Joshua 18:1 - Meaning and Application

In the middle of the story about dividing the land, this account tells how the tabernacle was set up in a new place. Until then, it had stayed in the center of the camp, but now three of the four groups that once surrounded it in the wilderness were gone. Judah, Ephraim, and Reuben had been sent to their own lands, and only Dan remained whole, so it was time to move the tabernacle into a city. The priests and Levites had often taken it down, carried it, and set it up again in the wilderness, as they were told to do (Numbers 4:5 and following), but now it was to be moved for good. None of its stakes would be moved again, and none of its cords would be broken (Isaiah 33:20).

The tabernacle was moved to Shiloh, a city in Ephraim’s territory, though it stood close to Benjamin’s border. God himself must have guided them to this place, since he had promised to choose the place where he would make his name live (Deuteronomy 12:11). Most likely, he made his will known through the judgment of Urim, the priestly means of seeking God’s answer. Shiloh was chosen because it stood near the center of the land, closer to the middle than Jerusalem, so it was easier for all Israel to gather there. In the wilderness, the tabernacle had been in the middle of the camp; now it should be in the middle of the nation, as the holy place that set the whole people apart and showed God’s glory among them (Psalm 46:5).

It was also in the tribe of Ephraim, Joshua’s own tribe, and Joshua was now their chief ruler. That made the place suitable both for Joshua’s honor and convenience and for the good of the land. The testimony of Israel and the thrones of judgment fit well together (Psalm 122:4-5). Some also think there was meaning in the name Shiloh. Jacob’s prophecy had used that name for the Messiah, the promised ruler from God (Genesis 49:10), and the Jews likely knew that prophecy well. So setting up the tabernacle in Shiloh pointed them forward to the greater Shiloh, in whom all the worship of the old sanctuary would be fulfilled in a better and more complete tabernacle, one made not with earthly limits (Hebrews 9:1, Hebrews 9:11). Dr. Lightfoot thought the place was called Shiloh because the land was at peace then, and later God’s temple would be in Salem, another name that means peace.

The move was done with great public honor. The whole congregation gathered for the occasion, showing respect for the ark of God, the sign of his presence, and welcoming it to its settled home. Every Israelite had a part in this, so all shared in the joy and satisfaction of the day. Some likely even moved their own camps from Gilgal and settled near Shiloh, since every true Israelite will want to live where God’s tabernacle lives. The text also says the land was subdued before them, which shows that the area was now peaceful and fully under their control. No one opposed them, and they were not worried about danger, so they gave thanks for God’s steady help and victories.

This was a hopeful sign for their life in Canaan. Their first concern was to settle the ark well as soon as they had a safe place for it. The ark stayed at Shiloh for about 300 years, until the sins of Eli’s family, the priestly house of Eli, brought judgment, the ark was taken away, and Shiloh was ruined. Its ruins later stood as a warning to Jerusalem: “Go and see what I did to Shiloh” (Jeremiah 7:12; Psalm 78:60).