Theological Commentary: Click Here
In today’s
reading, we have the rest of the allotments.
I use the word allotment intentionally.
In each case, the Bible is quite clear to say that the lot fell to
such-and such tribe.
I think this
is a great point to draw out of the text after yesterday. Remember that these tribes are the ones who
didn’t go out and claim the land they wanted.
Instead, they had to be told by Joshua to get out, measure the land, and
then come back. As a result, they do get
land. However, it isn’t necessarily the
land of their choosing. This is the land
of allotment. They get an inheritance,
but the get what randomness brings their way.
It is
important to remember that they do get an allotment. They did fight hard. They did earn their land. But they did not go out and claim it. In fact, notice that we have a special note
to say that the people of Dan had more fighting to do even after the allotment
was given out! They even lost their land
for a time being.
Put this in
contrast to Joshua, who gets that for which he asked. Or Caleb or Othniel or the people east of Jordan
or Judah or the people of Joseph. They
get their choice because they are proactive about going out and getting it.
What we can
conclude is that there are many ways to go about our obedience to God. Much of what I conclude today ties in with
how I ended yesterday. We can be
proactive in our faithful obedience and be in a position to meet our
desires. On the other hand, we can be
followers and obey when challenged or shamed into action. We do get a reward for obedience, but it may
not be a reward of our choosing.
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