Friday, June 26, 2015

Joshua 17 - Self-inflicted Problems

There is a lot of meat to this chapter so I hope you will read it for yourself. There we find the daughters of Zelophehad who were promised inheritance in Numbers 27 now come for its distribution. I considered making commentary on the worth of women promoted in scripture, but there is a topic addressed in this chapter that I have not seen in my study thus far so I want to take time to review. What happens when we are the source of our own distress?  What is our Christian response to those who create their own chaos and look to someone else for support?  

The chapter begins with the boundaries of the territory for Manasseh (1/2 tribe son of Joseph). In chapter 16 we learned that Manasseh did not evict the Canaanites in their land, but allowed them to remain. Now in chapter 17:12 we learn that the people of Manasseh were not able to occupy the land given them because the Canaanites were still in the land. While the Israelites were stronger and able to drive out the people, they chose to allow them to remain. 

Rather than solving the problem for themselves and being contented with their allotment, instead they approached Joshua and wanted to know why they only had one allotment between the tribes of ephrial and Manasseh. They had grown and become numerous. 

Just to show how God was on their side of the argument they referenced how much God has blessed them in growing their numbers. Josh 17:14. Joshua surely wouldn't turn them down seeing that God had demonstrated his favor. So it is with discontentment and greed. Often the person makes excuses and brings extenuating circumstances into their arguments suggesting that they deserve more because of these "special" conditions. 

Joshua suggests that if their allotment is too small, they should look to the forest land of the Perizzites and Rephites and clear some of their land and defend it. The people of Joseph also contended that the Canaanites in the land they were given were strong and kept them from taking the land. 

In reality, these tribes didn't want to do the hard work of defending their lands and as a result allowed the pagans of the land to continue living there.  They didn't want to engage in the work and conflict that might result.  Joshua was not dissuaded with their arguments, he restated that they could take additional land and encouraged th to drive out the people from the lands they were given. 

I have compassion for those who suffer with not having the basics of life. We all need a place to rest and food to sustain us. The Bible instructs us to be generous to the poor. We should also be discerning when it comes to people who are able but not willing to work or people who have perpetual chaos in their lives requiring intervention from the kind hearted who are not willing to address the root of their problems. They live in need but refuse to do what they can to mitigate their circumstances. Far too many people live beyond the means they are given and find themselves overwhelmed with debt and financially stressed. Our bankruptcy rates are an indication of those who look to external solutions when their choices result in discomfort. Not all bankruptcies and financial stress is self inflicted, but there is enough that we should take notice. 

We also need to guard our own hearts against the greed that lives within us. Though saved and living with the Holy Spirit given to us. we also have the old sin nature that battles for control and looks for us to give in to our old ways and old habits. Our greed tells us that our circumstances are not good enough and that we deserve more than we are currently receiving. The truth is that our circumstances come filtered through the hand of God and are used to help us address our sin nature and to live in fellowship with the Spirit He placed within us. When we give in to our bitterness, greed and discontentment we grieve the Spirit and find ourselves out of fellowship because we cannot embrace sin and find harmony with our Lord. 

Joshua issued a wake up call to his fellow Israelites and in love we should help others who are struggling with discontentment and actively carve it out of it own lives and guard against this wicked thoughts that show our dissatisfaction with God's good provision in our lives. 

May God richly bless you as you seek Him and as you serve Him

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