Joshua 16:1-4 | Episode #1236

July 13, 2026

Hope Alive: Applying God’s Word to Your Daily Life

Joshua 16:1-4

I am Chad Harrison, and I am the teaching pastor of Lake Community Church and had been serving as a pastor for over 25 years. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word verse-by-verse and find God's will for your life. The purpose of studying scripture is that you might know the character of Jesus Christ, and that you might see the world from the Father's perspective. That you gain wisdom that changes your life. I pray in the name of Jesus right now that God would open His word to you and allow you to see Him and to know Him. To know His will, that you might glorify Him and that you might walk in faith and power each day, especially today. In Jesus name.

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Transcript

This is Hope Alive, where we apply God's Word to our daily life. My name is Chad Harrison. I'm first a husband, a father, and a grandfather. I'm also the teaching pastor at Lake Community Church in Dadeville, Alabama, on beautiful Lake Martin. I've been serving as a pastor for over 30 years. I also serve as the Tallapoosa County District Judge. This podcast is designed to help you study God's word verse by verse through the Bible and to find his purpose and will for your daily life. If you would like sponsor this podcast, go to the Show Notes, where there's a link where you can make a donation. I pray in the name of Jesus

that God would open his word to

you, allow you to see him and to know him, so that you would know his will and his way for your life, that you might walk in faith and power each and every day, especially today. Word of God, please speak to the hearers of your voice to today, in

the name of Jesus. Amen. Well, good morning. Welcome to Lake Community Church's morning Bible study. We are in Joshua, chapter 16. Joshua, chapter 16. And there's a couple of interesting understandings that are found, especially right here at the start of the chapter. They're understandings that maybe you don't think of as in depth or something that you want to really dig into, but there are things to remember. And I think there are things of great importance as far as entering into the promised land. And so when we're studying this, it is of great interest to when you see something that's different, something maybe you haven't heard before, something you hadn't seen before. And I've had several people talk about that. I've had several people talk about running across something in. Sorry. In conversation and realizing that they had never read that before. They'd read it, but they didn't remember it. And so this is one of those matters where you have to read it and you really need to remember it. You need to kind of take it in men, as you start, study it and remember it, because it does have significance. And what is the significance? Well, here it is. It says, the lot fell to the children of Joseph. Now, I want you to notice when you're reading about the tribes of Israel, from here on, you're never, ever going to see the tribe of Joseph. Okay, maybe it's one in one place, but throughout Scripture, the tribe of Joseph doesn't exist. Now, the other two tribes that are mentioned here, which are Ephraim and Manasseh, are mentioned all the time. In the list of the tribes of Israel, Ephraim and Manasseh are listed all the time. And why Ephraim and Manasseh? Because they're the two sons of Joseph. And so Joseph is going to get what is in essence, a double portion. Okay? He's going to get a double portion of the land. And the reason he's going to get a double portion of the land is not because he's the oldest son. And that's what usually would have happened, what normally happens, and I've said this before, and maybe even the last few weeks I've said it, but if you had three sons, the oldest would get a double portion. That means that you'd have three sons. There'd be an extra portion, that'd be a fourth portion. So the oldest son would get 2/4, the next two sons would get 1/4. If it were 10, then there would be 11 portions. The oldest sudden get 2/11, and all the rest would get 1/11. And so that kind of is how it worked for the oldest son. They got a double portion of the land, which means they got a double portion of the blessing. And that has some scriptural relevance, but it's not a relevance as far as when you're born. And we know that because Isaac got his portion from Abraham as the only son, but Jacob got his portion, and he was not the oldest son. He got the blessing from his father Isaac, because Esau gave it to him. And so when Jacob took the blessing that God had, the anointing, the promises that God had given Abraham, when he passed them down, it should have gone to. Well, it should have gone to the older brother, but it didn't. It didn't go to Esau, it went to Jacob. And so understanding that's important, we have that happen again in the next generation when Jacob's children, who were. Who once Jacob had dealt with God, his name became Israel, Israel's children. Jacob was not the oldest. He wasn't the youngest. Benjamin was the youngest, but he was the favorite. And he was the favorite because he was. Well, he was a man of faith, and he was a man of vision, and his father loved him and his brothers sold him into slavery. And we've been through that story, and it's a great story. It's a great illustration, it's great understanding. But that story gives you insight into, well, really what is going on with Joseph and. And what happens in the end Now, Reuben lost his inheritance. And what I mean by that, well, Reuben wasn't blessed by his father Jacob. And that's because they committed pretty heinous crime destroying a whole village and killing everyone in the village when that was not necessary. And so Reuben lost his blessing. And so sometimes you'll see it mentioned as the tribe of Reuben. But most of the time one of the sons of Jacob, I mean one of the sons of Joseph replaces him in the list. And so you have the tribe of Manasseh and the tribe of. I'm having a rough time this morning, tribe of Ephraim. And so as we're studying through this, you see this take place here. It says the lot that fell to the children of Joseph from the Jordan by Jericho. Now notice it says the children of Joseph to the waters of Jericho to the east. So you've got from Jericho over to the Jordan river and the Dead Sea to the south and the sea Galilee to the north. That's where the Jordan river runs. He says, and it goes to the wilderness, goes up from Jericho through the mountains to Bethel. Then it went out to Bethel to Luz, passed along the border of the

Archite

and went down westward to the boundary of the Japhetites. And it says as far as the boundary of the Lord, Beth Horon to Gezer. And it ended at the sea. And what is at the Dead Sea. So the children of Joseph. And now it's going to make that transition. Manasseh and Ephraim took their inheritance. And from now on you're going to see Manasseh and Ephraim and list. Usually in those lists Reuben is removed. And so what does that teach us? What is the importance of this? Well, the importance of this is that you can not engage the promises of God and not receive the promises that come by faith from God. You can do happens, you can disqualify yourself from the things that you could have had by not living out your life the way God is leading you. I say this all the time. There are consequences to those things. And the reason they're consequences is because you're consequential, you matter. And because you matter, what you do matters. And especially for the children of God, what matters for us is found in our faith. Now you go, well, didn't God already know that? And doesn't God already have that figured out down the road? Absolutely he does. He does. That doesn't change the fact that we choose to trust God in our salvific process. And our choice to trust God is an amazing act. It's really incredible, credible. For something that is so antithetical to God, to actually be changed by God and be able to trust in God. And so that work of that miraculous work that God does in our lives, that gives us an opportunity to trust him, that work matters, that work has significance. And so it's not something to be hidden and it's not something to be take, to be taken for granted. And so even though Bible says that God would, that none should perish, but all should have eternal life, remember it is the desire of God. Now he knows that that's not going to happen, but it's the desire of God for all to receive his goodness and his grace. He wants to pour. In fact, the Bible says he pours out his spirit on all flesh, even the flesh that's not going to turn, even the flesh that's not going to be changed. And so understanding that there is a very important principle here. There's the principle of the double portion, that those who give, who walk in, who are obedient, they receive even better than they could ever imagine. And those who refuse to, they don't get the benefit of it. And there is hierarchy in the kingdom. The kingdom is not. There is not equity in the kingdom. Okay, and you go, well, I thought we were all equal before God. We are. He equally loves us all. But equity is a understanding that everybody should be the same. There's equity, equalness of outcome, and there's not an equalness of outcome in the kingdom. There's not equity in the kingdom. God does not bring about the same outcome in everyone's life. And because he gives us a chance to glorify him by actually, in our own hearts and minds, trusting him by faith and understanding, that is really, really important for your walk. You do get the chance to glorify God by your walk of faith. And by not doing it, you miss out on a lot of what God's doing. Now, that's a very tough understanding to get, but it's also an important understanding to have. There is a missing out that happens for those who refuse to trust Him. And so I would say to you to trust him. I would say to you to seek him out. How many people do you know have had so many opportunities and yet they struggle with trusting God because it is just so difficult. And they just can't let go and let God be in control. And so it's not that God doesn't love them, it's just that you do have to learn to trust Him. I pray you will. I expect you will. These things are things we discuss because you're seeking. And if you seek, you'll find. As you go today, I pray that the Lord will bless you and keep you, that he'll make his face to shine upon you and that he will give you hope and peace today in Jesus name.