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Messages from the Map Room, Part 2
Joshua 13:1-7
Promised Land Living in Problematic World
Sermon #17USA Today carried the story of a bargain hunter who bought a painting for just $29 at a rummage sale a decade ago. This bargain hunter though got quite a return on his investment. The painting this Wausau, Wisconsin man bought because he enjoyed its depiction of magnolia flowers turned out to be a rare still‑life done by American landscape artist, Martin Johnson Heade, about 100 years ago. Art historians think the work, called Two Magnolias on Blue Plush, was done in Florida around the turn of the century. But that $29 painting was sold recently at Christie's auction house in New York for $882,500.
We do not though have to go to a rummage sale or a thrift store to find treasure. In your hands this morning you are holding an infinite treasure. The Bible is a great and priceless treasure. Proverbs 2 refers to God’s wisdom as “hidden treasure.” Some treasures in Scripture are obvious and close to the surface, like the truths of God’s love, His grace and forgiveness. Some of Scripture’s treasures though have to be mined. We have to dig them out. That’s the case in Joshua 13-21. This part of Joshua is about the dividing of the land among the twelve tribes, Joshua 13:1-7. In our last study we observed that Joshua 13-21 is the Land Office of the nation of Israel. It is the most thorough account of the inheritance and property of the Israelites in the all of Scripture. It sets down the property lines and boundary markings. And it was very meaningful to them because it was their property. It’s literally the Map Room of ancient Israel.
Because this is God’s inspired Word, God has a reason for placing this in our Bible. There are some treasures for us in this section of Scripture. Last time we considered the warning of some tragic trends of compromise. They never finished the job of completely conquering the land and instead settled for either: a) Peaceful Coexistence-3:13; 15:63; b) Selfish Manipulation-16:10; 17:12-13; c) Whiny Arrogant Rationalization-17:14-18; d) Living in Denial- 19:40-47. Today we want to dig out Four More Messages from the Map Room, powerful spiritual treasures hidden in this detailed account of property lines and boundary markings.
1. God will always settle the score (we don’t have to), Joshua 13:22. A six year old came crying to his Mother because his little sister pulled his hair. "Don't be angry," his Mom said, “Your little sister doesn't realize that pulling hair hurts." A short while later, there's more crying, and this Mom goes to investigate. This time the little sister is bawling. Her brother tells his Mom, “Now she knows.”
Our human nature thirsts for revenge. When someone mistreats us, takes advantage of us or rips us off – we want to even the score. And then there is “righteous revenge.” When an innocent child is molested, a greedy doctor aborts innocent babies, cult leaders teach lies which will ultimately condemn their followers to hell, our blood boils.
Forty years earlier when Israel was journeying the wilderness from Egypt to Canaan, they conquered every army who attacked them. One king, King Balak of Moab decided to try to equal the odds against Israel. He hires Balaam, a famous false prophet who was also a preacher for hire. The story is found in Numbers 22-25. You may know Balaam best because God had his donkey talk to him to warn him that he was about to be judged by God. But just in case you’re not familiar with the story, let me tell you about Balaam.
Balaam was an ancient psychic. He was from the city of Pethor. The Hebrew word "pethor" means "to interpret dreams." Evidently, Pethor was a community of wizards, sorcerers, astrologers and occultists. Apparently, Balaam was a very powerful wizard; his name means "the devourer of people." He had a reputation for strength and power. His father's name, Beor, means "one who burns up." Balaam may have even come from a long line of powerful sorcerers. King Balak believed that if he could bring Balaam down to put a curse on Israel, given the kind of power that this man had, then Israel would be impotent. It is interesting, as we look at the account, that though Balaam was a sorcerer, he also knew about the God of Israel and refers to him by his covenant name, Yahweh. He had an immense amount of truth about the one true God. He came from the same area Abraham did. Perhaps there was a great deal of truth about God available to those from that area. Yet he drew his power from the occult and demonic sources, as well.
King Balak hires Balaam to come and curse Israel, but before Balaam signs the contract and agrees to do this, he inquires of God and God tells him not to go. So Balaam tells King Balak’s messengers that he can’t go because God told him “No.” So King Balak sends more messengers to Balaam begging him to come curse the nation of Israel and offers him lots of money. Balaam really wants the money so he decides to go, violating what God had told him. But as he’s riding his donkey to meet King Balak, God has his angel standing in the path with his sword drawn to kill Balaam, only Balaam can’t see the angel... but his donkey can. Three times his donkey puts on the brakes, digs in his heels to keep Balaam from being killed and each time Balaam beats the tar out of her. The third time Balaam is out of control and as he’s beating his donkey, God puts words in the donkey’s mouth and she asks Balaam, “What have I done to you to make you beat me these three times?" Then, God opens his eyes and Balaam sees the angel with its drawn sword ready to take his head off if his donkey had not stopped in the path and saved his life.
Now Balaam is terrified but God still lets him go but he must commit to saying only what God allows him to say. He meets with King Balak, builds altars and offers sacrifices but instead of cursing the nation of Israel, Balaam blesses them. Well, now King Balak is ticked off. That’s not what he hired Balaam to do. And Balaam spills the beans, telling King Balak that he cannot curse the Israelites because he has been forbidden to do so by God. No amount of money will get him to break God’s command and risk God’s judgement.
But Balaam finds a loophole in God’s command. While God had forbidden him from cursing Israel, He did not forbid him from advising this heathen king. Balaam gives King Balak some diabolical advice, which will undermine Israel and haunt them for a generation. His advice was probably worse than cursing the nation. Balaam advises King Balak to get Moabite women who worshiped idols to seduce and intermarry with the Jewish men. As you know, this was a direct violation of God’s command. Tragically, Israeli men disobeyed God and slept with, intermarried Moabite women and worshiped their idols. And God judges Israel for it, Numbers 25:1-3.
It’s very tempting when someone does something vile like Balaam did, to want revenge, to seek to settle the score. God commands us though not to take matters into our own hands, Rom. 12:14-21. God would take care of Balaam and He did. In the normal course of battle, Balaam was killed. It’s significant enough so that it’s recorded twice in the Old Testament, once here in Joshua and also in Numbers. We do not have to avenge ourselves when we are wronged. God will protect us and will take care of it.
It is also spiritually and emotionally dangerous for us to harbor feelings of vindictiveness. Revenge and bitterness go hand in hand. Bitterness is deadly for the health of your soul.
I have a dear friend in the ministry who harbors grudges for wrongs done to him years ago. It’s rare for it not to come up in a conversation with him. And it has poisoned his soul. My friend, you be faithful to God but let God settle the score. Let Him take care of those who have wronged you.
Many believers walk around with sick souls. They are nursing a grudge. Sometimes it’s not from a wrong by an “enemy.” For many it may have been a parent or their spouse. Scripture commands us to not seek revenge. It also commands us to not harbor bitterness, Eph. 4:31-32. My friend, if you are harboring feelings of revenge or bitterness, please surrender them to God.
2. God does not want us to settle for spiritual status quo, 18:1-3. Are you a good waiter? Patience is not always a virtue. Typically, we think of patience as a good thing but when it comes to claiming our spiritual inheritance and claiming new territory, God does not want us to be good “waiters.”
Seven tribes had not made any headway in possessing their inheritance. Even though God had promised to give them the land, they failed to move forward aggressively. They lacked passion. Joshua’s accusation (v. 3) implies that the problem was not with availability but with motivation. How long, he asked, were they going to wait?
It’s unbelievable that after forty years in the wilderness and five years of fighting, such an apathetic spirit could exist, but it did. We expect them to be biting on the bit, passionately desiring to claim the rest of their territory. Passionlessness is not just an ancient malady. This scene in Joshua 18 is very similar to contemporary Christianity.
Gordon MacDonald writes in his book, Restoring Your Spiritual Passion: “[One day]...I sat at lunch with a friend, who matched my age. We had shared similar life and faith styles. Our backgrounds had caused us to know the Bible well, to make fellowship with Christians an important element of life, and to make doing Christian things a priority. But as we talked, I could tell that my friend bordered on boredom as he told about certain activities in his church, and I decided to penetrate the cloud cover of religious jargon. “Where are you at these days with God,” I asked, using the same, casual tone of voice I would have used to ask about the Dow Jones Averages. “Where am I at with God?” he repeated the question as he looked off at a 45‑degree angle from me. There was at least a 30‑second pause, and I decided to wait it out. “Do you really want to know?” he finally asked. “Yeah, I’m your friend, and I’m interested,” I responded. “I’m not anywhere,” he said, “and I haven’t been anywhere for a long time. When it comes to my Christian life, I’m going through the motions...Gordon, there was a time in my younger years when it all seemed to grab my imagination, Christ and faith, I mean. I really wanted to make my Christian commitment the absolute center of everything. But I’ve lost it, and so now I perform more out of habit than anything else.” “What drives you to keep on with the habits?” I probed. “I suppose only the fact that I’m getting to the point in life where it’s too late to change. My family life is all centered on Christian activities, and I don’t want to hurt my wife or the kids. And besides, life has been good to me. Why upset the routines that have gotten me this far? So I just keep chugging along.”
What was missing in this man’s life? Spiritual passion! Like ancient Israel, Gordon MacDonald’s friend had slipped into spiritual complacency. But what about us? Are we still claiming new territory? Or like ancient Israel, have we become spiritually stagnant? Is our Christian life just drifting with no direction and little purpose? Have we become comfortable? Like Israel, have we become satisfied with mediocrity?
It’s hard to believe that this is the same group that crossed Jordan on dry ground, marched around Jericho until the walls came tumbling down and fought coalition after coalition of pagan armies. What happened? How does spiritual atrophy set in? How do we fall into spiritual status quo?
a) We become content with past victories. Israel had already won great battles and large portions of the Land. It’s tempting to rest on our laurels. Perhaps they started out taking a little break but it devolved into apathy.
While there are appropriate times to pull back and take a break, I always get concerned when folk tell me that they are sitting out for a while. If you bench yourself, it’s hard to get back in the game. Green Bay is called “Title Town” but that doesn’t mean squat for this year’s season. This life is not the place of rest. You and I are rescue workers on the brink of Hell. It’s an emergency fire alarm every day as those around us perish in a Christless eternity.
b) We become discouraged and feel overwhelmed. Though Israel now controlled the land, there was still a lot of land to claim. They may have felt overwhelmed. Sometimes we see a task and it looks so big, that we just give up. That’s why it’s important to chunk it down. Instead of focusing on taking the whole land, they needed to focus on taking one hill or one city at a time. Personally, I feel overwhelmed with the task of world evangelization but I can work on my neighborhood. I can be faithful in sharing the Gospel in our community.
c) We succumb to self-righteousness. We can become little Pharisees like the one in the parable of the Pharisee and the Publican from Luke 18. Instead of seeing the lost as victims of sin. We see them as diseased, something to be shunned. We do not see young believers as children who are messy and growing. We see them as stupid and less spiritual than us.
Self-righteousness is always characterized by pride and a critical spirit. It focuses on externalism; how people dress, the music they listen to, the habits they struggle with, but it does not see their hearts, nor does it care.
But we feel so good and godly because we don’t have those struggles. It is the opposite of the heart of Jesus Christ. God wants us to be compassionate, not critical. That’s how He is with us. Self-righteousness gossips about people with other people; spirituality maturity talks to God about my needs and the needs of those that I care about. Self-righteousness always leads to spiritual atrophy. Instead of seeking new ground, we settle in and get comfortable. We believe that we have already arrived spiritually.
d) We succumb to carnality. Why would you attack the enemy and claim enemy territory, when you are friends with the enemy. James 4:4 warns, “You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.” Carnality causes us to be spiritually AWOL. We are so distanced from the heart of God that we don’t want to take new ground. Tragically, we become comfortable with sin.
Like ancient Israel, God wants each of us to be moving forward, claiming new ground. Friend, what new turf does God want you to take? Please don’t settle for spiritual status quo.
3. God blesses & gives according to His sovereignty, 18:4-6. How would you feel if someone else chose what you were going to have for lunch today? How about if someone else chose where you were going to live? Or, what if they chose who you were going to marry? What job you would have? Who your children would be? How many you would have? Whether you were going to be born an American or an African? Someone did – God did. While it is true, we do choose, have personal responsibility and involvement but the ultimate choice is God’s. God is sovereign.
The Promise Land was divided by the casting of lots. Exactly what form it took, we don’t know but this was a method often used in the Old Testament. This was not a chancy gamble. The Israelites saw it as the revealing to them of God’s will. God sovereignly chose which parcel of land each tribe was going to get. There was no dividing the land up into twelve equal parts. That would have appeared fair as far as human wisdom is concerned. But God does not work like that. He gives as He sovereignly wills. The lot system required everyone to contentedly accept what God gave them.
In 2002 we don’t understand the lot system and this is not the way that God reveals His will to us. We have something much, much better...written revelation, the Bible. Their submission to the lot system demonstrates their confidence in God’s sovereignty. They let God decide what land to give them and willingly accepted His will. If God chooses, there are no mistakes.
Sometimes we may say that we prefer to be “led by the Spirit.” Who could argue against that? But does this make us more willing to accept the difficult situations that come our way? Too often, we have to honestly admit “No.” The key is that, like ancient Israel, we need to be willing to surrender ourselves wholly to God’s will, trusting Him to choose our way for us. It is when we leave God out and lean on our own understanding that we bring trouble on ourselves. Let’s be honest. In almost any given situation, our choice will be governed by what is the most profitable, or easiest, or the most convenient way for us. In most of us there is a strong streak of self‑will. So even if we pray sincerely for God’s will to be done, all too often, if it comes to the crunch, it is our will that triumphs. Sadly, there is in most of us more of the Jonah than the Isaiah. Isaiah said, “Here am I Lord, send me” – anywhere, to do anything. Isaiah was willing for God to choose. Jonah was also willing to accept God’s will up to a point, but he had reservations. So when God said, “Go to Nineveh,” he refused.
If we’re honest we have to admit we want to reserve the right to say no rather than submitting to God’s sovereign will. Israel would have missed God’s best and His will if they had asserted their will over His will...and so will we.
The word inheritance is found over fifty times in these nine chapters. The Jews inherited their land. It was given to them by God. They didn’t win their land as spoils of war or purchase their land in a business transaction. God had sovereignly given it to them. Their ownership of the land was purely the gracious act of God. The Promised Land was a gift of God’s love; and if the Israelites loved the Lord, they would want to obey Him and please Him in the way they used His land (Deut. 4:37‑39).
Everything that you and I have, even our very next breath, is a gift from a sovereign God. Too often we think that we are elite rather than elect; of thinking that our own particular Christian ghetto is swankier than the others, or of simply losing sight of the fact that everything we have has been given to us by God and that other believers also share the same Father’s wealth. It is all a gift from God according to His sovereign will.
None of us are great or have attained anything. It is all from God! Israel could never brag about the land they had won or bought. It had all been given to them by God. The same is true for us. We do not have anything that was not given to us by God. There are no self-made people. And this truth is humbling and sobering. It should also make us so grateful to God for His goodness. Just as with ancient Israel, God blesses and gives according to His sovereignty.
4. God wants us to boldly claim what He has promised, 17:3-4. Just two verses in the midst of these archives remind us that women have rights too. While this may not seem like much today, in a male dominated society like ancient Israel, it was revolutionary. Back then there were laws of property and inheritance. It was always the sons though who inherited the property from the father. But these five women of faith were going to see to it that daughters weren't discriminated against. They had appealed to Moses, and now twenty years later they remind Joshua of the promise that God had given them. We find their story in Numbers 27:2‑8.
It's a wonderful account of faith and courage by these five sisters. Moses brought their case before the Lord. In response to the faithful initiative of these sisters, God told Moses to change the laws of property in the nation. Now after waiting in faith for twenty years, these sisters stand before Joshua and the leaders of the nation. The appeal they make is to the word of God spoken through Moses, which was recorded in the book of Numbers, which Joshua has in his possession. Joshua responds in faith and validates the judgment of Moses. He assures these daughters that the land will stay in their family. In essence, these women are reminding the male leadership of the nation of Israel that God is committed to inheritance rights for women. These daughters of Manasseh have the faith and courage to ask for their inheritance. The result is an amazing measure of equality with the sons of Manasseh.
But there is another easily overlooked truth. God wants you and I to claim the inheritance that He has promised us. He wants you and I to boldly step out in faith and take Him at His Word. God wants to give all of us, men and women alike, all of our spiritual inheritance‑the fullness, completeness, and richness of what He has determined for us. We don't have it, more often than not, because we simply don't claim what is our's. We just fail to ask.
There's a wonderful boldness on the part of these sisters. They're not afraid to ask for what is rightfully theirs. The apostle James wrote (4:2), "You do not have, because you do not ask." These daughters boldly claim the inheritance they know is theirs from the Lord. For them possessing the land isn't a problem but an opportunity. They take God at His Word.
It is here that Mahlah and her sisters are our schoolmistresses to bring us to a deeper walk with Christ. Numerous Christians lack the boldness, assurance, and confidence to lay hold of God’s provisions. We are like folk who enter a shop or store, gather what we need, and find no one minding the cash register at the moment. However, there is a bell at the counter and a sign, “Ring bell for service.” Frequently we are hesitant to ring the bell for all sorts of foolish reasons: for example, they will think I’m impatient; I hate to appear demanding; it will probably irritate the clerk if I interrupt whatever he or she is doing. Somehow we can hardly imagine that the shopkeeper provided the bell because he actually wants his customers to use it!
That is precisely the point the writer of Hebrews seeks to make. If Jesus, the Son of God, is our great and sympathetic high priest at the right hand of God, what ought we to do? “Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may... find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). If Jesus the Tempted One is God’s provision for us in our temptations, what should we do? Why, come to him, use him, claim what God has supplied. If God has provided a throne of grace, then let us by all means draw near so that we may find grace for help at just the right time. May these daughters of Zelophehad teach us to not waver bashfully about laying hold of God’s promised provisions.
That godly Baptist preacher of another era, Dr. F. B. Meyer, learned the secret of appropriation when he was addressing a large group of children who became very unruly. On the verge of losing his temper, he prayed in his heart, "Thy patience, Lord!" Immediately all anger and annoyance died. From then on he used the same formula for every difficult situation. When he felt lonely, he said, "Thy companionship, Lord!" When he was afraid, "Thy serenity, Lord!" When he felt critical of others, "Thy love, Lord!" He found the Savior sufficient for his every need when he appropriated by faith the promises of God! My friend, God’s promises are sufficient – God’s Word is sufficient – but we must claim It!!
Conclusion: What can we learn? What are the take home truths? This morning we’ve covered several spiritual realities. They are mountaintops jutting out from the landscape of this portion of Joshua. Hopefully, some or all of them have ministered to your heart, have challenged you to walk more faithfully with the Lord, to passionately step out in faith, claim His promises and take new territory. May this section, this Map Room of the Old Testament also remind us that “All Scripture is God‑breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
Before the fall of the Iron Curtain, when a Soviet official was asked why a study of the Bible was frowned upon in his country, and why those who dared to print and distribute it were severely punished, he replied, "We find that the reading of the Book changes people in a way that is dangerous to our state!" During World War II when the Nazis occupied a new territory, they immediately placed all Christians in concentration camps if they made public commitments to the Word of God. They had found that those who clung to the Bible would not compromise their faith or yield to the evil edicts of a godless dictator. The same type of opposition was manifested during the Boxer Rebellion in China. A little girl whose father had been murdered because of his faith hid herself in a cornfield to elude her persecutors. She was soon discovered and threatened with death if she did not reveal where the family Bible had been concealed. Testifying that it was the source of her daily strength, she refused to tell them and was soon cruelly martyred. She chose to die rather than give up that treasured Volume!
Those who oppose civil and spiritual liberty continue to suppress the God‑inspired Scriptures, for they consider them "dangerous." To the believer, however, it remains his beloved "Handbook to Heaven"! This Book is dangerous – It’s dangerous to the Enemy. It is dangerous to the cause of Hell but It is not dangerous unless we are in It and It is in us!! May we be willing to dig deep! May we be people of the Book!!
