Inheritance - Part 8
War

Guideline: To obtain or maintain an Inheritance one must be ready (prepared) for battle

The Lord knew that the Children of Israel were physically inferior to the nations they would have to fight but with God’s help (His Grace) they would totally dominate the opposing nations. This was suppose to keep the nation of Israel humble which means they would rely upon God, however pride typically accompanies the spoils of victory. The Lord brought them out of Egypt for battle and the Lord lead by example because the Lord Himself fought against Egypt to give the Children of Israel a sign of His promise of complete deliverance from their enemies.

Deuteronomy 4:37-38
37 And because he loved thy fathers, therefore he chose their seed after them, and brought thee out in his sight with his mighty power out of Egypt;
38 To drive out nations from before thee greater and mightier than thou art, to bring thee in, to give thee their land for an inheritance, as it is this day. KJV

Children of Israel are commanded to drive out the inhabitants of their land given to them from the Lord. The words “drive out” mean by force, which implies war.

Numbers 33:50-53 (in context read Numbers 33:50-56)
50 And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying,
51 Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan;
52 Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places:
53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it. KJV

The Lord gave the Children of Israel a strategy of exactly when to go to war. Essentially, if the nation was willing to make peace with Israel (submit to their leadership and pay tribute) then war was not necessary if they lived outside the promised land. The Children of Israel were instructed to kill the men of the cities who were not in the promise land and take the spoil of that city for their own (this included women and children). However, all nations (inhabitants) inside the promised land were to be killed (this also included women and children) nothing left breathing after the war.

Deuteronomy 20:10-17 (in context read Deuteronomy 20:1-20)
10 When thou comest nigh unto a city to fight against it, then proclaim peace unto it.
11 And it shall be, if it make thee answer of peace, and open unto thee, then it shall be, that all the people that is found therein shall be tributaries unto thee, and they shall serve thee.
12 And if it will make no peace with thee, but will make war against thee, then thou shalt besiege it:
13 And when the LORD thy God hath delivered it into thine hands, thou shalt smite every male thereof with the edge of the sword:
14 But the women, and the little ones, and the cattle, and all that is in the city, even all the spoil thereof, shalt thou take unto thyself; and thou shalt eat the spoil of thine enemies, which the LORD thy God hath given thee.
15 Thus shalt thou do unto all the cities which are very far off from thee, which are not of the cities of these nations.
16 But of the cities of these people, which the LORD thy God doth give thee for an inheritance, thou shalt save alive nothing that breatheth:
17 But thou shalt utterly destroy them; namely, the Hittites, and the Amorites, the Canaanites, and the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites; as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee: KJV

The Lord told Joshua (the new leader after Moses) that in the land of promise no opposing man (army, general, captain, nation, etc….) would be able to conquer them in war.

Joshua 1:5-6 (in context read Deuteronomy 20:1-20)
5 There shall not any man be able to stand before thee all the days of thy life: as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee: I will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
6 Be strong and of a good courage: for unto this people shalt thou divide for an inheritance the land, which I sware unto their fathers to give them. KJV

The children of Reuben and the children of Gad spoke to Moses, Eleazar the priest and the princes of the congregation of Israel stating that they would go forth into battle with the other Israelis. This meant traveling over the river Jordan to conquer the land on the West side of Jordan for the remaining tribes of Israel while their (Reuben and Gad) inheritance was on the East side of Jordan. Although this sounded noble to the leaders to fight for inheritance of all the tribes of the children of Israel on the West side of Jordan it was not completely done. The inheritance of nine tribes was not totally conquered with the help of Reuben and Gad.

Numbers 32:17-20,32 (in context read Numbers 32:1-32)
17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,

32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. KJV

Caleb speaks to Joshua (the leader of the nation) about driving out the Anakims who inhabited the land of his inheritance. Caleb was the leader of the tribe of Judah according to Numbers 13:1-6

Joshua 14:9-12 (in context read Joshua 14:6-15)
9 And Moses sware on that day, saying, Surely the land whereon thy feet have trodden shall be thine inheritance, and thy children's for ever, because thou hast wholly followed the LORD my God.
10 And now, behold, the LORD hath kept me (Caleb) alive, as he said, these forty and five years, even since the LORD spake this word unto Moses, while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness: and now, lo, I am this day fourscore and five years old.
11 As yet I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then, even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.
12 Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the LORD spake in that day; for thou heardest in that day how the Anakims were there, and that the cities were great and fenced: if so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said. KJV

An example of victory when the Children of Israel took the land of Heshbon and Og

Deuteronomy 29:7-9
7 And when ye came unto this place, Sihon the king of Heshbon, and Og the king of Bashan, came out against us unto battle, and we smote them:
8 And we took their land, and gave it for an inheritance unto the Reubenites, and to the Gadites, and to the half tribe of Manasseh.
9 Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do. KJV

The Lord can give you rest in the land of your inheritance after the battles to possess the land.

Deuteronomy 25:19
Therefore it shall be, when the LORD thy God hath given thee rest from all thine enemies round about, in the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance to possess it, that thou shalt blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven; thou shalt not forget it. KJV

Joshua 11:23
So Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD said unto Moses; and Joshua gave it for an inheritance unto Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land rested from war. KJV

This principle of having to fight for your inheritance is still among us today because generally speaking an inheritance represents a certain amount of value. Since men are selfish and greedy they will often try to take anything of value to increase their own wealth. Although the wealth of a father should be passed down to their children many (friends, extended family members, neighbors, business associates, etc….) will attempt to seize (take) the possessions of a deceased parent if not properly secured.

Matthew 21:37-41 (Also Mark 12:1-9)
37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.
39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him.
40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen?
41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. KJV

This lust of greed (covetousness) will even cause siblings to be in strife one with another for the sake of money (increased assets, property, wealth, etc…). Since we are to be like Christ as New Testament believers we are encouraged to not fight for money between our own brothers (and sisters included). We have the option to chose peace over strife if we can understand that all things upon this earth are God’s and we are but stewards of His goods. The New Testament scripture teaches if someone wants your cloke (a loose outer garment worn over other clothes) let them have it.-Luke 6:27-31

Luke 12:13-15
13 And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me.
14 And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you?
15 And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. KJV