Joshua 16-18

God’s message to me: Interestingly, this passage was used in my pastor’s sermon yesterday. He discussed the children of Manaseh, one of the sons of Joseph, had been allotted an inheritance which they failed to take. They saw the enemy and decided it wasn’t worth the fight. Then they came to Joshua and the High priest wanting to know why they didn’t have enough land for their large tribe.

Joshua asked them why they hadn’t taken what was theirs. The local inhabitants had repelled them with little or no fighting. Joshua told them to take the land and not be afraid of the locals because God had given them the land and they couldn’t fail.

The pastor was teaching on living up to your potential. The tribe of Manaseh was not living up to their potential because they let fear and laziness get in their way. In addition to that lesson this was a time for Joshua to see the other tribes were growing as well. Several tribes had no inheritance yet because much of the land had not been conquered yet.

Joshua sent spies into the unconquered land to survey it and divide it in lots so that the remaining tribes could have their tribal lands. When they returned with the map divided into seven regions for the seven remaining tribes Joshua and Eleazar cast lots to decide which territory would go to which tribe. From there it would just be a matter of conquering the land and moving that tribe into it. This passage ends halfway through describing the borders of the lots and which tribe inherited each.

Promises: God has given us the potential to do great things. We don’t get to sit around waiting for it, we need to find out what it is and take it. The bible is filled with God’s promises to us. Only by studying it can we learn what we are supposed to have and supposed to be. If it is promised to you in the bible it is yours for the taking and nothing can stand in your way.

Commands: Once we have learned what God has in store for us it is our job to take it. This isn’t a tough or dangerous chore but it does require action. If you won a mansion on 80 acres of land in California you wouldn’t have any reason to complain about not getting it while you continued to sit in your New York apartment. You can’t have what you won’t take. You would have to go to California and claim it.

Timeless principles: You will never live up to your potential until you act on that potential. No one gets elected to the presidency of the United States by sitting on their couch and complaining about public policy. They must get up and take action, sharing their opinion, forming policy plans and campaigning for the office. Ross Perot did a great job of pointing out the problems the country faced while most other politicians were trying to keep attention off the real problems. The major reason he didn’t get elected is that he was doing an advanced version of sitting on the couch and complaining. He pointed out many problems but proposed very few solutions. The solutions he did propose were not much different from what others proposed. Mr. Perot did half the job. If he had completed the job and developed strategies for fixing the problems he may have been one of the most influential men of the 20th century.

How can I apply what I’ve learned: Find out what I am meant for and do it. God has a plan for each of us and has promised a great many things to all of us. By studying the bible we can find out what we are meant for. By actively going out and taking what we have been promised we can prosper beyond our wildest dreams. This doesn’t mean stealing and it doesn’t have to mean war. If you do what God designed you for you will win. If he meant you to be a truck driver then get in a truck and do your best, you will prosper and do well as long as you keep trucking, at least until God shows you that He wants you elsewhere. If he meant for you to be an executive then learn what it takes to be good at the job and look for a place to work where you can demonstrate your ability. You will soon find yourself moving up the ladder of advancement to the position of authority and prosperity God meant you for.

more to learn for in-depth study: This section and those around it give the borders of the land of Israel and the borders of each tribal land as well as the cities they inherited. For those interested in the details it wouldn’t be hard to figure these out using a map of the region and a little research. Many of the cities are still there in some form and a little research can find the locations of those that no longer exist.

tomorrow: Joshua 19-21