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Joshua 17 Commentary
by Brad Boyles
Essentially, what is happening over this chapter is that the other half of Manasseh’s tribe is being assigned their portion of their inheritance. It just so happens that Zelophehad had no sons or heirs, but rather, 5 daughters. This all took place back in Numbers 27, and now they are finally being assigned their portion.
Here is what God had decided regarding the daughters…
“Zelophehad’s daughters are right. Give them land as an inheritance among their father’s relatives. Give them their father’s inheritance. 8 “Then tell the People of Israel, If a man dies and leaves no son, give his inheritance to his daughter. 9 If he has no daughter, give it to his brothers. 10 If he has no brothers, give it to his father’s brothers. 11 If his father had no brothers, give it to the nearest relative so that the inheritance stays in the family. This is the standard procedure for the People of Israel, as commanded by GOD through Moses.”
Numbers 27:7-11 MSG
Also in this chapter, we see tribesmen of Manesseh complaining that they didn’t receive enough land, partly due to the fact that the Canaanites still lived there and they claimed they were unable to drive them out.
Here is the particular complaint…
They replied, “The hill country is not big enough for us, but the Canaanites in the plains have iron chariots, both those who live in Beth Shan and its surrounding towns and those who live in Jezreel Valley.”
Joshua 17:16 GNB
Joshua solves the problem by giving them more land in the forest to clear, but also promises them that if they were to battle the Canaanites, they would surely drive them out. This, again, was the difference between strong and weak leaders in Israel.
Back in Deuteronomy, God spoke to them about this exact issue!
“When you go out to fight against your enemies and you see chariots and horses and an army that outnumbers yours, do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who rescued you from Egypt, will be with you. 2 Before you start fighting, a priest is to come forward and say to the army, 3 ‘Men of Israel, listen! Today you are going into battle. Do not be afraid of your enemies or lose courage or panic. 4 The LORD your God is going with you, and he will give you victory.’
Deuteronomy 20:1-4 GNB
They were commanded NOT to be afraid, even of iron chariots and being vastly outnumbered. They have obviously already forgotten about Egypt.
When God gives a mission and a promise, He means it. In this case, He doesn’t need to soften anything for these people. They have everything they need to accomplish the task in front of them. Similarly, many today make all kinds of excuses as to why they can’t follow through with what God has asked.
It’s pretty convicting when you go to the book of Acts and see the boldness, power and authority which the apostles demonstrated time and time again with zero excuses. We have Jesus’ sacrifice. We have the Holy Spirit. We have a restored relationship with our Creator. We have all we need to move forward in this battle.