In the NIV Bible our next segment of Scripture is titled "Allotment For Joseph". As we've previously discussed, there is no "tribe of Joseph" per se, but his descendants are reckoned through his two sons Ephraim and Manasseh whom Jacob adopted as his own sons. So instead of a "tribe of Joseph" we find a tribe of Ephraim and a tribe of Manasseh. Chapters 16 and 17 tell us about the land that was allotted to the descendants of Ephraim and Manasseh.
You'll recall that half the tribe of Manasseh settled on the east side of the Jordan River. Chapter 16 and Chapter 17 will tell us where the remainder of Manasseh settled and will include a dispute that arose between them and Joshua. But first we will take a look at the borders of the land given to Joseph's descendants as a whole and then we will study the borders of the territory of Ephraim.
"The allotment for Joseph began at the Jordan, east of the springs of Jericho, and went up from there through the desert into the hill country of Bethel. It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz), crossed over to the territory of the Arkites in Ataroth, descended westward to the territory of the Japhelites as far as the region of Lower Beth Horon and on to Gezer, ending at the Mediterranean Sea. So Manasseh and Ephraim, the descendants of Joseph, received their inheritance." (Joshua 16:1-4) I'm inserting the map we've been using that illustrates the territory of each tribe. Manasseh's land is shown in yellow, with their land on the west side of the Jordan titled "West Manasseh" and their land on the east side of the Jordan titled "East Manasseh". Ephraim's land is in light purple, just below West Manasseh.
"This was the territory of Ephraim, according to its clans: The boundary of their inheritance went from Ataroth Addar in the east to Upper Beth Horon and continued to the Mediterranean Sea. From Mikmethath on the north it curved eastward to Taanath Shiloh, passing by it to Janoah on the east. Then it went down from Joanoah to Ataroth and Naarah, touched Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went west to the Kanah Ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. This was the inheritance of the Ephraimites, according to its clans. It also included all the towns and their villages that were set aside for the Ephraimites within the inheritance of the Manassites." (Joshua 16:5-9)
The descendants of Judah and the descendants of Joseph were the first to receive their inheritance on the west side of the Jordan. Judah was the third son of Jacob by his wife Leah and we've discussed before how that Jacob's first three sons by Leah (Reuben, Simeon, and Levi) disqualified themselves for the position of primary heir and how the blessing and the birthright and the double portion, for all intents and purposes, ended up going to Judah. This is why the tribe of Judah was the first to receive their allotment in the promised land. The tribe of Joseph, because Joseph was the firstborn son of the marriage between Jacob and Rachel, was the second to receive their allotment.
In our previous chapter we were told that the tribe of Judah did not drive out the Jebusites (who were a clan of the Amorites) from their territory. Today we learn that the Ephraimites did not drive out all the Canaanites from their territory. "They did not dislodge the Canaanites living in Gezer; to this day the Canaanites live among the people of Ephraim but are required to do forced labor." (Joshua 16:10) What did the Lord say about the Amorites and Canaanites? These were some of the peoples the Israelites were to wipe out of the promised land, for the Lord warned them, "Do not let them live in your land or they will cause you to sin against Me, because the worship of their gods will certainly be a snare to you." (Exodus 23:33) The Lord's instructions were not fully obeyed; some sort of compromise took place in which the Israelites made these people subject to them instead of ridding the land of them. Later in the Bible we'll see the Lord's prediction coming true: the gods of these pagan peoples will become a snare to many of the Israelites.
You and I have not fully obeyed every one of the Lord's instructions either. We've compromised our values at times. But aren't we glad the Lord is gracious to us like He was to Israel? He never turned His back on Israel and said, "I'm done with you," and He's never said that to you or to me either. He heard every prayer of repentance that the Israelites ever prayed and He hears our prayers too. Every time we are made aware that we have stopped short of full obedience or that we have compromised our values, we should run as fast as we can to bow at the feet of the Lord. He is so merciful and gracious to hear our prayers, set us back up on our feet, and place us back on the right path.
No comments:
Post a Comment