Written by Paul J Bucknell on February, 04, 2023

Joshua 13:6-33 Finishing the Task – Transferring the Vision with Study Questions

True success depends not only on how well we have carried out our specific duties but also on how we have inspired, encouraged, and equipped others to join in doing God’s kingdom work. Each man is responsible to be part of God’s work. We are called to be involved.

Joshua 13:6

“All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you” (Joshua 13:6).

3. Lives by Faith (Joshua 13:6)

The truly successful man is spurred on in faith by the promises of God. Behind this drive is not man’s willpower but God’s grace. Grace is that special empowerment that God gives so we can get a task done rightly. Verse 6 states: “All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you” (Joshua 13:6). This is what we have seen all along in the Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua records God’s incredible victories, not man’s triumphs. The vision is God’s, and so is the power to get things done. If anything is mentioned about man, it is his faithfulness to do what God asks of him.

If we are going to see God work beautiful things, we only need to obey and believe. We need to desire what God desires. “Whom have I in heaven but Thee? And besides Thee, I desire nothing on earth” (Psalms 73:25). When we set our heart to seek God’s ways, nothing stops Him from working. Solomon had the great responsibility of taking over from David. David built a great kingdom by God’s grace. How was he going to watch over it? Many of us would focus on the opportunities of the position rather than the responsibility of it. When asked what God wanted, Solomon did not ask for himself but for the people. Notice how God withheld nothing from him.

In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream at night; and God said, “Ask what you wish me to give you.” Then Solomon said, “Thou hast shown great lovingkindness to Thy servant David my father, according as he walked before Thee in truth and righteousness and uprightness of heart toward Thee; and Thou hast reserved for him this great lovingkindness, that Thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. “And now, O LORD my God, Thou hast made Thy servant king in place of my father David, yet I am but a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in. “And Thy servant is in the midst of Thy people which Thou hast chosen, a great people who cannot be numbered or counted for multitude. “So give Thy servant an understanding heart to judge Thy people to discern between good and evil. For who is able to judge this great people of Thine?” And it was pleasing in the sight of the Lord that Solomon had asked this thing. And God said to him, “Because you have asked this thing and have not asked for yourself long life, nor have asked riches for yourself, nor have you asked for the life of your enemies, but have asked for yourself discernment to understand justice, behold, I have done according to your words. Behold, I have given you a wise and discerning heart, so that there has been no one like you before you, nor shall one like you arise after you. (1 Kings 3:5-12).

The task before the Israelites was to rid the land of every person within a specific boundary that God had defined. In verse 6, he mentions the hill country where the Sidonians lived, near Lebanon. God said He would drive them out. What is Joshua to do? He is to allot the different territories to different tribes. We will discuss this more in a moment, but we need to remember that because God wants to accomplish His will, He will provide what is needed: visas, money, health, miracles, and special appointments. It is all so marvelous. What does it mean practically?

We might be some young person who wants to do something great for God. Remember David out in the field. Everyone else ignored the little boy with his slingshot, but that boy had a vision of something greater. He wanted to use that slingshot for the Lord. Of course, it was impossible from a man’s perspective. A boy is a boy. But you know the story, do you not? No matter how small or poor you are, do not despise God’s vision set aflame in your heart. Nothing will hold you back if the vision runs with the larger vision of God.

Satan, of course, will do his best to discourage you. “It is no use! Give up.” But I tell you the truth, the closer to fruition, the louder Satan’s voice becomes. He is pulling out all the tricks in his bag to stop you. Live by God’s promises. Choose now, despite what happens to you and your family; you will trust Him to accomplish His work. After all, it is His work. Praise God. All we need is our faith. We might be struck ill on a bed. We might not be able to move our lips., but we can still have faith in God! Success does not rest with us but on God.

We need those men and women who dare believe in God’s promises. Many Christians talk about New Testament days, but few are the ones that pray as they prayed. Instead, they have this movie to watch. They have to take a class. They want to busy themselves with that investment. Do you remember what John the Elder so confidently told God’s people?

And this is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him. (1 John 5:14, 15).

He knew nothing stopped anyone from accomplishing what God put on their heart. God has promised to be with us. Let the words of God, “I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel” encourage your faith. This statement by God was not for Joshua’s benefit but for the people- that would inherit the land. There would be work left to do. But God’s Spirit is still with us to accomplish the great work of God.

Don’t let your old, middle, or young age stop you. In the following chapter, we will read a phenomenal story about how God finally allowed an old man to fulfill his dream. But if God does it for the old, the poor, the castaways, or, as David said, “the littlest town of the tribe of Judah,” what is to stop us when we align our hearts with what God wants to do? The vision exposes the needs, but the promises provide grace to fill those gaps. Those who are genuinely successful focus on God's vision and His power to accomplish it.

The Land of Canaan to be Conquered by Israel in Joshua's Time

4. Distributes the Responsibility (Joshua 13:7-33)

The successful man inspires vision and distributes the work while still living.

Please remember that the Lord is still speaking. Joshua heard what was on God’s mind. This is recorded for us, even though the places and people are unfamiliar because it reveals an essential part of preserving and accomplishing God’s work. Let’s discuss what He says and then apply it to our lives.

The Lord said he would divide the land into two large territories. Two and a half tribes would receive the land east of the Jordan River, which Moses had conquered. The other nine and a half tribes would possess the territory west of the Jordan River. That would include the tribe of Judah, where Jerusalem is. The Lord describes the 2 1/2 tribes from verses 8 to the end of the chapter. Chapters 14 to 19 describe the land given to the other 9 1/2 tribes on the west side of the Jordan River.

God spends chapters 6-12 summarizing and describing the actual battles. But then he spends chapters 13-24 describing the land distribution. Half of the book is filled with action and miracles; the other half consists mainly of a long monologue and a meeting at the end. The first includes scenes from around the land, like a nice travel brochure. The other is like a long history lesson already 15 minutes over class time. Let’s read one section.

So Moses gave an inheritance to the tribe of the sons of Reuben according to their families. And their territory was from Aroer, which is on the edge of the valley of the Arnon, with the city which is in the middle of the valley and all the plain by Medeba; Heshbon, and all its cities which are on the plain: Dibon and Bamoth-baal and Beth-baal-meon, and Jahaz and Kedemoth and Mephaath, and Kiriathaim and Sibmah and Zereth-shahar on the hill of the valley, and Beth-peor and the slopes of Pisgah and Beth-jeshimoth, even all the cities of the plain and all the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites who reigned in Heshbon, whom Moses struck with the chiefs of Midian, Evi and Rekem and Zur and Hur and Reba, the princes of Sihon, who lived in the land. The sons of Israel also killed Balaam the son of Beor, the diviner, with the sword among the rest of their slain. And the border of the sons of Reuben was the Jordan. This was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben according to their families, the cities and their villages. (Joshua 13:15-23).

Each section would describe the border and the larger cities, so there would be no dispute over boundaries. As it said in verse 23, this was the inheritance of the sons of Reuben. Why is the distribution of land so important?

For one, it served as a specific legal document that recorded borders. This protected people from arguments. These words would shape the destiny of the people. We do not think about being bound to the land nowadays. If we want to study in NY, we go to NY. If we want to live in Seattle, we will move to Seattle. Much freedom is given to where and what one does in a particular country. Some have even found the freedom to go from one country to another. Whether it is temporary or lifelong changes in our lives, we have experienced life in faraway places. This is a remarkable opportunity that we have today. But for the Israelites, according to who their father was, they were bound to live in a particular area. They would be later bound to a particular tract of land.

But more importantly, the responsibility the Lord has given them associated with the land is being passed on. The Reubenites would be responsible for eliminating the rest of the enemy from their land. For this to happen, the people of the Reubenite tribe would need to possess a faith like Joshua’s. This would be true too for the Gadites, the Judahites, the Benjaminites, etc. Each tribe needed a vision that propelled them to allow God’s work to steer their decisions.

They could not reminisce about the good old times. “Do you remember that time we marched around Jericho? Do you remember what their faces looked like?” Each tribe, upon receiving the land, became responsible for using the land in a way that pleased God. We are reminded of the parable of the minas (equal to three months’ wages) in Luke 19. Once they received what God had given, they were obligated to respond attentively.

We, then, have each become a steward of our possessions and person. As a body, we are responsible for doing different things. If there is going to be a light where we live, we know we will need to be engaged with this more excellent vision. We are not saying that we are the only church in this location. We acknowledge God’s churches love Him and other Christian groups. But once we are God’s people and He lives in our presence, we become responsible for the surrounding area. If God has led us to focus on a special outreach, then we are responsible for that group. God’s more excellent vision shapes us as a church and, in the end, individuals within that church.

Many questions about the will of God for our lives are clearly defined when we look closely at God’s comprehensive program. We should be vision controlled rather than law controlled. We do not need the church to make a rule that we should not watch television. This points us in the wrong direction. Instead, we should cast a vision of what God does want us to do. The scripture often does this. It gives us a big picture of what women should wear—be modest. These broader strokes ignite a flame within us for God and His work. Since we are not slaves, we get to make up our minds about what we do with most of our time. We have wealth that we are responsible for. We have specific physical strength, health, and knowledge. We have spiritual gifts. And yes, we have our particular interests.

We have spoken a lot about success in this series. Joshua is passing on. His life on earth is almost over. His personal mission was accomplished. But don’t think that means God’s work was complete. Once His superb work is done, Jesus (literally Joshua), the Savior, is coming back. With Christ’s first cry, “It is finished!” He died. But upon the second cry, “It is finished!” Christ will return.

Joshua was not supposed to conquer it all. Jesus purposely didn’t finish the work to be done on earth. The point is, and as this extended section on Joshua shows us, God is interested in giving responsibility to others so that everyone can share in the rewards. Part of discipleship must include a section on passing on the grander vision of what God is doing and how God expects them to participate. This would allow others to show their initiative in doing what God wants. We each have a unique opportunity to commit ourselves to the Lord to accomplish His will. We cannot just state that we are Christians. We need to assess what God has given us, understand God’s overall mission, and strive to accomplish all He has called us to. There is nothing so rewarding than living for God.

General Application

As we have studied Joshua, we have discovered that gaining the whole land has specific applications to our lives in the kingdom of God.

We are to pursue holiness. We might not be able to make our friends holy, but surely we can be holy. To the degree that we chase out sin from the “land” (our thoughts and lives), we will please the Lord and be richly blessed.
We are to devote ourselves to completing the Great Commission. There is no doubt that God has given all of us the responsibility to make disciples of the world. Every Christian needs to know how to be a disciple. Every Christian needs to know how to make disciples. For many of us, this will be more informal chats, but don’t let your responsibility be washed away in vagueness. The Lord doesn’t want to hear, “I didn’t know how to make disciples” or “I was too busy”. If God calls you to some busy profession, then He also expects that in the busy professional work, you equally do His work.
We must note the needs of what God still wants to do. This is where He will do all sorts of miracles to accomplish the impossible.
We need to stay immersed, day and night, in God’s Word, for it is here that we will find divine protection and leading. Here, we will find God’s promises to move us along His path.
We have been given the charge. We cannot make excuses like “I am not a preacher.” Or that I don’t understand theology or haven’t been able to read God’s Word. God has commanded us to conquer the land. We can stay on the sidelines as we mature, but sooner or later, you must realize that you now have to make a difference in what happens in your life.

Summary and Review

A successful man is one who has gained the vision of God and passed it on. Our greatest mistake is concluding that what we know is God’s vision. Too quickly, we conclude that our concepts of what is a good mother, church, colleague, etc., are the same as what we think. The truth is that many children are suffering because their parents have never trained them. But the problem is more widespread than this. Our poor concepts of the church and what a Christian is allowed our worldly thoughts to be considered normal. We think God’s thoughts are just like ours. May we humble ourselves in the presence and knowledge of God and begin to draw close to God once again.

When we do not rightly transfer a godly vision to the next generation, the church quickly degenerates into being like the world. The church has seen many problems come up in the last several generations. The church appears to be the same, but it has become a priest of the world rather than a priest of the Almighty God. People think and call themselves Christians but do not recognize that they look more like the world rather than like their Father in Heaven. No wonder the church of God is wobbling.

Joshua 13:6-33 Bible Study Questions

Finishing the Task

– Transferring the Vision –

C. Living by Faith (Joshua 13:6)

All the inhabitants of the hill country from Lebanon as far as Misrephoth-maim, all the Sidonians, I will drive them out from before the sons of Israel; only allot it to Israel for an inheritance as I have commanded you (Joshua 13:6).

What is God’s promise here in Joshua 13:6?
What is the condition that God puts upon this promise (13:6)?
Why is this so important? Discuss. What would happen if it was not done?
How is this similar to what Jesus did with His disciples before and after His resurrection?
“A great leader always equips and trains those around him to carry on the work after he is gone.” Do you agree or not? Why?
How do we train leaders in our congregations? Name a few practical ways we can train leaders.

D. Distributes the Work (Joshua 13:7-33)

What does God specifically tell Joshua to do in 13:7?
What does the Lord describe in 13:14-23? How does He do this?
Scan through 13:8-33. What does this describe?
Read 14:1. What does the passage discuss, starting in chapter 14?
Again, we see that God explicitly shaped Joshua’s leadership of the people. Why is allotting the land to the different tribes so important? There are several answers to this question. We might ask, “What could go wrong if Joshua did not do this?”
Have you ever known a leader who was unwilling to train others? Why might they neglect this important task of leadership? What do they have to profit from if they don’t?