Joshua Chapter 16 Verses 1 – 3

•Recall last week we covered the inheritance of Judah who settled to the south while the children of Joseph being Ephraim and Manasseh we will look at tonight who settled to the north which actually most scholars believe was the better portion in terms of size and desirability.

Joshua Chapter 16 Verses 4 – 10

•Now this is kinda a mess! They did not drive out the Canaanites in Gezer but they became forced laborers. Literally in the Hebrew, they were made to pay tribute; they became the working class as it were…which is a direct move of disobedience to God! Deuteronomy 20. God told them to cleanse the land completely! Don’t mix! Keep the land and the people pure! Turn over to Deuteronomy Chapter 20 and read with me verses 10 – 18.

•What were they thinking? Because ultimately what is written there in verse 18 of Deuteronomy Chapter 20 happens…I wonder if they had a slick talking Torah expositor among them…that convinced them that this was a land of “very far” because they did to it what was prescribed to be done of a land that is “very far.” Maybe they convinced themselves to take those two words entirely out of context…happens all the time still today…

•The fact is that they could have driven them out. They already did, right? Gezer was one of the cities conquered already by Joshua mentioned back in Joshua 10 and 12. I see it three ways. To drive them out meant more war…could it be that they just wanted peace at any cost? Could it be that they wanted wealth? Hey if they build for us then we could have so much more! And could it be that they wanted to relax…hey, a working class doing our hard labor…means more laying around for us!

•This sort of compromise seems innocent. It even seems like the right thing to do…let them live, let them stay, but this is precisely the way how and the reason why we welcome immorality into our culture, lives, and even Christian walks…for peace at any cost, for wealth and for comfort in the flesh…relaxing…

•The bottom line is that they disobeyed God, fell short of all He had for them and eventually led to future generations of war, death, difficulty and defeat! With enough caffeine and a fast enough internet connection you could craft a solid case of how this still haunts the Jewish people today…

Joshua Chapter 17 Verses 1 – 6

•This was actually a result of daughters desiring to honor their father. Zelophehad had died in the wilderness but not because of a rebellious heart…Numbers 27 explains that he was one of the men that did not gather against the Lord, to complain against Him…and so they asked Moses, “Why should our father’s great name and great legacy perish with us or in this wilderness in the company of losers like Korah?” And they asked for a share of the land just like a son would be given a portion of the inheritance…

•And so Moses goes to God and God says…well turn over to Numbers 27 and let’s read verses 1 – 11. So cool! God establishes a statute of judgment through this! Man I pray my daughter would have the same heart for me…don’t you?

Joshua Chapter 17 Verses 7 – 13

•Seeing a pattern here? This mixing of the Canaanites will bring such pain and suffering later as the story of Israel unfolds…but they weren’t strong enough you might say…they eventually were and yet again, they didn’t drive them out…but made them the working class…I have three reasons why…

Joshua Chapter 17 Verses 14 – 18

•I actually love this scene!! Manasseh has a complaint. We know it is Manasseh because of the clues we get beginning in verse 15…And what’s the problem? We are not happy with what we have…and we can’t take the full portion because we don’t trust God! Wow! Now that is calling a spade a spade! THIS IS THE SINGLE PROBLEM OF US ALL though! And I love what Joshua says…first, he hears them out…then he says, “Go and take the difficult places!” They say no…too scared, can’t do it…and they have some pretty good excuses…

•Joshua thinks for a minute…encourages them…and says, “Though all of your fears are real, go and take the difficult places!” Why? Because God has already given all that you need to be victorious! He has given His Word…trust Him…and go! Man what a powerful exhortation to us individually and to us as a church…

•In through the nose, out through the mouth, focus, eyes straight…move out…because I am with you! Awesome!