PROLOGUE — Toward the Completion of the Division
Joshua 19 concludes the portions of the remaining six tribes (Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan), and records, at the very close of this chapter, Joshua’s own personal inheritance. This order itself carries deep meaning.
ACT ONE — Simeon, a Tribe Within Judah (verses 1–9)
“And the second lot came forth to Simeon, even for the tribe of the children of Simeon according to their families: and their inheritance was within the inheritance of the children of Judah.”
Within the inheritance of the children of Judah. An interesting arrangement — the tribe of Simeon received no independent territory, but was scattered within Judah’s own land. This was the actual fulfillment of Jacob’s prophecy in Genesis 49, that he would “divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel,” concerning Simeon and Levi.
ACT TWO — Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali (verses 10–39)
The boundaries of the following four tribes — Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, and Naphtali — are listed in turn. They settled largely in northern Israel, the region of Galilee — the very land that would later become the primary area of Jesus’s ministry.
ACT THREE — The Migration of the Tribe of Dan (verses 40–48)
For the tribe of Dan, a remarkably interesting detail is recorded.
“And the coast of the children of Dan went out too little for them: therefore the children of Dan went up to fight against Leshem, and took it, and smote it with the edge of the sword, and possessed it, and dwelt therein, and called Leshem, Dan, after the name of Dan their father.”
Went out too little for them. The tribe of Dan failed to fully secure their originally assigned territory, and had to eventually migrate north and conquer a new city. This event is addressed in far greater detail in Judges 18, and the background hints that Dan’s conquest efforts were not as thorough as those of the other tribes.
ACT FOUR — Joshua’s Own Personal Inheritance (verses 49–51)
This chapter, and the entire core narrative of the land division, closes with a remarkably moving conclusion.
“When they had made an end of dividing the land for inheritance by their coasts, the children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua the son of Nun among them: According to the word of the LORD they gave him the city which he asked, even Timnathserah in mount Ephraim: and he built the city, and dwelt therein.”
The children of Israel gave an inheritance to Joshua among them. Joshua, the leader of all Israel, remarkably received his own personal inheritance only after all twelve tribes had received theirs. He did not attend to himself first.
“These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country.”
REFLECTION — Leadership That Attends to Itself Last
The most moving lesson Joshua 19 gives us is that genuine leadership reveals itself in the humility of attending to one’s own portion last. Joshua had led Israel through forty years and a victorious conquest, yet he deferred his own needs until every tribe had received its inheritance.
When you occupy a position of leadership, do you practice the humility of considering others before your own interests?
NEXT EPISODE PREVIEW
Joshua Chapter 20 — the moment the cities of refuge system, already foretold in Numbers and Deuteronomy, is actually designated unfolds.
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