Joshua 18:1 And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them. :2 And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance. :3 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?
The Children of Israel have now moved the tabernacle from Gilgal to Shiloh. This signified the end of their formal war in the promise land. We know there will be fights and trouble in the future but the war is over so they moved the tabernacle from their wartime camp of Gilgal to the tranquility of Shiloh. Shiloh actually translates to tranquility. It also tells in the same verse that the land is subdued before them. There was still Canaanites but the war was won and there was no question as to who ruled the land. Now so far we have learned about the inheritance of Reuben, Gad, half the tribe of Manasseh,Judah,(Caleb's was within Judah) Ephraim, the other half of Manasseh and Levi(Whose lot was The Lord). So there are seven remaining tribes that haven't yet received the borders of their inheritance. Benjamin. Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali and Dan. It seems by the admonishment from Joshua that they were waiting on something to be dropped into their laps. Listen to the words of their captain "How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?" The Land was theirs, the war was won, the tabernacle rested in Shiloh and the only thing left was action on their part. God had given them the victory and everything that they needed to settle the land and drive out any remaining enemy. Now it was to them to go and posses the inheritance given to them by God.
Now moving to ourselves, we as born again people are in a similar situation to the children of Israel at this period of their conquest. The war is won, the inheritance is ours and all that is left on our part is to posses what God has given us. These tribes had an inheritance they didn't know much about. They hadn't even attempted to go in a search out all the riches of the inheritance given to them. Instead we find them at the tabernacle in Shiloh waiting on a hand out. Joshua admonishes them and sends them out to find out the unsearchable riches of the inheritance God had given to them. Dear Christian, The inheritance given to you by God The Father through our Lord, Jesus Christ, is vast beyond our belief. What a disservice your doing yourself if you just hang around the church all your life waiting on a handout. Up with your self, go search out the unsearchable riches of Christ, don't let the only thing you know about your inheritance come from your pastor on Sundays. Go read the bible and see what is the depth and height of His love for us. How long are ye slack to go to posses the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?! Are you searching out the inheritance or are you sitting at the church house waiting on your under Sheppard to feed you and your family twice a week? There are vast oceans of promises given to you by God, there are fields of Grace bestowed upon you by The Savior, there are deep wells of living water springing up unto to everlasting life! I trust you have heard of them but have you seen them for your self?Have you possessed the inheritance? I'm afraid ,like Israel, the majority of Christians are waiting on a spiritual handout at the church instead of possessing the knowledge and grace of the Lord for themselves. I believe the same admonishment given by Joshua to the seven tribes can be applied today "How long are ye slack!" let us join the Apostle Paul when he said in Philippians 3:10 That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death;
Ephesians 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man; :17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; :19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.
Dear Christian, the war is over ,the victory is won and God has given us our inheritance. He even told us we are joint heirs with Christ. Do you know anything about the inheritance you've received? Go, search out the parameters of your inheritance. Search out the unsearchable riches of Christ or the boundless riches of Christ. The Israelites inheritance only went to a certain boundary but our inheritance and riches in Christ are boundless. If you'll start searching today you'll reach the end of your life never having found the boundary lines of His grace in your life. Not even death can separate us from our inheritance, for death will be just the beginning of our realization of what He done for us and the inheritance we will receive.
Our Heavenly Joshua could ask us as the Joshua of old did of the waiting tribes.
"How long are ye slack to go to possess the land, which the LORD God of your fathers hath given you?"
That I may know Him, and the power of His Resurrection!!
Onward Christian Soldier!!