Joshua 19 BOUNDARIES AND ORDER There are ways to measure growth in the life of a Christian that can help us maintain consistency and order. We are not a bunch of free-lance people who can do what we want, how we want and where we want. We live under divine authority when we own the Lordship of Christ. Order is maintained when we know our objectives and the goals are clear to us. Before us are the "marching orders" and the promises when the work is accomplished. Established boundaries for the people of God were important in the ancient past and we can learn valuable lessons from those principles that have been tried and proven.
The boundaries that were defined when those thirty-six men went over the land, had good reasons to be identified. Rather than one big open country with everyone vying for the best places for themselves according to the will of each one, there were twelve distinct areas in which people were designated property according to their tribal heritage. Tribal ownership promoted loyalty and unity among each distinct group. Areas of responsibility and privilege within that group were easily identified. That would help the development of the tribe and its possessions in a righteous and mature way. People would be kept from acting like immature children each wanting the best for themselves and claiming more than was their right. Conflict would be reduced because the area for each family to choose from was limited to a specific geographical location defined by the boundaries. This practice fulfilled the promised inheritance that went all the way back to Jacob's words in Genesis 48.
Boundaries and order in the Christian life will keep us from going backwards and doing things in the ways of the world. Daily obedience to the Word and faith in God lead us to living up to our capacity as children of God. Our spiritual capacity can actually increase as we learn how to live in the land we claim and take advantage of the promises of God. It is important for us to "walk and please God more and more," and consequently we will love one another "more and more."
Some of the land had already been designated such as the portion of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh on the east side of Jordan. Judah's land had been promised long before along with the other half of Manasseh and Ephraim's land in the center and south of the country. When the order of the rest of the land was being determined by lots drawn, the first one was Benjamin placed as a buffer between Ephraim and Judah who later would be separated. Simeon's land in the south was second to be drawn and this included the use of some of Judah's large inheritance for the use of Simeon's people. Zebulun, Issachar, Asher and Naphtali were designated land by lot with boundaries in the north part of the promised land. Dan had a small portion in the middle of the country but there was not enough for them all, so Dan went to the far north east of the country and crossed the river to take Leshem. Leshem was renamed, Dan, so the phrase, "from Dan to Beersheba," meant the full extent of the country from the city of Dan in the far northeast to the city of Beersheba in the southern desert. Dan had two parts separated by a lot of miles.
We are not able to measure the value of a thing or a work only by its size. In the eyes of God, that which seems important to us may really be of little value. That which we would be inclined to discount, like the widow's two mites, may have great spiritual value to God. A "word in season," may have more lasting value than a whole series of sermons. One act of kindness may produce results that only God can measure. It is our responsibility to know the boundaries God has given to us for our benefit, and leave other efforts in other places to those to whom God has placed the responsibility for that work. When we maintain a spiritual order in our work in a responsible fashion, we can confidently leave all the results to God.