preparing for the coming kingdom
Joshua 14:1-5 (JDV)
Joshua 14:1 The Israelites took possession of these portions that the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes gave them in the land of Canaan.
Joshua 14:2 Their inheritance was by lot as Yahveh commanded through Moses for the nine and a half tribes,
Joshua 14:3 because Moses had given the inheritance to the two and a half tribes beyond the Jordan. But he gave no inheritance among them to the Levites.
Joshua 14:4 The descendants of Joseph became two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. No portion of the land was given to the Levites except cities to live in, along with pasture-lands for their cattle and livestock.
Joshua 14:5 So the Israelites did as Yahveh commanded Moses, and they divided the land.
preparing for the coming kingdom
The land had been granted to the the twelve tribes as a gift, with it accompanying responsibility to make it a fruitful representation of the God who had given it by his grace. The kingdom would come later. By taking possession of the land, they were preparing for the coming kingdom.
Later, our Lord would tell his apostles that he had been given all authority over all the nations, and that they were commissioned to make those nations fruitful representatives of the coming kingdom.
This story is a rehearsal for us — a reminder of our present mission that comes with our status as citizens of Christ’s coming kingdom.
