{"id":13503,"date":"2021-01-06T20:00:59","date_gmt":"2021-01-07T03:00:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_17_1-10-copy-copy\/"},"modified":"2021-01-03T17:01:57","modified_gmt":"2021-01-04T00:01:57","slug":"joshua_17_11-18","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/joshua_17_11-18\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s All in the Approach"},"content":{"rendered":"

\ufeff<\/span>

Joshua 17:11-18\u00a0 Click here for Bible Verses<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s GAME passage is Joshua 17:11-18.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 17:11-18 (NIV)\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>
\n11\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo, together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth).
\n12\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region.
\n13\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.
\n14\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people of Joseph said to Joshua, “Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and theLORD\u00a0has blessed us abundantly.”
\n15\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“If you are so numerous,” Joshua answered, “and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0The people of Joseph replied, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.”
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0But Joshua said to the house of Joseph–to Ephraim and Manasseh–“You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 11-18:\u00a0\u00a0The tribe of Manasseh was supposed to drive out the Canaanites from the land they had been allotted, but the Canaanites were too strong for them (v12).\u00a0\u00a0Eventually when they are able to subdue the Canaanites, rather than driving them out as Deuteronomy 20:16-18 commanded, they subjected them to forced labour instead (v13).\u00a0\u00a0Then the people of Joseph (i.e. the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim together) approach Joshua, complaining that Joshua has given them too little land for a people as numerous as them (v14).\u00a0\u00a0Joshua turns their complaint into a challenge for them:\u00a0 “if you are so numerous, then go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there” (v15).\u00a0\u00a0The people of Joseph further complain to Joshua that they are scared of the Canaanites who live in that area and their iron chariots (v16).\u00a0\u00a0Joshua encourages them, telling them that they are numerous, powerful and capable of taking that land (v17-18).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?<\/p>\n

1.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The people of Joseph were complaining that Joshua had given them too little land, when in fact a noteworthy reason why the people of Joseph felt squished in their current allotment was because they had failed to drive out the Canaanites from their allotment as they had been commanded to do (v12-13; Deuteronomy 20:16-18).\u00a0\u00a0The people of Joseph were blaming their leader Joseph for their problem (\u201cWhy have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance?\u201d \u2013 v14) when really their problem was rooted in their own disobedience and fear.\u00a0\u00a0Take a good look in the mirror before you throw blame on others.\u00a0\u00a0Ask yourself, \u201cIs the problem really all with them or is it actually with me?\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

2.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The people of Joseph were not the first people to approach Joshua and ask for land.\u00a0\u00a0Caleb also approached Joshua in Joshua 14, and Caleb\u2019s family in turn approached Caleb in Joshua 15.\u00a0\u00a0But the way in which the people of Joseph approached Joshua and the way Caleb and his family approached the issue were completely different.\u00a0\u00a0Caleb and his family\u2019s approach came from a posture of humility and respect (see for example Joshua 15:18-19).\u00a0\u00a0Caleb and his family made requests on the basis of faith in God\u2019s already spoken promises (see Joshua 14:6-15).\u00a0\u00a0On the other hand, the people of Joseph approached Joshua from a posture of complaining, grumbling and a childish sense of entitlement.\u00a0 Instead of faith, their demands were fueled by fear.\u00a0\u00a0What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you approach others with a request, check your attitude, your motives and your faith.<\/strong><\/p>\n

3.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0There is another way in which the people of Joseph differed from Caleb and his family.\u00a0\u00a0Caleb and his family had a can do attitude when it came to tackling the obstacles in front of them.\u00a0\u00a0You can hear Caleb\u2019s can do attitude in Joshua 14:12: \u201cNow give me this hill country that the\u00a0LORD\u00a0promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified,\u00a0but<\/em>,\u00a0the\u00a0LORD\u00a0helping me, I will drive them out just as he said<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n

Compare Caleb’s can do attitude to the fearful, passive attitude of the people of Joseph in verse 16.\u00a0 The people of Joseph complain that they can\u2019t take over the forested hill country because \u201call the Canaanites who live in the plain have iron chariots, both those in Beth Shan and its settlements and those in the Valley of Jezreel.\u201d (v16)<\/p>\n

What’s going on here?\u00a0 The people of Joseph wanted more land but they didn\u2019t want to work for it or fight for it.\u00a0\u00a0They had this childish sense of entitlement where they just expected more land to be handed to them.\u00a0\u00a0It\u2019s no wonder we never hear about the people of Joseph actually taking over the extra land they wanted.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0So much depends on the attitude with which you approach your challenges.\u00a0\u00a0If you approach your challenges with a fearful, passive attitude, often making excuses for why you can\u2019t do something, you will accomplish very little in life.\u00a0\u00a0If you approach your challenges with a can do attitude, believing that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you, you will accomplish great things.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Heavenly Father, I pray that I would take a good look in the mirror before I blame others for the problems I face.\u00a0\u00a0I pray that when I make a request, I would always do so with a pure heart, good motives and a respectful attitude.\u00a0\u00a0I pray that like Caleb I would have a can do attitude when approaching challenges, believing in Your promises and trusting in Your strength.\u00a0\u00a0In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\ufeff<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s GAME passage is Joshua 17:11-18.\u00a0\u00a0Let\u2019s go!<\/p>\n

Joshua 17:11-18 (NIV)\u00a0
\n11\u00a0\u00a0Within Issachar and Asher, Manasseh also had Beth Shan, Ibleam and the people of Dor, Endor, Taanach and Megiddo, together with their surrounding settlements (the third in the list is Naphoth).\u00a0
\n12\u00a0\u00a0Yet the Manassites were not able to occupy these towns, for the Canaanites were determined to live in that region.\u00a0
\n13\u00a0\u00a0However, when the Israelites grew stronger, they subjected the Canaanites to forced labor but did not drive them out completely.\u00a0……<\/p>\n

On verses 11-18:\u00a0\u00a0The tribe of Manasseh was supposed to drive out the Canaanites from the land they had been allotted, but the Canaanites were too strong for them (v12).\u00a0\u00a0Eventually when they are able to subdue the Canaanites, rather than driving them out as Deuteronomy 20:16-18 commanded, they subjected them to forced labour instead (v13).\u00a0\u00a0Then the people of Joseph (i.e. the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim together) approach Joshua, complaining that Joshua has given them too little land for a people as numerous as them (v14).\u00a0\u00a0Joshua turns their complaint into a challenge for them:\u00a0 “if you are so numerous, then go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there” (v15).\u00a0\u00a0The people of Joseph further complain to Joshua that they are scared of the Canaanites who live in that area and their iron chariots (v16).\u00a0\u00a0Joshua encourages them, telling them that they are numerous, powerful and capable of taking that land (v17-18).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13505,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13503","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13503"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13504,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13503\/revisions\/13504"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/13505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13503"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13503"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13503"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}