Joshua 17:1-12: a reflection

1This was the lot for the tribe of Manasseh, for he was the firstborn of Joseph. As for Machir the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, because he was a man of war, therefore he had Gilead and Bashan. 2So this was for the rest of the children of Manasseh according to their families: for the children of Abiezer, for the children of Helek, for the children of Asriel, for the children of Shechem, for the children of Hepher, and for the children of Shemida. These were the male children of Manasseh the son of Joseph according to their families. 3But Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, had no sons, but daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4They came to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the princes, saying, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brothers.” Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brothers of their father. 5Ten parts fell to Manasseh, in addition to the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan; 6because the daughters of Manasseh had an inheritance among his sons. The land of Gilead belonged to the rest of the sons of Manasseh. 7The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Michmethath, which is before Shechem. The border went along to the right hand, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8The land of Tappuah belonged to Manasseh; but Tappuah on the border of Manasseh belonged to the children of Ephraim. 9The border went down to the brook of Kanah, southward of the brook. These cities belonged to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh was on the north side of the brook, and ended at the sea. 10Southward it was Ephraim’s, and northward it was Manasseh’s, and the sea was his border. They reached to Asher on the north, and to Issachar on the east. 11Manasseh had three heights in Issachar, in Asher Beth Shean and its towns, and Ibleam and its towns, and the inhabitants of Dor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Endor and its towns, and the inhabitants of Taanach and its towns, and the inhabitants of Megiddo and its towns. 12Yet the children of Manasseh couldn’t drive out the inhabitants of those cities; but the Canaanites would dwell in that land.

After recording the allotment of land to the tribe of Manasseh, the passage ends on a quietly ominous note: Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the inhabitants of those cities, but the Canaanites would dwell in that land. They had been commanded to fully possess the land, but they left pockets unconquered, tolerating the Canaanites in their midst rather than driving them out as God had said. What looked like a small compromise would, over generations, become a snare, as these tolerated peoples drew Israel into their idolatry.

Notice the nature of the failure: not open rebellion, but incomplete obedience. Manasseh did not reject God's command outright; they simply did not carry it all the way through. They possessed most of the land but left some Canaanites in place, tolerating what they had been told to remove. It seemed manageable, a small allowance. But tolerated compromise has a way of growing into something that masters us.

There is a warning here about the sins and compromises we tolerate rather than deal with fully. Like Israel, we may not reject God outright, but simply fail to carry obedience all the way through, leaving pockets of sin in place, tolerating some compromise we have been called to remove because it seems manageable, or too costly to root out. But what we tolerate today can master us tomorrow. Do not leave the Canaanites in the land. Whatever sin or compromise God has shown you, deal with it fully rather than tolerating it in a corner of your life. Incomplete obedience leaves a snare; carry obedience all the way through.

Lord, Manasseh did not reject your command, but simply failed to carry it through, leaving the Canaanites in the land they had been told to clear, and the tolerated compromise became a snare. Search me for the same failure. Show me the pockets of sin and compromise I have left in place, not in open rebellion but in incomplete obedience, tolerating what I have been called to remove because it seems manageable or costly to root out. Help me deal fully with what you have shown me, rather than leaving it in a corner of my life. What I tolerate today can master me tomorrow; give me grace to carry obedience all the way through.