Sat.’s Devo - Dividing the Land

Read: Joshua 13:1-14:15; Luke 18:1-17; Psalm 85:1-13; Proverbs 13:7-8 The land in the south which was to become Judah’s land had not been conquered yet. It was the land of the Philistines and the Geshurites. Philistines means “to wallow in self-pity”. David fought them, then lived among them. He had to deal with his own self-pity in his life. Geshurites stood for the proud. The Avvites were the “perverters”. All of the “ites” in the Promised Land stood for enemies they had to face in their lives and the enemies we have to face in our lives to take the promises God has given us. The land was mapped out and they stayed within the boundary that the Lord had given them, except for the land they acquired east of the Jordan. The Lord added that to their territory. When they took that land they killed Balaam the sorcerer who had used magic to curse them. It hadn’t worked because God turned their curses into blessings. Rueben, Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh received land east of the Jordan. The other tribes, except Levi, received land allotted to them by Joshua and Eleazar. They chose the land by lots as the Lord directed them. The Levites were given towns within all the tribes with the pastureland around the city for their animals. Many of their cities became cities of refuge. Caleb came to Joshua to remind him of the promise the Lord gave him concerning the land he had scouted out on the first scouting mission. Joshua told him he could have it. Because Caleb had obeyed the Lord and followed after him, he had remained strong and healthy as he was when he first came to Canaan. He was now 85 and felt like a young man. Caleb wanted Hebron which was four cities where giants lived. They were the Anaks which were famous for the chains they put around their neck to make their neck grow long. In Luke, Jesus gave two examples of how to pray and how not to pray. When you are praying for others, you pray until you see the result, like the women who wore the judge out with her request. The second story was about a man who thought he was more righteous than anyone else. He boasted to God about all he had done for the Lord. He was not justified. But, the tax collector who was humble and recognized his sin was justified and exalted before God. Jesus used the children as examples of those who would receive the Kingdom of God. Their faith was simple and pure. Lord, may we have the faith of children who believe you hear them and trust you completely.