Friday 12/2/22

A Step of Faith

📺️ Joshua 17 🔊

¹There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit, for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan.

 ²There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families.

 ³But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.

 ⁴And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father.

 ⁵And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan;

 ⁶Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh's sons had the land of Gilead.

 ⁷And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of Entappuah.

 ⁸Now Manasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim;

 ⁹And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:

 ¹⁰Southward it was Ephraim's, and northward it was Manasseh's, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east.

 ¹¹And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Bethshean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries.

 ¹²Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

 ¹³Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute, but did not utterly drive them out.

 ¹⁴And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto?

 ¹⁵And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.

 ¹⁶And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Bethshean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel.

 ¹⁷And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only:

 ¹⁸But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.

Written By: God through Inspiration

Penned By: Joshua 

Date Penned: (1406-1370 BC)

Overview: A Record of Israel in the Promised Land (c 1-34)

Theme: Dividing the Promised Land (c 13-24)

Message: Assignment of the Land West of the Jordan  (v 1-18)

Joshua 17 Commentary

(17:3-4) Joshua Carries Out God's Instructions - Although women did not traditionally inherit property in Israelite society, Joshua carried out God's earlier instructions to Moses and gave these five daughters justice despite the tradition, letting them inherit the land their father deserved (see Numbers 27:1-11). In fact, God had told Moses to add a law that would help other families in similar circumstances pass along property fairly. Joshua was now carrying out this law. We can easily refuse to honor a reasonable request because "we have never done it that way before." But, like Moses and Joshua, we should look carefully at the intent of the law and the merits of each case before deciding.

(17:14-18) God's Plan for Kaleb is fulfilled - Notice the two contrasting attitudes toward settling the Promised Land: Caleb took what God gave him and moved ahead to fulfill God's plan for him (14:12). He was confident that God would help him drive out the wicked inhabitants and that he would soon fully occupy his land (15:14-15). In contrast, the two tribes of Joseph were given rich land and lots of it, but they were afraid to drive out the inhabitants and take full possession of it. Instead, they begged for more land. But Joshua asked them to prove their sincerity first by clearing the unclaimed forest areas. The tribes agreed but then failed to do so (Judges 1:27).

Each day we walk through the Bible chapter by chapter making an application of our text to help us grow in the Lord. Many applications can be made from each day's text. Today we continue in the book of Joshua with Chapter 17 and we see the contrast of Caleb and the 2 tribes of Joseph. Caleb taking what God gave him and following the Lord acted on what was instructed while Joseph's descendants were afraid and did not drive out the Canaanites. In making application we see the need to act on the instruction of the Lord. This is described as taking a "step of faith" or simply accepting what the Lord says as reality then taking action as if it has already happened. It reminds me of my salvation when I heard the Gospel I knew that Jesus had paid the price for my sin debt and I simply repented and received the free gift of salvation. How about you? Have you taken a step of faith when it comes to your salvation? Let us learn from Caleb in our text today to "take a step of faith" as it relates to every aspect of our Christian lives.