God in the Deed Covenants: The Inheritance of Zebulun Text: Joshua 19:10-16
Introduction: The Scandal of the Particular
We live in an age that despises particulars. Our modern sensibilities are offended by sharp lines, clear definitions, and exclusive claims. We prefer the hazy, the fuzzy, and the sentimental. We want a god who is an abstract principle, a benevolent force, a cosmic sentimentality. We want a salvation that is a vague inclusiveness, a spiritual group hug. And so, when we come to a passage like this one in Joshua, we are tempted to let our eyes glaze over. We see a list of unpronounceable towns, a description of ancient property lines, and we think to ourselves, "What does this have to do with me? This is just dusty, irrelevant real estate."
But this is a profound theological error, and it is a dangerous one. It is the error of Gnosticism, the ancient heresy that despises the material world and seeks salvation in abstract, spiritual knowledge. The God of the Bible is not a Gnostic god. He is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is the God who gets His hands dirty with dirt, with geography, with property lines. He is the God who makes covenants that have to do with actual land, actual seed, and actual blessings. The scandal of the gospel is not its abstractness, but its breathtaking particularity. God did not send a general feeling of goodwill into the world; He sent His only begotten Son, born of a particular virgin, in a particular town, at a particular time in history. He died on a particular cross, was buried in a particular tomb, and rose with a particular, glorified body.
If we cannot stomach the particularity of God's dealings with Zebulun, we will never be able to stomach the particularity of the cross. If we are bored by these verses, it is a sign that our faith has become untethered from the God of reality and has drifted into the realm of pious make-believe. These verses are a declaration of war against all forms of abstract religion. God's covenant promises are not ethereal platitudes; they are title deeds. He doesn't just promise heaven in general; He parcels out the land, town by town, brook by brook. This is a God who keeps His promises in excruciating, glorious detail.
The book of Joshua is divided into three main sections: the conquest of the land, the division of the land, and the covenant renewal in the land. We are in the middle of that second section, the division. And this is not just an administrative appendix. This is the tangible fulfillment of the promise made to Abraham centuries before: "To your offspring I will give this land" (Genesis 12:7). Every border drawn, every city named, is God saying, "I keep my word." This is not just about real estate; it is about covenant faithfulness. And as we shall see, the inheritance of Zebulun, as with all the tribes, is a pointer, a type, a shadow of a greater inheritance to come.
The Text
Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid. Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah; it then reached Dabbesheth and reached the brook that is before Jokneam. Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it went out to Daberath and up to Japhia. From there it passed on to the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it went out to Rimmon which curves to Neah. And the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and it ended at the valley of Iphtahel. Included also were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages.
(Joshua 19:10-16 LSB)
The Lot is Cast (v. 10)
We begin with the process by which the land was given.
"Now the third lot came up for the sons of Zebulun according to their families. And the territory of their inheritance was as far as Sarid." (Joshua 19:10)
The first thing to notice is that the inheritance is determined by lot. "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:33). This was not a game of chance. This was a deliberate act of entrusting the decision to the direct, sovereign will of God. This method prevented strife, jealousy, and accusations of favoritism among the tribes. No one could complain that Joshua or Eleazar the priest had carved out the best piece for their friends. God Himself was the surveyor and the distributor.
This is a fundamental lesson in divine sovereignty and contentment. God is the one who determines the boundaries of our lives, both literally and figuratively. As Paul told the Athenians, God "determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place" (Acts 17:26). Your inheritance, your station in life, your gifts, your limitations, they are not accidents. They are a divine lot, cast by a sovereign and good God. The secret to a fruitful life is not to covet Judah's portion or Ephraim's portion, but to faithfully cultivate the portion God has given to you, to Zebulun.
The inheritance is given "according to their families." God deals with us covenantally, not as isolated individuals. The promises are given to families, to households. This is a truth our radically individualistic age has almost completely forgotten. We think of salvation as a private transaction between "me and Jesus." But the Bible's pattern is covenantal. God saves households (Acts 16:31). He makes promises to us and to our children (Acts 2:39). This distribution of land to families is a powerful reminder that faith is a legacy to be passed down through generations.
The Divine Surveyor (v. 11-14)
The next few verses give us what seems to be a dry and tedious list of geographical markers. But we must read this with theological eyes.
"Then their border went up to the west and to Maralah; it then reached Dabbesheth and reached the brook that is before Jokneam. Then it turned from Sarid to the east toward the sunrise as far as the border of Chisloth-tabor, and it went out to Daberath and up to Japhia. From there it passed on to the east toward the sunrise to Gath-hepher, to Eth-kazin, and it went out to Rimmon which curves to Neah. And the border circled around it on the north to Hannathon, and it ended at the valley of Iphtahel." (Joshua 19:11-14 LSB)
Imagine a modern real estate contract. It will define the property with precise, legal language: "Beginning at the iron pin on the north side of the old county road..." This is what God is doing here. He is giving His people a legally binding, divinely attested title deed. This is not a vague promise of "some land, somewhere." It is a specific, delineated, and defensible inheritance. God's promises are like that. They are not fuzzy hopes; they are concrete realities.
This detailed description also serves as a powerful polemic against the Canaanite gods. Baal was supposed to be the god of the land, the one who gave fertility and prosperity. But here, Yahweh, the God of Israel, is carving up Baal's supposed territory and handing it out to His children. He is the true landlord. Every landmark mentioned, from Maralah to the valley of Iphtahel, is a testament to the fact that the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof. He is not a territorial deity; He is the sovereign Creator of all.
Furthermore, this precision is a call to faith and obedience. The land was promised, but it still had to be possessed. There were still pockets of Canaanites living within these borders. The detailed map was not just a record of what they had, but a blueprint for what they were to fully take. It was a royal commission. God was saying, "This is yours. Now, by faith, go in and possess your possessions." In the same way, in Christ, we have been given "all spiritual blessings in the heavenly places" (Ephesians 1:3). The title deed is signed in His blood. But we must, by faith, walk in and take possession of that inheritance day by day, fighting the remnants of sin and unbelief.
Cities and Villages (v. 15-16)
The description concludes with a summary of the cities within this territory.
"Included also were Kattah and Nahalal and Shimron and Idalah and Bethlehem; twelve cities with their villages. This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families, these cities with their villages." (Joshua 19:15-16 LSB)
Notice the mention of "cities with their villages." This is not just raw, untamed land. It is a place for community, for culture, for civilization to be built. God's intention is not for His people to be isolated mystics, but to build a godly society. The inheritance is a place to live, to work, to worship, to raise families, and to build a culture that reflects the glory of God. This is the foundation of the postmillennial vision. God gives His people an inheritance, and He commands them to build upon it, to fill it, and to subdue it for His glory.
One city name here should leap off the page to us: Bethlehem. Now, this is not the famous Bethlehem in Judah, the city of David where Christ would be born. This is a different, northern Bethlehem. But the Spirit of God, who inspired this text, is a master of subtle irony and foreshadowing. The inclusion of this name is a small pointer, a tiny echo that directs our minds to the greater inheritance that would come from another Bethlehem. The inheritance of Zebulun was good, but it was a shadow. The true inheritance is not a parcel of land in Galilee, but the person of Jesus Christ Himself, born in the city of David.
The passage concludes by reiterating the central point: "This was the inheritance of the sons of Zebulun according to their families." God is a covenant-keeping God. What He promises, He performs. He is faithful to His people, and He is faithful to their children after them.
The Zebulun Prophecy and the Great Light
Now, we must connect this dry list of towns to the grand sweep of redemptive history. We must ask, what is the ultimate significance of Zebulun's inheritance? For that, we turn to the prophet Isaiah. Centuries after Joshua, Isaiah gives a remarkable prophecy concerning this very piece of real estate.
"But there will be no gloom for her who was in anguish. In the former time he brought into contempt the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the latter time he has made glorious the way of the sea, the land beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the nations. The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shined." (Isaiah 9:1-2)
The land of Zebulun, this specific inheritance, became known as "Galilee of the nations," a place of darkness and contempt. It was a border region, often overrun by foreign armies, a place of spiritual gloom. But Isaiah prophesied that this very land, this inheritance of Zebulun, would be the place where a "great light" would shine.
And where do we see the fulfillment of this? Matthew's gospel tells us precisely. After His baptism and temptation, Jesus begins His public ministry. "And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled... From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.'" (Matthew 4:13-17).
This is staggering. The detailed, seemingly mundane, property description in Joshua 19 becomes the geographical stage for the dawning of redemption. The Light of the World, Jesus Christ, began His public ministry right here, in the inheritance of Zebulun. The people who received this plot of land in Joshua's day were receiving far more than they knew. They were receiving the land where God Himself would one day walk, preach, and heal. The ultimate inheritance of Zebulun was not the real estate, but the Messiah who would come to that real estate.
This transforms how we read these passages. The land of Canaan is a type of our inheritance in Christ. The borders and cities are not just historical data; they are a tangible picture of the specific, concrete, and glorious inheritance we have in the gospel. Our inheritance is not a place on a map, but a person. Our inheritance is Christ. In Him, we have been given a title deed to a new creation. And just as Israel had to possess their land by faith, we are called to possess our inheritance by faith. We are to walk in the light, to extend the borders of His kingdom, and to build communities of faith, cities on a hill, that shine the great light of the gospel into a world dwelling in a land of deep darkness.