And when Joshua had let the people go, the children of Israel went every man unto his inheritance to possess the land.
After the conquest of the Canaanites and the division and settling of the land among the tribes, and after Joshua's solemn charge in his last two chapters to serve God and Him alone, Joshua dismissed the people and each man went to take possession of his allotted inheritance. The settling included the return of the two and one-half tribes to their chosen inheritance east of the Jordan and their building of an altar of witness. The letting go came after Joshua's closing counsel to Israel, and this faithful servant of God died at the age of 110, with Joseph's burial charge faithfully kept.
The verse stands in the first division of the book of Judges, the introduction in chapters 1, 2 and 3:1-6, and introduces the first three chapters. It stands at the close of Joshua's leadership and the opening of the period following sometime after the death of Joshua. It begins the account of Israel's life in its own land after deliverance from oppression during the time of the judges, when the Lord cared for His people despite their backsliding.
Those who entered and took possession were the generation that had been too young to know good and evil when Israel came out of Egypt, entering Canaan with Caleb and Joshua. The elders who outlived Joshua and had seen the Lord's works were a remnant of that generation, the generation that had known Joshua and the Lord's work among them, and they lived long enough for another generation to arise that did not know the Lord or His works.
The settlement was incomplete, for Israel had not possessed all of the country, and the generation that followed inherited a land in which some of the peoples remained. Their presence became a test and a means of teaching warfare to those who had not known the earlier battles, reviving their dependence on God. The division showed Israel's lack of faith and slowness, yet God wrought all He had promised so that there failed not aught of any good thing He had spoken.
God remained steadfast to His covenant and, for the sake of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, cared for His people despite their backsliding. What followed shows that Joshua's influence and the covenant made with God did not preserve the people's faith permanently, for after Joshua and the elders who knew the Lord's work died, another generation arose that did not know the Lord or His works. That next generation failed to finish driving out the Canaanites and to carry out God's instructions, and through disobedience fell into intermarriage, participation in heathen worship, idolatry and apostasy with consequent captivity. Yet God delivered Israel in times of distress through judges raised up in their behalf as saviours and defenders of the cause to contend for the independence of the people, to administer law, and to urge them to return to Him.
After the conquest of the Canaanites and the division and settling of the land among the tribes, and after Joshua's solemn charge in his last two chapters to serve God and Him alone, Joshua dismissed the people and each man went to take possession of his allotted inheritance. The settling included the return of the two and one-half tribes to their chosen inheritance east of the Jordan and their building of an altar of witness. The letting go came after Joshua's closing counsel to Israel, and this faithful servant of God died at the age of 110, with Joseph's burial charge faithfully kept.
The verse stands in the first division of the book of Judges, the introduction in chapters 1, 2 and 3:1-6, and introduces the first three chapters. It stands at the close of Joshua's leadership and the opening of the period following sometime after the death of Joshua. It begins the account of Israel's life in its own land after deliverance from oppression during the time of the judges, when the Lord cared for His people despite their backsliding.
Those who entered and took possession were the generation that had been too young to know good and evil when Israel came out of Egypt, entering Canaan with Caleb and Joshua. The elders who outlived Joshua and had seen the Lord's works were a remnant of that generation, the generation that had known Joshua and the Lord's work among them, and they lived long enough for another generation to arise that did not know the Lord or His works.
The settlement was incomplete, for Israel had not possessed all of the country, and the generation that followed inherited a land in which some of the peoples remained. Their presence became a test and a means of teaching warfare to those who had not known the earlier battles, reviving their dependence on God. The division showed Israel's lack of faith and slowness, yet God wrought all He had promised so that there failed not aught of any good thing He had spoken.
God remained steadfast to His covenant and, for the sake of His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, cared for His people despite their backsliding. What followed shows that Joshua's influence and the covenant made with God did not preserve the people's faith permanently, for after Joshua and the elders who knew the Lord's work died, another generation arose that did not know the Lord or His works. That next generation failed to finish driving out the Canaanites and to carry out God's instructions, and through disobedience fell into intermarriage, participation in heathen worship, idolatry and apostasy with consequent captivity. Yet God delivered Israel in times of distress through judges raised up in their behalf as saviours and defenders of the cause to contend for the independence of the people, to administer law, and to urge them to return to Him.