(Joshua 16:1-10) Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. 3 Then it went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower Beth-horon even to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.
4 The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. 6 Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7 Then it went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, 9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.
(Joshua 17:1-18) Now this was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war. 2 So the lot was made for the rest of the sons of Manasseh according to their families: for the sons of Abiezer, the sons of Helek, the sons of Asriel, the sons of Shechem, the sons of Hepher, and the sons of Shemida; these were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families.
3 However, Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters; and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They approached Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” So in accordance with the command of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among their father’s brothers. 5 So ten portions fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh.
7 The border of Manasseh ran from Asher to Michmethath which was east of Shechem; then the border went southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the sons of Ephraim. 9 And the border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook (these cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh), and the border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and it ended at the sea. 10 The south side belonged to Ephraim and the north side to Manasseh, and the sea was their border; and they reached to Asher on the north and to Issachar on the east. 11 In Issachar and in Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its towns and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of En-dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns; the third is Napheth. 12 But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in this land. 13 And it came about when the sons of Israel became strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but they did not drive them out completely.
14 Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion as an inheritance, though I am a numerous people whom the Lord has blessed up to this point?” 15 And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” 16 The sons of Joseph then said, “The hill country is not enough for us, but all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have iron chariots, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the Valley of Jezreel.” 17 But Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, 18 but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and though they are strong.”
TODAY'S THOUGHTS AND MEDITATION:
How easy is it to forget what God has all done, and what God can all do? And how easy is it to get lazy? So lazy, that we don't go to God to even ask Him to help us? And so lazy and selfish, that we don't want to do anything, but we want everything?
The complaint that the Canaanites were too strong for the sons of Joseph was just an excuse, since they had JUST fought wars, with God leading the way to victory. And when they received their land, they were told that they still needed to drive out the remaining enemies. Instead of doing what they were told, they wanted the easy way out by asking for more land. But this was not a good solution at all, as they would still have their enemies living among them.
If you buy a house, but the tenants who lived there previously refuse to move out, would you simply let them stay? Especially if they are disruptive, even though they might agree to pay rent and help with some of the chores? It is work, but one can take legal action to resolve the issue. It is your house, after all, which we should also consider as God's house, because everything we have is from the Lord.
Instead of shrugging and compromising, living in denial, or complaining about things, we must ask what God would want in any given scenario. In my life, I have had to put physical distance between myself and certain friends and acquaintances because they were a bad influence. And for some, I needed to put emotional distance between myself and others so that I wouldn't get caught up in their drama. We are not supposed to fret about our own issues, so if something isn't our issue, then it isn't our issue to solve or fret about!
An example of this was when I had to let a very good friend know that - I loved her, but I couldn't neglect my own family while helping her out whenever she needed. Instead of writing her off completely, I let her know which days and times were available. And then, as a good friend, (with tons of prayer and biblical backup) I tried to equip and challenge her to develop her own faith and trust in the Lord, as well as to find peaceful solutions for her incredibly difficult issues. Some of it was way beyond my "pay-grade" and so I helped her look for reputable Christian professionals that she could go to.
As Christians, we are to be loving and caring, but we also have to protect ourselves and our loved ones. This doesn't mean going to war, since Jesus told us to turn the other cheek, but being humble does not mean we should be doormats, or be weak and vulnerable. We can still be lovingly firm, and we are told to be wise and aware. And most definitely we should be leaning on the Lord's help, strength and guidance!
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