Joshua 18: God’s Presence, Benjaminite Church & Future Jerusalem

Rev. Doug Nicely, pastor of Jerusalem Lutheran Church in Collinsville, Illinois, joins host Rev. AJ Espinosa to study Joshua 18. For the first time in Joshua, the Tabernacle and the Ephraimite city of Shiloh are mentioned here in chapter 18. The image is the partial fulfillment of creation, when God’s holy presence commanded His people to subdue the earth. The casting of lots is deep with meaning. Although God sometimes brings about extraordinary reversals, He often works through ordinary means, like Judah and Joseph receiving the firstborn inheritances. The rest of the tribes draw lots, with Benjamin’s lot coming up first. This fulfills God’s promise given through Moses, that Benjamin would be protected by his brothers and that God would dwell with him at the future site of the Jerusalem Temple. All these acts of grace point ahead to the church, in which we have received God’s future promises in the midst of His presence.