Seven more tribes wait to receive their inheritance. Joshua gathers them at Shiloh, the national spiritual center, and orders that three men from each tribe be sent to scout out the unsettled areas of Canaan. He also rebukes the Israelites for their complacency and urges them to actively conquer their lands. The messengers map out the land and propose a division plan. Joshua casts lots to distribute the inheritances. Benjamin’s territory borders with Judah in the south and Ephraim in the north. The mission of surveying the land and identifying territories is in its deeper sense a quest to identify the hidden light lying inside every person and every place. We must persistently engage in action, seek out what we are looking for, and not cling to our comfort zones. We must act with determination and not fear the unknown.
“And there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes, which had not yet received their inheritance” (Joshua 18:2)
“How long are ye slack to go to possess the land” (Joshua 18:3)
“and they shall rise, and go through the land, and describe it according to the inheritance of them” (Joshua 18:4)
Dedication is the experience of an ongoing, burning desire for love and light.
