In our last lesson of The Book of Joshua we left the other half-tribe of Manesseh waiting to receive their inheritance. They have been faithfully waiting for a long time now. All of their men have fought hard in order to secure the whole nation. Now they are ready to come home and inherit the promises made to Abraham. The third lot drawn to determine who inherited the land would go to them.
WELCOME
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THE LAND OF HIGH EXPECTATIONS
Have you ever been in such a place where you had toiled and worked endlessly toward a goal and then finally finished the task? That magical moment arrives when you find yourself eagerly anticipating the reward at the end of a long rough road. This is where the half-tribe of Manesseh found themselves. Their expectations were so high. They had waited so long!
Sometimes we all come to such a place in life. Often it happens that our expectations are greater than the outcome of our struggles. The other half of this tribe had already returned to a lush, green pasture land full of green grasses over rolling hills. Their wives and children were waiting with food on the table and fires in the fireplaces. Maybe having seen all of this come to pass had put high expectations on the plate of this half of the tribe too.
They were expecting great things to happen.
WHEN IMAGINATION OUTGROWS REALITY
When you have a long time to think about a dream; the dream seems to grow and grow. Our imaginations sometimes outgrow our realities.
The reality was that these men left from the tribe of Manesseh were mighty warriors. To match that reality was the fact that some of those pagan Canaanites were still living right there in the promised land. As long as they lived in the land; the abundant blessings could not come forth.
These warriors were perfectly capable of many more good fights. Yet; many of them seemed tired of the battles. They were weary. All they wanted was to rest and enjoy the simple pleasures of life again.
War had definitely lost its appeal.
They were tired of overcoming one obstacle after another.
Have you ever experienced such a place?
BEING FAITHFUL IN GILEAD
Manesseh's firstborn son was named Machir. Machir was the father of Gilead and Gilead had six sons of his own. These sons of Gilead were the generation that entered the land of promise at last. Their families had finally inherited the lands that eventually became known as Gilead and Bashan.
The land called Gilead was under constant attack by the Ammonites, but being the warriors that they were the sons of Gilead led the half-tribe in taking the area they named Gilead. This one portion of the sons of the tribe of Manasseh was very successful in running the Ammonites out of the area. They knew and understood that God had declared judgment upon them and that the land now belonged to them.
By defeating these enemies still living in the land of Canaan, this band of men from the half-tribe of Manesseh were being true to what God and Joshua had requested of them.
Gilead thrived and so did their families. The sons of Gilead began to experience the abundant life that had been promised.
JOY COMES FROM DEFEATING THE ENEMIES OF GOD
The rest of the sons from the half-tribe of Manesseh were not as successful in driving out the enemies of God. They still needed to conquer the Perizzites and the Rephaites.
Lots were drawn among these sons in order to determine which tribes would inherit what portions of the rest of the land designated to the half-tribe of Manesseh. After those divisions of the land were determined, the tribes began to settle down within their own territories.
Gilead's sons named Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Shemida and Hepher began to settle within their own properties, but they were not completely happy.
Something still seemed terribly wrong.
Much of their frustration came from the fact that they did not continue to overcome and drive the Canaanites who were left in their lands away. Maybe this was because they feared the powerful Canaanite warriors. The Perizzites and the Rephaites were said to fight with chariots made of iron. This ancient fear-porn was part of what persuaded the other sons from the tribe of Manasseh to settle further up in the heavily forested hill county where they eventually cleared out the land and built homes.
RUNNING AWAY FROM FEAR
It seemed that they had temporarily forgotten how God had always sustained them. They did not stop to remember all the past victories they had obtained when God was on their side. Perhaps they had grown lazy. They were tired. Maybe they just wanted the easy, unbothered life with no struggles. It could have been that they thought they could escape the rest of the world by hiding up in the hills.
Don't we all try to run away and escape our realities sometimes?
This especially happens after we have gone through great efforts and won great victories through persevering past many struggles. We expect all roads from this side of the mountain to be easier and to only give us peace.
But Satan loves for us to get this mind-set because that is how he gets his way so many times. He heaps coals on the fires of discontent and reminds us of how unfair life can be. We react without considering the wisdom or consequences of our actions.
COMPLAINTS OF NOT ENOUGH
Even though these were only half of a whole tribe; they complained to Joshua that they did not have enough land for their people. They let their minds wander into the land of not-enough. That land is always full of delusions from the enemy of God.
Joshua, being the fierce warrior/leader that he was, simply encouraged them to handle the Canaanites and solve their problems. All they really needed was to clear the Rephaites and the Perizzites out of the land. Yet; it seemed that they might have been tired of fighting. Joshua knew that they were capable if they would only face their fears and live up to their abilities under God.
He understood what they had temporarily forgotten; "when God is for us - who can stand against us?"
A REQUEST TO OVERCOME
Joshua was asking them to overcome the enemies by putting in one long-last effort to secure the land for everyone. Instead; they chose to take the easy way. This part of the tribe decided to clear other parts of the land so they could go off and hide and not be bothered anymore.
For a long time they settled in the hill country. They lived there with less; even though it was not very suitable for raising and growing their flocks. Instead of facing their enemies; they rearranged their lives to accommodate them.
JOSHUA WAS A SHADOW OF JESUS
Jesus has asked us to be overcomers in these last days.
He stressed the importance of this over and over again.
Revelation 3:11-13 is one example of this important message:
I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so that no one will take your crown. To him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
The mistake that this portion of the half-tribe of Manasseh made was to not continue to overcome.
God had given them the mission to take the land; but they chose the easy way out. The easy way involved living in comfort and ease.
How familiar that sounds.
IT ISN'T ALWAYS EASY
We all have those days when we just don't want to fight any more.
It sometimes seems that the battles will never end; but I encourage you brothers and sisters to keep going toward the goal and to keep fighting for the Kingdom.
Don't settle for the temporary comforts of this earth and quit.
Keep fighting until the victory is won and Christ returns and brings His reward with him for those who have remained faithful.
THERE IS HEALING IN OVERCOMING
Be like those of the half-tribe of Manesseh who fought for Gilead. There is healing in the act of overcoming. Never sit down and give up. Stay in God's Word and be the prayer warriors that are needed to fight the battles of our nation.
Finally in chapter seventeen we see the daughters of Zelophehad coming forth to remind Joshua of what Moses had cleared with God for them to inherit.
Zelophehad was the son of Hepher. He died in the desert and he had no sons; only five daughters. Men typically were the only people who inherited and managed land in these ancient cultures, but God was looking out for these women who had been faithful to Him.
ALWAYS DEFEND YOUR INHERITANCE
These brave women came forward and spoke up for their father's share of the inheritance. Because of their courage and wisdom they also gained a new home in the land of promise.
Joshua granted them their father's portion of the inheritance. The only stipulation was that they would marry within the family's tribe and keep the future inheritance of the next generations within the family.
These women honored this requirement of God for them and their families. Because of their courage to speak up for fairness and their obedience to God's ruling over them; they thrived in the new land.
Now all of the tribe of Manesseh was settled in the land.
Their territories were on both sides of the Jordan River.
Abraham's promises from God and Jacob's blessings to his sons were beginning to come true.
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