‘ So Joshua took the whole land, in accordance with all that YHWH said to Moses, and Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel, according to their divisions by their tribes. And the land had rest from war.'
Having accomplished what he had after five or so years of warfare (see Joshua 14:7; Joshua 14:10), Joshua returned to the camp at Gilgal. It was now time to begin spreading out and taking possession of the land. Thus began the allocating of the land between the tribes. This would take some time and plenty of negotiation, and while this was in process there was no fighting. ‘The land had rest from war.' No one any longer sought to attack them. But the weakened and devastated cities were re-establishing themselves, and the remnants of peoples were recuperating, and would await the next assaults by Israel. This was in accordance with the words of Moses in Exodus 23:28-33.
“The whole land” is a slight exaggeration, and may refer to ‘the land of the children of Israel' (Joshua 11:22), that is the hill country of Israel and Judah. There were important parts that had not been reduced. But his conquests had reached from the far north of the land down to the far south, and none had been able to resist him, so that it was a justifiable statement, and now the land would be divided among the tribes. Yet the process of possession, while initially fairly rapid, would soon slow down, and some tribes would be reluctant to go about it as the Book of Judges reveals. They would be content to stay where they were in the hill country and the Arabah.
Life was hard in the hill country, but secure. They overlooked the fact that if there were too many of them when the rains failed, their position would be especially precarious. This reluctance was true even in Joshua's lifetime. Note the remarks in Joshua 18:2-3 where Joshua rebuked the reluctant tribes, and the frustrated and half-hearted efforts recorded elsewhere (Joshua 15:63; Joshua 16:10; Joshua 17:12; Joshua 17:16). But it was one thing to follow a brilliant and successful general like Joshua. It was quite another when called on to do it on their own.
“Joshua gave it for an inheritance to Israel, according to their divisions (Joshua 12:7) by their tribes.” This brief summary prepares for what is to come in the following Chapter s. It sums up what was in fact to be a huge task. The outlining of the allocations would in itself require great effort (they had no maps in front of them except such as they had prepared) although Joshua, as a capable leader and administrator, had no doubt made arrangements for suitable men to keep records and notes as they went about the country. Such a summary, followed by its fulfilment in detail, is typical of ancient narratives.
And what lessons can we take from all this? They are that if God be for us we need not be afraid, whatever the opposition. Though evil forces band against us we need fear nothing while we are living lives in obedience to God. But we must ensure that we trust Him, do not trifle with sin but drive it from our lives, and obey Him in all His commandments. Then we will have success, and then we will receive the spiritual inheritance that He has promised to us.