Joshua 17:1 –The allotment was made to the people of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, were allotted Gilead and Bashan, because he was a man of war.
As we noted in our last post, the people of 'Joseph' consisted of the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh. Chapter 16 gave us the details of Ephraim's inheritance, while chapter 17 gives us the details of Manasseh's inheritance.
Half of the tribe of Manasseh had already received an inheritance east of the Jordan River while Moses was still alive.� They received this allotment after waging war against Og king of Bashan and Sihon king of the Amorites (Joshua 13:29-31).� This is the inheritance referred to here, in verse one.�
At an earlier point in our study, we mentioned that a divinely appointed council determined the exact borders of each allotment, while God himself determined the lot or location of each tribe. Lot assignments were based on the unique skills, talents and needs which God had placed into each group. Each lot also contained some challenges that would bring out the divine potential of each tribe.
The inheritance of Manasseh is a good example of this. The people who inherited the parcel east of the river were the descendants of Machir, son of Manasseh. Machir was born in Egypt where he distinguished himself as a man of war, probably in the conflicts between the Ephraimites and the men of Gath.
His war-like disposition was passed down to his offspring; scripture tells us they were "mighty warriors" and "famous men" (I Chronicles 5:24). Their position on the east side of the Jordan made them the first line of defense for any foreign invaders from the east.
Potential conquerors of Israel would first need to subdue the brave, pugnacious tribe of Manasseh and subsequently cross the Jordan before they had any chance of taking Jerusalem.� This half tribe of Manasseh clearly inherited the parcel of land that most suited them!
Joshua 17:2 – And allotments were made to the rest of the people of Manasseh by their clans, Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher and Shemida.� These were the male descendants of Manasseh the son of Joseph, by their clans.
As you already know, the tribe of Manasseh was actually given two parcels of land. They had the parcel we just discussed (the inheritance of Machir) which was east of the Jordan River, and they also had a second inheritance west of the river. (This double portion is reflective of one of the benefits of the 'firstborn', as discussed in our last post.)
Their second allotment is described more fully in the remainder of this chapter. Basically, it was a large territory north of the allotment of Ephraim. It was assigned to six of the sons/descendants of Manasseh.
Ordinarily, this would be just a matter of routine, however, there was an unusual circumstance in this situation.
Joshua 17:3 – Now Zelophehad the son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Machir, son of Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters, and these are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah.
Manasseh's great, great grandson (Zelophehad) did not have any male children. According to the customs of ancient Israel, that was a problem. During that era, women did not have the same rights as they have in our day.
Specifically, women did not own property and they did not work outside the home. They were supported by their fathers until they married, and subsequently their husbands took care of them. During old age/widowhood, they were supported by their adult male children. (Incidentally, this also ties into the responsibilities associated with the first born – one of the reasons the firstborn received a double inheritance was because they were responsible for the care of their mother and any unmarried sisters once their father died.)
So, the question is, what became of the inheritance that would have gone to the male descendants of Zelophehad, if he had any?
Fortunately, this particular situation had already been identified many years earlier during the census taken before Israel crossed over the Jordan (Numbers 26:33). At that time, Moses sought an answer from the Lord, and God responded by giving a hierarchy of rules for inheritance.
Numbers 27:8 – Say to the Israelites, "If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter."
Basically, if a man died without sons, his daughters were to receive his land and property as an inheritance.
If the deceased man had no daughters, his brothers were to inherit his possessions.� If he had no brothers, his stuff passed to his uncles on his father's side of the family.� If he still didn't have an heir at that point, his land and possessions went to his next closest relative within his clan.� (For full details, see Numbers 27:1-11).
Joshua 17:4-6 – They approached Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun and the leaders and said, "The Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance along with our brothers."� So according to the mouth of the Lord he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father.� Thus there fell to Manasseh ten portions, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is on the other side of the Jordan, because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance along with his sons.� The land of Gilead was allotted to the rest of the people of Manasseh.
It should be noted, however, that a stipulation was placed upon their inheritance. The daughters of Zelophehad had to marry a man within the clan of Hepher. This way, when the land passed to the next generation, it would remain within the family.
This makes perfect sense, because if the daughters married men of other tribes or even other clans, the inheritance of this family would have been swallowed up by another family or tribe, which was an unacceptable situation in that era.
Let's shift gears for a moment and take a look at another topic which comes to mind as we consider the daughters of Zelophehad.
Earlier in our study, we said that the conquest of the Promised Land was a physical picture of the spiritual warfare we are involved in today:
Ephesians 6:12 -For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in heavenly places.
Since the women of Israel were not directly involved in combat during the conquest, does that mean that women cannot or should not be involved in spiritual warfare? Since the women in ancient Israel did not hold offices in Israel's army, does that mean they should not hold offices in the church?
These are questions that have been raised in the church from time to time throughout the years. Rather than answering them based on tradition, let's follow the example of Moses and see what God has to say on this subject.
The apostle Paul offers us this insight in the book of Galatians:
Galatians 3:26-28 - �for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."
Did you catch what Paul said to the Galatian church?� In the spiritual realm, no distinction is made between males and females.� Every born again person is considered an offspring of Abraham and is an heir of all the spiritual promises and gifts of God.�
This means that women are saved. They have equal access to the throne of God. They are filled/baptized with the Holy Spirit and his gifts operate in and through their lives. The faith of a woman will move mountains, just the same as the faith of a man. The fervent prayers of a righteous woman are just as effective as the fervent prayers of a righteous man. We could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.
The prophet Joel reveals that it was always God's plan for women to be spiritually active in his kingdom:
Joel 2:28 – "And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions�"
In the book of Acts, Luke gives us a record of women who operated in the gifts of Holy Spirit, just as men did:
Acts 21:8-9 -And the next day we that were of Paul's company departed and came unto Caesarea: and we entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven; and abode with him. And the same man had four daughters, virgins, who did prophesy.
Furthermore, Jesus clearly demonstrated that he approved of women in ministry.�
Just a few days before his crucifixion, Jesus was eating dinner at the house of Simon the leper.� While he was at the table, a woman came into the house, broke open an extremely expensive flask of perfume (Nard), and proceeded to minister to Jesus by anointing his head (Mark 14:3).� The perfume would have run down his face/beard, shoulders and chest; his whole body was touched by it.
The men present at the dinner threw a fit. They gave the woman a hard time; scripture says they 'murmured against her' which means they criticized what she was doing and insisted that she stop.
Jesus responded by essentially telling the men to 'knock it off':
Mark 14:6 – But Jesus said, "Leave her alone.� Why do you trouble her?� She has done a beautiful thing to me."
Let's consider this situation for a minute. Scripture compares the relationship of Christ and the church to a human body. Jesus is the head. He does the thinking, he makes the decisions and he leads his body (the church) where he wants it to go. We are his hands and feet here on earth, to obey/follow where Christ leads us.
I Corinthians 12:27 – Now you are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
So, when Jesus allowed this woman to anoint and minister to his physical body, it was a picture of her ministering to the spiritual body of Christ – the church. Keep in mind that when men tried to stop her, Christ responded by saying "Leave her alone"!
We can conclude that since God does not make a spiritual distinction between men and women (and we have ample scripture to prove it), both can serve the body of Christ in whatever spiritual office Holy Spirit places them. We find both men and women actively serving as preachers, teachers, missionaries, evangelists, worship leaders, council members, etc.
Some folks argue that women are to be silent in the church and this command excludes them from being pastors, teachers, etc.
1 Corinthians 14:34 - Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be submissive, as also says the law.
However, when examining the context of this statement of the apostle Paul, we find that he is merely advocating for order in the midst of the church service.� Keep in mind that during that time, women were not educated in the synagogues like men were.�
So if a woman had questions regarding the teaching/instruction given to the congregation, she was not to interrupt the service and question the speaker.� Instead, she was supposed to ask her husband for clarification of the teaching after they were at home.� In this way, order was maintained within the service.
Joshua 17:7-11 – The territory of Manasseh reached from Asher to Michmethath, which is east of Shechem.� Then the boundary goes along southward to the inhabitants of En-tappuah. The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh, but the town of Tappuah on the boundary of Manasseh belonged to the people of Ephraim.� The boundary went down to the brook Kanah�Also in Issachar and in Asher Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, and Ibleam and its villages, and the inhabitants of Dor and its villages and the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; the third is Naphath.
Here we have another long description of the cities, towns and villages that fell to the half tribe of Manasseh, west of the Jordan. Again we will not seek to identify or pinpoint each individual site.
However, it is worth noting that Ephraim inhabited some cities within the territory of Manasseh, while some of the people of Manasseh inhabited cities in Ephraim, Asher and Issachar. As we discussed in our last post, this intermingling created a greater sense of unity among the tribes.
Joshua 17:12-13 – Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.
Which is true of the tribe of Manasseh – they 'would not' drive out the Canaanites, or they 'could not' drive them out? Is there a difference? What do you think?
'Would not' implies that they had an opportunity to remove the Canaanites from their land, but they chose not to do it.� Was that the case?
Yes, it was.� God made it very plain from the beginning of the conquest (even in the battles fought in the trans-Jordan under Moses) that if his people would seek him and enter the battle by faith, he would give them victory over every foe they faced.� As we have seen in the book of Joshua, God was true to his word.
Therefore, the fact that the Canaanites still dwelt in the inheritance of Manasseh leads us to conclude that Manasseh 'would not' do what was necessary to possess the totality of their inheritance. It implies that they consciously chose not to pursue ultimate victory by partnering with God in faith.
What led to this decision?
The people of Manasseh began to shift their focus from eternal spiritual things to the things of this world.� It was God's desire for them to completely remove the Canaanites from the land, and for a while Manasseh was diligent to step out in faith and accomplish that goal.�
But eventually, they began to desire the things of this world more than the things of God; they became far more interested in cultivating the land and acquiring wealth than in fighting for the remainder of their inheritance.
As a result, their military skills grew rusty. Worse yet, they no longer exercised their faith as they once did. As they took their eyes off the Lord and focused on the things of this world, their fear of the Canaanites increased. The enemy's strongholds and chariots of iron began to seem insurmountable. They convinced themselves they could not win a war against their foes.
The end result is that they became both spiritually and physically 'out of shape' and unfit for battle. Thus, their decision not to engage the enemy (would not) led to a situation where they were literally no longer capable of defeating the enemy (could not).
Eventually, this decision was repeated by all of the tribes of Israel, and it led to their downfall. Because they did not remove the Canaanites from their territories, the Israelites began to accept and even embrace their idols and false gods. In due course, Israel was sent into captivity because of these wicked practices.
We need to be on guard against falling into this same trap.
Our first priority is to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength:
Mark 12:29-30 – Jesus answered, "The most important [commandment] is, 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.� And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'"
Our second priority is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves (Mark 12:31).
Once we have these priorities in place, it is perfectly fine for us to pursue and enjoy the things of this life.� Despite what you may have heard in the past, God is not in favor of his people being poor.�
In fact, the opposite is true - God loves to bless his people. He declares that we are blessed going in and blessed going out. He desires to bless everything that we set ourselves to accomplish. Scripture says that God delights in blessing us.
Deuteronomy 30:9-10 – The Lord your God will make you abundantly prosperous in all the work of your hand, in the fruit of your womb and in the fruit of your cattle and in the fruit of your ground. For the Lord will again take delight in prospering you, as he took delight in your fathers, when you obey the voice of the Lord your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes that are written in the Book of the Law, when you turn to the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul.
In other words, it makes God happy to bless us! But that only happens when we follow God with all of our heart and soul. If we make God and his desires our top priority, we won't fall into the trap of loving the things of this world more than the things of God.
Now is a good time to stop and examine your own life. Are you spiritually out of shape? If so, put yourself on a spiritual work-out routine – feast on the scriptures, spend time in prayer and exercise your faith.
Where are your priorities? If God is not first, make some changes in your life right away!
Joshua 17:14 – Then the people of Joseph spoke to Joshua saying, "Why have you given me but one lot and one portion as an inheritance, although I am a numerous people, since all along the Lord has blessed me?"
At some point the elders of Ephraim and Manasseh came to Joshua with a complaint. They alleged that the offspring of Joseph had so many descendants that the common/combined allotment of land given to them was insufficient for their needs. They wanted Joshua to give them additional territory.
However, their complaint had no real basis.� According to the census taken in Numbers 26, Ephraim numbered 32,500 and Manasseh 52,700.� Considering that half of Manasseh had an inheritance east of the Jordan, their combined population was really only 58,850.�
This number is significantly less than the men of Judah (76,500), the men of Dan (64,400) and the men of Issachar (64,300).� Despite what they alleged, the tribes of Joseph really didn't need additional land.� (It should also be noted that the land which they were assigned was some of the most fertile in the Promised Land.)
Many commentators believe that the elders of Ephraim wanted to take the lead as the governing tribe of the nation. Accordingly, they felt that their tribe should receive a larger endowment because of its (perceived) importance or dignity. And they probably felt they had a good chance of getting what they asked for, since Joshua was of the tribe of Ephraim.
But Joshua (the embodiment of justice and fairness) unfailingly does what is right according to God's laws; he is not influenced by these elders. In fact, he turns their own complaint against them.
Joshua 17:15 –And Joshua said to them, "If you are a numerous people, go up by yourselves to the forest, and there clear ground for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you."
Joshua doesn't mince any words with the elders of his tribe. The lot which God had assigned them contained many pockets of Canaanites that had yet to be subdued. Since they had such a vast army, they clearly had the power and resources to oust the Canaanites and thus expand their hold on the land.
What they lacked was faith and courage.� Clearly, they could easily have taken more land through war, but instead they stood by and insisted that someone else give it to them!� The time and energy they needed for battle was wasted by grumbling and complaining.� Ephraim wanted to be the dominant/governing tribe, but they didn't want to pay the price of difficulty and hardship as they went to war.� They seem to exhibit a spirit of entitlement, which we often see in the world today.� What a shame!
Fortunately for us, we have the parable of The Talents to warn us against this way of thinking. Do you remember this parable of Jesus? You can read the full story in Matthew 25, but the gist is that three men were each given some talents (10 or 5 or 1). Those who used their talents received more; but the man who hid (did not use) his talent had it taken away from him:
Matthew 25:28-29 – So take the talent from him and give it to him who has the ten talents.� For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance.� But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
So instead of complaining about their portion (like the man with one talent), the men of Ephraim should have used what God gave them to increase their territory.� God had obviously given them the allotment they were best suited for; they had plenty of man power to use in battle.� And God no doubt wanted to challenge them in order to bring out their hidden potential. �
As strange as it may sound, hardships are often a blessing because they teach us to trust in the Lord, to overcome circumstances and to persevere until we succeed. Hardships build character, patience and confidence. They bring our hidden talents to the surface. The men of Ephraim and Manasseh forfeited all these blessings (as well as extra land) by refusing to use the tools/talents God had already given them.
Are there areas of your life that you want to change? If so, don't fall into the trap of complaining, blaming others or expecting someone else to fight your battles. Use the talents God has given you and watch him build your character, your testimony and your opportunities!
Joshua 17:16 – The people of Joseph said, "The hill country is not enough for us. Yet all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron, both those in Beth-shean and its villages and those in the Valley of Jezreel."
In order to avoid taking responsibility for their own situation, the elders of Ephraim and Manasseh resort to making excuses for not fighting their own battles.� They contend that although the land of the plains is fertile and desirable, it is of no use to them because it is occupied by Canaanites with formidable iron chariots.� How ridiculous!�
The wars of the last seven years clearly showed that no enemy was capable of standing against God.� Nothing the Canaanites possessed could prevent the Lord from giving victory to Ephraim and Manasseh, if only they would trust in him!� Again, the real issue here is that these tribes did not want to put forth the work and effort to obtain what they desired.�
Joshua 17:17-18 – Then Joshua said to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, "You are a numerous people and have great power. You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders. For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong."
Joshua replies to the offspring of Joseph by repeating that it is not his intention that they should live in a portion of land that is too small for them. However, he is not going to simply hand them a bigger portion. They must not be intimidated by the enemy; they must stand up and use the strength and tools they have been given in order to extend their borders and enlarge their domain.
Why do you suppose Holy Spirit preserved this conversation for us in the scriptures?
I believe he did so because it is a picture of the church's position in the world.
Ephraim and Manasseh were in partial possession of their inheritance. They needed to fight in order to extend their territory. In fact, if they did not strengthen their position and continue to enlarge their borders, the Canaanites would soon be back to re-possess the land they did occupy.
Let's compare this to the spiritual realm. The church has partial possession of the world; we dwell among the strongholds of satan, populated by lost souls. If we do not pursue the salvation of these lost souls, they will definitely try to influence us to stop serving the Lord and turn to false idols.
Just as Ephraim and Manasseh had all the tools they needed to conquer more land, so the church has all it needs to expand the kingdom of heaven. Here is a partial list of the tools God has given us:
- We have the authority of Christ (Matthew 28:18-20).�
- We have the word of God (Ephesians 6:17).�
- We have faith (Mark 11:22-24).�
- We have prayer (5:16).�
- We have the ability to fast (Matthew 17:19-21).�
- We have heavenly languages (Mark 6:17, Acts 2:4).�
- We have gifts of Holy Spirit (I Corinthians 12:7-11).
And we have the same promise made to the tribes of Israel - nothing is impossible with God (Mark 10:27)!
Think about it this way: God had already given the Promised Land to his people. But it was still up to them to enforce that victory and take possession of their inheritance. In the same way, Jesus already defeated satan when he died on the cross and rose from the dead. Now it is our job to enforce that victory here on earth by engaging the enemy in battle and winning souls to Christ.
We cannot sit idly by and wait for the return of Christ.� We can't expect the Lord to do all the work of the kingdom while we do nothing.� Instead, we must enter into spiritual warfare and expand the boundaries of the kingdom of heaven.
The church must always keep one eye on our enemy, because if we fall asleep for even a moment, satan will try to re-take our hard-won victories. As of right now, he has possession of our schools, our government and even some of our churches. We cannot allow him to take any more territory from us; we need to aggressively take control of these institutions once again, so that Christ is lifted up and men and drawn to him. We need to secure new boundaries for the future generations of our families.
Jesus has commissioned us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every nation. This is a mandate to expand our boundaries all over the world; it presents us with an unlimited field of conquest. As we consider the battlefield, let's remember that Jesus promised to be with us always, even to the end of the world (Matthew 28:20). And if God is for us, who can be against us?
Let me give you some encouragement:
In today's post, we noted that the elders of Ephraim came to Joshua with a complaint – their possession was too small. They wanted Joshua to assign their tribe more territory even though they had the power to subdue additional land themselves.
Joshua wisely refuses to expand their borders.� While this may seem harsh, it was for Ephraim's own good.� To simply hand these people something they wanted without any effort or 'skin in the game' would only increase their sense of entitlement and their arrogance.� It would allow them to continue being a weak tribe, always in need of support from the rest of the nation.
By encouraging them to fight for themselves, Joshua has done them a favor. They are now set up to increase their confidence, faith and self-respect through their own hard work. They will profit from their own experience; they will strengthen their fighting skills and their ability to strategize. By winning the land for themselves, they will appreciate and value it to a greater degree. And they will have additional land for the coming generations.
This has obvious implications for us in the natural realm.� Like Ephraim, we need to work for what we desire to have, because work builds character.� It gives us self-respect and confidence.� We value the things we earn more than the things we are given, because we expended much of our own effort to attain them!
But I want to call the spiritual aspect of this principle to your attention as well. Christians often look to others for prayer and spiritual guidance when faced with a battle. Let me start by saying there is nothing wrong with that. Even seasoned Christians benefit from having a prayer partner.
I'm talking about the Christian who is still spiritually immature, despite years in the faith. These Christians should be advanced enough to wage spiritual war by themselves, yet they are still so weak and inexperienced that they always run to someone else begging for prayer for their situation. They have no experience in prayer, no knowledge of the word and no spiritual endurance even though they have been Christians for a very long time.
If you know a Christian like this, continue to pray for them but also encourage them to develop their own spiritual skills and put on their own spiritual armor.� You will be doing them a huge favor!
Let me give you some relief:
In today's post we mentioned that the whole nation of Israel failed to drive the Canaanites out of their territory. This was because they had their eyes on the world, rather than on the spiritual damage the Canaanites could do to them. This was a mistake they lived to regret.
Take a few minutes to evaluate your own life.� If God is not first in your life, make some changes while you still can!
Let me give you some strength:
Do you ever become angry or hopeless when you are confronted with challenges in life? Do you ever wonder why you encounter hardships even though you are serving the Lord? I know that I sometimes do!
That's why it is good for us to remember that God not only assigned each tribe its own allotment, he reserved challenges for each of them too. These challenges were not to make them miserable, they were to bring out the divine potential that God had placed within them.
God has some challenges for us as well. So the next time one comes your way, don't grumble and complain. Lean into the Lord and trust that he is doing something substantial in your life through that hardship – he is bringing out your hidden potential and building your testimony.