Living in the Promised Land: A study in the book of Joshua
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Lesson Sixteen: God’s ways are not our ways
A. Introduction
1. Greetings
Shalom…
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2. Overview. [For those online, see this book overview from The Bible Project (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JqOqJlFF_eU )
B. Today’s lesson: Chapter 16: God’s ways are not our ways
I’d heard the expression so many times, I wondered which of my grandparents first used it. “God’s ways are not our ways.” I also wondered why my parents used that line on me so often, especially when I wanted or needed or desperately pleaded for something that I ended up not getting. It seemed a cavalier line applied at just the wrong times for me, who was generally interested in both God’s ways and my own ways. I never really saw them in conflict. Not until later.
Little did I understand that my grandparents and their grandparents did not invent this line. In fact, it originated, at least in recorded history, with Isaiah the prophet.
“Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the LORD, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon. “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
So are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts. (Is. 55:7-9)
There you go. God started that thinking, and it’s an upside-down thinking to be sure. God is supreme; we all knew that, but his ways and his thoughts are above smart people and above creative people and above all of us. So it wasn’t just a trump card on my cleverness in argument with my parents; it was actually divine wisdom.
I see that in our Bible section reminded us today as well. And today we are going to look at geography as well, in fact, let’s start there. But the information we are going to study will lead us into a discussion about God’s ways.
As we saw last week, these two maps are very useful. We see the layout of the land with the Ammonites and Moabites east of the Jordan, then the Philistines over along the Mediterranean Coast, and then the 12 tribes in their locations. This all takes place approximately 50 years after Moses is off the scene, so about 1400 BCE. The 12 tribes are settling 9 and a half on the west side of the Jordan, 2 and a half tribes east of that river.
We see Ephraim just south of the larger Menasheh. In fact, the southern line of Menasheh forms the northern border of Ephraim. It looks to me like Ephraim is land-locked which is interesting as that will force him and the tribe to depend on other tribes later for trade on the water and for water itself. But that’s for another study. To the west it reaches over towards Dan, almost reaching modern day Tel Aviv and Petach Tikvah. The cities of Jericho, Ai, Bethel and Shiloh are included which makes it seriously significant from our reading of this book already. The author has featured this section of the conquest in the writing so far, and there are reasons for that, I’m sure.
What is interesting to me is the change in the batting order from verse four to verse five. Did you see that when you read this passage? I’m trying to help us see patterns as well as break-of-patterns in Scripture. That will help us to see what God might want us to see. Verse four: Menasheh and Ephraim. Verse 5, the first one given borders is Ephraim and Menasheh doesn’t get his until the next chapter. Why is that?
God’s ways are not our ways. Man’s patterns are fixed and set in stone. Firstborn should always be given priority. Firstborn are responsible for the rest of the children. Firstborn get double portions so that they can provide for the others. That’s stock standard. And usual. But NOT ALWAYS. Our ways are fixed and immovable. God’s ways require regular observations because they might amend.
That’s what Jacob, the patriarch did back in Genesis 48. Here’s the relevant section to Joshua’s reading.
“Now it came about after these things that Joseph was told, “Behold, your father is sick.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim with him. 2 When it was told to Jacob, “Behold, your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel collected his strength and sat up in the bed. 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 and He said to me, ‘Behold, I will make you fruitful and numerous, and I will make you a company of peoples, and will give this land to your descendants after you for an everlasting possession.’ 5 “Now your two sons, who were born to you in the land of Egypt before I came to you in Egypt, are mine; Ephraim and Manasseh shall be mine, as Reuben and Simeon are. 6 “But your offspring that have been born after them shall be yours; they shall be called by the names of their brothers in their inheritance.”
Before this statement by Jacob (also called Israel), he made Joseph swear about Jacob’s bones not staying in Egypt, but that he should be buried in Canaan. After this episode is the famous hand swap. I’ll read it now:
When Israel saw Joseph’s sons, he said, “Who are these?” 9 Joseph said to his father, “They are my sons, whom God has given me here.” So he said, “Bring them to me, please, that I may bless them.” 10 Now the eyes of Israel were sodim from age that he could not see. Then Joseph brought them close to him, and he kissed them and embraced them. 11 Israel said to Joseph, “I never expected to see your face, and behold, God has let me see your children as well.” 12Then Joseph took them from his knees, and bowed with his face to the ground. 13 Joseph took them both, Ephraim with his right hand toward Israel’s left, and Manasseh with his left hand toward Israel’s right, and brought them close to him. 14 But Israel stretched out his right hand and laid it on the head of Ephraim, who was the younger, and his left hand on Manasseh’s head, crossing his hands, although Manasseh was the firstborn.” (8-14)
He blessed Joseph, and pronounced a blessing.
Look at verse 17 When Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand on Ephraim’s head, it displeased him; and he grasped his father’s hand to remove it from Ephraim’s head to Manasseh’s head. 18 Joseph said to his father, “Not so, my father, for this one is the firstborn. Place your right hand on his head.” 19 But his father refused and said, “I know, my son, I know; he also will become a people and he also will be great. However, his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his descendants shall become a multitude of nations.” 20 He blessed them that day, saying,
“By you Israel will pronounce blessing, saying,
‘May God make you like Ephraim and Manasseh!’” thus he put Ephraim before Manasseh.” (to verse 20)
The birth order was well known. The patterns of blessing were well established and both Joseph and Jacob knew what it meant. But Jacob, who was himself born 2nd to Isaac and Rebekah, and yet the one who received the birthright and the blessing, (albeit by trickery), wanted to make his opinion and what he understood to be God’s plan, God’s ways, God’s thoughts, to happen there on his death bed.
Joseph wanted normalcy. Joseph wanted his older son, Menasheh to receive the double portion and the blessing. The boys were born in Egypt and thus learned Jewish life and culture in ‘enemy territory’ and grew up ‘swimming against the tide.’ That makes a fish tough. That made these two men tough. Interestingly throughout Jewish history, the prayer is as Jacob said, “May God make you like Ephraim and Menasheh.”
Many Jewish people pray over their sons on Erev Shabbat with this prayer. Some in Chabad wait until Erev Yom Kippur for an annual blessing. The point is that we should be like those who are chosen by the Lord, stand against the ways of the world and live God’s ways in our days. Does that make sense to you?
When Jacob said the older two boys would be his, and the others would belong to Joseph, he was saying that Joseph was being given a double portion of land in Israel. Hence both boys get tribal distribution and Joseph gets none, but really he gets 2. All the other sons (except Levi) get land, but Joseph gets double.
And then this goes beyond birth.
The Apostle Paul wrote something about God’s ways vs our ways.
“For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; 27 but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, 28 and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, 29 so that no man may boast before God. 30 But by His doing you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 31 so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.” (1 Cor. 1.26-31)
God’s ways of wisdom and strength are not human. His ways and his thoughts are above ours. And the point, Paul writes, is so that no one will boast in himself. Boasting makes no sense in the case of having talent or having a gift. Imagine Ephraim boasting, “I got a double portion! You didn’t get as much as me.” Or such. What’s the point of that?
God chooses the weak to shame the things which are strong. It’s the Steven Bradbury principle. It’s the Jamaican bobsled team. It’s people like me being sent to Australia to launch an organization when there is no natural, no normal, no behavioural reason for that to happen. I knew nothing of AGMs or of creating Boards; I knew nothing of governmental regulations and how to create something out of nothing. God chose this weakness to confound the strong and to make a name for himself, and that’s my story.
James said something similar:
“Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?” (2.5)
His upside-down kingdom, his upside-down reality is that the poor will be rich, and they will inherit the kingdom, if they love him. Here’s the way this works: God wants to initiate things, to sponsor them, if you will. Then we respond and we join his program. He is the king of the kingdom and we inherit his life and promises.
So we read today in verse four:
“The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance.”
There is the birth order and then what follows is the layout of the land of Ephraim. Yeshua said the ‘first shall be last’ (Matthew 20.16). God will not be put into a box of human categories or human enterprise. He is Lord of all and will complete his task of Kingdom making and then the end shall come. Good news is that both Menasheh and Ephraim get their portions. Both will enter God’s promises and succeed. Down the road of Jewish history, Ephraim is the new name, the dominant name for the sons of Joseph, and he is the nickname for God’s promises to all those in the North of Israel. Not by his own doing, and not by his own strength of will, but by the plan and purposes of God.
In our final verse today, verse 10, we see the ‘ouch’ which characterizes the story, both so far, and going forward. The “you didn’t finish the job” reminder which will haunt the story of the Jewish people even to this day. We’ve already addressed this and will again, but I don’t want us to be distracted from my main thought today. God’s thoughts are not our thoughts.
When I came to believe in Jesus as our Messiah, I entered into an alternate reality, it seemed. Friends and family which had been normal were no longer considering me to be among them. And a new mishpochah arose which welcomed me into the fold. In synagogue I wore a hat when I prayed; in the new community I was asked to remove my hat on entry. In my hippie lifestyle, whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted was fine; in my new faith there were rules that came from the insdie that shut down self-pleasure and the commensurate self-loathing. The world had turned upside down in a heartbeat, the moment, it seemed, that I prayed and asked God to forgive my sins in Jesus’ name.
Invitation
Maybe that’s how you are feeling just now. Dear friends, do you have such a sense of forgiveness and God’s gracious presence today? Do you know that Yeshua initiated the New Covenant, that which Jeremiah predicted, on Passover nearly 2000 years ago? Have you met the one who was cursed on the Roman tree for you in Jerusalem? if you have never asked Yeshua to be your Saviour, today as we keep learning from Joshua, would you choose to believe the Lord of life? Would you be willing to take a stand for him who took a stand and died on a Roman cross for you? We love Yeshua because in his death he accomplished salvation for all people. He took the curse we deserved to give us his righteousness which he deserved. Forgiveness is available because of the death of our messiah.
If you’d like to receive him today, just now, join me as we pray.
Say something like this: “Father in Yeshua’s name, forgive me my sin, I was wrong to dismiss you and to disbelieve in you. I need your mercy. I deserve punishment but you are kind and merciful and I receive your grace. I repent. I receive Yeshua as my saviour and Lord. I will live because of my faith in Messiah Yeshua. Amen.
If you prayed that, please let us know of your profession by writing straightaway, won’t you? Bob@JewsforJesus.org.au We’d love to hear from you.
Conclusion
We are delighted you have joined us today. Please join us next week and learn with the others how you can stay on track in 2021 and beyond. I hope to see you next week as we continue our studies in Joshua. You will certainly see yourself in the readings and in the lessons. Next week we will look at chapter 17, in what I call “Ephraim and Menashe: Part 2” and see what lessons we can draw for ourselves from the scenes there!
Hope to see you then… until then, Shabbat shalom!
Bibliography
Butler, Trent C., Word Biblical Commentary, Volume 7. Joshua. Word, Waco, 1983.
Davis, Dale Ralph, Joshua: No Falling Words, Christian Focus, Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland, 2019.
Hess, Richard. Tyndale Commentary Complete.
Meyer, F.B., Joshua and the Land of Promise, Christian Literature Crusade, Ft Washington PA, 1977.
Pritchard, James, “The Bible reports on Gibeon.” Penn Museum, Expedition, 1961. Volume 3, Issue 4.
Sanders, J. Oswald, Promised-Land Living, Moody Press, Chicago, 1984.
Toms, Paul, This land is your land. Gospel Light Publishing, Glendale CA, 1977.
Weirsbe, Warren. Be Strong: Putting God's Power to Work in Your Life. David C. Cook Publishing, Colorado Springs, 2010.
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D-Groups for this week
1) Monday 11 am Sydney time. Led by James Howse
2) Monday 7 pm, Sydney time, led by James White
(Contact our office for zoom details)
If you’d like to host a D-Group either online or in person, please contact bob@jewsforjesus.org.au for further details. It’s time to step up. Ponder this—who will be in your D-Group?
The Book of Joshua: Outline.
C. Entering the Land (Chapters 1-4)
a. Chapter 1: A funeral and a promise (Leadership Lesson 1)
b. Chapter 2: A harlot saves the day
c. Chapter 3: Go against the flow (Part 1)
d. Chapter 4: Go against the flow (Part 2)
D. Taking the Land (5-12)
a. Chapter 5: Roll away iniquity: a study in sacraments
b. Chapter 6: Joshua fit d’battle ob Jericho
c. Chapter 7: Getting it very wrong: Achan and his mistakes
d. Chapter 8: Combat and Covenant
e. Chapter 9: Common sense is not so common
f. Chapter 10: Southern dominance
g. Chapter 11: How not to win
h. Chapter 12: God is faithful
E. Possessing the Land (13-21)
a. Chapter 13: Inheritance lessons
b. Chapter 14: Caleb as an example with a side of contentment
c. Chapter 15: Geography lesson
d. Chapter 16: God’s ways are not our ways
e. Chapter 17: Trends of note
f. Chapter 18: Apportionment (Part 1)
g. Chapter 19: Apportionment (Part 2)
h. Chapter 20: Provisions (Part 1)
i. Chapter 21: Provisions (Part 2)
F. Retaining the Land (22-24)
a. Chapter 22: Can an altar alter anything?
b. Chapter 23: Staying on edge
c. Chapter 24: Three funerals and Renewing the covenant
The Seven Nations
1. Amorite
2. Canaanite
3. Girgashite
4. Hittite
5. Hivite
6. Jebusite
7. Perizzite
Josh. 16:1 Then the lot for the sons of Joseph went from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east into the wilderness, going up from Jericho through the hill country to Bethel. 2 It went from Bethel to Luz, and continued to the border of the Archites at Ataroth. 3 It went down westward to the territory of the Japhletites, as far as the territory of lower Beth-horon even to Gezer, and it ended at the sea.
Josh. 16:4 The sons of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5 Now this was the territory of the sons of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance eastward was Ataroth-addar, as far as upper Beth-horon. 6 Then the border went westward at Michmethath on the north, and the border turned about eastward to Taanath-shiloh and continued beyond it to the east of Janoah. 7 It went down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah, then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. 8 From Tappuah the border continued westward to the brook of Kanah, and it ended at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the sons of Ephraim according to their families, 9 together with the cities which were set apart for the sons of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages. 10 But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer, so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, and they became forced laborers.
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