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When I first read the portion of Joshua under discussion this month (18:1–22:20), I panicked. “How in the world,” I said to myself, “am I to write an article on a portion of Scripture that describes the boundaries of the tribes of Israel?” There just didn’t seem to be as much substance as I had hoped to find.
I suppose that my initial reaction to a passage such as this is not all that uncommon. However, it is disconcerting to realize how ready I am to dismiss as irrelevant a portion of God’s inspired revelation just because of my ignorance. It is also disconcerting to realize how much we miss because we are too lazy to meditate on God’s Word. Like gold miners who never look beneath the earth’s surface for the precious metal but gather only what is readily seen, we miss much of the treasure that God has given us.
By giving so much detail of the boundaries of Israel’s inheritance, God stresses the importance of that inheritance to believers in every age. God’s promises are not empty, without definition or fulfillment. They are real and have to do with very real advantages and possessions, both material and spiritual, in this world and the one to come. In that regard, the Bible consistently teaches that God is concerned with the material as well as the spiritual. To be sure, the inheritance of eternal life is the most important—“ ‘For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?’ ” (Mark 8:36). However, eternal life is manifested in the lives of believers in the present as well as in the future eternal state. Believers must mirror God’s concern with heaven and earth. Pietistic notions that dismiss the material world as irrelevant must be rejected as inconsistent with Biblical Christianity.
The crowning affirmation of this doctrine is illustrated in the resurrection of the body. If God is concerned only with what is spiritual, there is no need for the resurrection. But Christ our King will have dominion over all things, both spiritual and material, for He is Creator and Redeemer of both.
By giving detailed descriptions of the inheritance, God also stresses the importance of private ownership of property for the social order of His people. It should be no surprise for those who understand the importance of faith to culture that the decline of self-conscious Christianity is often accompanied by a rise of socialism and other assaults on private property. God is the One who tells us that men are not to move the ancient boundaries (Prov. 23:10) and who condemns the oppression of civil magistrates who use the cover of authority to steal from their subjects. (1 Kings 21:1–24). In dividing the inheritance by lot, God reminds us that He is the One who distributes to each man as He wills. It is then our duty to resist the class warfare that evil men use to promote their own anti-Christian agenda.
Another lesson implicit in this passage is the importance of calling for the believer. The Israelites were given their respective portions of the land for the purpose of subduing it and using it for God’s glory. This calling parallels the dominion mandate of Genesis 1. God’s dominion over the earth is exercised as men think and live according to God’s revealed will in the ordinary activities of life. Of course the task of exercising dominion over the whole earth is impossible for any individual. Therefore, God institutes a division of labor. Each individual, family, community, congregation, etc. is responsible for the portion of God’s creation He has given to him or it. Under God’s blessing, His people are to add value to His creation, as did Adam in his calling before and after the fall. While the Garden of Eden in its pre-fall condition was not marred by the effects of sin, it was capable of improvement by means of the exercise of godly dominion. Thus, God put Adam in the garden to “tend it and keep it.”
Contrary to radical environmental thought, man fulfilling his creation mandate is not the enemy of the environment. Neither does allowing the earth to return to its natural condition result in the paradise that environmental idealism envisions. (Think of what your garden looks like after a few weeks of neglect.) God calls us to subdue creation in terms of His covenant Word.
The doctrine of God’s calling in the creation mandate also restrains men from destroying what God has given as a stewardship. Because man is to exercise dominion under God’s Word, he cannot use God’s world any way he likes, but must protect and improve God’s creation. Your everyday labors, then, contribute to the progress of God’s kingdom. Despise not your calling.
These chapters provide us with ample reason for gratitude and contentment. God has graciously given us all that we have. Furthermore, He has distributed His gifts according to His perfect will. While all should seek to improve their condition under God’s rule, envy must be resisted and the virtue of contentment cultivated. Godliness with contentment is indeed great gain. In view of the inheritance God gives us, we may certainly say with David, “The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; yes, I have a good inheritance” (Ps. 16:6). Our Lord is the giver of every gift. We have nothing that has not been given to us by our benevolent God. As we recognize this truth, we rejoice in God’s provision, and use His gifts for His glory and our enjoyment. This is man’s chief end.