Joshua 16:10: “And they did not drive out the Canaanites who dwelt in Gezer; but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day and have become forced laborers.”

April 6th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Joshua 16 tells what land Ephraim received by lot and then closes with Ephraim’s failure to completely drive out the Canaanites as God had commanded. This proved to be the case with all the tribes throughout the Promised Land. Instead of obeying the Lord’s command and utterly driving out the inhabitants, they saw an opportunity to turn them into forced laborers and ease their own workloads. It seemed like a good, solid business decision, but it was a terrible spiritual decision.

Gezer was a city that Joshua had already conquered, but not fully, for two reasons. One they wanted peace at any cost, and two, they wanted wealth and ease from labor. So for the sake of ease and money, they disobeyed the Lord and fell short of what He had for them. Does that sound familiar? Things have not really changed much in the last 3400 years have they? Humanity is still on a quest for the easiest and most financially rewarding path.

Jesus pointed us to another more reliable pathway in Matthew 6:33: “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” To seek first the kingdom is to desire above all to enter into, submit to, and participate in spreading the good news of the saving reign of God. His Messianic kingdom calls us to store up treasures in heaven. There are only two roads possible: the self-centered road or the God-centered road. There are only two kinds of ambition. We can either be ambitious for our own kingdom or for God’s kingdom. The moment we begin to focus on our own kingdom it blinds us to the path of the kingdom of God.

“LORD, help us to stay focused on You and Your pathway for us today. Keep us from turning to the right or the left; help us to seek only those things which will last for eternity.”

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Joshua 16 KJV

¹ And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Beth-el,  ² And goeth out from Beth-el to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth, ³ And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Beth-horon the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea. ⁴ So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance. ⁵ And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Ataroth-addar, unto Beth-horon the upper; ⁶And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanath-shiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah; ⁷ And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan. ⁸ The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families. ⁹ And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. ¹⁰ And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.