Joshua 21/22 – Study

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, the following simple resources are provided for you. Each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read.

Passage: Josh 21:43 – 22:9

43 So the Lord gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled there. 44 The Lord gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their ancestors. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the Lord gave all their enemies into their hands. 45 Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh 2 and said to them, ‘You have done all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded. 3 For a long time now – to this very day – you have not deserted your fellow Israelites but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. 4 Now that the Lord your God has given them rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you: to love the Lord your God, to walk in obedience to him, to keep his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.’

6 Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. 7 (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them, 8 saying, ‘Return to your homes with your great wealth – with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing – and divide the plunder from your enemies with your fellow Israelites.’

9 So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the Lord through Moses.

A. Find out:

1. What was the state of the land? v.43,44
2. Why? v.45
3. To whom did Joshua now speak? v.1
4. What had they done? v.2,3
5. To where were they returning? v.7
6. How did they return? v.8

B. Think:

1. What lesson do the tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh give us?
2. What warning did Joshua give them as they left?
3. Why would that warning be necessary?

C. Comment:

     The bulk of the land had been taken (but not all, see Joshua 13:1-7). All that now remains is for the individual tribes to subdue any remaining inhabitants in their particular regions now the main fighting had finished. So Joshua now releases the fighting men of the three tribes whose inheritance was on the other side of the River Jordan.

     Joshua first COMMENDS them for their loyalty and faithfulness as they have remained and steadfastly fought alongside the rest of Israel .

      Then he COMMANDS them to ensure they keep close to the Lord. There will be a temptation for them to feel cut off from the rest of Israel , being on the other side of the Jordan valley, so they must hold fast to the Lord (see remainder of this chapter).

       Finally Joshua BLESSES them as he sends them on their way.

      It is clear that their remaining with the main fighting force has brought them great prosperity, as they too have been allowed to take plunder as they have cleared the land. There is a separating of the ways here, accompanied no doubt by a measure of sadness, but that also brings tensions (do read the rest of the chapter).

D. Application?

1. Loyalty to the “body of Christ” requires commitment to people. Do we have that sense?
2. It is easy to feel cut off from others and alone, and that makes us vulnerable to temptation.