Joshua 17:14 “Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying ‘why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance since I am a numerous people whom the Lord has thus far blessed?’”
Observation: All the tribes of Israel were being assigned by lot the portion of land they were to occupy in fulfillment of God’s covenant promises. Here we find the half-tribes of Manasseh and, later, Ephraim, complaining about their result. Joshua agreed to give them an additional portion because they were indeed numerous, but the spaces assigned them weren’t to their liking. It seems the original portion was settled by Canaanites who had iron chariots and would not be willingly dispossessed (v. 12), and the expanded area was heavily forested hillsides that would have to be cleared.
Application: Choosing by lot is something men have always done. Who among us didn’t groan when we drew the dreaded short straw as a child? Whether it meant being stuck in the back seat while the luckier sibling rode up front or being assigned to the team with the runt on it, complaining often followed the drawing. But not all lots are cast so randomly. God here used that method through Joshua, and apparently the inference was that He would breathe on the results, making the selection sacrosanct in His eyes.
What was it with these ingrates? They were correct in recognizing that occupying Canaanites were numerous and strong, but wasn’t all the land across the Jordan similarly occupied? Didn’t every tribe face the challenge of either defeating the previous owners by driving them out or by subjugating them as slaves?
If the complainers expected Joshua to have a sympathetic ear, they were to be sorely disappointed. “We want more land because we’re numerous”, they whined. “If you’re so numerous, then you have enough hands to clear the forest” he responded (v. 15) Back and forth the conversation went with their petulance met at every turn by Joshua’s firmness. Fellas, you’re getting what I’ve given you, now get to work!
Is anything less attractive than the child who lacks contentment in what she has been given? I recall the estate planning process for an elderly widowed man. His name is lost to my memory, but I will always think of his plan as “the $7 million dress”. After his wife’s death he was so devastated by the catfight of his adult daughters over a favorite dress of their late mother that he reduced his planned inheritance to them by $7 million. And countless are the couples who fear that giving each child what they would like each child to have will result in resentment in one who perceives himself disadvantaged. The result is that parents often try to use money to buy peace in the next generation. But if a child harbors a sense of entitlement, it can be exposed by money, but never fixed by it.
Prayer: Father, you are the source of every good and perfect gift. Give me a heart of contentment in your gifts. In asking that, I realize you may choose to test my heart by taking away something I treasure. But you alone are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things. Hallelujah! In Jesus’ name, Amen.