Our text for this morning will be found in the portion of God's word that we read together from the book of Joshua chapter 18. And we can take as a reference point verse 11. And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families. These words in their context and as the spirit of God would be pleased to bless our meditations on his truth together this morning. The title we give our sermon is Inheritance Allocation, Benjamin's Portion. Benjamin's Portion. We have already in the several chapters that we have considered over the last few weeks, we have seen how Joshua is very ordered and very methodical in the way that he allocates the inheritance to each of the tribes of the children of Israel. It tells us that God is a God of order. God is a God of structure. Christians should not be disorganized. The church should not be disorganized. Everything should be done decently and in order, particularly the public worship of God. Now we have seen the five tribes that have received their portion for their individual needs. We also saw and remind you, as this chapter reminds us several times, that the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord's. Joshua and Eliezer were casting lots. But if you note, it tells us specifically in this chapter, the lots were cast before the Lord. The Lord was disposing of the way that the lots would come out and we're told in this chapter that Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, East Manasseh, they've already received their portion beyond Jordan on the east side of Jordan. And Judah and Joseph, represented by his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, they have received their portion in the actual borders of the promised land in Canaan. But much still requires to be done. And we see in this chapter that Joshua displays an anxiousness, a keenness for this work to be completed without any further delay. If you remember how our prologue in chapter 13 began, it tells us that Joshua was old and stricken in years. We believe he was about a hundred years old at this time. So he perhaps feels that he's losing energy. His life's blood is ebbing away and he's keen to have this completed before he is incapable physically of conducting the task. And the largest portion from verse 11 onwards concerns the allocation to the tribe of Benjamin. But we note the order. Judah received his portion first. Joseph, represented by his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh, receives his portion next. And now the third portion on this side of Jordan, the west side, Comes to Benjamin, Joseph and Benjamin, the two favorite sons of Jacob. The only two sons of his beloved Rachel, whom he labored seven years. Such was his love for Rachel. Nothing accidental in scripture. Judah first, because Judah had the place of preeminence. Joseph next, then Benjamin. There's nothing accidental. We see the beauties of the work of the Holy Spirit in all of scripture. Now, Benjamin is unique amongst Jacob's children because he had his name changed. His mother, Rachel, died in childbirth, giving birth to him. And in Genesis chapter 35, we see that she gave him the name Benoni, which means the son of my sorrows. She expected Benjamin to be a sorrowful man, to bear the mark of the fact that his mother died during his birth. But Jacob overrules, changes his name, and his name, as we know, is Benjamin, which means the son of my right hand, an important place. The right hand is an important place, my right hand man. Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father. It signifies to us a place of importance in Jacob's estimation. One commentator captures that he sees Rachel expected sorrow. But Jacob expected service. He expected Benjamin to work. He expected him to play an important role in the historical narrative of the Children of Israel. And this is where we see that taking place. We see that beginning. When the tribes were about to cross over, Jordan, just before Moses' death, you see in Deuteronomy chapter 33, Moses' blessings on all the tribes of Israel. And he said this of Benjamin, the beloved of the Lord shall dwell in safety by him, and the Lord shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders. A promise of a good portion for Benjamin from the Lord, and here we shall see it unfolding in this chapter. Let's look at three things in chapter 18 of our study on the book of Joshua. Inheritance allocation, Benjamin's portion. Before we reach verse 11 and see Benjamin's portion, there's two things that we must consider of importance, first of all. Firstly, the sanctuary at Shiloh. Nothing incidental, nothing to be overlooked. One verse, verse one, but very important for us, the sanctuary at Shiloh. Joshua is engaged in an important work. Ordered by God, supported by Eleazar, he has the important task of allocating the landlords. But Joshua now interrupts that to do something more important. Far more important than the work that he was doing, and this was to organize the public worship of God. Making arrangements for the children of Israel to have a place where they could come and worship their God. So we need some historical context, some historical background to explain this. We need to go back around 45 years to when the Lord redeemed his people, when he brought them out of the land of bondage. When they left Egypt, A place, believe it or not, which we believe had over 2,000 idols. They worshipped 2,000 deities. What fools. It's like our own day. Make idols of everything. And when they were travelling through the wilderness, God established the public worship of his name through the erection of the tabernacle, specific instructions that he had given, the construction of the Ark of the Covenant, which was a symbol of his presence, of his blessing with the children of Israel and the sacrificial system. And this was a portable place of worship, a tent, a tabernacle. They would erect it and then they would break it down and then they would move. And while they moved on their journeys, God again, a God of order, God of complete methodology, gives instructions as to how the children of Israel and their tribes were to march through the wilderness, escorting the Ark of the Covenant. And when they camped, there was a specific order to the way they camped. Three tribes on the north, three tribes on the east, west, and south, surrounding the tabernacle for protection, but also symbolizing every move that they made through the 40 years in the wilderness, every second that they were static, God was central. God was in the middle. Everything else revolved around the public worship of God, because God had condescended to be present with his people, symbolized by the Ark of the Covenant. But what was happening now? Well, these 12 tribes that were three on each side, they were now being dispersed. Judah had gone, Reuben had gone, Gad had gone, Manasseh and Ephraim, they'd all gone. So this is weakening the protection around the Ark of the Covenant. God says, find me a permanent place where the tabernacle no longer needs to be broken down, but can be permanently erected, a home for the Ark. of the covenant. An end of their traveling meant an end to their temporary place of worship. They would have a place of permanent worship. And God directs Joshua with Eleazar. Remember, Eleazar is here making sure that this is done before the Lord as an act of worship. They choose Shiloh to be the center of worship for the children of Israel in Canaan. Shiloh in the Hebrew means tranquility or peace, peacefulness. The Hebrew root, the word shalom, the traditional Jewish greeting, shalom, peace, derives from the root of this Hebrew word. So Shiloh, a town in Ephraim, is to be where the sanctuary of God was to be permanently placed. Joshua was an Ephraimite. Perhaps there was some favoritism there. Probably he was directed specifically of God. Now Shiloh was a town about 10 miles northeast of Bethel and about 30 miles north direct of Jerusalem. Jerusalem as we see in verse 28 was a city of Benjamin. So we see the importance that Benjamin was to play in the later history that for 350 years, the center of worship in Israel was in Shiloh until David relocated it to Jerusalem and then sought to build a grand temple for God, which he was forbidden to do and which was built in Solomon's time. So again, this tells us That the public worship of God is important to God. It should be central to the lives of God's people. It should be as necessary and essential to God's people as the air that they breathe. It's God that makes the rules. God that issues the commands. Man interprets it the way that he wishes to interpret them. It's not an optional extra. It's not a menu of choices to attend the sanctuary of God as you please. God says, come to Shiloh and worship me there. Come to where the sanctuary of God is established and worship me there. It is the most important aspect of the children of Israel's life, because as we read on in the Old Testament, we see that they became careless. They became indifferent to the public worship of God. It became an easy thing to miss. So what did God do? God removed the tabernacle from Shiloh. God departed from Israel. Because they became careless and indifferent to God, he became careless and indifferent to them. There's a solemn lesson there. But we note at the end of verse one, no mere footnote, no throwaway remark, and the land was subdued before them. This reminds us of chapters 10 and 11, I think. God goes before Israel, the southern campaign and the northern campaign. Remember all the kings, Adonai, Zedek, And the 14 Amorite kings in the south where Shiloh was placed came against Israel. God went before them and they slaughtered them all. The land was subdued. And because the land was subdued, what does that mean? That when they took the Ark of the Covenant and established the tabernacle and the public sanctuary of God in Shiloh, there was no resistance whatsoever. God had gone before them. and subdued the land. Shalom. Shiloh, there was peace. And so they could erect and establish the public worship of the one living and true God in a heathen land without any murmuring or complaint. But as we touched on for our own application and lessons, If you look at Psalm 78 and verses 59 and 60 later on, you will see that solemn warning highlighted in the history. Because the children of Israel had refused or were unable or unwilling or were careless or indifferent to driving out all the idolaters as God had prophesied, the idolaters worked their way into the worship. of the children of Israel contaminated their worship. And Psalm 78 tells us when God heard this, he waxed wrath and much loathed Israel then. So Shiloh's tent he left. The tent which he has placed with men is God leaving our tent. Is God leaving his church? Is God leaving Shiloh? Because we are indifferent to the public worship of God. Our nation is infested with idolatry. It's creeping into the church. This isn't a time for apathy. It's not a time for complacency. It's a time to man the battlements. It's a time to head over the trenches. We must ensure that the sanctuary of God and the public worship of God is pivotal to our lives, because this is the place where God commands the blessing. This is the place where we cry out to our great God to drive out the heathens. And it requires faithfulness. And it requires effort. It requires loyalty. It requires allegiance. It requires commitment and determination. We need God to subdue the land before us again. The sanctuary at Shiloh. We see, secondly, the reconnaissance required Verses two to 10, the reconnaissance required. Again, as we said in the prayer meeting, when we're looking at our study in the Psalms, repeated lessons and repeated things highlighted are there because the Lord's people need to be repeatedly instructed, repeatedly reminded, and repeatedly taught. This portion's relevance, which is related to the first heading, once again highlights in the children of Israel, and therefore by application, something that is inherent in God's people, the dangers of laxity, the dangers of letting down the guard, of carelessness and complacency. We see Joshua's frustration. bubbling to the surface in verse three. How long are ye slack? How long are ye slack to go to possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you? Can it be true? God has taken them into the promised land. and are slack to go and claim the promise that God has given to them. And we see in verse two that there were seven tribes that this slackness was directed to. Benjamin, Simeon, Dan, Asher, Zebulun, Issachar, and Naphtali. They had taken no steps to seize their portion it infers that they were just sitting back they were waiting for things to fall into their laps we know that the whole disposing thereof was of the lord we know that the lots were cast before the lord but this infers or suggests to us that the tribes had some part to play in identifying a portion that they liked or seeking out a portion that was appealing to them or appropriate for their tribal needs, and then perhaps appealing to Joshua, appealing to Eleazar, if it's the Lord's will, we would like this portion. But these seven tribes have been slack. These seven tribes had sat back on their laurels. And so the danger of indolence and the danger of lack of commitment is once again highlighted to us in God's word. And it's Joshua that has to stir them up. They shouldn't have needed stirring up. Joshua in verse four says to them, you need to go out and there needs to be reconnaissance of this land. the remaining land that is available for allocation. 21 surveyors, three men from each tribe were to go out and conduct reconnaissance in the land. They were to scout it. They were to write it down. They were to conduct this survey and then return to Joshua with their findings. And again, we see the relevance of the end of verse one, the land being subdued before them. The 21 surveyors could go throughout Canaan unmolested. No fear of attack because God had subdued the land. Now we know that Judah and Manasseh and Ephraim were the three tribes in the south, but everything north of the borders of Manasseh was available to these seven tribes. So they were sent out and then they were to return to Shiloh after the reconnaissance had been completed and they would lay all these things before the Lord who would sovereignly dispose overruling and any potential squabbles, any potential contradictions, duplications, it would all be done decently and in order before the Lord. You see, man has a responsibility to do something. Man has a responsibility to work diligently. Man has a responsibility to use their brains and to go out and say, this is a good place. This is a good place. This is not so good. And then after man has done that work, they lay it before the Lord, seeking the Lord's blessing for their potential decisions and choices. That's what the Christian does. The Christian uses their brains to make choices and then takes it all to the Lord saying, thy will be done. Show me thy ways, O Lord, thy paths, O teach thou me. God was central to this decision making process. Joshua took no action to allocate to the seven tribes without God's specific authority and blessing. Can you imagine the squabbling? Imagine the disagreements if they were just left to themselves. Squabbling about a vineyard or an olive yard or access to the fishing or whatever it was. But God was disposing of the lot. Eleazar was there. How wise God is, how wise Joshua is. But how slack the people were that they needed to be required to go out and survey the land to spur them on. This was their covenant inheritance. That's the context. That's what we emphasize. This was their covenant, a covenant inheritance. And it was as if they were just leaving it, lying, gathering dust. So what's the opposite of slackness? There was a common word in the New Testament, a common Greek word, which conveys the complete opposite of slackness. And remember that these words in verse three, how long are you slack? That's a rebuke. That's a rebuke to the indolence in the children of Israel. The opposite of slackness is diligence. A Greek word which means to display a speedy eagerness to be busy. Many times in the New Testament, here's a one from Paul in 2nd Corinthians chapter 8. Therefore, as ye abound in everything, in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all diligence see that ye abound in this grace also. A new year has begun and as we said on New Year's Day when we preached, a new opportunity to leave behind old besetting sin. What does God see when he looks on the Lord's people gathered here? And I know there's not very many of us here today, but what does God see when he looks on each one of us? Does he see a slack Christian or does he see a diligent Christian doing everything that they can to seize the promised blessings that God has given in his word? Is there anyone here or perhaps anyone online where this rebuke is appropriate? How long are you slack? And the warning for us is that God will never reward. God cannot reward. God cannot bless slackness. But he's promised that he will bless diligence. So Christian, don't be like these seven tribes. Be diligent in your Christian duties. Be diligent in all the duties placed upon you as members of this congregation. Membership of a congregation comes with responsibilities. A responsibility to be faithful to your congregation. A responsibility to be committed to your congregation. A responsibility to turn up at the public worship of God and encourage your minister on Thursdays and twice on the Lord's Day. No slackness. Let's have diligence. Let's not be like the seven tribes, lest, lest God departs from Shiloh. We see thirdly, And finally, verses 11 to 28, the borders of Benjamin. So we've looked at the sanctuary of Shiloh, the reconnaissance required, and finally the borders of Benjamin. Benjamin, again, the children will look at their maps and they will see that Benjamin is the smallest allocation of all the tribes. He was the youngest son, but he was a favored son. So how can the smallest geographic allocation have such importance? Why was he third? And why did both Moses and Jacob say that he would rise to a place of prominence? Well, there's a few reasons for that. Although Benjamin's portion was geographically small, We reckon it was about 26 miles wide, east to west. It was about 12 miles long, north to south, which only makes it an area of about 312, 315 square meters. Although it was small, if you look where it was, you can see its strategic importance. It was the hill country between Ephraim in the north, Joseph, and Judah in the south. The preeminent son, the son who was the leader in Israel. We see that in verse 11. And the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph. Now some commentators See that as the fulfillment of the quote that we gave from Deuteronomy chapter 33, Moses' blessing when he says, the Lord shall cover him all the day long and he shall dwell between his shoulders. There he is dwelling between his brethren. Protection on all sides. The Lord has covered them. Ephraim's to the north, Judas to the south. Oh, Benjamin's small, but he's looked after and he's cared for. And he started off as the smallest. The Book of Numbers, again, I would encourage you not to turn yourselves off when your daily readings are in the Book of Numbers and the Book of Censuses and the amounts and the numbers that are in the tribes. Again, these things are important. We see there that Benjamin was the smallest tribe going into the wilderness, but the 40 years in the wilderness, he increased by 25%. He was no longer the smallest coming out of the wilderness. And because of that strategic position he occupied in the hill country between Judah and Ephraim, he was at the center of the trading routes. Contemporary historians tell us the routes of trade that went throughout north, south, east, and west through Israel. So if you are at the center of trading, then you have a position of importance and influence. And the other thing we note, Benjamin's the smallest geographic tribe, but look at the detail that Joshua goes into to describe his borders and name all his cities. We'll see a great contrast next week to how comparatively brief the other six tribes are described. Benjamin has a place of importance. This detailing of Benjamin's borders is twice as long as any other of the remaining six tribes. The reason for this is that Benjamin's place of prominence would be that he would be part of the southern nation of Judah. He would side with the kings of Judah in the civil war that would take place after Solomon's death when the kingdom was divided into Israel in the north and Judah in the south. He may be small geographically but there when Joshua describes the cities we can see some very well-known cities there. There's Mizpeh, There is Rama, there's Gibeon, there's Bethel, there's Jericho, and most remarkably, there is Jerusalem itself in verse 28. One man has a lovely quote that relates to verse seven, but the Levites have no part among you. He says, Levi was found in the sanctuary, but the sanctuary was found in Benjamin. when it was relocated to Jerusalem. The Benjamites were known to be courageous in war. One of the fiercest, bravest, most courageous judges in Israel, Ehud, was a Benjamite. We are told that they were so skillful in warfare that they slung stones with their left hand at a hairbreadth and would not miss. Bold, faithful, diligent working men, grafting men, diligent men. As a consequence of their loyalty to the kings of Judah, they were taken down into Babylon. Who saved the Jewish people down in Babylon? Two Benjamites called Mordecai and Esther. You'll find that in Esther chapter 2 verse 5. Mordecai was a Benjamite. So because of the Lord using these two Benjamites, The tribe of Benjamin returns from captivity with Judah. They're subsumed into one nation. The temple is restored and rebuilt in Jerusalem, where God has promised once again to dwell with his people. There we can see why Jacob renamed him the son of my right hand, not the son of sorrow. Why do we highlight all this? Well, perhaps it's to encourage someone here, someone listening online, someone who thinks they're very small in spiritual Israel, very insignificant, irrelevant, forgotten. Someone who perhaps looks at other men and women and goes, well, they're mightier than me. They're better than me. They're better Christians than me. They make more important contributions than me. This narrative tells us that even the smallest tribe has an important role to play in the kingdom of Jesus Christ. There's no one too small. Mordecai was insignificant. The Jews didn't know what Esther was doing in the palace of Shushan, saving them. They were probably maligning her. Look at her. Who does she think she is, swanning around in the palaces? And yet there she is trying to deliver her people under God's hand. Whatever your role is in Christ's kingdom, be a diligent Mordecai, be a courageous Esther, be the son of my right hand, Christ's right hand. Do what you can, though you may be small. Wherever the Lord has placed you in your providence, There is no small work for the Lord's cause. Inheritance allocation, Benjamin's portion. How do we conclude and summarize? Well, we can perhaps summarize by looking at three lessons from this chapter. Firstly, you, dear Christian, must have the public worship of Jesus Christ front and center of your daily lives. The private worship of God must be integral in your lives. Nothing should be more important than private worship, public worship, attending the sanctuary of God with the Lord's people throughout this year upon which we have just embarked. The second lesson is, again, you, dear Christian, must be diligent. You must be diligent in all your labors, your public labors, your private labors, and perhaps most importantly, the secret labors, keeping out the idols that want to infect your heart. Maybe we all need to conduct a reconnaissance on our own hearts, a survey of our own hearts. to see what we find. And above all, we need to go forth and seize the blessings that are found in God's word. Let's be faithful and diligent, not slack and slothful. And then finally, the third lesson is, dear Christian, you may feel small. We are a small congregation in a small denomination. and in a small minority in our country as Bible believing reformed Christians in this land of Babylon. But we've all got a strategically important part to play in the kingdom of Jesus Christ, otherwise he wouldn't have put us here. He is disposing of every single one of the smallest lots that fall into our portion. And even the smallest piece on the board, even the smallest pawn can checkmate the king. Let's play our part with energy. Let's play our part with diligence. Let's not be found slack. Let's not be found loitering or negligent. But let's go forth this year and see what can we do to serve Jesus Christ. the great king and head of his church. May the Lord bless his word to us. Let us pray. We pray for grace. Grace to go on in thy strength. Grace to remember that in our inherent weakness, when we understand and appreciate how weak we are, then we are strong. For thy strength is made perfect. in the weakness of thy people and in the weakness of thy church. We pray, O Lord, that thou would stretch forth the scepter of thy grace upon us, that thou would shower blessings upon us, which we do not deserve. We deserve no mercy. We deserve no promises. We deserve no increase. We deserve no large portion. But we pray, O Lord, for the glory of Christ, for the extension of his kingdom. that they would subdue the idolaters, that they would subdue all those who promote false religions, false science, who promote perversions, subdue them before us, that thy church would go on from strength to strength. We pray for this not for the glory of man, but that Christ's name would once again be revered, honored, and worshiped by all those who dwell in this land. Take us to our homes in safety. May we lay thy word up in our hearts. May we give all diligence to practice it in our lives. Forgive our sins and hear our prayers. For Jesus' sake we ask. Amen. We conclude our morning worship singing to God's praise in Psalm 25, the first version of Psalm 25. 12 to 15, four stanzas. What man is he that fears the Lord and doth himself, him shall he teach the way that he shall choose and still observe. His soul shall dwell at ease. and his posterity shall flourish still, and of the earth inheritors shall be. 12 to 15, Psalm 25, to God's praise. What a man is he that fears the Lord, and of himself Then shall he teach the way that he shall choose and strive of self. His soul shall dwell at his hand. Posterity shall flourish still, And all the earth in her returns shall be. ♪ Let those that fear Him live, let those that fear Him live ♪ of the Lord. The knowledge of His covenant He will to them afford. Eyes upon the Lord, taunted while we are spent, Let us stand to receive the Lord's benediction. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all. Amen.