Joshua Study - 2026-06-24

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Heavenly Father, we just we just give you glory here tonight, Lord.

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through your word, Lord.

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We give you all the glory here tonight and all the praise, and we thank you.

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And we lift up all the needs within this body to you right now.

They are many, and we know that you are going to answer them, Lord, and minister to

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Amen.

All right.

So we are on Joshua 17.

So coming out of 16, Ephraim received its inheritance, and now Joshua 17 continues

with the tribe of Manasseh.

And this tractor is going to highlight a bunch of things.

Mostly, we're going to spend a lot of time talking about Zeliphiad's daughters who

came to make their claim for their land.

And we're going to talk about Ephraim and Manasseh who are struggling here to fulfill

and own their land.

And we got a little out of order.

John did 18 last week because I had business travel that came up, and he was

already working on 18.

So we already saw in Chapter 18 where the remaining tribes got their allotment

of the Promised Land and were challenged for delaying and the taking of their

inheritance.

And there's this theme that's kind of emerging through this Promised Land

that they've been so waiting to get into.

So let's start at we're going to go through verses 1 through 6.

So this was the allotment of the tribe of Manasseh as Joseph's

firstborn, that is, for Makir, Manasseh's firstborn.

Makir was the ancestor of the Gilediites who had received Gilead and

Basham because the Makirites were great soldiers.

They were warriors.

So this allotment was for the rest of the people of Manasseh, the

Assyriel, Shachem, Hefer, and Shemitah.

These are the other male descendants of Manasseh's son of Joseph by

their clans.

So now, Lizafed, son of Hefer, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of

Manasseh, had no sons but only daughters whose names were Maliah,

Noah, Hagla, Nakala, and Tirza.

They went to Eleazar, the priest, Joshua, son of Nun, and leaders

and said, the Lord commanded Moses to give us an inheritance

among our relatives.

So Joshua gave them the inheritance along with the brothers of

their father, according to the Lord's command.

Manasseh's share consisted of 10 tracts of land besides Gilead

and Basham, east of the Jordan, because the daughters of the

tribe of Manasseh have received an inheritance among the sons,

the land of Gilead belong to the rest of the descendants.

So I have a little map we're going to look at in a little

bit, gets a little confusing looking at the genealogy here.

So just so we understand all of this, we have, you know,

Joseph, his firstborn, Manasseh, his firstborn, Makir, his

firstborn, Gilead, and then here's kind of where it just

kind of goes awry and I don't quite understand it.

I tried to study and figure it out and I couldn't quite

get to the wise, but Hefir is clearly not the firstborn of

Gilead.

So how I understood it is that this is just kind of the

breakdown of who got these allotted pieces of land.

So it just so happened that Hefir didn't have any sons.

So my suspicion is and what makes sense to me is that

that this was extracted out so that so that God could

make some points, which I'm going to try to to get to

here.

So these were these were the various clans in this

particular scripture focuses in on the daughters.

So the daughters are first introduced in Numbers 26,

and then they make their claim to the land in in 27.

This is all the way back in Numbers that we studied.

I didn't remember it until I kind of backtracked.

It probably wasn't one of my weeks to teach that time.

So now they're coming forward as the land is being

being divided because Moses had promised it to them all

the way back in Numbers and God actually will read in

a little bit.

God actually ruled that they should inherit the portion.

So Joshua, Joshua's not making this decision on his

own. He's simply faithfully honoring the decision that

both Moses and and God made.

So I think it's, you know, it's being highlighted

because the inheritance here, it demonstrates God's

faithfulness to his covenant and to the land.

And this really becomes the focus of this chapter.

There's some other parts we're going to key in on.

But, you know, understanding it back in this day and

age, the land was always, always, always inherited

by the males.

So that's just how it was.

It was just a cultural thing and, you know, families,

I mean, as we can see here, families had their identity

in the land that they owned and women didn't typically

own the land, but a woman's future and security was

really dependent on, you know, the males and their

relatives and the land, the land that they had.

So this ruling here that God and Moses did with

Zephila had daughters was really remarkable for its

time for a number of reasons.

It protected the family name and inheritance and it

also demonstrated, you know, that God is not locked

into, you know, cultural norms.

You know, he can look at this situation and say,

yeah, I know as a society you don't let women do

much, but guess what, we're going to make a little

shift in that right now.

So I found that just fascinating.

If we go back to Numbers, Numbers 27, it said the

daughters of Zephila had sons of Heifer, the son of

Gilead, the son of Mercur, the son of Manasseh, belonged

to the clans of Manasseh, son of Joseph.

The names of the daughters were Mala, Noah, Hagla,

Micah, and Tirzah.

They came forward and stood before Moses, Eleazar

the priest, and the leaders of the whole assembly

at the entrance of the tent of meetings, and they

said, our father died in the wilderness.

He was not among the chorus followers who banded

together against the Lord, but he died for his

own sin and left no sons.

Why should our father's name disappear from his

clan because he has no son?

Give us the property among our father's relatives.

So Moses brought their case before the Lord and the

Lord said to him, what Zevahalah's daughters are

saying is right.

You must certainly give them the property as an

inheritance among their father's relatives and give

their father's inheritance to them.

That's a powerful, I mean, these ladies had some

courage, or as the Jews like to say, they had

some chutzpah, right?

I mean, they went in there and they didn't shy

back.

So they weren't begging for charity from Joseph at

this time or from Moses when they went before

Moses and the priest.

I mean, they went boldly before them.

These are leaders of millions of people, leaders,

and we all know what a leader Moses was.

But they went boldly before him and claimed this

land knowing full well that women didn't own land

back then.

So it's a powerful, powerful state and again,

they're not asking for charity here.

They're asking for a promise that was already

giving.

They're saying, give us what God already said belongs

to us.

Powerful, powerful.

We're going to later see the contrast of this when

we look at look at Manasseh later, you know, the

daughters were bold and confident, you know, and

later the men of Manasseh later became fearful

and hesitant.

So they were bold pushing forward and then some

of the men in the clan were basically fearful

and pulling back.

There's a great progression here that that you

should look up on your own.

I'm not going to take the time to do this.

But in Numbers 27, what we just read, the promise

is given to the daughters.

In Numbers 36, we're not going to read that now.

The promise is protected.

In Joshua 17, where we are tonight, the promise

is fulfilled and then later in 1 Chronicles, the

promise is remembered.

So this was a big deal to them.

And I think God was making it a big deal, which

is why he didn't emphasize these other clans.

So let's keep going here into 7 through 13.

So says the territory of Manasseh extended from

Asher to Milcath east of Shechem.

The boundary ran southward from there to include

the people living at En Tapu.

Manasseh had the land of Tapu, but Tapu itself

on the boundary of Manasseh belong to Ephraimonites.

Then the boundary continued south to Cana Ravine.

There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among

the towns of Manasseh.

But the boundary of Manasseh was the northern

side of the Raven and ended at the Mediterranean Sea.

On the south, the land belonged to Ephraim on

the north to Manasseh.

The territory Manasseh reached to the Mediterranean

Sea and bordered Asher on the north and Issachar on

the east. Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also

had Beth Shein, Iblim, and the people of Dour-Endour,

Tanakh, and Medayo.

Together with their surrounding settlements, the

third in the list of Nepath.

Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these

towns for the Canaanites were determined to live in

the region. However, when the Israelites grew stronger,

they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor, but

did not drive them out completely.

So really hard to follow when you're just kind of

seeing it like that. And I don't have a laser pointer,

sorry, but you can see here the two parts on either

side of the Jordan River that were the Manasseh clan.

So if you look at the red and purple areas, right

underneath those areas were all of these Canaanite

towns or Canaanite strongholds that they mentioned

in this verse. And I think one of the important

things to point out here was it follows a path all

the way across to the Mediterranean, the Mediterranean

Sea, which is really, really important.

We're going to get to that in just a second.

But the problem as scripture outlines here is that

it was not an unwillingness. In other words,

they weren't, it wasn't an inability of Manasseh

to kind of take possession of it. They were given

this land and they could have gone in and take it.

It was an unwillingness. So verse 12 kind of makes

it sound like weakness to a point. But verse 13

reveals that they eventually became strong enough

to, they just weren't doing it. So really what

that boils down to is the Canaanites to them represented

economic opportunity. This pathway, as you can see

here, which goes to the Mediterranean where all

the trade was happening. It really consisted

of, you know, there was a labor force in place

so that they could work with the Canaanites.

There was pre-existing trade routes where they

could take goods out there and there was trade

relationships that the Canaanites had. So they

chose to kind of manage the situation over removal.

So we've run into this quite a bit in the last

last few books where, you know, God gives the

Israelites very specific directives to deal with

people who are unclean, unsavory, and just bad

people. Don't tolerate them. We've got to eradicate

this. And time and time again, the Israelites

kind of just do this part way. And, you know,

they did not drive them out. And this is something

that we see in Joshua. We saw it in Judges. We've

seen it all the way through this journey of

theirs. And it becomes this pattern that they've

followed that what they tolerate as a society,

what they allow to kind of infiltrate their

community of God and the holiness and the society

that God is building, what they're allowing to

come in, eventually begins to influence from the

inside what God is doing there. So we've seen

that countless times again, and we've talked,

you know, we've talked a lot about it. So they

were, again, choosing to manage this instead of

removing it and eliminating it. They were,

this was going to lead to compromise. They

had seen it time and time again. They cannot

coexist with evil. God does not want them. He

does not want us to coexist with evil. But this

becomes the foundation for future failures.

Matthew 5, 29, 30, where Jesus says,

if your right eye causes you to stumble, gouge it

out and throw it away, it is better for you to

lose one part of your body than for your whole

body to be thrown into hell. And if your right

hand causes you to stumble, cut it off and

throw it away. It is better for you to lose a

part of your body than for your whole body to

thrown into inhale. So what Jesus is trying to

communicate here, and again, this is not a

literal thing. Jesus is 100% not saying to cut

limbs off, just to be perfectly clear. He's

basically saying, deal decisively, definitively

with anything that leads us away from Him. If

there are things in our lives that pull us away

from Him, deal with them decisively and

definitively. No matter how valuable it is to

us, no matter how important it is to us, we

have to get rid of it. And this is what He was

saying to the Israelites, get rid of the

Canaanites. It's just not going to lead. So

the lesson is that, you know, our relationship

with God, our relationship with Jesus is

worth more than any type of comfort that these

things might bring, any type of convenience,

anything that hinders us from being in a

relationship with Jesus, you know, has got to

go. And the partial measure just doesn't

cut it. We've seen this time and time again

with the Israelites, that they kind of go

three-quarters of the way, and then they

refuse to deal with this one particular

piece. And it always, always comes back to

get them. And many of us as believers, we

do this same thing. We have a tendency to

want to manage issues or manage sin or

manage things rather than completely

eradicating it. We want to hang on to

maybe just a little bit, just like, just

like, what if? You know, like I remember,

I was a little bit heavier in my, when we

were raising our kids. So, I mean, I was,

you know, wasn't eating right, wasn't

working out, and I was probably at my

heaviest, probably about 210 pounds. So,

my waistline on my jeans were about

30, 38 inches. So, you know, when I got

into my 40s, I started, you know, working

out and getting back in shape. But I

packed away my fat jeans just in case,

you know? I put them, you know, I put

them in my chest and said, well, you know,

you know, just in case I ever, you know,

put on weight again, I'll have these just,

you know, well, you know, I hung on to

them probably for about 10 years, and I

said, you know what? I'm throwing these

things out because I don't really want to

ever go back, go back to that. But we

have a tendency to do that, don't we?

Is to hang on to things that we don't

want to completely get rid of all

together just in case. So, that's what

Manasseh, the tribe of Manasseh was doing

is they were hanging on to these things

that the Canaanites had because it

brought them benefit and made things a

little bit easier for them in their

journey. And it's just not what God

calls us to do. Verses 14 through 18

So, the people of Joseph said to

Joshua, why have you given us only one

allotment and one portion of an

inheritance? We are numerous people and

the Lord has blessed us abundantly. If

you are so numerous, Joshua answered, and

if the hill country of Ephraim

is too small for you, go up into the

forest and clear the land for yourselves.

They're in the land of the Parisites

and Raphites. The people of Joseph

replied, the hill country is not enough

for us and all the Canaanites who live

in the plain have chariots fitted with

iron, both those of Beth Shean and its

settlements and those of the Valley of

Jezreel. But Joshua said to the tribes

of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, you

are numerous and powerful. You will

have not only one allotment, but the

forested hills in the country as well.

Clear it and its farthest limits will

be yours. Though the Canaanites have

chariots fitted with iron and though

they are strong, you can drive them out.

So the tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh

are essentially saying, we are great

people and there's a lot of us, but

there's not enough land and we need

more territory. And the irony is, you

know, they're saying we are numerous

that God has blessed us with many, but

in the same conversation they're saying

okay, we don't have the manpower to do

this. And Joshua basically doubles down

on that and says, go clear the forest,

go take the hill country, drive out the

Canaanites. In other words, use what

God's already given you. Take the

land, you know, that God has given you.

And Joshua repeatedly uses these action

oriented words, go up, clear it,

possess it. And what Joshua is saying

in essence is faith requires action.

It just simply does. So this is just

a very, very practical lesson that

Joshua is trying to teach the tribes.

You know, easier land, additional

blessing, you know, fewer obstacles.

And Joshua tells him, your problem isn't

lack of opportunity. Your problem is lack

of faith and not wanting to put the

work in. And the people then respond in

fear. Well, the Canaanites have iron

chariots and, you know, this was the

equivalent of ancient technology.

So, you know, basically they're saying

that, hey, our enemies have superior

weapons, even though God has shown his

ability time and time and time again to

them in their ability to put, you know,

God, when you put God first, he's going

to deliver you from these. So this

was just, Joseph is trying to, Joshua

is trying to instill wisdom and they're

coming back with excuses and with

fear. And I think, you know, again,

this is so relatable to us, you know,

as believers, you know, how many times,

you know, do we say, you know, if

only I had more resources to do the

work God is calling me. More time,

more opportunity, more money, more

support, more talent. Meanwhile, God

is saying to us, you know, you haven't

fully used the portion that I've

given you, that I've entrusted. You

haven't, in other words, you haven't

fully possessed the land that I've

given you. When, you know, when we

think about possessing the land,

it's not necessarily physical land like

God was talking about with the

Israelites here, but it's the land

that he's entrusted to us and that

land might be in our homes, in our

neighborhood, in our workplace, in our

ministry, wherever it is. This is what

the, this is the promised land that

God has given us to work within, the

context of what he's given us to work

within. And oftentimes we're saying,

well, we can't do it because we don't

have this and God's saying, you need

to just fulfill this here. So it

becomes a lack of possession, you know,

and you can see here that the tribes,

their focus shifted from what God

had promised them to the enemy's

resources. So they were kind of

blame shifting here. And, you know,

I immediately thought of, you know,

you know, Peter's story, you know,

of, of walking, you know, on the

water, you know, when Pete, when

Peter was focusing on Jesus and

focusing on the promise and

believing when God, when Jesus

said, Hey, come to me, he was

moving. But when he focused on

the wind and when he focused on

the things that were around him,

and when he focused on, on all

of this stuff that was going on,

he began to sink. And it's the

same thing with the tribes there,

you know, instead of looking to

God and saying, Lord, we trust

that you are going to make a

way here because you've made a

way all the way from out of

Egypt for us, instead of looking

at that, they looked at the

chariots and they really, they

really missed out on, on what

God had for him. So when you

look at, look at the basic

themes throughout, out this

chapter here, we've got, you

know, faith, faith claims what

God has promised. So the

daughters Zephiel had

demonstrate their faith. They

were bold. They had that

chutzpah where they just kind

of came forward and said, you

know, this is what God has

for us and we need it. And

they weren't afraid to stand

up and say it to Moses and

to the priest and then to

claim it, you know, from,

from Joshua. And it was

just, that was just an

amazing story. Partial

obedience creates future

problems. How many times have

we used that analogy here as

we're studying these Old

Testament Israelite? The

Israel allowed the Canites

to influence them. Convenience,

you know, today becomes

compromise of tomorrow.

Absolutely. God's people

often underestimate what

God has given. So we don't

see the big picture and

they most definitely didn't

see the big picture. Ephraim

and Manasseh believed they

lacked land. He thought they

didn't have enough. And

Joshua believed they just

lacked courage and lacked

faith to possess the whole

of what they had. Obstacles

are often opportunities in

disguise. And I know this

is true in my life.

Sometimes when I get to

an obstacle, I can't see a

way over. Can't see a way

around that. I can't see

what God has for us and for

me until he opens my eyes

until I allow him to open

my eyes and see what's

there. They saw the hill

country that looked

impossible. They saw the

iron chariots that looked

intimidating. But those

obstacles were exactly

what God wanted them to

see so that they could

trust in him and not in

their own ability. And

Joshua simply said, you

already have, you have

enough. Go and possess

it. Possess it fully.

Oops. So, you know,

Joshua 17, I mean, the

chapter was just loaded

with great stuff. I mean,

my favorite, my favorite

portion is the daughter.

So I just, I just love that.

I loved how God just used

that story to just break

down the stereotypes of

culture of the time. You

know, I think it reminded

me, the chapter as a whole

reminded me that the

blessings that God has for

me are there. And sometimes

I've just got to get

beyond the obstacles and

the things that are in

front of me and the

temptations that are there

to avoid them. You know,

there's plenty of forests

that need to be cleared in

the land that he's

promised you. You guys

can relate to this, right?

You got a lot of woods

around where you're at

that the clearing never

ends, right? So, you

know, we don't

necessarily need to spend

our time praying for

more inheritance. We need

just pray for wisdom and

faith to use what God has

blessed us with. So I

think since we have such

a small group tonight,

we'll just maybe gather

all together around up

here and just chat about

the chapter. All right.

Thanks for joining us

at Lansdale Life Church

as we praise God and

discuss His Word. Don't

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blessed and have a great

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