Know Your Boundaries and Fight for What's Inside
August 26, 2026
The Gibeonites then sent word to Joshua in the camp at Gilgal: “Do not abandon your servants. Come up to us quickly and save us! Help us, because all the Amorite kings from the hill country have joined forces against us.”
So, Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
After an all-night march from Gilgal, Joshua took them by surprise. The Lord threw them into confusion before Israel, so Joshua and the Israelites defeated them completely at Gibeon. Israel pursued them along the road going up to Beth Horon and cut them down all the way to Azekah and Makkedah. As they fled before Israel on the road down from Beth Horon to Azekah, the Lord hurled large hailstones down on them, and more of them died from the hail than were killed by the swords of the Israelites.
On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel:
“Sun, stand still over Gibeon, and you, moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.”So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies,
as it is written in the Book of Jashar.
The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!
Then Joshua returned with all Israel to the camp at Gilgal.
-Joshua 10:6-15
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The Israelites face a major military crisis when the five Amorite kings — Adoni-zedek of Jerusalem, Hoham of Hebron, Piram of Jarmuth, Japhia of Lachish, and Debir of Eglon — unite to attack Gibeon, which had recently made peace with Israel.
The Gibeonites send urgent pleas to Joshua at Gilgal, asking him not to abandon them.
So, Joshua marched up from Gilgal with his entire army, including all the best fighting men. The Lord said to Joshua, “Do not be afraid of them; I have given them into your hand. Not one of them will be able to withstand you.”
On the day God delivers the Amorites to Israel, Joshua prays, “Sun, stand still over Gibeon… Moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.” The sun and moon pause in the sky for about a full day, allowing Israel to complete its victory.
Joshua and his army were fighting. They were doing everything they could do. But Joshua recognized that they needed more time and Joshua prayed for the sun to stand still. Joshua asked God to give him more opportunity to accomplish what God had called him to do.
Personally, I have experienced time standing still. I am not sure how God does it, but there have been many times when what I was called to do seemed impossible to accomplish in the time I had.
There were seasons when I was attending seminary while serving as a pastor and raising a young family. Other times, I was teaching students at Lancaster Bible College while pastoring a church and helping doctoral students at Bethel Seminary with their dissertations. I have pastored, taught, made sure I was at my kids’ soccer games and Cub Scout events, and made time to be present with my wife.
So many times, I thought, There is no way I can get all of this done. There simply isn’t enough time.
Occasionally, during these times, I would get it right. I would pray and ask God to give me the strength—not simply to accomplish everything I wanted to get done, but to help me accomplish what He was calling me to do. It was on those days, when I prayed and leaned on God, that I would eventually fall into bed exhausted, but grateful, knowing that the things that needed to be done—not necessarily everything I wanted to get done—had been completed.
Then there were the days when I left God out of the picture. I would convince myself that I could accomplish everything in my own strength. I can do this. No problem. But many of those days seemed to unravel. What felt manageable at the beginning of the day became overwhelming, and what I thought I could handle on my own often left me exhausted, frustrated, and wondering why everything seemed so difficult.
I can remember days when my to-do list was full, and I would wake up ready to tackle it. I had no time for prayer, no time for Bible study, no time for reflection. I needed to get up and get going.
Yet, so often, the days when I took thirty minutes to pray, read Scripture, reflect, and ask God for help with the day ahead ended up being far more productive than the days when I simply jumped headfirst into my to-do list, checking off one task after another.
I have learned that sometimes the best way to get more done is to stop and spend time with the One who gives us the strength to do it. I have learned that God has a way of doing what only He can do—stretching our time, strengthening us for the assignment, and making a way when we cannot see one.
Joshua reminds us that often we get stuck trying to do everything ourselves or we expect God to do everything for us.
But Joshua challenges us to remember that we must work like it depends on us but pray like it depends on God.
Joshua didn’t pray, “God, make this easier.” He prayed, “God, give us enough time to finish what You’ve called us to do.” Joshua didn’t pray, “God, take away my responsibility.” He prayed, “God, give me the wisdom, strength, courage, and time to fulfill my responsibility.”
The five Amorite kings were decisively defeated, but their defeat did not end the opposition against Israel. As word spread throughout the land, other kings and nations realized that Israel was becoming a powerful force. Rather than facing Israel individually, they joined together and formed a larger alliance, hoping that their combined strength would be enough to stop the Israelites.
Yet even this united opposition could not stand against Israel. One by one, these armies were defeated, demonstrating that Israel’s victories were not simply the result of superior numbers or military strategy, but of God fighting on their behalf. After many battles, we read in Joshua 11:23:
So Joshua took the entire land, just as the Lord had directed Moses, and gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their tribal divisions. Then the land had rest from war.
In Joshua 15–19, it describes how the Promised Land was divided among the tribes of Israel, with specific boundaries and cities assigned to each tribe. Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh had already received land east of the Jordan under Moses (Numbers 32). The remaining tribes were assigned the following:
Joshua 15
Judah receives the largest territory, stretching south of Jerusalem toward the Negev.
Caleb receives Hebron and successfully drives out its inhabitants.
Joshua 16-17
Joseph’s descendants, Ephraim and Manasseh, receive land in central Israel. The descendants of Joseph complained that their territory was too small, so Joshua challenges them to clear the remaining forests and drive out the Canaanites.
Joshua 18
Benjamin receives its inheritance between Judah and Joseph. Jerusalem is located on the boundary between Judah and Benjamin.
Joshua 19
Simeon receives territory within Judah’s larger inheritance.
Zebulun receives land in northern Israel.
Issachar receives territory in the fertile Jezreel Valley and surrounding region.
Asher receives land along the Mediterranean coast in the northwest.
Naphtali receives territory in the far north around the Sea of Galilee.
Dan receives territory in the central coastal region, although the tribe later struggles to possess all of its assigned land.
Joshua’s Inheritance: After the tribes receive their portions, Joshua himself is given Timnath-serah in the hill country of Ephraim.
These chapters feel like reading maps and lists but they have a deep spiritual truth for us to understand: God gives His people boundaries.
Each tribe receives an inheritance. The portions are not identical, but they are intentional.
Some received more land; others received less. Some received fertile valleys, while others faced forests, mountains, or powerful enemies. Furthermore, receiving the land did not mean there would be no battles left to fight.
Judah received a large and influential territory, while Simeon’s inheritance was much smaller and located within Judah’s land. Their portions were different, but both were part of God’s plan.
Ephraim and Manasseh received fertile and significant land, yet they still faced Canaanite resistance and complained about the challenges before them. Having an inheritance did not mean having an easy path.
Dan was given territory, but the tribe struggled to fully possess it because of opposition from the inhabitants. They eventually had to fight for and establish themselves further North.
Caleb received Hebron, but even at 85 years old, he still had giants to drive out. God gave him the land, but Caleb still had to claim what God had promised.
God gave them their territory, but they still had to trust Him, step forward, and take possession of it. The same God who had stopped the sun at Gibeon had not left them. He would continue to fight alongside them.
Their inheritance came with opportunity but also responsibility.
And, of course, some tribes—Ephraim and Manasseh—complained, comparing the land they had received with the inheritance given to the other tribes. We read in Joshua 17:14:
Why have you give me only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people?
We must:
1) Know what God has entrusted to us…to you.
Oswald Chambers speaks quite directly about the danger of comparing ourselves with other people, especially when comparison causes us to question God’s particular calling or measure our success by someone else’s life.
One of the clearest passages is from “Deserter or Disciple?” in My Utmost for His Highest. Chambers writes:
Don’t look at someone else and say, ‘Well, if he can have those views and prosper, why can’t I?’ … Don’t compare yourself with others or judge them that is between God and them.
Chambers understands:
a) Comparison can make you question your own calling. You begin asking, “Why isn't my life like his?” or “Why isn't my business growing like hers?” Instead of following what God has given you to do, you start measuring yourself against somebody else's assignment.
b) Comparison can turn someone else's success into a source of discontent. His example is essentially: “If he can do that and prosper, why can't I?” That's a dangerous question because it assumes that God's plan for someone else should be the standard for you.
c) Comparison shifts your focus away from God. Chambers repeatedly emphasizes maintaining God's viewpoint rather than allowing other people's viewpoints to become the standard.
We must:
2) Establish boundaries around it. Take responsibility for it. And fight for it.
I have struggled with this most of my life—establishing and maintaining boundaries around what God has entrusted to me.
Sometimes I have been successful. I have worked to keep the boundary of faithfulness and devotion to my wife within our marriage. I have sought to maintain the boundary of loving my children unconditionally and supporting them as they find their own journey in life.
But there are other boundaries where I have struggled—especially when it comes to money, wanting more, wanting what others have, and failing to be content with what God has entrusted to me. I have also struggled with the desire to become a well-known speaker or to have my books appear on bestseller lists—things that God may never have planned for me.
Perhaps part of possessing the land God has given us is learning to recognize its boundaries—and being content to live faithfully within them.
I have also tried to take responsibility for what God has entrusted to me. I have tried to do that with my family, my marriage, my students, and my schooling. But I have also fallen short, especially when trying to care for a large congregation that God has entrusted to me.
I have struggled with my writing as well. I have failed to write each day and to put into words the next book I believe God has given me. Too often, I have allowed laziness, distractions, and misplaced priorities to determine my schedule.
At times, I have even prayed that God would put my book, Three Years, on the bestseller list, rather than doing the work necessary to help get it there. I have compared myself to other successful writers and felt defeated because of it, instead of recognizing that I am blessed to have been entrusted with what God has given me—regardless of how large or small the audience may be.
Perhaps faithfulness is not about how much land we possess, how many people hear us, or how successful we appear to others. Again, perhaps faithfulness is about taking responsibility for the piece of ground God has placed in our hands.
And we must:
3) Ask God to give us the strength to complete the mission He has entrusted to us and to give us what we need to finish.
Remember, Joshua understood that we must work like it depends on us but pray like it depends on God.
We cannot forget that we will not be judged by comparing what we have done with what someone else has done. God has not asked us to build someone else’s life. He has asked us to be faithful with what He has placed in our hands.
Paul gives us this picture in 1 Corinthians 3. He says that “no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.”
But then he says that each person builds upon that foundation, and we build with different materials—gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw. One day, our work will be tested, and the fire will reveal “what sort of work each one has done.”
Notice what Paul doesn't say. He doesn't say that God will take your building and compare it to somebody else's. He says He will test your work.
That's why comparison is so dangerous. We can spend our lives looking at someone else's building—how big it is, how impressive it looks, how successful it appears—and become discouraged because ours doesn't look the same.
But God isn't asking you to build their building. He is asking you to be faithful with the materials He has given you.
You may not have the same talents. You may not have the same opportunities. You may not have the same resources, personality, relationships, experiences, or calling. But you do have an assignment.
And when we stand before God, the question won't be, “Why didn't you build what they built?”
The question will be, “What did you do with what I gave you?”
So, stop looking sideways. Look up.
Stop asking, “How am I doing compared to them?” Start asking, “Am I being faithful to what God has entrusted to me?”
Know what God has entrusted to you. Establish boundaries around it. Take responsibility for it. Fight for it. And trust God to give you what you need to finish it.
And remember who is with you. The God who stopped the sun in the sky for Joshua is the same God who goes with you today. The God who gave Joshua the time, strength, courage, and opportunity to finish what He had called him to do will give you what you need to fulfill what He has entrusted to you.
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