Wed.’s Devo - Taking Our Land

Read: Joshua 16:1-18:28; Lue 19:1-27; Psalm 87:1-7; Proverbs 13:11
Joseph’s inheritance was in his two sons: Ephraim and Manasseh. Ephraim was given the land around the Jordan River. They drove out all the people except the Canaanites who were the peddlers and merchants.
Manasseh was a tribe of warriors but they were not able to drive out the Canaanites from their land either so they made them their servants.
The people of Joseph went to Joshua to complain that they were too large for the land they had been given so Joshua told them to take the hill country also. The Perizzites and the Rephaites lived there and they were giants with iron chariots. When they complained about this, Joshua reminded them that they were many and powerful. They could drive them out.
Joshua met with all the people at Shiloh to set up a sanctuary. Seven of the twelve tribes had not taken their land yet or received their inheritance. Joshua wanted to know what they were waiting for. He instructed them to map out the land and divide it up so the tribes could cast lots for their land.
The first lot fell to Benjamin who land fell between Judah and Joseph.
I think that God is asking us the same question Joshua asked the seven tribes. What are we waiting for in taking possession of the things God has promised us. God is waiting for us to take his Word and live by it believing everything in it. It is the formula for life and the road map for the world we live in. To me, that means taking possession of my emotions and trusting in what I feel is my next step no matter what my circumstances look like.
Yesterday, Jesus said that it was hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven and today we read about a rich man doing just that. Zacchaeus was a wealthy shrew tax collector who had one encounter with Jesus and his heart was totally changed. Jesus was nearing Jerusalem where he knew he was going to die so he told the parable about the nobleman and his servants. The noble man was Jesus and the servants were the keepers of the law. The noble man was leaving to become king and had given three of them money to invest with until he returned. The servants hated the man and didn’t want him to become king. The first two did what they were told but the third hid his because he was afraid of the king. He and the other people who hated him were put to death, but the ones who invested for him were rewarded. The investors were the disciples who loved Jesus and took what he had and multiplied it.
Lord, help us to be wise in all you have given us. May we take our possessions and use them for the kingdom’s sake.