The Leader's Last Portion Text: Joshua 19:49-51
Introduction: The Last, the Least, and the Leader
We come now to the end of a monumental task, the dividing of the promised land. For seven long years, Israel has fought under the leadership of Joshua. The great kings have been defeated, the major cities have been taken, and the time has come to settle down and possess the possession. What we witness in these closing verses of chapter nineteen is not simply an administrative footnote, a bit of historical bookkeeping. No, what we have here is a profound lesson in godly leadership, covenantal order, and the nature of our true inheritance.
Our culture has a peculiar and diseased view of leadership. To our age, leadership means getting yours first. It means scrambling to the top of the heap, securing the corner office, and making sure your portion is the largest and most secure before anyone else gets a look-in. The world's model of leadership is the model of the trough, where the biggest pigs shove the little ones out of the way to get the best slop. This is what our Lord identified as the way of the Gentiles, who love to lord it over others.
But here, at the culmination of this great project, we see the exact opposite. Joshua, the commander-in-chief, the conqueror of Canaan, the man who succeeded Moses, waits until every last tribe, every last clan, has received their allotted inheritance. He who was first is now last. He who was the greatest servant of all receives his portion only after everyone else has been served. This is not a trivial detail. It is the capstone of the entire endeavor, revealing the heart of a true servant of God and setting a pattern for all who would lead God's people in any generation.
Furthermore, we see that this is not a chaotic land grab. This is an orderly, God-ordained process. It is done by lot, before Yahweh, at the door of the tent of meeting, with the priest and the civil magistrate working in concert. This is a picture of a well-ordered commonwealth, a nation under God, where every aspect of life, including property rights and civil administration, is conducted in the presence of the Almighty. This is the antithesis of the secular, godless chaos that our modern world calls freedom. Here we see true freedom, which is liberty under law, and that law is God's law.
The Text
So they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders. Then the sons of Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. In accordance with the command of Yahweh they gave him the city for which he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and settled in it. These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land.
(Joshua 19:49-51 LSB)
The Servant's Reward (v. 49-50)
Let us look first at the portion given to Joshua.
"So they finished apportioning the land for inheritance by its borders. Then the sons of Israel gave an inheritance in their midst to Joshua the son of Nun. In accordance with the command of Yahweh they gave him the city for which he asked, Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim. So he built the city and settled in it." (Joshua 19:49-50)
The first thing to notice is the timing. "So they finished apportioning the land." Only after the work was done, only after every tribe from Reuben to Naphtali had their boundaries drawn and their cities assigned, only then does the leader get his share. Joshua is the national hero. He is the one who led them across the Jordan, who saw the walls of Jericho fall, who commanded the sun to stand still. If anyone had the right to pick the choicest land for himself at the very beginning, it was Joshua. But he did not.
This is the principle of servant headship. True authority does not grasp and take; it serves and gives. A husband is to love his wife as Christ loved the church, giving Himself for it. An elder is to shepherd the flock, not for shameful gain, but eagerly. Joshua embodies this. He eats last. This is a stark rebuke to our self-serving age, where leaders are often the first to the lifeboats. Joshua demonstrates that in God's economy, the way up is down. He who would be greatest among you must be the servant of all.
Notice also who gives him the inheritance. "The sons of Israel gave an inheritance." This is not Joshua taking it for himself. It is a gift from a grateful people, a people he has faithfully served. And this giving is not their own novel idea; it is "in accordance with the command of Yahweh." God had already made provision for his faithful servant (Numbers 34:17). God sees to it that those who serve Him faithfully are provided for. But the provision comes through the hands of the people he served. This is the ordinary pattern of God's providence.
And what does he ask for? "Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim." He asks for a city in his own tribe's territory, Ephraim. He is not seeking to set up his own little kingdom separate from his people. He identifies with his kinsmen. The name Timnath-serah means "extra portion" or "portion of abundance." This is not a contradiction. After his humble waiting, God gives him a place of abundance. But the name also has another meaning when spelled backward, as it is at his burial: Timnath-heres, "portion of the sun." This is likely a reference to his famous miracle where he commanded the sun to stand still. But look at what he does with it. He doesn't just move into a pre-built palace. The text says, "he built the city and settled in it." Even in his retirement, he is a builder. He takes what is given and makes it fruitful. This is the dominion mandate in miniature. He is a subduer, a cultivator, a man who brings order and fruitfulness to his inheritance.
The Covenantal Order (v. 51)
The final verse of this chapter summarizes the entire process, and in doing so, reveals the essential structure of a godly society.
"These are the inheritances which Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the heads of the households of the tribes of the sons of Israel distributed by lot in Shiloh before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting. So they finished dividing the land." (Joshua 19:51 LSB)
This is not just a list of names; it is a blueprint for covenantal government. First, you have "Eleazar the priest." The church, the representative of God's direct word and worship, is primary. All of life must be oriented toward God. Second, you have "Joshua the son of Nun," the civil magistrate, the head of the state. He works in partnership with the priest. This is not a confusion of church and state, but a cooperation. They have distinct roles, but a shared goal: to govern the people of God according to the law of God. Third, you have "the heads of the households of the tribes," representing the family, the foundational unit of society.
So you have Church, State, and Family, all working together to administer God's will. This is a tripartite cord of government that cannot be easily broken. Our modern world seeks to destroy this order. It seeks to make the state absolute, to marginalize the church, and to redefine and dismantle the family. The result is tyranny and chaos. But here in Shiloh, we see the pattern for a free and ordered society.
And how is the land distributed? "By lot." The lot was a means of discerning God's will in a situation where human wisdom was insufficient. Proverbs tells us, "The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from Yahweh" (Proverbs 16:33). This was a confession that ultimately, God is the one who determines the boundaries of our dwelling places. This method prevented endless squabbling and accusations of favoritism. It was a tangible act of submission to divine providence.
And where does this happen? "In Shiloh before Yahweh at the doorway of the tent of meeting." Shiloh was the location of the tabernacle at this time. The entire civil process of dividing the land takes place at the door of the church, as it were. It is done "before Yahweh." This is public, transparent, and accountable to God. There are no backroom deals, no secret arrangements. All of life, from worship to real estate, is to be conducted in the conscious presence of a holy God. When a nation forgets this, when it conducts its business as though God does not exist, it is on the fast track to ruin.
Finishing the Task
The chapter concludes with a simple, yet profound statement: "So they finished dividing the land." The task was completed. The promise God made to Abraham centuries before was now visibly fulfilled on the map of Canaan. God is a covenant-keeping God. What He promises, He performs.
This completion is a type, a foreshadowing, of a greater work. Joshua, whose name in Hebrew is Yehoshua, is the exact same name as Jesus in Greek. The first Joshua brought the people into a temporary, earthly rest. But he could not give them the ultimate rest from sin and death. The book of Hebrews makes this clear: "For if Joshua had given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on" (Hebrews 4:8).
The first Joshua divided an earthly inheritance. The second Joshua, our Lord Jesus, has secured for us a heavenly inheritance, one that is "incorruptible, undefiled, and will not fade away" (1 Peter 1:4). The first Joshua led his people in conquering a land filled with enemies. The second Joshua has conquered our greatest enemies, sin, death, and the devil, through His death and resurrection.
Just as Joshua received his portion last, so Christ, "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Hebrews 12:2). He secured the inheritance for all of His people before He entered into His own glory. He is the ultimate servant leader. He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.
Our Inheritance in the Greater Joshua
So what does this mean for us? It means that just as every tribe of Israel received a specific, God-appointed inheritance, so too does every believer in Jesus Christ. Our inheritance is not a plot of land in the Middle East. Our inheritance is Christ Himself, and all the blessings of salvation that are found in Him. We have been "blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ" (Ephesians 1:3).
The distribution in Shiloh was done by lot, before Yahweh. Our inheritance was secured for us before the foundation of the world, when the Father chose us in Christ. It was a sovereign decision of God, not based on anything in us. And just as the division of the land was finished, so the work of our salvation is finished. When Jesus cried out from the cross, "It is finished," He declared the completion of the work that secures our eternal inheritance.
Joshua had to build his city. Our inheritance is a city whose builder and maker is God. Joshua settled in the hill country of Ephraim. We are citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem. The work of the first Joshua was a glorious shadow. The work of the second Joshua is the glorious reality.
Therefore, we are to live as those who have received such an inheritance. We are to live in covenantal order, submitting to the authorities God has placed over us in the family, church, and state. We are to conduct all our affairs, whether buying, selling, or building, "before Yahweh," with integrity and in the fear of God. And we are to follow the example of our leader, the Lord Jesus. We are to seek to serve, not to be served. We are to look not only to our own interests, but also to the interests of others. For in doing so, we show that we are true sons and daughters of the King, heirs of a promise, and citizens of a city that is to come.