Joshua 15 - 17

Sometimes it can feel like we have failed God + that we are of no use to God. This affects how we look at ourselves and others, and also God! We belittle God if we don't fully understand the power He can wield through us. We ought to be willing to do God's work, His way.

God's work had almost been completed. The Israelites had done it His way and it was time to distribute the land, His way.

God's work prizes the overlooked

The problem was that some of Joseph's descendants could not inherit their land because there was no male heir (Chapter 17). They must have felt useless. But God honoured them and kept His promise by giving them their father's inheritance. God valued those whom the society at the time thought useless.

God's law and kingdom prizes and protects those who might be overlooked. This continued right up into Jesus’ ministry where He drew the lost and rejected towards Him. God puts right at the center those who the world wants to push aside.

When we feel like a let down, remember that Jesus is drawn to weak people like us. His grace is enough for us in weakness and His power is made complete in us.

If Jesus is drawn to us in our weakness, e how have Jesus within us can also draw near to those who are also pushed aside by the world.

God's work is supposed to completed

Later in chapter 17 we see that there are some problems removing the final Canaanites from the land. Israel did not finish the job on numerous occasions. God had been very clear about their task - to drive out all the Canaanites in the land and take it all. By failing to do this, Israel was disobeying God's command and not allowed Him to rule the kingdom He had chosen for them.

We need to be vigilant in completing the work for God. We need to keep His commands and His kingdom at our heart, otherwise He will withdraw from there and all will be lost. If we hold things back from God.

God works through those who have refused Him before

The tribes Ephraim and Manassah encountered a wall. There were battles they could not win to claim their land. They were not willing to try to climb the wall and see how God would prevail. Yet God tells them that they will do it! He is on their side!

If we say no to God when we find something too high, He will finish the work another way. We will lose the joy of serving God and being the bringer of His victory for His kingdom. If we let Him take us over the wall we can have that. God wants to use us to build His kingdom with Him.