Joshua 16: 1 – 10 “The allotment for the descendants of Joseph extended from the Jordan at Jericho to the waters of Jericho on the east, through the wilderness that goes up from Jericho into the hill country of Bethel. It went on from Bethel (that is, Luz)a and proceeded to the border of the Archites in Ataroth. Then it descended westward to the border of the Japhletites as far as the border of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and ended at the Sea.
So Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, received their inheritance. This was the territory of the descendants of Ephraim by their clans:
The border of their inheritance went from Ataroth-addar in the east to Upper Beth-horon and out toward the Sea. From Michmethath on the north it turned eastward toward Taanath-shiloh and passed by it to Janoah on the east. From Janoah it went down to Ataroth and Naarah, and then reached Jericho and came out at the Jordan. From Tappuah the border went westward to the Brook of Kanah and ended at the Sea.
This was the inheritance of the clans of the tribe of Ephraim, along with all the cities and villages set apart for the descendants of Ephraim within the inheritance of Manasseh. But they did not drive out the Canaanites who lived in Gezer. So, the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites to this day, but they are forced laborers.”
One more time, a tribe is given a large amount of land, this time relatively fertile, only to fail to drive out some of the inhabitants. In Mrs. Charles Cowman’s devotional Springs in the Valley for March 3, 2022, she quotes Robert Louis Stevenson as having said, “No man is of any use until he has dared everything.” Well, the Ephraimites and the half tribe of Manasseh who were to claim land west of the Jordan chose to control their risk and allow the residents of Gezer to remain. According to Wikipedia, Gezer was a major Canaanite city.
“ Its importance was due in part to the strategic position it held at the crossroads of the ancient coastal trade route linking Egypt with Syria, Anatolia and Mesopotamia, and the road to Jerusalem and Jericho, both important trade routes.” Controlling Gezer meant that the Ephraimites would control all the trade that moved along those various routes. But why didn’t the Ephraimites just go ahead and kill the people of Gezer? Allegedly, the Ephraimites feared the people of Gezer. “Israel did not fully control Gezer until the time of King Solomon. Pharaoh King of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. Solomon rebuilt Gezer. (1 Kings 9:16) “(Ray Vander Laan, https://www.thattheworldmayknow.com/gezer-in-the-bible)
It seems ironic that it took the pagan king of Egypt to wipe out the inhabitants of Gezer. What happened? Perhaps the citizens of Gezer had a very powerful fetish of some kind and the Ephraimites feared that fetish more than they respected the One True Living God. Perhaps the Ephraimites entered into an unwise covenant with the inhabitants of Gezer before they realized who they really were. And perhaps the Ephraimite young people began to intermarry with the Gezerites, leaving their elders with the unenviable option of murdering their own children and grandchildren. All we know is that once more a group settled for less than God’s very best and ultimately paid for it. Ephraim became part of the Northern Kingdom that strayed away from God soon after the death of King Solomon. The sad story of the moral deterioration of Ephraim began when the tribes broke away from King Solomon’s son Rehoboam to follow King Jeroboam. In a bid to lure the Israelites away from Jerusalem, Jeroboam established a huge worship center in Dan in the northeast corner of Israel, about as far away from Jerusalem as possible, and then told the Israelites that it was “too much trouble” for them to travel all that way to Jerusalem to worship. Things continued to go downhill spiritually from there.
APPLICATION: “I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you.” Joel 2:25 RESTORATION!!! There are many of us for whom this verse from the prophet Joel have brought much comfort. Perhaps we have made foolish choices or have compromised with evil as did the Ephraimites. Now years have gone by and we have had ample time to bitterly regret our mistakes. But God is a Restorer.
One of the most thrilling testimonies I have ever heard came from a former member of the Hell’s Angels motorcycle gang. This man’s mother was a prayer warrior; for years, she continued to pray for her son while he descended further and further into violence, alcoholism and drug abuse. One night the Holy Spirit moved in this man’s heart and he fled the Hell’s Angels. He hid in a phone booth and called his mother, who called an Assemblies of God pastor in the area where this man was living. The pastor swooped in and took off with the man just as the Hell’s Angels were coming down the road. That man’s life totally changed that night. Later, when I moved to Charleston, S.C., I actually attended church with the man’s mother whose prayers had been answered so well. This wonderful lady confirmed all the details I had previously heard when her son spoke at another church.
What should the Ephraimites have done? Rather than compromising, they should have trusted God and conquered Gezer. Who knows how different the history of the Ephraimites might have been had they gone ahead instead of compromising? Even if the Ephraimites had not succeeded in the beginning, God could still have helped them to conquer eventually.
What can we do if we feel that we have made a mess of our lives? First, understand that God already knows what has happened; you can’t shock or surprise God. Second, pray and ask God to help you. God always listens and He will always help.
PRAYER: Father God, help us! We have made mistakes and now we don’t see any way out of our messes. But You are almighty and already know what we need. Help us to trust You and to expect You to guide us and to protect us. In the mighty Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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