Tag Archive | Benjamin

Journaling through the Bible Chronologically in 2025, Day 86

Mar27
Day 86.  Reading Joshua 16 – 18. 
 

Now … into the History of Israel – post-Moses.

Will the new leadership change the Nation?

What did you learn today about God’s faithfulness?

Joshua 16.

Today’s chapters continue with the distribution of the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel after the LORD helped Joshua and the armies to defeat them.

The duel tribe of “Joseph” (Ephraim & Manasseh) receives their inheritance. First Ephraim’s portion is described. It was a large section from the Jordan River at Jericho almost to the  “Great Sea.”  The last verse in the chapter says, “However, they DID NOT drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so those people lived among them. but (like Gibeon) they were made to do forced labor.”

Joshua 17.

Then the other half of Joseph’s tribe – Manasseh – was given their land. Manasseh gets a lot of land because they were a large tribe.  They already received a huge portion on the East side of the Jordan. Now, continuing on the West side all the way to the Great Sea, they received more.

Again the scripture comment is, “Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of some of the cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in the land. Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor … but did not utterly drive them out.“

(All this is setting up the tribes for trouble later. God said to drive them ALL out and He would help them. God Knew the worship practices of the Canaanites would be a strong temptation to the Jews.)

Later the duel tribes of Joseph came to Joshua saying they did not have enough land.  Joshua told them to go into the hill country/forest and clear more land, and also to drive out the Canaanites in the plains.  Okay, okay, they DID have chariots of Iron, but Joshua was not moved.  “You shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong!“

(Way to lead, Josh!!)

Joshua 18.

Now the rest of the smaller tribes were to get their portions. Joshua set up a tent at Shiloh, got out the maps.  He called three men each (spies) from the remaining seven tribes and told them to go out and write a description of the land and bring it back. The remaining land would then be divided (by lots) accordingly into seven portions.

So they went out and wrote the descriptions “in a book” and returned. And Joshua cast lots for them before the LORD.

Benjamin was first and got the prime piece of land dead center in the land between Judah and Ephraim. Nestled at the bottom of their portion, on the boarder with Judah, was Jerusalem.  This “City of Gold” now ruled by the Jebusites, would one day be Israel’s capital, with God dwelling there in their midst in the magnificent Temple that King Solomon would build.

Benjamin also got the cities of Jericho, Bethel, Gibeon, Ramah, Mizpeh, and Gibeah (actually, 14 cities in all). And he got a finger hold of the Dead Sea, right at the top.

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Tomorrow the remaining 6 tribes will get their allotment, and Commander Joshua will finally get HIS special land grant from the LORD. 

 

 

 

 

 

#2024GOAL – Reading Through The Bible Chronologically, day 96

Apr5

    Day 96 —  We have been reading the Bible daily for a quarter of the year and have begun a new month. Praise God! What have you learned about God? About yourself?

   Day 96 – Judges 19 – 21 (A very bad incident, civil war, and kidnap)

Wow, can it get any worse? Today’s reading, the last in Judges, shows how morally low people can get without the knowledge of God.

Chapter 19 tells a story about a Levite that parallels the story of Sodom in Genesis 19. A Levite’s concubine runs away to her father and he goes after her. After several days, the father allows him to take her away. On the way home, they stop in a town of the tribe of Benjamin. An old man advises him to spend the night INDOORS!  The reason is that the town is full of craving homosexual men! Like at Lot’s door in Sodom, these men demand that the old man send the Levite out so they can “have their way with him.” The Levite sends out his concubine instead and they ravish her all night so that she dies at his doorstep. (Can you believe it??)

He loads her body on his donkey and goes home, where he cuts it in pieces and sends one to each of Israel’s tribes. (Gag!)  In Chapter 20, the tribes muster soldiers to go after Benjamin to destroy them all. After two costly defeats, they use an ambush technique we saw Joshua do against Ai, and nearly wipe out all the Benjaminites – only 600 left. 

Remorse then hits the other eleven tribes, and in Chapter 21, they devise a plan to give these 600 min, wives to carry on the line. They notice that one city in Israel did not send soldiers to fight. So they go and kill all the men and married women, and steal 400 virgins for the men of Benjamin.  But, alas, there are still 200 wifeless men! What to do??

They hear of a festival in Shiloh. They wait in ambush (a different kind) for the young women to come into the vineyards dancing… and grab 200 of them.  With these new wives, the 600 of Benjamin return, rebuild their towns, and live in them.

The last verse in Judges says it all. “In those days there was no king in Israel (and) everyone did what was right in their own eyes.”