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.”