Living Room Study

Joshua 17

“Joseph’s descendants said to Joshua: ‘Why did you give us only one tribal allotment as an inheritance?  We have many people, because the Lord has blessed us.’

‘If you have so many people,’ Joshua replied to them, ‘Go into the forest and clear an area for yourselves in the land of the Perizzites and the Rephaim, because Ephraim’s hill country is too small for you.’ 

But the Descendents of Joseph said, ‘The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who inhabit the valley area have iron chariots, both at Beth-shean with its towns in the Jezreel Valley.’ 

So Joshua replied to Joseph’s family (That is, Ephraim and Manasseh), ‘You have many people and great strength.  You will not have just one lot, because the hill country will be yours also.  It is a forest; clear it and its outlying areas will be yours.  You can also drive out the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and are strong.’”  Joshua 17:14-18

Upon first glance, one may get the impression that Joshua was being too harsh with Jacob’s descendants, Ephraim and Manasseh.  It is important to know that Joshua, himself, was from the tribe of Ephraim.  With this understanding intact, we can now translate his family’s request as, “Yo!  Hook a brotha up!”

Joshua was a fair man, and he understood that the Lord caused the lots to fall, according to His perfect plan.  If Joshua gave his family the easy route, it would insure that a much weaker tribe would have to face the “giants with iron chariots”.  More importantly, Joshua would have been going against God’s will.  He was holding his own tribe accountable to walk the path God had designed for them.

Lesson: Godly accountability is not a senseless invasion of your personal life; it may well be the salvation of it!

We all need someone in our lives to holds us accountable.  Is there someone you allow to hold you accountable?  How well do you hold others accountable?  Are you willing to step-in when it isn’t comfortable, to help encourage and guide people back to the path of righteousness?

Joshua knew his tribe had sufficient numbers to take their allotted land; and with God on their side, they had the strength to defeat ANY enemy!  What they lacked was faith, discipline, encouragement…and a little tough love.

Blessings.

Steve Wiggins