It is Not What Seems Right But What God Says
May 8, 2020
Commentary
One prevailing theme of this chapter is not finishing the work. Israel was ready to divide up the land among the tribes, but we find there were enemies yet to be conquered in the land (13:1). It appears that some of the Israelites wanted to spare the Canaanites because of a false sense of mercy. Many of the enemy to be killed were women and children. It seemed humanitarian to spare them. This thinking was faulty because of several reasons: (1) God always does what is right, (2) other people had been completely destroyed by God. Only Noah and his family survived the flood. Another example is God’s judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24-25).
Throughout this section of Scripture, you will notice that God’s people did not drive out the enemy as He had commanded (16:10; 17:12). It is hard to understand how they could be so blatantly disobedient. Perhaps one reason was because of their materialistic mind set. They thought more about what money could do for them than in being obedient to the Lord. As a result, many of the Israelites captured the people and put them to work (v. 10). Another possible reason the Israelites did not completely destroy their enemy was that they wanted to receive God’s blessing without exerting themselves. An example of this was when the children of Joseph complained that they were not given enough land for being such a great people. Joshua told them that if they wanted more land, they would have to earn it (17:15).
Application
Do I have an inflated view of myself and feel I deserve more than I am getting? Am I willing to forget myself and give myself diligently to the work of the Lord with His glory in mind? I want to make a conscious effort to have a better spirit and attitude and to be diligent about the work of the Lord.
Joshua 16:1– 10 (NET)
1 The land allotted to Joseph’s descendants extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho to the east, through the desert and on up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. 2 The southern border extended from Bethel to Luz, and crossed to Arkite territory at Ataroth. 3 It then descended westward to Japhletite territory, as far as the territory of lower Beth Horon and Gezer, and ended at the sea.
4 Joseph’s descendants, Manasseh and Ephraim, were assigned their land. 5 The territory of the tribe of Ephraim by its clans included the following: The border of their assigned land to the east was Ataroth Addar as far as upper Beth Horon. 6 It then extended on to the sea, with Micmethath on the north. It turned eastward to Taanath Shiloh and crossed it on the east to Janoah. 7 It then descended from Janoah to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho, and extended to the Jordan River. 8 From Tappuah it went westward to the Valley of Kanah and ended at the sea. This is the land assigned to the tribe of Ephraim by its clans. 9 Also included were the cities set apart for the tribe of Ephraim within Manasseh’s territory, along with their towns.
10 The Ephraimites did not conquer the Canaanites living in Gezer. The Canaanites live among the Ephraimites to this very day and do hard labor as their servants.
Illustration: Elisabeth Elliot Brother was disobedient
Elisabeth Elliot, at Urbana 76, told of her brother Thomas Howard. Their mother let him play with paper bags she’d saved if he put them away afterwards. One day she walked into the kitchen to find them strewn all over the floor. Tom was out at the piano with his father singing hymns. When confronted, he protested, “But Mom, I want to sing.” His father stated, “It’s no good singing God’s praise if you’re disobedient.” (Source unknown).