Connect Joshua 12:8 with God's promise to Abraham in Genesis 15:18-21. Setting the Stage: Two Key Passages “in the hill country, in the lowland, in the Arabah, on the slopes, in the wilderness, and in the Negev—the lands of the Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites—the kings Joshua defeated were …” (Joshua 12:8) “On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, ‘To your descendants I have given this land—from the brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—the land of the Kenites, Kenizzites, Kadmonites, Hittites, Perizzites, Rephaites, Amorites, Canaanites, Girgashites, and Jebusites.’” (Genesis 15:18-21) What God Promised Abram • A clearly defined territory: “from the brook of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates.” • Occupation of the land then held by ten specific peoples. • An unbreakable covenant, ratified by God alone (cf. Genesis 15:9-17). What Joshua Recorded • Israel’s conquest now stretches across every topographical zone of Canaan—hill country, lowland, desert, and more. • Six peoples (Hittites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites, Jebusites) are explicitly named as dispossessed. • Joshua distributes the land as an inheritance, fulfilling earlier promises (Joshua 11:23; 21:43-45). Names That Reappear: A Side-by-Side Look " Genesis 15 " Joshua 12 " "—"—" " Hittites " Hittites " " Perizzites " Perizzites " " Amorites " Amorites " " Canaanites " Canaanites " " Jebusites " Jebusites " " (others appear in Genesis 15 but not listed here because they lay east or south of Joshua’s immediate campaign, to be addressed later in Israel’s history under David/Solomon, cf. 2 Samuel 8:3; 1 Kings 4:21). " The overlap shows the covenant peoples now being displaced exactly as foretold. Tracing the Journey from Promise to Possession 1. Promise given—Abram, c. 2085 BC (Genesis 15). 2. Patriarchal sojourn—Isaac, Jacob, Joseph (Genesis 26-50). 3. Egyptian bondage—430 years (Exodus 12:40). 4. Exodus and wilderness—Moses leads Israel to the edge of Canaan (Exodus 3:8; Deuteronomy 1:8). 5. Conquest—Joshua leads the next generation in, recording victories in Joshua 6-12. 6. Allotment declared complete—“Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to Israel failed” (Joshua 21:45). Roughly six centuries separate the covenant oath and its recorded fulfillment—yet every detail stands. God’s Faithfulness Across the Centuries • Numbers 23:19—“God is not a man, that He should lie.” • Hebrews 6:13-18—God swore by Himself so that “we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.” • 2 Corinthians 1:20—“For all the promises of God are ‘Yes’ in Christ.” The land conquest under Joshua is tangible evidence that when God speaks, history bends until His word is literally accomplished. Living Lessons for Today • Trust the timeline: Divine delays are never denials; every promise will arrive right on God’s schedule. • Expect exactness: God keeps His word down to names, borders, and boundaries; we can rely on Scripture’s precision for every other promise it contains (John 14:1-3; Philippians 1:6). • Embrace inheritance: Just as Israel stepped into the land, believers step into spiritual blessings now and look forward to a future kingdom where every covenant finds its fullest expression (Revelation 21:1-7). |
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