June 16, 2019: Day 50- Joshua 16

This is the second time in a row that we find that one of the tribes doesn’t drive out the residents of the land.  They conquer the land, but they allow the residents to live there.  We saw that with the Jebusites and Jerusalem, and now we see it with the Canaanites in Gezer.  Notice how previously we had the Gibeonites who tricked the Israelites and as a result were allowed to stay in the land, but they had to do menial tasks.  We don’t hear what kind of work the Jebusites were allowed to do, and here the Canaanites were enslaved, or as Scripture states, they were made to do forced labor.  So if you manage to get over on the Israelites in the OT you future is a bit sketchy.

Notice that there is some confusion with the tribe of Joseph (please, don’t read this as the father of Jesus, we are talking Old Testament here people).  The confusion lies in that each tribe was allotted one allotment, but Joseph’s tribe seems to be divided into two between Manasseh and Ephraim.  Look at the map below and you will find the division visually among all the families.  Hopefully this helps as you read through it all.