of Balaam that he “was killed with the sword by the people of Israel among the rest of their slain”, Josh 13:22. Not an encouraging word by any means.
6. Let’s live as the tribe of Levi whom Moses “gave no inheritance; the LORD God of Israel is their inheritance”, Josh 13:33. Our home is in heaven with the Lord, not this earth with its corruption.
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesdays. Ric Benson group Wednesday night 6:30pm.
Pastor Jay has started the young adult’s life group looking at who is the anti-Christ Sunday week.
Prayer Points
1. Pray about the boldness to live for Christ knowing we have full assurance in our faith.
2. Keep praying for Anna and the Playgroup, pray for more families to be reached.
3. Conflict in Israel and Ukraine.
4. Church finances to cover all expenses. Budget presently not being met.
5. Pray for Kids@Church, Life groups.
6. Mathys has a prayer time at church on Monday afternoons in the church cafe. He would be happy for you to join him and to send prayer requests.
7. That we be bold in our witnessing for Christ. Pray for a heart to see those around you to be saved. Pray for the blessing over the new pastoral care and hosting program.
8. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to remain and increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise the Lord for the Mother’s Day event on Saturday. Many unbelievers were encouraged to follow the example of godly mothers as shown through the grace of Jesus. A great follow up message on Sunday by our elder Graham Willey on godly mums in the scriptures.
2. Praise the Lord for new mums at Playgroup. Pray it grows each week.
3. Tad’s health getting better all the time.
4. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Playgroup 9:30-11am on Friday.
2. Members meeting 26th May after church.
3. Young Adults study after church this Sunday – Who, where and when – the Antichrist.
4. Monday evening prayer with Mathys on the café 5:30-6pm
5. Life Groups Wednesday 6:30pm at church.
6. Kids@Church every Sunday.
7. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
8. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for May...
Q. 20. How do you know that you have a soul? A. Because the Bible tells me so.
