Tues.’s Devo - The Last Allotments

Read: Joshua 19:1-20:9; Luke 19:28-48; Psalm 88:1-18; Proverbs 13:12-14 Simeon was given their allotment right in the middle of Judah’s land because Judah had too much land and needed help settling it. The town of Beersheba was in Simeon’s land. Beersheba was where Abraham dug a well and made a covenant with Abimelech. Later Isaac returned to this place and dug up the well of Abraham and made another covenant with Abimelech (probably the son of the Abimelech Abraham had covenanted with). Zebulun’s territory was surrounded by Asher, Naphtali, Issachar and Manasseh. The Bethlehem in Zebulun was not the one that Jesus was born in. That Bethlehem was in Judah. Issachar’s territory included Jezreel which means “God scatters.” It was here that the kings of Israel often had homes. This is where Elijah met with Ahab, Jehu and Bedkar and where Jehu executed God’s wrath on the house of Ahab. (1 Kings 18 Josh 18:45; 21:1 2 Kings 9:30). Asher’s allotment was along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It had the famous Tyre in its territory. Naphtali was to the east of Asher. The seventh allotment went to Dan. Eshtaol was in their territory where Samson spent his childhood. Dan had trouble taking his land so they attacked the town of Laish and settled there. Laish or Leshem means “unto desolation”. I see the tribe of Dan being a type of Judas Iscarot. Dan means “judged”. They were known for their idolatry and rebellion. After every tribe had their land, Joshua chose to live in Timnath-serah in Ephraim. It was known for its hills and valleys. Then God had him designate six cities of refuge strategically placed in the land where people could access them easily. These were for fair courts for the innocent accused of murder. In Luke, God provided a donkey for the king to ride into Jerusalem. People were coming to Jerusalem from all directions and they would sing the Hallel which are found in Psalms 113-118. They were singing this as they saw Jesus and began singing it about him. The Pharisees were incensed and told Jesus to have them stop but Jesus told them that if they kept quiet the stones would sing it. Jesus proclaimed the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple because they had not recognized the time of their visitation. The next thing he did was to cleanse the temple of the money changers who used Passover as a way to con the people and take their money. Jesus taught boldly in the Temple while the jealous religious leaders met to plan his death. Lord, may we recognize the time we are living in and our visitation. We take a stand against evil in our land and we will possess the land once again. We pray for America and all the nations who are fighting the evil in their land. May your kingdom come to earth as it is in heaven.