OUR LORD WHO BLESSES US TILL OUR CUP RUNNETH OVER

Joshua 17 verse 9 contains a detail in the allotments of the promised land issued to the descendants of the children of Israel. In particular, the apportionment is for the people who descended from one of the two sons of Joseph called Mannaseh. The other son's name was Ephraim.

The passage goes like this;

Then the boundary continued south to the Kanah Ravine. There were towns belonging to Ephraim lying among the towns of Manasseh, but the boundary of Manasseh was the northern side of the ravine and ended at the Mediterranean Sea. 

As Israel's hold of the promised land expanded, the allocation of land to the tribes of Israel used  geographical features and towns as boundary markers. In this case, the tribe of Mannaseh  was given the land north of the Kanah Ravine bordering the Mediteranian sea on the west side and the Jordan River on the east side. The northern border was just north of the towns of Taanach and Megiddo.

Even though this was a relatively large portion of land, the people of Mannaseh went to the leaders of Israel and said that they had not been given enough land because they were very numerous and had been blessed by the Lord so much that they could not fit into the space that had been allocated to them. Joshua recommended that they commandeer more land for themselves from the forested hill country to the south and the lands in the areas east of the sea of Galilee.

This rendering of the history of Israel brings to mind the prophecies written far into the future by the prophet Isaiah in the book of Isaiah chapter 49 that describes the bride of Christ marveling at the fullness of her household who were so numerous that they declared that they needed more room for them to fit. The passage goes like this;

“Though you were ruined and made desolate and your land laid waste, now you will be too small for your people, and those who devoured you will be far away. The children born during your bereavement will yet say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us; give us more space to live in.’

Then you will say in your heart, ‘Who bore me these?

I was bereaved and barren; I was exiled and rejected. Who brought these up? I was left all alone, but these—where have they come from?’”

Because Joseph had been sold as a slave and exiled yet was faithful, the Lord blessed Joseph mightily with numerous descendants such that his children  multiplied and filled the land beyond capacity and they demanded more land. In the same way, the  bride of  Christ, having been exiled and rejected by the world yet remained faithful, will have children emerge that fill their allotted space beyond capacity and will need to request more space to accommodate everybody.

Bless our Lord who blesses us to overflowing with people who turn to Him because we share the word of His salvation.

Amen.