Joshua 21:43

_AND THE LORD GAVE UNTO ISRAEL ALL THE LAND WHICH HE SWARE TO GIVE UNTO THEIR FATHERS; AND THEY POSSESSED IT, AND DWELT THEREIN._ The Lord gave unto Israel all the land. 'The distribution of property in the Jewish nation was founded on this principle, that the Lord having been the sole power which gave them possession of the land of Canaan, each individual was to consider himself as holding his portion of it directly by a divine grant, on such tenure and such conditions as that grant prescribed' (cf. Leviticus 25:23; Leviticus 25:42; Leviticus 25:53; Leviticus 26:34; Graves, 1:, p. 227). This is a ge

43._And the Lord gave unto Israel, _etc Should any one raise a question as to this rest, the answer is easy. The nations of Canaan were so completely overcome with fear, that they thought they could not better consult their interest than by servility flattering the Israelites, and purchasing peace from them on any terms. (176) Plainly, therefore, the country was subdued and rendered peaceful for habitation, since no one gave any annoyance, or dared to entertain any hostile intentions, since there were no threats, no snares, no violence, no conspiracies. A second point, however, raises some doubt, (177) namely, how the children of Israel can be said to have been settled in the possession of the land promised to them, and to have become masters of it, in such a sense that in regard to the enjoyment of it, not one syllable of the promises of God had failed. For we have al

43-45 God promised to give to the seed of Abraham the land of Canaan for a possession, and now they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the promise of the heavenly Canaan is as sure to all God's spiritual Israel; for it is the promise of Him that cannot lie. There stood not a man before them. The after-prevalence of the Canaanites was the effect of Israel's slothfulness, and the punishment of their sinful inclination to the idolatries and abominations of the heathen whom they harboured and indulged. There failed not aught of any good thing, which the Lord had spoken to the house of Israel. In due season all his promises will be accomplished; then will his people acknowledge that the Lord has exceeded their largest expectations, and made them more than conquerors, and brought them to their desired rest....

Verse Joshua 21:43. _AND THE LORD GAVE - ALL THE LAND WHICH HE SWARE_] All was now divided by lot unto them, and their enemies were so completely discomfited that there was not a single army of the Canaanites remaining to make head against them; and those which were left in the land served under tribute, and the tribute that they paid was the amplest proof of their complete subjugation. Add to this, they had as much of the land in _actual_ possession as they could occupy; and, as they increased, God enabled them to drive out the rest of the ancient inhabitants; but in consequence of the infidelity of the Israelites, God permitted their enemies often to straiten them, and sometimes to prevail against them. It should also be remembered, that God never promised to give them the land, or to maintain them in it, but on condition of _obedience_; and so punctually did he fulfil this...

There is no real inconsistency between the declarations of these verses and the fact that the Israelites had not as yet possessed themselves of all the cities allotted to the various tribes Judges 1:21 - nor did at any time, subdue the whole extent of country promised to them Numbers 34:1. God had fulfilled all His part of the covenant. It was no part of His purpose that the native population should be annihilated suddenly Deuteronomy 7:22; but they were delivered into the hand of Israel, and their complete dispossession could have been effected at any time by that divine aid which was never wanting when sought. At the time referred to in the text, the Canaanites were discouraged, broken in str

EXPOSITION THE INHERITANCE OF THE LEVITES. JOSHUA 21:1 THEN CAME NEAR THE HEADS OF THE FATHERS OF THE LEVITES. We are not to suppose, with Calvin, that the Levites had been overlooked. Such a supposition is little in keeping with the devout spirit of him who now directed the affairs of the Israelites, who had been minister to Moses the Levite, and had but lately been concerned with Eleazar, the high priest, in making a public recognition of that God to whose service the Levites had been specially set apart. The delay in appointing to the Levites their cities arose from the nature of the arrangement which had to be made for the Levitical cities. The prophecy which threatened ...

AND THE LORD GAVE UNTO ISRAEL ALL THE LAND WHICH HE SWARE TO GIVE UNTO THEIR FATHERS,.... It was all given them by lot, whether subdued or not subdued, and the far greater part was actually put into their hands, and they had as much as they could for the present occupy and cultivate; and such as were in the hands of the Canaanites, were subject to pay tribute to them; and it was owing to their own slothfulness and sluggishness that they did not possess more hereafter; though it was the will of God that their enemies should be driven out by little and little, until the Israelites were so increased as to occupy the whole, lest any part of the land should lie waste and become barren, and lest the wild beasts of the field should multiply upon them: AND THEY POSSESSED IT, AND DWELT THEREIN; each according to their lot in the several places assigned them, as many cities as they could at prese...

8. THE PORTION OF THE LEVITES CHAPTER 21 _ 1. The Levites, the children of Aaron, and their portions (Joshua 21:1)_ 2. Kohath (Joshua 21:9) 3. Gershon (Joshua 21:27) 4. Merari (Joshua 21:34) 5. The Lord's faithfulness (Joshua 21:41) In Chapter s 13:14, 33 and 14:3, 4 the statement is made that Moses gave no inheritance to the Levites. The Lord was their inheritance. After the tribes had received their allotments the heads of the fathers of the Levites came to Joshua and Eleazar with a petition. They b

JOSHUA 21:43 TO JOSHUA 22:8. YAHWEH'S PROMISE OF CONQUEST COMPLETELY FULFILLED, SO THAT THE E. JORDAN TRIBES ARE SET FREE TO RETURN HOME. We have here the introduction to the last section of our book. The land has now, according to the Deuteronomist, been conquered and divided amongst the 9½ tribes; consequently the 2½ tribes, having fulfilled their duty, are dismissed with thanks to their own possessions on the other side of the Jordan....

Conclusion 43. _And_ These verses conclude the history of the division of the land, and connect the two halves of the Book (_a_) chapter 1 12; (_b_) chapter 13 21. _the Lord gave unto Israel_ By the distribution of the land amongst the tribes, the promise which Joshua had received after the death of Moses (Joshua 1:2) had been fulfilled, as also that which centuries before he had made to Abraham the ancestor of the Elect Nation (see Genesis 12:7; Genesis 15:18). _and they possessed it, and dwelt therein_ Compare the same expression in ch. Joshua 19:47....