Blessings with Splinters: Text: Joshua 17:14-18
Introduction: The Complaining Heirs
We live in a generation that has mastered the art of the complaint. We have elevated the grievance to a form of currency and victimhood to a state of nobility. This is not just a feature of the unbelieving world; this sour spirit has seeped under the doors of the church like a foul mist. We want God's blessings, but we want them pre-packaged, shrink-wrapped, and delivered to our door with no assembly required. We want the inheritance without the fight, the crown without the cross, and the promised land without the giants.
The story of the sons of Joseph coming to Joshua is therefore a story for our time. The tribes of Ephraim and Manasseh, the sons of Joseph, were doubly blessed. They were numerous, powerful, and had received a great inheritance, all according to the promises of God. And what is their first instinct? They come to Joshua, not with thanksgiving, but with a complaint. Their blessing, in their own eyes, has become their burden. "Why have you given me only one lot...since I am a numerous people?" This is the language of entitled heirs, measuring God's goodness against their own convenience.
Joshua's response to them is a master class in godly leadership. He does not coddle their complaint. He does not apologize for the size of their blessing. He does not form a committee to study the problem. He takes their premise, "we are a numerous people," and turns it back on them as a command. "If you are a numerous people, then act like it. Go up. Clear the forest. Take the land." He calls them to turn their blessing into a verb. He calls them to take up the responsibility that always, always accompanies true blessing.
This passage is a crucial diagnostic tool for the modern church. It forces us to ask ourselves how we view the blessings God has given us. Do we see our resources, our children, our numbers, and our strength as problems to be managed or as assets to be deployed for the Kingdom? God does not give us strength so that we can complain about the weight of our own muscles. He gives us strength so that we can take down trees and drive out the enemy. Let us attend, then, to this sharp and necessary word.
The Text
Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, “Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom Yahweh has thus far blessed?” And Joshua said to them, “If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.” And the sons of Joseph said, “The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.” Then Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, “You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, even though they have iron chariots and even though they are strong.”
(Joshua 17:14-18 LSB)
The Blessed Complaint (v. 14)
We begin with the initial approach of the sons of Joseph.
"Then the sons of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, 'Why have you given me only one lot and one portion for an inheritance, since I am a numerous people whom Yahweh has thus far blessed?'" (Joshua 17:14)
Notice how they frame their argument. It is a curious mixture of theological truth and carnal complaint. They are correct on the facts. They are indeed a numerous people. And they are correct about the source of this blessing: "whom Yahweh has thus far blessed." They know God has been good to them. They acknowledge His hand. But this acknowledgment is not the foundation for gratitude; it is the premise for a grievance. It is as though they are saying, "God has blessed us so much that your provision for us is now inadequate." They are using God's faithfulness as a club to beat the leadership.
This is a subtle but deadly form of pride. It cloaks itself in the language of blessing. They are not saying they are weak or poor. They are boasting about their numbers, but they are doing it in the key of discontent. "Look how great we are; this small inheritance is an insult to our greatness." This is the spirit of the man who receives a large check from a benefactor and immediately complains about the tax implications. It is a heart that has learned how to curdle every blessing into a reason for murmuring.
They ask, "Why have you given me...?" They lay the problem at Joshua's feet. This is the classic move of evading responsibility. They see a discrepancy between their size and their territory, and their immediate conclusion is that someone else has failed them. It does not occur to them that God's blessing of numbers was given to them precisely so they would have the strength to solve this exact problem. God gave them the manpower for the job He was about to give them.
Joshua's Godly Re-Direct (v. 15)
Joshua’s reply is brilliant. He does not accept their premise of victimhood. He accepts their premise of strength.
"And Joshua said to them, 'If you are a numerous people, go up to the forest and clear a place for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the Rephaim, since the hill country of Ephraim is too narrow for you.'" (Joshua 17:15 LSB)
Joshua essentially says, "I agree. You are a great people. God has made you numerous. Wonderful. Now, pick up your axes." He calls their bluff. He refuses to let them weaponize their blessing. Instead, he treats their statement as the very qualification for the difficult task ahead. Is the hill country too narrow? Of course it is. That is the point. The inheritance is not just the part that is easily occupied. The inheritance includes the forests that need clearing and the enemies that need driving out.
Joshua gives them three commands: go up, clear a place, and do it "for yourself." He is transferring the responsibility right back where it belongs. This is not a punishment; it is a commissioning. He is calling them to be who they say they are. A great people do not whine for more handouts; they create their own inheritance out of the raw materials God has provided. The blessing of being "numerous" was not for comfort, but for conquest. The trees in the land of the Perizzites and Rephaim are part of their portion, but it is a portion that comes with splinters. Blessings often do.
The Iron Chariot Excuse (v. 16)
But the sons of Joseph are not done complaining. When one excuse is dealt with, another is always waiting in the wings.
"And the sons of Joseph said, 'The hill country is not enough for us, and all the Canaanites who live in the valley land have chariots of iron, both those who are in Beth-shean and its towns and those who are in the valley of Jezreel.'" (Joshua 17:16 LSB)
Their response is a textbook example of faithlessness. First, they dismiss the hill country: "The hill country is not enough for us." This is a direct contradiction of what they will be told. They have already decided the task is too great and the reward too small. Second, they pivot to a new obstacle. "The Canaanites... have chariots of iron." This was the most advanced military technology of the day. It was the ancient equivalent of complaining about enemy tanks.
This is the voice of the ten faithless spies in Numbers 13. "There are giants in the land." "They have fortified cities." "We are like grasshoppers in their sight." The iron chariots are just the current version of the same old story. When men do not want to obey God, the obstacles always seem insurmountable and God's promises always seem distant. They were focusing on the strength of the enemy instead of the promise of God, who had explicitly said He would drive out these inhabitants before them. Iron chariots are formidable, but they are nothing to the God who parted the Red Sea and stopped the Jordan River in a heap.
The Final Commission (v. 17-18)
Joshua does not buckle. He does not offer a compromise. He doubles down on the original charge, but this time he wraps it in the language of glorious promise.
"Then Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and Manasseh, saying, 'You are a numerous people and have great power; you shall not have one lot only, but the hill country shall be yours. For though it is a forest, you shall clear it, and to its farthest borders it shall be yours; for you shall dispossess the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and even though they are strong.'" (Joshua 17:17-18 LSB)
Joshua begins by affirming them again: "You are a numerous people and have great power." He is reminding them of their identity in God's economy. He is not flattering them; he is arming them with the truth. Then he expands the vision. "You shall not have one lot only." He grants their desire, but not in the way they wanted. They will have more land, but they will have it through conquest, not through a redrawing of the map.
He gives them a series of glorious promises that are conditioned on their obedience. "The hill country shall be yours." How? "For though it is a forest, you shall clear it." The ownership is realized through the work. "And to its farthest borders it shall be yours." God's promises are expansive. He doesn't want His people to settle for the minimum. He wants them to press out to the very edges of what He has granted. And finally, he addresses the great fear. "For you shall dispossess the Canaanites, even though they have chariots of iron and even though they are strong."
Joshua places the responsibility squarely on their shoulders: "you shall clear it," "you shall dispossess them." This is the robust synergy of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God promises the victory, but He ordains that the victory will come through the faithful, axe-swinging, sword-wielding obedience of His people. The strength of the enemy is acknowledged, but it is relativized by the command of God. Their strength is no match for God's commission.
Conclusion: Take Up Your Axe
The application for us is direct and sharp. God has blessed his new covenant people, the Church, with numbers, with resources, with spiritual gifts, and with great power in the gospel. He has given us a great commission to take the gospel to the ends of the earth and to disciple the nations. And what do we so often do? We look at the size of our blessing and we complain that the church building is too crowded. We look at the mission field and we complain about the iron chariots of secularism, of hostile governments, of cultural decay.
We have been given a great inheritance in Christ. The whole world has been given to Him as His inheritance, and we are co-heirs with Him (Psalm 2:8, Romans 8:17). But this inheritance is a forest that needs clearing. It is a valley full of enemies that need dispossessing. God has given us the blessing of the gospel, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the strength of fellowship. These are our axes and our swords.
The word from our greater Joshua, the Lord Jesus, is the same. "If you are my people, for whom I died, then act like it. Go up. Take the land. Do not complain about the size of the trees; rejoice that you have an axe. Do not fixate on the iron chariots of the enemy; remember that they are rust and your God is a consuming fire." The question is not whether the task is hard. The question is whether God has commanded it. He has. Therefore, let us stop complaining about our blessings and start wielding them. Let us repent of our faithless excuses, take up our axes, and get to work clearing our inheritance, to its farthest borders.