Jos 18:1 | KingComments | STEP | To really take possession of the land the LORD has given His people, there must be effort. The command is to describe the land. Are we able to describe something of the heavenly land given to us? The true Joshua, the Lord Jesus, wants to hear from us what we think of the land. We may tell Him what we have read in the Bible. The more blessings we discover in it, the more He will give us. He Himself said: “For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given” ( ). The inheritance of the Levites is the priesthood of the LORD. This is a special inheritance. It is directly related to the LORD and shows us that above all blessings we may look at Him Who is the Giver of those blessings. Greater than the greatest blessing is surely He from Whom the blessing emanates, isn’t it? The people move up to a new place, Shiloh, and gather there. Judah and the sons of Joseph have been assigned their portion in Gilgal, where the people have so far been together as a whole. There also stood the tabernacle, in which God dwelled in their midst. Now the tent of meeting is set up at Shiloh, which means ‘peace’. Shiloh is located in the center of the land. In the spiritual development of a believer we see the next step in the ascending from Gilgal to Shiloh. First Gilgal, then Shiloh. In Gilgal we get to know the flesh and the judgment on it. In Shiloh there is a sharing in the rest of God. The advance to Shiloh is worked by God. He wants to dwell in that place and have His people with Him. It will be a temporary dwelling place in the land. In the time that Eli is judge, God leaves Shiloh ( ; ). Until that time, that is for about three hundred years, the tent is in Shiloh. There God makes His Name dwell, but He leaves because of the wickedness of Israel: “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel” ( ). This reminds us of Deuteronomy 12, where we read of God’s command to His people that they will seek Him where He establishes His Name to dwell ( ). That takes effort. For us, it means investigating Scripture to get to know that place. It is not about a place where you feel good, but where the Lord Jesus is in the midst ( ). That place must be found in the Word. Shiloh is a provisional fulfillment of what will be fully fulfilled in Jerusalem. Did Israel find that place? They have not been aware that it is Jebus. Only David finds it ( ). Jerusalem lies between Benjamin and Judah. Shiloh lies in Ephraim, rather central. To some extent, the people have found peace in Shiloh. Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is a benevolent atmosphere in which harmony is found. The true Shiloh for us is where the true Shiloh, the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace ( ; ), is present. In the book of Numbers “the tent of meeting” is also called “the tent of testimony”. That name is connected to the wilderness journey, where all the tribes around the tent have set up their camp. The order of the tribes is arranged in connection with the tent. It has to do with our testimony to the world. In the land the tent is called “the tent of meeting”. The people dwell in the land in connection with the center, the place where God dwells and where He would like to meet with His people.

‏ Joshua 18:1

Introduction

To really take possession of the land the LORD has given His people, there must be effort. The command is to describe the land. Are we able to describe something of the heavenly land given to us? The true Joshua, the Lord Jesus, wants to hear from us what we think of the land. We may tell Him what we have read in the Bible. The more blessings we discover in it, the more He will give us. He Himself said: “For to everyone who has, [more] shall be given” (Mt 25:29a).

The inheritance of the Levites is the priesthood of the LORD. This is a special inheritance. It is directly related to the LORD and shows us that above all blessings we may look at Him Who is the Giver of those blessings. Greater than the greatest blessing is surely He from Whom the blessing emanates, isn’t it?

From Gilgal to Shiloh

The people move up to a new place, Shiloh, and gather there. Judah and the sons of Joseph have been assigned their portion in Gilgal, where the people have so far been together as a whole. There also stood the tabernacle, in which God dwelled in their midst. Now the tent of meeting is set up at Shiloh, which means ‘peace’. Shiloh is located in the center of the land.

In the spiritual development of a believer we see the next step in the ascending from Gilgal to Shiloh. First Gilgal, then Shiloh. In Gilgal we get to know the flesh and the judgment on it. In Shiloh there is a sharing in the rest of God.

The advance to Shiloh is worked by God. He wants to dwell in that place and have His people with Him. It will be a temporary dwelling place in the land. In the time that Eli is judge, God leaves Shiloh (1Sam 4:1-11; Psa 78:60). Until that time, that is for about three hundred years, the tent is in Shiloh. There God makes His Name dwell, but He leaves because of the wickedness of Israel: “But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My name dwell at the first, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel” (Jer 7:12).

This reminds us of Deuteronomy 12, where we read of God’s command to His people that they will seek Him where He establishes His Name to dwell (Deu 12:5). That takes effort. For us, it means investigating Scripture to get to know that place. It is not about a place where you feel good, but where the Lord Jesus is in the midst (Mt 18:20). That place must be found in the Word.

Shiloh is a provisional fulfillment of what will be fully fulfilled in Jerusalem. Did Israel find that place? They have not been aware that it is Jebus. Only David finds it (Psa 132:6). Jerusalem lies between Benjamin and Judah. Shiloh lies in Ephraim, rather central.

To some extent, the people have found peace in Shiloh. Peace is not just the absence of war. Peace is a benevolent atmosphere in which harmony is found. The true Shiloh for us is where the true Shiloh, the Lord Jesus, the Prince of Peace (Gen 49:10; Isa 9:6), is present.

In the book of Numbers “the tent of meeting” is also called “the tent of testimony”. That name is connected to the wilderness journey, where all the tribes around the tent have set up their camp. The order of the tribes is arranged in connection with the tent. It has to do with our testimony to the world. In the land the tent is called “the tent of meeting”. The people dwell in the land in connection with the center, the place where God dwells and where He would like to meet with His people.