Joshua 17:1-13 – Living an uncompromising life

Joshua 17 describes the allotment of the land given to descendants of Joseph. Verse 1 reveals that part of the inheritance was given to this tribe of Manasseh on the east of Jordan. While on the journey to the promised land, they together with Reuben and Gad saw some good pasture land there and asked to be given the land. Moses promised to grant them those areas, provided they would help their brethren to first conquer Canaan. They kept their promise, so a part of the tribe was given the land east of Jordan.

In Joshua 17: 2-3, we are told that ten portions were given to the other half of the tribe of Manasseh. Of these ten portions, five went to the daughters of Zelophehad, who died without a son. The daughters were bold enough to claim their rights to the inheritance from Moses. So here in verse 4, we are told that they came to Joshua, Eleazer the priest and the elders of the tribes who were administering the division of the land and boldly claimed their portions. What stands out again is found in verse 13. The tribe of Manasseh also did not wholly obeyed the Lord. It says, “But the sons of Manasseh could not take possession of these cities, because the Canaanites persisted in living in that land.”

Although Manasseh’s descendants were strong enough to dispel the Canaanites from their allotted portion, they didn’t. Instead, they compromised and put them into forced labor. Here they had under-estimated the potential of their folly. The Bible clearly teaches that a little yeast can leaven up the whole lump of the dole. This is one lesson we must remember. All compromises seem like a good solution at first. They may seem to ease the problem but only for a short term. In the long run, they always boomerang to create a bigger issue for us. Like it or not, a person who compromises, actually fails himself. A compromise is something two parties agree on but it is often something neither of them wanted in the first place. The end result of a compromise can be more devastating than we can conceive. But faithfulness will go a long way and it’s the way to go in life. And Christ has modeled it for us. So, let us live loyally and faithfully without compromise.