Joshua 17:17–18: “And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph—to Ephraim and Manasseh—saying, ‘You are a great people and have great power; you shall not have only one lot, but the mountain country shall be yours. Although it is wooded, you shall cut it down, and its farthest extent shall be yours; for you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong.’”

April 7th, 2023 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Manasseh and Ephraim were larger tribes; their combined numbers were greater than any other single tribe. They complained to Joshua that they had not been allotted adequate land. It may be that they were appealing to Joshua as a fellow Ephraimite since he was also a descendant of Joseph. Joshua responded with godly wisdom and challenged them spiritually to press on. In reality, they had been given a very large territory right in the middle of the Promised Land, and in addition, half of the tribe of Manasseh had land east of the Jordan River. The problem was these 2 tribes had not even completely taken the mountain country in their existing allotment yet, because it was hard and dangerous work. Joshua was in essence saying, “Let’s see if you really are a great people. Go and possess the land you desire by fully occupying what the Lord has already given you.”

They wanted easy land to be given to them instead of having to take God’s promises and go out and possess what God had given them. If they were such a great people, then they should have been able to make room for themselves within the territory they’d already been given. Their attitude stands in sharp contrast to the attitude of Caleb and his adopted tribe, Judah, in Joshua 14. The spiritual principles found here apply just as strongly to us today. God was saying through Joshua that if we desire more of something, we must first be faithful right where we are. Ecclesiastes 9:10 says, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might.” Give it all you’ve got and then expect God to supply everything else you need to complete your mission.

“LORD, we desire to be faithful in the little things because they are just as important as the big things. Help us to keep a grateful heart and a positive attitude as we serve You this day.”

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Joshua 17 KJV

¹ There was also a lot for the tribe of Manasseh; for he was the firstborn of Joseph; to wit , for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead: because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. ² There was also a lot for the rest of the children of Manasseh by their families; for the children of Abiezer, and for the children of Helek, and for the children of Asriel, and for the children of Shechem, and for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida: these were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph by their families. ³ But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters: and these are the names of his daughters, Mahlah, and Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. ⁴ And they came near before Eleazar the priest, and before Joshua the son of Nun, and before the princes, saying, The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father. ⁵ And there fell ten portions to Manasseh, beside the land of Gilead and Bashan, which were on the other side Jordan; ⁶Because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons: and the rest of Manasseh’s sons had the land of Gilead. ⁷ And the coast of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethah, that lieth before Shechem; and the border went along on the right hand unto the inhabitants of En-tappuah. ⁸ NowManasseh had the land of Tappuah: but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim; ⁹ And the coast descended unto the river Kanah, southward of the river: these cities of Ephraim are among the cities of Manasseh: the coast of Manasseh also was on the north side of the river, and the outgoings of it were at the sea:  ¹⁰ Southward it wasEphraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea is his border; and they met together in Asher on the north, and in Issachar on the east. ¹¹ And Manasseh had in Issachar and in Asher Beth-shean and her towns, and Ibleam and her towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and her towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and her towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and her towns, even three countries. ¹² Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. ¹³ Yet it came to pass, when the children of Israel were waxen strong, that they put the Canaanites to tribute; but did not utterly drive them out. ¹⁴ And the children of Joseph spake unto Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as the LORD hath blessed me hitherto? ¹⁵ And Joshua answered them, If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country , and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee.  ¹⁶ And the children of Joseph said, The hill is not enough for us: and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, both they who are of Beth-shean and her towns, and they who are of the valley of Jezreel. ¹⁷And Joshua spake unto the house of Joseph, even to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power: thou shalt not have one lot only: ¹⁸ But the mountain shall be thine; for it is a wood, and thou shalt cut it down: and the outgoings of it shall be thine: for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots, and though they be strong.