CHAPTER 15

(1444 B.C.)

THE BOUNDARIES OF JUDAH

¹This then was the lot of the Tribe of the Children of Judah by their families (the Tribe from which Jesus would come); even to the border of Edom the wilderness of Zin southward was the uttermost part of the south coast. (By far, Judah had the largest portion. In fact, her portion was so large that Simeon had her portion within the portion of Judah, but which only took up a small part of that vast area. The portion of Simeon included the city of Beersheba. Judahs portion extended all the way from Jerusalem in the north to the brook of Egypt due south, a distance of well over a hundred miles.)

²And their south border was from the shore of the Salt Sea, from the bay that looks southward:

³And it went out to the south side to Maaleh-acrabbim, and passed along to Zin, and ascended up on the south side unto Kadesh-barnea, and passed along to Hezron, and went up to Adar, and fetched a compass to Karkaa:

⁴From thence it passed toward Azmon, and went out unto the river of Egypt; and the goings out of that coast were at the sea: this shall be your south coast.

⁵And the east border was the Salt Sea, even unto the end of Jordan. And their border in the north quarter was from the bay of the sea at the uttermost part of Jordan:

⁶And the border went up to Beth-hogla, and passed along by the north of Beth-arabah; and the border went up to the stone of Bohan the son of Reuben:

⁷And the border went up toward Debir from the valley of Achor, and so northward, looking toward Gilgal, that is before the going up to Adummim, which is on the south side of the river: and the border passed toward the waters of En-shemesh, and the goings out thereof were at En-rogel:

⁸And the border went up by the valley of the son of Hinnom unto the south side of the Jebusite; the same is Jerusalem: and the border went up to the top of the mountain that lies before the valley of Hinnom westward, which is at the end of the valley of the giants northward:

⁹And the border was drawn from the top of the hill unto the fountain of the water of Nephtoah, and went out to the cities of Mount Ephron; and the border was drawn to Baalah, which is Kirjath-jearim:

¹⁰And the border compassed from Baalah westward unto Mount Seir, and passed along unto the side of Mount Jearim, which is Chesalon, on the north side, and went down to Beth-shemesh, and passed on to Timnah:

¹¹And the border went out unto the side of Ekron northward: and the border was drawn to Shicron, and passed along to Mount Baalah, and went out unto Jabneel; and the goings out of the border were at the Sea.

¹²And the west border was to the Great Sea, and the coast thereof. This is the coast of the children of Judah round about according to their families.

CALEBS PORTION

¹³And unto Caleb the son of Jephunneh he gave a part among the Children of Judah, according to the Commandment of the LORD to Joshua, even the city of Arba the father of Anak, which city is Hebron.

¹⁴And Caleb drove thence the three sons of Anak, Sheshai, and Ahiman, and Talmai, the children of Anak.

¹⁵And he went up thence to the inhabitants of Debir: and the name of Debir before was Kirjath-sepher.

¹⁶And Caleb said, He who smites Kirjath-sepher, and takes it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter to wife.

¹⁷And Othniel the son of Kenaz, the brother of Caleb, took it: and he gave him Achsah his daughter to wife. (The Holy Spirit is quick to record the victory of Othniel. When God enriches His People, everything is real, substantial, and definite. He gives largely; and His Blessings may, without fear of disappointment, be counted just as this Chapter records the 116 cities given to Judah.

However, a life of blessing with God has definite borders, just as the lot of Judah had its Divinely marked boundaries. It is important that God should choose a lot in life for each one of His People, and that we not choose such a lot ourselves, and that we be satisfied with what God gives us. But, one of the problems is that far too many Believers, not satisfied with what God has given them, seek to enlarge their borders of their own volition, which God will never honor. And yet, the Lord, at times, does stretch our Faith, even as He did that of Othniel, which can claim added blessings; however, the Holy Spirit, in such a case, will always inform the Believer, which means that such a Believer must never function from the position of presumption.)

¹⁸And it came to pass, as she came unto him, that she moved him to ask of her father a field: and she lighted off her ass; and Caleb said unto her, What would you?

¹⁹Who answered, Give me a Blessing; for you have given me a south land; give me also Springs of Water. And he gave her the upper springs, and the nether springs. (Achsahs Faith is to be commended. She asked for a Blessing, and, to be sure, the Lord will always honor such a request. Her father gave her the Springs of Water, which would water the land, making it very fertile. This is a Type of the Holy Spirit, given to those who ask [Lk. 11:13]. Without the Springs of Water, the land was basically worthless. With the springs, it was extremely valuable.

Likewise, without the Holy Spirit, of which these springs, in a sense, were a Type, the life of the Believer is unproductive. With the Christ and the Cross as the object of the Believers Faith, such a life will be extremely fertile and productive.)

THE CITIES OF JUDAH

²⁰This is the inheritance of the Tribe of the Children of Judah according to their families.

²¹And the uttermost cities of the Tribe of the Children of Judah toward the coast of Edom southward were Kabzeel, and Eder, and Jagur,

²²And Kinah, and Dimonah, and Adadah,

²³And Kedesh, and Hazor, and Ithnan,

²⁴Ziph, and Telem, and Bealoth,

²⁵And Hazor, Hadattah, and Kerioth, and Hezron, which is Hazor,

²⁶Amam, and Shema, and Moladah,

²⁷And Hazar-gaddah, and Heshmon, and Beth-palet,

²⁸And Hazar-shual, and Beer-sheba, and Bizjothjah,

²⁹Baalah, and Iim, and Azem,

³⁰And Eltolad, and Chesil, and Hormah,

³¹And Ziklag, and Madmannah, and Sansannah,

³²And Lebaoth, and Shilhim, and Ain, and Rimmon: all the cities are twenty and nine, with their villages:

³³And in the valley, Eshtaol, and Zoreah, and Ashnah,

³⁴And Zanoah, and En-gannim, Tappuah, and Enam,

³⁵Jarmuth, and Adullam, Socoh, and Azekah,

³⁶And Sharaim, and Adithaim, and Gederah, and Gederothaim; fourteen cities with their villages:

³⁷Zenan, and Hadashah, and Migdal-gad,

³⁸And Dilean, and Mizpeh, and Joktheel,

³⁹Lachish, and Bozkath, and Eglon,

⁴⁰And Cabbon, and Lahmam, and Kithlish,

⁴¹And Gederoth, Beth-dagon, and Naamah, and Makkedah; sixteen cities with their villages:

⁴²Libnah, and Ether, and Ashan,

⁴³And Jiphtah, and Ashnah, and Nezib,

⁴⁴And Keilah, and Achzib, and Mareshah; nine cities with their villages:

⁴⁵Ekron, with her towns and her villages:

⁴⁶From Ekron even unto the sea, all that lay near Ashdod, with their villages:

⁴⁷Ashdod with her towns and her villages, Gaza with her towns and her villages, unto the river of Egypt, and the Great Sea, and the border thereof:

⁴⁸And in the mountains, Shamir, and Jattir, and Socoh,

⁴⁹And Dannah, and Kirjath-sannah, which is Debir,

⁵⁰And Anab, and Eshtemoh, and Anim,

⁵¹And Goshen, and Holon, and Giloh; eleven cities with their villages:

⁵²Arab, and Dumah, and Eshean,

⁵³And Janum, and Beth-tappuah, and Aphekah,

⁵⁴And Humtah, and Kirjath-arba, which is Hebron, and Zior; nine cities with their villages:

⁵⁵Maon, Carmel, and Ziph, and Juttah,

⁵⁶And Jezreel, and Jokdeam, and Zanoah,

⁵⁷Cain, Gibeah, and Timnah; ten cities with their villages:

⁵⁸Halhul, Beth-zur, and Gedor,

⁵⁹And Maarath, and Beth-anoth, and Eltekon; six cities with their villages:

⁶⁰Kirjath-baal, which is Kirjath-jearim, and Rabbah; two cities with their villages:

⁶¹In the wilderness, Beth-arabah, Middin, and Secacah,

⁶²And Nibshan, and the city of Salt, and En-gedi; six cities with their villages.

THE JEBUSITES

⁶³As for the Jebusites the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Children of Judah could not drive them out: but the Jebusites dwell with the Children of Judah at Jerusalem unto this day. (Jerusalem remained in the power of the Jebusite until David, a type of Israels mighty King, captured it. In how many lives is found a fortress opposed to the Government of the Lord, which ought to have been conquered at the beginning?

Satan knew that Jerusalem would ultimately become the Capital of Israel; therefore, he would seek to make it his stronghold, which he did for many, many years.

This tells us that the very area in the Believers life which is ungodly, and which the Believer has the greatest difficulty in conquering, is the very area which the Holy Spirit desires to make our strong suit, in essence, His Capital. This is why the battle is so intense in such a capacity. Spiritually speaking, the Jebusite must be driven out of the land, with nothing left of that former enemy.)