Josué 17

Josué 17

Barber - We cannot conclude our perusal of these chapters without taking note of the failure of these tribes to trust the Lord for victory. God’s promise of help was as explicit as His command for these nations to be destroyed (cf. Exodus 23:23–33; 34:11–16; Deuteronomy 7:1–6). Apparently inertia led first to an uneasy coexistence, and then to full acceptance with intermarriage taking place. It wasn’t long before God’s people began worshiping the gods of the Canaanites. (Joshua: A Devotional Exposition) Irving Jensen (Joshua- Everyman's Bible Commentary: Rest-Land Won) -The complaint of Ephraim and Manasseh was strong and bitter. They felt they deserved a larger inheritance since God had blessed them with such a large population, and the habitable areas to dwell in were in their estimation too small. Joshua’s answer was both a rebuke and a solution. A truly great people should be able to take the small and make it big. His solution was for them to apply brawn and cut down the wooded forest and make room. Then, having established themselves firmly in the hill country, they would be able to drive out the heavily armed and formidable Canaanites in the north valley regions, which threat was the basic reason for their complaint in the first place. If Judah had to deal with enemies from all sides, the sons of Joseph could not expect an easier inheritance! Joshua’s closing words to them (17:17–18) were a strong encouragement and challenge, applicable also to Christians today: “Thou art a great people, (POSITION) and hast great power; … (POWER) forest, thou shalt cut … down … (TOIL) for thou shalt drive out the Canaanites.…” (TRIUMPH)