Joshua 15:20-63
This is the inheritance of the tribe of Judah, clan by clan:
The southernmost towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the boundary of Edom were:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon—a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
In the western foothills:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim) —fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah—sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah—nine towns and their villages.
Ekron, with its surrounding settlements and villages; west of Ekron, all that were in the vicinity of Ashdod, together with their villages; Ashdod, its surrounding settlements and villages; and Gaza, its settlements and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon and Giloh—eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior—nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah and Timnah—ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon—six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—two towns and their villages.
In the desert:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi—six towns and their villages.
Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.
Looking at a long list of land allocation, one can only wonder how specific was the land allotment. Listed here is a very detailed list of how the different clans within the tribe of Judah was being allocated land, in name somemore. What can we say from here? One thing we can say from here is that God is very concerned with individual families and people. We dun see things written like 'the tribe of Judah was being alloted this big plot of land' and then the story moves on. In fact, it chooses to record meticulously how the every individual clans was alloted. The story, actually, will look okay without this big piece of seemingly useless information. It just goes to say and reinforce what we have always known: that God is personal while being sovereign. Even in the age of the old covenant, His personal touch is seen through the word.
Of course, it has been a long list of land allotment but notice that at the end, the writer chose to add in a small detail, that the Jebusites were not dislodged from the land. In fact, this is a common theme that occurred in the story, that the Israelites were unable to somehow dislodge the Canaanites, Jebusites and other people out of the Promised Land. In fact, as a result, God's chosen people were living with pagans who were practising things which would eventually lead the Israelites astray. The evidence is in Ezra 9:1, 'After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites.' Doesn't this sound familiar? In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
What does all these mean for us? Certainly in such a globalised world, we cannot expect all Christ followers to chase out of the other people or be reclusive in some way or another. Certainly, it cannot mean that we isolate ourselves from people who are different from us. After, being salt and light, we cannot afford to do so. Rather, I believe it's not isolation but insulation. The idea is really on how to keep ourselves pure before God in a world of pluralism. In Joshua's time, the Israelites had the obligation to dislodge the Jebusites so that they would not be exposed to practices of the Jebusites but they could not and did not. In our time, the idea remains the same and we need to keep ourselves pure and not get drawn in by weird or ungodly practices. This is what I call keeping a spiritual distance while maintaining a physical proximity.
The southernmost towns of the tribe of Judah in the Negev toward the boundary of Edom were:
Kabzeel, Eder, Jagur, Kinah, Dimonah, Adadah, Kedesh, Hazor, Ithnan, Ziph, Telem, Bealoth, Hazor Hadattah, Kerioth Hezron (that is, Hazor), Amam, Shema, Moladah, Hazar Gaddah, Heshmon, Beth Pelet, Hazar Shual, Beersheba, Biziothiah, Baalah, Iim, Ezem, Eltolad, Kesil, Hormah, Ziklag, Madmannah, Sansannah, Lebaoth, Shilhim, Ain and Rimmon—a total of twenty-nine towns and their villages.
In the western foothills:
Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashnah, 34 Zanoah, En Gannim, Tappuah, Enam, Jarmuth, Adullam, Socoh, Azekah, Shaaraim, Adithaim and Gederah (or Gederothaim) —fourteen towns and their villages.
Zenan, Hadashah, Migdal Gad, Dilean, Mizpah, Joktheel, Lachish, Bozkath, Eglon, Cabbon, Lahmas, Kitlish, Gederoth, Beth Dagon, Naamah and Makkedah—sixteen towns and their villages.
Libnah, Ether, Ashan, Iphtah, Ashnah, Nezib, Keilah, Aczib and Mareshah—nine towns and their villages.
Ekron, with its surrounding settlements and villages; west of Ekron, all that were in the vicinity of Ashdod, together with their villages; Ashdod, its surrounding settlements and villages; and Gaza, its settlements and villages, as far as the Wadi of Egypt and the coastline of the Great Sea.
In the hill country:
Shamir, Jattir, Socoh, Dannah, Kiriath Sannah (that is, Debir), Anab, Eshtemoh, Anim, Goshen, Holon and Giloh—eleven towns and their villages.
Arab, Dumah, Eshan, Janim, Beth Tappuah, Aphekah, Humtah, Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) and Zior—nine towns and their villages.
Maon, Carmel, Ziph, Juttah, Jezreel, Jokdeam, Zanoah, Kain, Gibeah and Timnah—ten towns and their villages.
Halhul, Beth Zur, Gedor, Maarath, Beth Anoth and Eltekon—six towns and their villages.
Kiriath Baal (that is, Kiriath Jearim) and Rabbah—two towns and their villages.
In the desert:
Beth Arabah, Middin, Secacah, Nibshan, the City of Salt and En Gedi—six towns and their villages.
Judah could not dislodge the Jebusites, who were living in Jerusalem; to this day the Jebusites live there with the people of Judah.
Looking at a long list of land allocation, one can only wonder how specific was the land allotment. Listed here is a very detailed list of how the different clans within the tribe of Judah was being allocated land, in name somemore. What can we say from here? One thing we can say from here is that God is very concerned with individual families and people. We dun see things written like 'the tribe of Judah was being alloted this big plot of land' and then the story moves on. In fact, it chooses to record meticulously how the every individual clans was alloted. The story, actually, will look okay without this big piece of seemingly useless information. It just goes to say and reinforce what we have always known: that God is personal while being sovereign. Even in the age of the old covenant, His personal touch is seen through the word.
Of course, it has been a long list of land allotment but notice that at the end, the writer chose to add in a small detail, that the Jebusites were not dislodged from the land. In fact, this is a common theme that occurred in the story, that the Israelites were unable to somehow dislodge the Canaanites, Jebusites and other people out of the Promised Land. In fact, as a result, God's chosen people were living with pagans who were practising things which would eventually lead the Israelites astray. The evidence is in Ezra 9:1, 'After these things had been done, the leaders came to me and said, "The people of Israel, including the priests and the Levites, have not kept themselves separate from the neighboring peoples with their detestable practices, like those of the Canaanites, Hittites, Perizzites, Jebusites, Ammonites, Moabites, Egyptians and Amorites.' Doesn't this sound familiar? In 2 Corinthians 6:14, it says, "Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?"
What does all these mean for us? Certainly in such a globalised world, we cannot expect all Christ followers to chase out of the other people or be reclusive in some way or another. Certainly, it cannot mean that we isolate ourselves from people who are different from us. After, being salt and light, we cannot afford to do so. Rather, I believe it's not isolation but insulation. The idea is really on how to keep ourselves pure before God in a world of pluralism. In Joshua's time, the Israelites had the obligation to dislodge the Jebusites so that they would not be exposed to practices of the Jebusites but they could not and did not. In our time, the idea remains the same and we need to keep ourselves pure and not get drawn in by weird or ungodly practices. This is what I call keeping a spiritual distance while maintaining a physical proximity.
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