The Book Of Joshua. Day 49, The Allotment For Joshua In The Promised Land

All the tribes have been assigned their allotments and now Joshua receives his dwelling place last, like a good leader who places the wellbeing of his people ahead of his own. Joshua was in a position to have put himself first if he wanted. He could have looked over the whole land and chosen the best for himself but instead he has the spirit of humility that the Apostle Paul encouraged the people of his day to have: "Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others." (Philippians 2:3-4)

Joshua is of the tribe of Ephraim and his people have already received their allotment in the promised land as outlined on the map below.

Ephraim is in light purple in the middle left portion of the map. Joshua, because he is of this tribe, will be given a dwelling place inside these borders.

"When they had finished dividing the land into its allotted portions, the Israelites gave Joshua son of Nun an inheritance among them, as the Lord had commanded. They gave him the town he asked for---Timnath Serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he built up the town and settled there." (Joshua 19:49-50) Joshua asked for the town. He could have simply announced that it would be his but instead he submitted his request to the men on his leadership team: the high priest and the elders of Israel. If he had taken Timnath Serah without asking for anyone's approval, I don't think anyone would have challenged him or minded. But he sets a godly example for others to follow. He doesn't display a selfish "me first" attitude but puts himself last. He is willing to submit to the authorities, for if the leadership of Israel had rejected his request I believe he would have abided by their decision.

Timnath Serah is also called Timna and Timnath-Heres and Tibneh in various translations of the Bible. It was a fortified city under the Canaanites and it was located in steep hill country that offered it protection against invaders. We are told that Joshua "built up the town" so we don't know whether it was in somewhat of a state of disrepair when he came into possession of it or whether he just made it a better and greater city than it was when it was in the hands of the Canaanites. This is where Joshua will live out the remainder of his life and this is where he will be buried.

Now we conclude the section of the book of Joshua that deals with the dividing of the land. "These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun and the heads of the tribal clans of Israel assigned by lot at Shiloh in the presence of the Lord at the entrance to the tent of meeting. And so they finished dividing the land." (Joshua 19:51) 

Joshua, like Christ, put others ahead of himself. When the Apostle Paul instructed the Christian church members to put others ahead of themselves, he stated that they'd be displaying the same mindset that Christ had. He said, "In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage; rather, He made Himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." (Philippians 2:5-7) Christ deserved---and could have taken---the very best for Himself. But He said He came to this earth to serve, not to be served. (Matthew 20:28, Mark 10:45) Joshua, as the leader of Israel in the passage we've studied today, could have taken the best for himself. He could have made the case---and I think the majority of the Israelites would have agreed with him---that he deserved to choose the best dwelling place for himself. But he had a servant's heart. He made sure everyone else received their portion before he received his. He displayed a Christlike mindset, though he lived well over a thousand years before the birth of Christ. This is because Joshua maintained a close relationship with the Lord. If you and I maintain a close relationship with the Lord we'll find that our thoughts and words and actions look more like the Lord's than like that of the unbelieving world. We'll find ourselves displaying a servant's heart instead of a "me first" mindset. A servant's heart is a heart like Christ's and is a thing of great value in the sight of the Lord.