God is my salvation

The seventh allotment of land went to the clans of the tribe of Dan...But the tribe of Dan had trouble taking possession of their land, so they attacked the town of Laish. They captured it, slaughtered its people, and settled there. They renamed the town Dan after their ancestor. The homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Dan included these towns and their surrounding villages. After all the land was divided among the tribes, the Israelites gave a piece of land to Joshua as his allocation. For the Lord had said he could have any town he wanted. He chose Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. He rebuilt the town and lived there. These are the territories that Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the tribal leaders allocated as grants of land to the tribes of Israel by casting sacred lots in the presence of the Lord at the entrance of the Tabernacle at Shiloh. So the division of the land was completed.Joshua 19:40-51 NLT The tribe of Dan received the last allotment of the land. Once again, just like the problem of several other tribes, the tribe of Dan did not drive out the Canaanites from their territories. Instead, they abandoned their apportioned territory and migrated to Leshem, city near the boundary of the Philistines. They renamed Leshem Dan. Their decision to abandon the allotted land for their tribe was the result of their disobedience to God. Not only they disobeyed God’s commands, they started to compromise with the practices of the Canaanites and the Philistines. The consequence of their sin led Samson, from the tribe of Dan, to provide Delilah, a Philistine woman, the secret of his strength. The tribe of Dan was also the place where King Jeroboam 1 erected a golden calf that the Israelites worshiped instead of Yahweh; “This became a great sin, for the people worshiped the idols, traveling as far north as Dan to worship the one there” (1 Kings 12:30). Contrast the actions taken by Dan and other several tribes who went against God’s command with Joshua. Joshua took the land allotted by God for him and “He rebuilt the town and lived there” (Joshua 19:50). The land allotted to him was also the place where he was buried (see Joshua 24:30). Although Joshua was advanced in age, the eldest of all Israel, and who, having led the conquest of the Promise Land could have demanded the first settlement for himself and his family. Instead, he did not take advantage of his position but sought the good of others. While others dwelt in houses, Joshua must erect for himself. The land he possessed was close to where the tabernacle was set up in the lot of Ephraim. Joshua remained true to his commitment by honoring the Name of God. He lived out his calling and was faithful to God trusting Him for He is his salvation. The meaning of Joshua’s name was “Yeshua is my salvation.” Joshua was a typology of Christ manifesting selflessness. When Jesus came and dwelt among us, it was not in pageantry but abject poverty. “‘Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have dens to live in, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place even to lay his head’” (Luke 9:58). Yet, all Jesus desired was to provide abundant and eternal life to those that will trust Him Lord and Savior. Christmas is about Jesus coming to provide us salvation and to those who are saved for they received God's offer of salvation will lived out their lives following His example. Jesus told the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Have a blessed Merry Christmas and a fruitful New Year! Blessings,