Joshua 16:1

Joshua 16:1 says, And the lot of the children of Joseph fell from Jordan by Jericho, unto the water of Jericho on the east, to the wilderness that goeth up from Jericho throughout mount Bethel,  This chapter deals with the inheritance of the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim.  Joseph himself never left Egypt, but his descendants did, and they received an inheritance.  Verse two states, And goeth out from Bethel to Luz, and passeth along unto the borders of Archi to Ataroth,  Verse three adds, And goeth down westward to the coast of Japhleti, unto the coast of Bethhoron the nether, and to Gezer: and the goings out thereof are at the sea.  This specified the land that Manasseh and Ephraim were to receive.  It may or may not have been the land that they would have chosen, but it was the land that God had for them.  We may or may not get everything we want in life, but if it is what God blesses us with, then we should simply thank Him.  Verse four declares, So the children of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, took their inheritance.  Manasseh and Ephraim took their inheritance, just as we should take what God blesses us with joyfully today.  Verse five says, And the border of the children of Ephraim according to their families was thus: even the border of their inheritance on the east side was Atarothaddar, unto Bethhoron the upper;   These verses begin to specify the land that Ephraim got for themselves.  They were two different tribes of Israel.  Even though we may be united in our worship of God as followers of Christ, we have our separate lives.  Verse six states, And the border went out toward the sea to Michmethah on the north side; and the border went about eastward unto Taanathshiloh, and passed by it on the east to Janohah;  The next few verses simply define the boundaries of Ephraim.  Verse seven adds, And it went down from Janohah to Ataroth, and to Naarath, and came to Jericho, and went out at Jordan.  Verse eight continues, The border went out from Tappuah westward unto the river Kanah; and the goings out thereof were at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the children of Ephraim by their families.  Then verse nine declares, And the separate cities for the children of Ephraim were among the inheritance of the children of Manasseh, all the cities with their villages.  Some of the cities that were given to Ephraim were with the territory given to Manasseh.   Sometimes, what God blesses us with may overlap what He has blessed someone else with.  If so, we should just all be thankful.  Verse ten declares, And they drave not out the Canaanites that dwelt in Gezer: but the Canaanites dwell among the Ephraimites unto this day, and serve under tribute.  They did not drive out all the Canaanites, and the Canaanites remained among them.  When we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord, we must drive out all the foreign influences that exist in our lives.