Joshua successfully completed the task assigned to him by the older generation: after he led the Israelites across the Jordan River, he fought fiercely for several years, killed 31 kings, captured the land of Canaan, and made the The Israelites became masters of the land of Canaan. But he was old and could no longer lead troops to fight. He followed God's will and divided the land among the tribes of Israel.
All of God’s promises to the Israelites will be fulfilled. When Moses knew that he could not enter the promised land, he divided the entire land of Canaan among the twelve tribes of Israel. After Joshua entered Canaan, he considered the issues related to dividing the land, re-study and confirm the division method of Moses, and tried his best to make it fair and reasonable to avoid quarrels and melee among the tribes due to the division of the land.
According to God’s instructions and considering the actual situation, Joshua allocated the southernmost land on the border with Edom to the family of Judah, and set aside a small piece of land from it, namely Hebron, for the Caleb who went with him to spy on Canaan. When Caleb entered the territory, he saw the foreign Anakites living there, and he declared, "Whoever drives out the Anakites will have my daughter in marriage." His nephew Othniel stood up to reveal the name and drove them away. Anakim. Caleb fulfilled his promise and accepted Othniel as his son-in-law who would ride on a dragon, which became a good story. The territory of Manasseh and Ephraim, two of Joseph's sons, was divided to the north of Judah. Seven more lands were divided, and the seven families drew lots before God, with Joshua as governor.
The tribe of Benjamin received the first lot and was assigned the land between Judah and Joseph; the tribe of Simeon was assigned the second lot and was assigned a piece of land south of Judah; the tribe of Zebulun The third lot was drawn, and they were allocated the land to the north of Joseph, ***12 cities and the villages belonging to the cities; the Issachar tribe was drawn the fourth lot, and they were allocated the land to the north of Joseph, ***16 cities and the villages that belonged to them. The villages of the city; the fifth and sixth lots were drawn for the tribes of Asher and Naphtali, and the land they were allocated was in the far north, side by side; the last remaining lot belonged to the house of Dan, and the territory was in Judah To the north of Lishan, Dan later captured Lishan, and everyone agreed that the land of Lishan should also belong to this family. According to God's will, the tribe of Levi was dedicated to serving as the priests of the whole tribe. It was a family of priests and shouldered the heavy responsibility of the inheritance of heaven and earth. They did not participate as a tribe in dividing the entire land. They were only scattered among the 48 cities and towns throughout Canaan. Attached countryside.
Among the 48 scattered cities, six are cities of refuge, also called cities of refuge. These were places of refuge set up by the ancient Israelite nation for those who committed manslaughter. At that time, there was a provision in the laws of the Israelites: "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a life for a life." This means that no matter what the reason is, if a person hurts another person, the victim or a relative, he will be punished. The right to take the same action to retaliate or execute the other party. In order to protect the life and right of defense of the manslaughter, at the same time, the Law of Moses also stipulated that anyone who committed a manslaughter, whether a native or a foreigner, could run into a city of refuge to take refuge from the avengers. Those who took refuge in the city were managed by the elders of the city and were tried in public. Once verified, those with true motive for murder were handed over to the parties concerned or executed. If it was purely a manslaughter, the city of refuge would protect the person. After the death of the high priest, the person could return to his place of origin safely, and no one could pursue him or execute him.
It is said that two young neighbors who were good friends went up the mountain to cut wood together. One of them’s ax was not securely installed and he used too much force. Unknowingly, the ax suddenly detached from the wooden handle and flew down. , happened to hit another person on the head and chopped him to death. Relatives of the deceased came after hearing the news. Their extreme sadness made them lose their minds. It was impossible to tell the truth. The furious relatives of the deceased wanted to hack him to death to repay the life of their loved ones. According to the law, this is completely legal, but for For someone who kills someone accidentally, it would be an unjust death. The manslaughter was frightened and stood still. After being reminded, he woke up and ran away, taking refuge in the nearest city of refuge. According to the relevant provisions of the Law of Moses, the relatives of the deceased had to look at each other across the city, and they were furious. After a trial, it was found that this man had no motive for killing and was indeed a manslaughter. The elders allowed this man to live in the city of refuge. It was not until the current priest died and a new high priest succeeded that the young man who had been wronged returned to his hometown and was imprisoned. The killer's relatives had nothing to say and never sought revenge against him, allowing him to live a peaceful life.
Moses established three cities of refuge on the east side of the Jordan River, namely Bezier, Ramoth and Golam, and Joshua established three cities of refuge on the west side of the Jordan River, namely Kedesh and Shechem. and Hebron, to protect good people who accidentally take lives.
After the conquest of Canaan was completed, Joshua did not forget to worship God. He built the tabernacle in Shiloh and established the center of the new religion of the Israelite nation. He did not forget the merits of the various factions of Israel and divided the territories for each tribe. From then on, the Israelites, who had been wandering in the wilderness for 40 years, finally had their own home and lived a simple life of herding cattle and sheep like their ancestors.
The swords and guns are stored in the warehouse, and the horses are released in Nanshan. Joshua bid farewell to his compatriots from the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, as they returned victoriously to their own territory, and warmly wished the soldiers and their relatives happiness and good fortune.
I think back then, when Joshua was actively preparing to cross the river to attack the city, he ordered warriors from the two tribes of Reuben and Gad and half of the tribe of Manasseh to be the vanguard of the battle to cross the Jordan River in advance and return the city. He wanted to fight side by side with his tribe in Hexi.
Joshua understood that it was not easy to realize this strategic plan, because Moses had already divided the conquered land on the east bank of the Jordan River to them during his lifetime, and now he asked them to leave their homes and charge into the battle to conquer the entire territory of Canaan. This requires us to act with great righteousness, do a good job in consolidating the rear area, and relieve our worries. So he told the soldiers to take good care of their wives and children, and also ordered his subordinates to take good care of the soldiers' relatives. The soldiers and relatives of the two and a half tribes were very moved. They said to the commander who cared about them: "As long as you give an order, Whatever you command us, we will do. Whoever dares to disobey you and disobey your orders will be put to death." These two and a half tribes, together with other tribes, followed him in life and death, and now they have successfully completed their mission. Returning to my homeland, how much brotherly love is embedded here! He waved goodbye to his heroic compatriots and wished God to be with them, good weather and prosperity for their descendants.
When the soldiers of these two and a half tribes returned to their hometowns, they stopped by the Jordan River and built a tall altar. When the Israelites in Canaan heard about this, they were shocked. They thought they were worshiping other gods and had rebellious intentions. The crowd was excited and wanted to unite to attack them. But some people with clear minds are urging everyone to send representatives to investigate and understand the situation and make necessary negotiations. With everyone's consent, the representatives came to the Jordan River and asked the other party why they wanted to build altars, worship idols, and offend God, Jehovah. After hearing this, the people from the two and a half tribes quickly explained: "How can we worship strange gods and cults? Building the altar is to leave a memorial for future generations, because there is a river between us. As time goes by, I am afraid that future generations will forget that they are descendants of Israel. "It is also to commemorate the favor of Jehovah God, express loyalty to God, and let it be passed down from generation to generation."
After hearing this, the representatives suddenly realized that they immediately went back home, explained the truth to the people on this side of the river, and dispersed. With the assembled troops, an internal armed battle was avoided.
To celebrate the victory, the old Joshua held a grand gathering in Shechem, attended by elders, patriarchs, judges, officials, etc. from various tribes. He devoutly praised God at the assembly and sincerely blessed all his people. At the same time, he warned the smiling Israelites to remember what God had done for their ancestors and themselves. He was full of reverence, from how God called Abraham out of the desolate city of Ur and led him to Canaan; how he protected Jacob; how he sent Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt and rescue them from the sea of ??slavery. ; How he performed miracles in the wilderness of Canaan and helped them survive countless dangers and difficulties; how he personally fought for them, and has been talking about giving them the promised land until now, allowing the people to cultivate the land they have not yet cultivated. He lived in cities he had not built, and feasted on grapes, olives and countless fresh fruits he had not planted. He called on the Israelites to abandon all kinds of strange gods and idols, fear the Almighty Jehovah, and serve the only God with devotion.
All the people answered with one voice: "Abandon all the strange gods and idols, and only believe in Jehovah God!" They erected a stone tablet in Shechem and engraved these words on it as a testimony. Afterwards, the tribes of Israel returned to their respective territories.
After Joshua successfully completed his historical mission, he died peacefully at the age of 110. After mourning deeply, the Israelites buried their beloved commander on Mount Ephraim, his hereditary place.