And the children of Joseph spoke to Joshua, saying, Why hast thou given me as inheritance one lot and one portion, seeing I am a great people, forasmuch as Jehovah has blessed me hitherto?
Ephraim and Manasseh — the two branches of Joseph's family — come to Joshua with a complaint. Their land is too small, they say. They back the complaint with their own numbers and their own record of blessing. Their words raise a question that outlives them. Does past blessing earn us more, or does it send us out to take what God has already given?
The request sounds reasonable. Commentators read it as something less flattering:
The complaint of the children of Joseph shows dissatisfaction with their lot; it was selfishness. Joshua takes them by their word. His answer reminds us of the command God gave in chapter 13: "Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses." Over there stood the great forests and the wooded hills and mountains. The Perizzites and the giants still lived there. All they needed to do was go there and drive them out, and they would possess a larger portion.
What they called too small was really unfinished. The land was there. They had not done the work.
Older translations word the boast as "I am a great people." One writer makes that phrase the name of a whole way of thinking, and sets it against real faith:
In them, self-importance took the place of the old fighting energy. Memories of their history fed it. Faith in God makes a man nothing in his own eyes while making him great in his deeds. They traded that faith for the "I-am-a-great-people" doctrine!
Note the reversal. Faith shrinks a person's view of himself and enlarges what he does. Ephraim's boast enlarged their view of themselves and shrank what they did.
Their argument leans on the past: God has blessed us up to now. That clause is where the whole appeal collapses.
"Cut down for yourself!" Past victories are not power today. In fact, boasting about the past is only evidence of weakness in the present. "The Lord has blessed me until now" is no proof that the Lord's hand is with us for blessing today. If the believer is building on the past, he is building on the blessing and not on the Lord. Today, "cut down for yourself," and prove the Lord's might by present faith in Him. The experience of the past is only a reason to encourage ourselves in the Lord today.
There is a difference between resting on God and resting on what God once did. The second feels like faith and functions like nostalgia.
Joshua does not argue about acreage. He takes their claim and hands it back as a task. One writer notes he had every reason to favour them and did not:
But Joshua was a man of God. God had guided him in allotting the territory, and he was not partial to his own tribe. His answer was wise and to the point: "If you are a numerous people, go up by yourself to the forest, and there clear ground for yourself." The land was theirs by title, but they had not taken possession of it. They were much like many believers today. They would like to have what others fought for, but they are afraid of the conflict needed to take hold of what is already theirs.
Title and possession are not the same thing. Conflict fills the gap between them, and that is what they wanted to skip.
Their complaint won them no extra allowance:
Joshua answered them on their own ground. ... He does not move away from his earlier decision, and he does not add to it. Still less would he indulge their boastful cowardice or their laziness.
The refusal was not a passing mood. Writers trace it forward through the nation's whole story:
He says, "If you are a great people, go up into the mountain and cut down for yourselves. You are a great people. Go up and overthrow the enemy, with his chariots of iron." Let your greatness be shown in work, not boasting. That was his answer to Ephraim then. But from that time on, the tribe of Ephraim was always jealous about its position in the nation of Israel. It always envied those who did anything for God... In the end that jealousy bore its fruit in the division of the kingdom.
- Complaint — Asking for a bigger lot showed dissatisfaction and selfishness. There was no real shortage. The land was there, uncleared.
- Claim — "I am a great people" is the reverse of faith, which makes a person nothing in his own eyes and great in his deeds.
- Credit — Past blessing is not present power. Building on what God once did is building on the blessing, not on the Lord.
- Challenge — Joshua showed no favouritism and gave no extra allowance. He took their claim of greatness and turned it into a job: go and cut down.
- Consequence — Greatness proved by work ends in possession. Greatness kept in words hardened into Ephraim's jealousy, and ended in a divided kingdom.
And Joshua said unto them, If thou art a great people, then get thee up to the wood, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if the hill-country of Ephraim is too narrow for thee.
The tribe of Joseph has just received its allotment, and instead of taking it, it asks for more. Joshua sends them to forest held by the Perizzites and the Rephaim — the "giants" of older translations — where greatness has to be proved with an axe.
The tribe asking for more had already left work undone at home.
The children of Manasseh could not drive out the people living in their cities. The Canaanites were determined to stay in that land. Had Manasseh looked to God, their stubbornness would have been a weak defence… The unfaithful often complain, as the children of Joseph did to Joshua.
Joshua holds them to the words they had just used about themselves.
The complaint of the children of Joseph shows they were unhappy with their share. It was selfishness. Joshua takes them at their word… Over there were the great forests, the wooded hills and mountains, where the Perizzites and the giants still lived. All they needed to do was go there and drive them out, and they would have a larger portion.
The children of Joseph push back about the iron chariots. Kelly notes that Joshua "does not swerve from nor add to his former decision; still less would he indulge their boastful cowardice or their laziness."
The forest Joshua names was not a consolation prize. It was already theirs on paper.
Joshua was a man of God. God had guided him in dividing up the land, and he was not partial to his own tribe. His answer was wise and to the point… They had title to this land, but they had not taken possession of it. They were much like many believers today. They would like to have what others had fought for, but they are afraid of the fight it takes to own what is theirs.
Joshua names two peoples in that forest. The second name carries a meaning of its own.
Rapha means "a fearful one." In the plural, with "the" in front of it, the word becomes a proper name: the Rephaim, or sons of Raphah, a race of giants… At times Rephaim can mean any people in Canaan who were very tall.
These were the giants Joseph's people refused to face. Gaebelein says Joshua's word was "his challenge to their faith. Faith does not take chariots or difficulties into account." He reads the refusal as unbelief. They "looked to the iron chariots the Canaanites had, instead of looking to the Lord and trusting His power."
Joseph's claim rested on a record of past blessing. One writer presses hard on the word "today." Where the ESV reads "clear ground for yourselves," the older wording he quotes is "cut down for yourself."
"Cut down for yourself!" Former victories are not power today. Boasting about the past is only evidence of weakness in the present. "The Lord has blessed me up to now" is no proof that the hand of the Lord is with us for blessing today. If the believer is building on the past, he is building on the blessing, and not on the Lord. Today, "cut down for yourself" — prove the Lord's might by present faith in Him. The experience of the past is only a reason to encourage ourselves in the Lord today.
The answer to cramped borders is not a bigger share. It is an axe.
God's way for His people to enlarge their borders is by driving out the enemies. Only one thing leads to true possession: a Christianity that goes on the attack, wins souls, presses on to know the Lord, and gains daily victories of faith. Cut down the woods, and plant the truths of the gospel in the barren places. Stop complaining that our situation gives few openings for usefulness. Let us get up and, in God's strength, cut down the giants with sword and axe, and widen the borders.
- Complaint. The tribe that left Canaanites in its own cities is the tribe that asks for more land. One commentator calls this selfishness, not need.
- Claim. Joshua takes them at their word. If they are a great people, the forest of the Perizzites and the giants is waiting for them.
- Title. The forest was already theirs by title. What they lacked was possession, because they feared the fight it costs.
- Today. Past blessing proves nothing about present power. Building on old victories is building on the blessing, not on the Lord.
- Axe. Borders widen only one way: by cutting down and driving out. Work widens them, not complaint.
And the children of Joseph said, The hill-country will not be enough for us; and all the Canaanites that dwell in the land of the valley have chariots of iron, those that are of Beth-shean and its dependent villages, and those that are in the valley of Jizreel.
Joshua had just told the tribes of Joseph to clear the forested hill country for themselves, since they called themselves great. Their reply here is a second objection. The hills are too small, and the plains below belong to Canaanites with iron chariots. Commentators read this as an excuse, not a report.
The two tribes had opened by calling themselves a great and blessed people. Joshua does not argue with that. He takes it at face value and holds to his earlier ruling.
Joshua answered them on their own ground. When they replied that the hill country was not enough, and that all the Canaanites of the valleys had chariots of iron, Joshua repeated his word to Ephraim and Manasseh: "You are a great people, and have great power: you shall not have one lot only, but the mountain shall be yours." He does not back away from his earlier decision, and he does not add to it. Still less would he indulge their boastful cowardice or their laziness.
The same principle reaches us. The Lord takes us at the size of the claim we make for ourselves.
These men of Joseph, so great in words, avoided the axe and feared the sword, saying, "all the Canaanites who dwell in the plain have chariots of iron." But Joshua let them move no distance from their own first words... So we can be sure the Lord Jesus Christ takes us according to what we claim to be. If we are such wonderful people, as great as we say, then let us "cut down for ourselves."
The verse puts two claims side by side. They are too big for the land they have, and too small for the enemy they face.
The protest these tribes make to Joshua is a plea of weakness that can sit right next to high claims, and that is nothing but shame. They have no low opinion of themselves. Yet when it comes to facing the enemy, they are glad to hide behind the most humbling confession. It is a case of "when I am weak, then I am strong," so a true sense of weakness would only have encouraged them, by throwing them back on God... They should have said: we do not believe, we dare not trust God; we are lazy, and we do not want the trouble of clearing the mountain. But then they could not have faced Jehovah with that! How good it would be to look honestly at all our excuses this way.
The chariots were real. Two things stood behind the complaint about them.
The complaint of the sons of Joseph shows they were not content with their lot; it was selfishness... They plead weakness. It was nothing less than unbelief, for they looked at the iron chariots the Canaanites had, instead of looking to the Lord and trusting His power. They refused to meet the enemy and have their borders enlarged on those terms. What a contrast with bold and humble Caleb! And yet Joshua encourages them. He urges them to go forward and take the forest and cut it down. It was his challenge to their faith. Faith does not count up chariots or difficulties.
Israel had already seen what God does with chariots. God was about to promise victory over these very ones.
To tremble before the power of the world comes from not trusting the power of God. Had they not already burned Jabin's chariots with fire in an earlier victory? (Joshua 11:4-9) Had God not promised the house of Joseph that "they should drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and though they are strong"? (Joshua 17:17-18) So what were iron chariots to Jehovah?
Behind the complaint is a wish for land someone else has already cleared. The title was theirs; the ground was not.
They had title to this land, but they had never taken it. They were much like many believers today. Such believers would like to have what others fought for, but they are afraid of the fight needed to take what is rightly theirs.
- Claim. Joseph's tribes called themselves great. In the same breath they pleaded weakness. A boast and an excuse cannot both be true.
- Excuse. The iron chariots were the reason they gave. Unbelief was the real reason. They measured the enemy instead of the Lord.
- Answer. Joshua did not soften his word or add to it. He held them to their own claim: if you are great, then cut down for yourselves.
- Promise. God had already promised they would drive out the Canaanites, chariots and all. That was the ground they refused to stand on.
- Possession. Title is not the same as possession. Land already given still has to be taken. Those who will not fight live smaller than their inheritance.
And Joshua spoke to the house of Joseph, to Ephraim and to Manasseh, saying, Thou art a great people, and hast great power thou shalt not have one lot only,
The house of Joseph had just complained that one share of land was too small for a people so large. Joshua answers them by handing their own boast straight back, and the verse shows why he meets a call for more land with a reminder of their strength.
Joshua's words are a reply. Ephraim and Manasseh had already failed to clear the Canaanites out of the land they held. Then they came asking for more.
Yet the children of Manasseh could not drive out the people living in their cities. The Canaanites chose to stay in that land. Had Manasseh looked to God, the stubbornness of the Canaanites would have proved a weak defence… The unfaithful are apt to complain, as the children of Joseph did to Joshua… Joshua answered them on their own ground. If a great people, why not go up to the wood and cut down for themselves?… Joshua repeats his word to Ephraim and Manasseh. He does not turn aside from his earlier decision, nor add to it; still less would he indulge their boastful cowardice or their laziness.
The phrase "you are a numerous people" is not flattery. It is their own claim, handed back to them as a demand for proof.
In them, inflation replaced the old fighting energy, fed by memories of history. Faith in God makes a man nothing in his own eyes while making him great in his deeds. They traded it for the "I-am-a-great-people" doctrine!… "If you are a great people, then go up to the wood country, and cut down for yourself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants."
Joshua's answer also marked the tribe of Ephraim for the rest of its history.
Show your greatness in work, not in boasting. That was his answer to Ephraim then. But from that time on, the tribe of Ephraim was always jealous about its place in Israel. It always envied those who did anything for God.
They had pleaded the iron chariots of the Canaanites in the valleys. That plea covered reasons they would never have said out loud.
When the brother tribes argued with Joshua, they pleaded weakness. Such a plea can sit alongside high claims about themselves, and that is shameful… They should have said, "We are unbelieving, we dare not trust God; we are lazy, and do not want the trouble of clearing the mountain" — but then they could not have faced the Lord with that! How good it would be to look honestly at all our excuses this way… Can we have an excuse for not taking possession of what God has made our own?
Joshua's confidence rests on a promise God had already made about those very chariots.
Trembling before the power of the world comes from not trusting the power of God… Had God not promised the house of Joseph that they would drive out the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots and are strong? What then were iron chariots to the Lord?
"You shall not have one allotment only" is a real promise of more. But the boundaries move outward only in step with actual conquest.
True, there is plenty of land for all. Their boundaries, as we have often seen, are quite open to enlargement where there is real need. But that cannot happen until they can fill what they have already been given, and until they drive the enemies of God out of their inheritance. The answer from their Captain is a call to act, with encouragement in it. True, if we measure ourselves against the difficulties, there is no hope at all. Measure them in faith with God, and where have they gone?
Their argument rested on what God had done for them so far. That is where the answer cuts.
Former victories are not power today. In fact, boasting about the past is only evidence of weakness in the present. "The Lord has blessed me up to now" is no proof that the Lord's hand is with us for blessing today. If the believer is building on the past, he is building on the blessing, and not on the Lord.
- Claim. Joshua hands back their own boast. They called themselves a great people, so their greatness must show in work, not complaint.
- Excuse. The iron chariots were a screen. The real problems were unbelief and laziness.
- Promise. God had promised they would drive out the Canaanites, chariots and all. The chariots counted for nothing against Him.
- Condition. God did promise more land. But borders widen only as the enemy is driven out of what they already hold.
- Warning. Yesterday's blessing is not today's power. Leaning on a good history means building on the blessing, not on the Lord.
but the hill-country shall be thine, as it is a wood, thou shalt cut it down, and its outgoings shall be thine; for thou shalt dispossess the Canaanites, though they have iron chariots; for they are powerful.
Joshua's last word to the sons of Joseph refuses their excuse. The wooded hill country is theirs to clear, and the iron chariots they fear will not settle the outcome. So why did a promise of certain victory meet with reluctance, and what did that reluctance cost?
The tribe had called itself great and asked for more land. Joshua gives them what they asked for. They must act like the people they claim to be.
These sons of Joseph, so great in words, avoided the axe and feared the sword, saying that all the Canaanites who live in the valley have chariots of iron. But Joshua allowed them no retreat from their first words. "You are a great people, and have great power," he says. "The hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it." So we may be sure the Lord Jesus Christ takes us at our own word. If we are such wonderful people, so great as we profess, then let us "cut down for ourselves."
Joshua does not soften the task. He repeats what he already said.
He does not swerve from nor add to his former decision; still less would he indulge their boastful timidity or their laziness.
The last line of the verse is a promise, not advice. God had already said who would win, chariots and all.
Had God not promised the house of Joseph that they would drive out the Canaanites, "though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong"? (Joshua 17:17-18) What then were iron chariots to the Lord? When our confidence in Him and in His promises is shaken, we say like the spies sent by Moses to view the land: "And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak... and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." (Numbers 13:33)
They said they were not strong enough. But their weakness was not the real problem.
They plead weakness. It was nothing less than unbelief. They looked at the iron chariots the Canaanites had, instead of looking to the Lord and trusting His power. They refused to meet the enemy and have their borders enlarged under these conditions. What a contrast with bold and humble Caleb! And yet Joshua encourages them. He urges them to go forward, take the forest and cut it down. It was his challenge to their faith. Faith does not reckon with chariots, with difficulties.
Joshua told them where greatness shows itself. What followed marked the tribe for generations.
He says, if you are a great people, go up into the mountain and cut down for yourselves. You are a great people. Go up and overthrow the enemy, with his chariots of iron. Let your greatness be shown in work, not boasting. That was his answer to Ephraim then; but from that time on, the tribe of Ephraim was always jealous as to its position in the nation of Israel. It always envied those who did anything for God. They kept pushing themselves forward all through the book of Judges and in David's time. In the end that jealousy bore its proper fruit: the kingdom split in two.
Their complaint leaned on what God had done for them so far. The command to clear the forest is for today.
"Cut down for yourself!" Former victories are not power today. Boasting of the past is only evidence of weakness in the present. "The Lord has blessed me so far" is no proof that the hand of the Lord is with us for blessing today. If the believer is building on the past, he is building on the blessing, and not on the Lord. Today "cut down for yourself" — prove the Lord's might by present faith in Him.
The verse ties their borders to their clearing: the land is theirs as far as they cut.
God's way for His people to enlarge their borders is by driving out the enemies. Only bold Christianity leads to true possession: winning souls, pressing on to know the Lord, daily victories of faith. Cut down the woods, and plant the truths of the gospel in the barren places. Do not mourn how few openings for usefulness our lot gives us. Rise up instead, and in God's strength cut down the giants with sword and axe, and widen the borders.
- Claim — They called themselves a great people. Joshua took them at their word and handed them the forest to clear. Christ also takes us at the word we give.
- Command — Joshua did not reduce the task or add to it. He would not indulge their boastful fear or their laziness.
- Chariots — God Himself promised they would drive the Canaanites out, so iron chariots counted for nothing. Shaken confidence, not enemy strength, is what makes people feel like grasshoppers.
- Cost — Pleading weakness was unbelief. Ephraim's refusal hardened into jealousy that ran through Judges and David's reign, until the kingdom split.
- Clearing — Only driving out the enemy enlarges the borders. Past blessing proves nothing about present power, so the word stands for today: cut it down for yourself.