Bible Study - Joshua 19
S - When they had finished distributing the several territories of the land as inheritances, the people of Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. 50 By command of the Lord they gave him the city that he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. And he rebuilt the city and settled in it.
Joshua 19:49–50 ESV
O - Commentary:
Whereas Caleb’s inheritance was determined first (14:6–15), Joshua’s was last. Only after all the tribes had received their allotments did Joshua ask for his. What a selfless spirit he possessed, and how his behavior contrasts with many political leaders who use their positions and influence to enrich themselves and their families.
19:50–51. Joshua’s choice of land further reveals his humility. He asked for Timnath Serah, a city in the rugged, infertile, mountainous district of his own tribe (Ephraim), when he could have appropriated land in the fairest and most productive area of Canaan. With deep appreciation for his godly leadership the sons of Israel granted Joshua his modest request, and he built up the town and settled there. In one of the final pictures of this stalwart leader, Joshua is seen as a builder (in addition to his being a general and an administrator). The combination is rare among God’s servants.
Donald K. Campbell, “Joshua,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, ed. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 362.
A — Joshua went last. Every other tribe got their land first. He could've taken the best of Canaan. He didn't. He took Timnath-serah — rugged hill country, his own tribe's leftovers. That's the man. Selfless. Humble. And then he built. Not just led armies. Not just administered a nation. He picked up tools and built a city with his own hands. Rare combination. Joshua's leadership under Moses set the pattern — and that pattern held all the way through the conquest, all the way to his own inheritance. Want to lead well today? Start here. Last in line. First to build.
R — Father, You are Lord of all. Everything we hold, we hand back to You. Build into us what You built into Joshua — selfless, humble, a builder of others, a man of character all the way through. Let that foundation be what the world sees when they look at us. Amen.
