“If you are so numerous,”’ Joshua answered, “‘and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”
~ Joshua 17:15
James and Ellen,
Would you be happy if your dad and/or ma never bought you another toy? Would you be happy if your dad and/or ma never bought you another computer game? Would you be happy if your dad and/or ma never bought you another kid’s video? When you go with your dad and/or ma to a store, do you always expect your dad and/or ma to buy something for you – like a toy, computer game or kid’s video? Are you ever satisfied with what you have? Is it important to you to have more and better things than what your kid friends have? Do you think that it is good for a kid to always want to have more and more and more things? Do you think that it is good for a kid – or a guy or gal, to always have to have the newest and best things that money can buy – like having to buy a new car every year or new clothes every month or the newest computer upgrades? What do your dad and/or ma do to make you happy? Do your dad and/or ma buy you what you tell them that you just have to have? Your grandmaa and grandpaa hope that you are satisfied with the toys, computer games and kid’s videos that you already have – and that you would be okay if you never got another toy, computer game and kid’s video.
Your grandpaa knows that there are a lot of guys and gals – and kids, who would like to have things different in their lives than how things are for them now. Your grandpaa knows that there are a lot of guys and gals – and kids, who would really like to have something that they do not already have. Your grandpaa knows that there are a lot of guys and gals – and kids, who are not satisfied with their life status. Your grandpaa is quite sure that there are a lot of guys and gals who would like to have more money. Why do you think that there are a lot of guys and gals who are always wishing that they had more money? Why do you think that there are a lot of guys and gals who are always wishing that they had a bigger place to live? Why do you think that there are a lot of guys and gals are always looking for ways to change something? When a guy and/or gal who is on the field missionary team that your grandpaa has the oversight responsibility shows up at your grandpaa’s office to tell your grandpaa that he, she or they think that something needs to be changed for one reason or another, your grandpaa will suggest to him, her or them that he, she or they should look at what is working instead of focusing on what is not working. Your grandpaa has been hardwired by God to always see that there is always another way to do something but . . . your grandpaa was asked one time to be a ‘devil’s advocate’ in an important meeting with the South American Mission Bolivian field team missionaries. God has hardwired your grandpaa to be a counterintuitive which means that your grandpaa innately will always look at the other side of what is being advocated. Do you like it when a kid always feels like he or she has to always disagree with you? Your grandpaa does not like it when a guy or gal disagrees with him but . . .
A guy and/or gal who really frustrates your grandpaa is a guy and/or gal who is not satisfied with his, her or their life situation who wants your grandpaa’s input on how to change his, her or their life situation and then who will not follow through on what your grandpaa has suggested that he, she or they do to change his, her or their life situation. Your grandpaa thinks that Joshua had to have felt rather frustrated when the two tribal clans that were comprised of Joseph’s two sons went to him and told him that they were not satisfied with the land allotments that had been allotted to them by lot. Joseph’s oldest son – Manasseh, and Manasseh’s younger bro – Ephraim, thought that they deserved more land than what had been allotted by lot to them because of their tribal clans being so large. The Manasseh tribal clan had to divide up the land that had been allotted to them by lot to the five tribal clan’s bros and to Zelophehad’s five daughters. Zelophehad – when he died, did not have any sons to pass on the land that he had settled in the land area that the Manasseh tribal clan had been allotted by lot. The Manasseh tribal clan had been allotted by lot the second largest allotment of land that was allotted by lots to the twelve tribal clans but . . . the Manasseh tribal clan wanted still more land. Joshua 17 goes into the expectation that Joshua had to deal with from the two tribal clans that were made up of Joseph’s two sons’ extended families and how Joshua dwelt with their tension. The tribal clans of Manasseh and Ephraim probably wanted more cities in the portion of land that had been allotted to them by lot for the guys, gals and kids who were in their tribal clans to live in but . . . what would you have told the two tribal clans of Manasseh and Ephraim to do about their land allotments that had been allotted to them by lot if you had been Joshua? Verse 15 recounts what Joshua suggested to the Manasseh and Ephraim tribal clans that they do “‘If you are so numerous,”’ Joshua answered, “‘and if the hill country of Ephraim is too small for you, go up into the forest and clear land for yourselves there in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaites.”’ Do you think that the Manasseh and Ephraim tribal clans were satisfied with Joshua’s suggestion? The Manasseh and Ephraim tribal clans had excuses – such as a neighboring people group having iron chariots that . . . your grandpaa thinks that the Manasseh and Ephraim tribal clans did not want to do the hard work of having to cut down the trees that covered a lot of the land that had been allotted by lot to them to always to have to live in as their very own land which would have given the Manasseh and Ephraim tribal guys and gals more land area in which to live. Just like the Manasseh and Ephraim tribal clans wanted more but pushed back at doing something, your grandpaa knows that you will always have being satisfied in a battle with not being satisfied. It is always best to have being satisfied win.
Joshua 17 (349)