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Joshua 16 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.
Joshua 16:4
This made up a good chunk of the land.
Again, this point has already been discussed extensively, but a big takeaway from this chapter is found in verse 10. Ephraim fails to drive out all of the Canaanites. God addressed this issue in Deuteronomy.
“Only in the cities of these peoples that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, you shall not leave alive anything that breathes.
Deuteronomy 20:16
They resorted to making the Canaanites labors for their cause. Logic tells us that if they had enough power to force them into labor, they probably could have completely eliminated them. We see this time and time again with Israel. God gives a firm command and instead of following through completely, they decided to take shortcuts or ignore details.
It’s possible that Israel did this for convenience to which there is still no excuse. Thank God for Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are empowered to choose God’s way instead of our own selfish way!