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“The Profiles Of Occupation, Part
II” • 2.2.14 • Calvary Christian Fellowship, Sunday Morning Service
Intro.
- Last week, we entered a new section covering
Israel's coregency of the Promised land. The land was to be divided up by
Joshua, the Priests and a handful of tribal delegates.
- There is a physical land before them,
complete with structures that they had not built, vineyards and orchards that
they had not planted and homes that were ready to be occupied.
- This is what they have been waiting for for
more than 4 decades! Their inheritance is being received, but comes with the
condition of cleaning it out from various squatting influence.
- Their experience with physical enemies
typifies our experience with spiritual enemies. We have been given a life with
Christ, but the enemy of pride, lust, etc. remains in our territory.
- What will we do about that? These chapters in
Joshua provide us with a picture, both negative and positive, regarding what
they did.
Text
- The first four verses of chapter 16, deal with the settlement of
Joseph's tribe, who were represented by Ephraim and Manasseh, Joseph's children.
- God considers them one tribe under Joseph's
name, but are actually two distinct people groups, which is why you will hear
them called "half-tribes."
- Additionally, half of the "half tribe"
of Manasseh is included in the land of the West, while the other half had
settled in the East with the tribes of Reuben and Gad.
- Ephraim's allotment is in verses 5-9. Verse 10, offers a final word about their occupancy.
• Joshua
16:10 : "And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer;
but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become
forced laborers." : Ephraim was strong enough
to subjugate the Canaanites, but not resolute enough to utterly drive them out.
That is a sad testimony.
- They stopped short of full obedience toward's
God's command, going most of the way, but not all the way.
- In the moment, Ephraim felt that they could
control their influence. Later in the book of Judges, the tables turn and the
Canaanites will take control over them!
- Somehow, our sin works for us today. We still
love it and live by it. But it's desire will be rule over us and eventually, it
will. As a baby, sin is delightful, but when it's full grown, it brings death!
- Chapter 17:1,2
rolls out the geneaology of Manasseh which takes an unusual turn at vs.3.
• Joshua
17:3-6 : "But Zelophehad the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of
Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but only daughters. And these are the
names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. And they came near before Eleazar
the priest, before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the rulers, saying, 'The Lord commanded Moses to give us an
inheritance among our brothers.' Therefore, according to the commandment of the
Lord, he gave them an inheritance among
their father’s brothers. Ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and
Bashan, which were on the other side of the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh
received an inheritance among his sons; and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the
land of Gilead." : This was an extremely rare
inclusion into a male dominated enterprise.
- If a man had no male progeny, the land would
generally fall to a brother. In most cases, this wasn't an issue, as the people
continued having children until they had a son or two!
- In the case of Zelophedad, he died after five
unsuccessful tries! His daughters though were not going to let go of their
inheritance easily.
- In Numbers
27, they come before Moses and made their case for inheritance rights.
- Moses brought this before God and the Lord affirmed
their claim and decreed that any ladies in the same predicament could own an
inheritance for the sake of their Fathers!
- Fast forward seven years and they are making
sure that they receive what God gave to them!
- With the same manner and tenacity that Caleb
displayed, the daughters of Zelophedad held onto God's Word to them and came
calling to collect when the time was right.
- Caleb had been a foreigner. These were Ladies,
who would have been held in the same esteem as a foreigner back in that
culture!
- God blessed these ladies and their rightful
inheritance alongside of their brothers. Their faith changed a culture!
- In the things of God, Paul the Apostle will
declare in Galatians 3:28 that there
is neither Jew nor Gentile, male or female, but that all would equally share in
the goodness of God!
- One final note regarding these special
ladies. When their tribe settled on the East side of the Jordan, they did not!
Manasseh at that time had said, "This is good enough!
- The daugters of Zelophedad said, "Good
enough is not enough for us!" They waited until they were on the right
side of God's intention for their lives. They didn't want second best!
- What a wonderful example! Are you willing to
sell out for second best in your life? I pray that Zelophedad's daughters speak
loud and clear to you today!
- Verses 7-11
detail Manasseh's allotment in the land, which skirts the Jordan river to the
east and extends all the way to the Mediteranean sea on the west.
- On paper, Manasseh's land was considerable,
given that they are the only tribe to inherit on both sides of the river. Their
final grade however is seen in verse 12.
• Joshua
17:12,13 : " Yet the children of Manasseh could
not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites were
determined to dwell in that land. And it happened, when the children of Israel grew strong, that
they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out." : Manasseh's desire for their inheritance was not as great as the
Canaanite will to remain in their territory.
- When the tribe grew in strength or became
urgent they only forced the Canaanites into servitude, but no further. This
seems to be a trend.
- "Our brothers the Ephraimites didn't
drive them out but used them for their labor force. Things seem to be working
out for them."
- Our poor choices not only inhibit God's work
in us, they influence others to behave the same!
- On the other hand, I can't help but wonder
how many have wanted an inheritance in God, but only wanted it on the basis of
ease.
- As long as it comes to you easily, with
little effort or prayer, then you are satisfied.
- The children of Manasseh illustrate an
enduring principle to us that must be ground into our minds: It takes great
determination to remove that which would relentlessly exist in our lives!
- The enemy never just gives up ground to the
Saint of God. It must be taken and that with a resolute hand. The Canaanite we
tolerate today will be our Master tomorrow!
• Joshua
17:14 : "Then the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, 'Why have
you given us only one lot and one share to inherit, since we are a great
people, inasmuch as the Lord has blessed us until now?'" :
There's a bit of entitlement here in their question. A part of this must be
related to the fact that Joshua was an Ephraimite.
- They reasoned, "He's our brother! He's
got to understand that we need more land than this!"
- We noted last week that Joshua, as well as
the Elders and Priests oversaw the casting of lots. The belief was that God had
ordained each allotment.
- But as with so many who are frustrated about
their "lot" in life, it's much easier to point the finger at a human
being. Joshua simply announced God's determination to them.
- Their zeal was acceptable, but it was based
on their view of greatness. They had become a large tribe numerically, so there
was an expectation of greater territory. Joshua turns the discussion.
• Joshua
17:15 : " So Joshua answered them, 'If you
are a great people, then go up to the forest country and clear a place for
yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and the giants, since the
mountains of Ephraim are too confined for you.'" : Joshua wasn't seeking an argument, but he did want to establish
the true meaning of greatness. If or since you are a great people, then get up
to the forest and get some more territory.
- You are not great because you say so, nor are
you great because of who you are related to. Greatness is measured by what you
actually do!
- They had to accept their lot, but there was
also room within their allotted territory for expansion. Go up and clear out a
place for yourselves.
- There were Perrizzites and giants there, but certainly
these were not insurmountable circumstances. All that needed to be done was to
do it in the strength of the Lord.
•
Joshua 17:16-18 : "But the children of Joseph said,
'The mountain country is not enough for us; and all the Canaanites who dwell in
the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both those who are of Beth Shean
and its towns and those who are of the Valley of Jezreel.' And Joshua spoke to the house of
Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, 'You are a great people and have great
power; you shall not have only one lot, but the mountain country shall be
yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent
shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron
chariots and are strong.'" : I love
this section. The tribe of Joseph definitely has a challenge in front of them.
-
Their tribe needs land and the mountains might not be enough, even if they were
taken. Beside that, the Canaanites of that region possessed Iron Chariots from
the mountains to the valley.
-
The Canaanites were technologically advanced beyond the capabilities of
Joseph's tribe. These were real concerns, but only when considered apart from
God's faithfulness!
-
Joshua spoke to them and affirmed them as being great people, who had great
power! "Don't forget who you are and what you have seen God do through
you!"
-
Don't you see Him working in your life? Don't you recognize that all that has
taken place up to this point in your life, has indeed taken profound power!?
-
The same can be said for us, both in the church and in the world. The Apostle
Paul lauded the Corinthians noting that they did not come short in any
spiritual gift (I Corinthians 1:7)
-
We have divine power to come alongside one another and be of spiritual
assistance because God has given us His Holy Spirit. But He is our source of
power in the world as well.
-
In II Peter 1:3, Apostle Peter
reminded the Roman Christians that they had everything in this life that was
necessary for life and godliness.
-
These gifts from God are given to us, that we might function as Christians in
this Anti-Christian world! The children of Joseph forgot about this!
-
Joshua's words to them are applicable to us. Go take all that you can from what
you have been given!
-
All they could see was what was presently there. They didn't see it through the
eyes of their faith. The mountains are filled with enemies, until you vanquish
them.
-
The mountains are too dense to build within until you work hard to cut down the
trees.
-
The Canaanites have chariots but they won't be a problem when you take the
initiative to drive them out from your territory!
-
Fear sees what is there and terrifies us into inaction. Faith sees what will be
there and motivates our action!
• Joshua
18:1-3 : "Now the whole
congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up
the tabernacle of meeting there. And the land was subdued before them. But
there remained among the children of Israel seven tribes which had not yet
received their inheritance. Then Joshua said to the children of Israel: 'How long will you
neglect to go and possess the land which the Lord God of your fathers has given you?" : Some time has passed between the
announcement of Judah and Joseph's allotment and this meeting.
- Shiloh is located in the very
center of Israel and was a place where God's tabernacle would be set up from
this point, through the time of the Judges and First Samuel.
- The 7 remaining tribes are
getting antsy waiting for Joshua to get to their names, to which Joshua responds
tersely, "How long will you neglect your duty!" It's yours already.
Go out and get it!
- They needed some sort of
direction, which Joshua gives them.
• Joshua 18:4-9 : "Pick out from among you three men
for each tribe, and I will send them; they shall rise and go through the land,
survey it according to their inheritance, and come back to me. And they shall divide it into seven
parts. Judah shall remain in their territory on the south, and the house of
Joseph shall remain in their territory on the north. You shall therefore survey the land
in seven parts and bring the survey here to me, that I may cast lots for you
here before the Lord our God. But the Levites have no part among
you, for the priesthood of the Lord is their inheritance. And Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of
Manasseh have received their inheritance beyond the Jordan on the east, which
Moses the servant of the Lord gave them.' Then the men arose to go away; and Joshua charged those who went
to survey the land, saying, 'Go, walk through the land, survey it, and come
back to me, that I may cast lots for you here before the Lord in Shiloh.' So the men went, passed through the
land, and wrote the survey in a book in seven parts by cities; and they came to
Joshua at the camp in Shiloh. Then Joshua cast lots for them in Shiloh before the Lord, and there Joshua divided the land
to the children of Israel according to their divisions." : Josephus tells us that these 21 men sent out as surveyors, were
men skilled in geography.
- They would be able to efficiently map out the
land with special attention to the topography of the land. When they brought
back their report, Joshua would then cast lots for them.
- They were to do their part in
"eyeing" out the land and then the Lord would divide it to them
through the lots cast in Shiloh before the Lord. The first tribe to benefit was
Benjamin.
- His inheritance is detailed from verses 11-24 and is one of the smaller
divisions in the land.
-
Chapter 19 moves us into the
inheritance that was given to Simeon. Verses 1-9 detail the fact that they were given a part of Judah's lot
because Judah's lot was too much for them.
-
Verses 10-39 cover the details of
Zebulun, Issachar, Asher and Naphtali's land respectively. Their territory
surrounds the Galilee in the North of Israel.
-
Verse 40-48 gives us the account of
the tribe of Dan and their allotment. Look at verse 47.
•
Joshua 19:47 : "And the border of the children of
Dan went beyond these, because the children of Dan went up to fight against
Leshem and took it; and they struck it with the edge of the sword, took
possession of it, and dwelt in it. They called Leshem, Dan, after the name of
Dan their father." : We've looked for positive
aggression in the things of God. Then there's Dan.
-
Dan did not accept the station that God wanted for them, so they went and
forced the issue, taking possession from a people not connected with anyone.
-
Judges 18 gives us the story of a
raid that simply wiped out a group of unconnected civilians.
-
Dan later becomes a center for idolatry in Israel, which begins with her
refusal to accept what God had marked out for them!
-
That is the heart of idolatry: I will make a god that accepts what I want for
myself. True theology begins with accepting that God has a certain lot for you
and surrendering to His desire.
•
Joshua 19:49-51 : "When they had made an end of
dividing the land as an inheritance according to their borders, the children of
Israel gave an inheritance among them to Joshua the son of Nun. According to the word of the Lord they gave him the city which he
asked for, Timnath Serah in the mountains of Ephraim; and he built the city and
dwelt in it. These
were the inheritances which Eleazar the priest, Joshua the son of Nun, and the
heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel divided as an
inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the Lord, at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. So they made
an end of dividing the country." : Every
other tribe gets their inheritance and then it's Joshua's turn. What an
example!
-
Joshua served the people of God first and then received what was his from the
Lord.
-
Joshua could have his pick and when the time came he chose the mountains of
Ephraim!
-
The mountains that were to great for Ephraim were just right for Joshua and
what a beautiful picture it provides us.
-
We looked at the mountain and saw an immovable foe and an impregnable city. Our
Joshua, Jesus Christ, stood on the mountain of Calvary on a Roman cross and won
the territory for us!
Conclusion
- Let's pray!
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