Wrestle With the Gift

My husband and I enjoyed the seasonal show Parenthood that aired several years ago. We watched it weekly as it came out, and -- since it's been a while and we couldn't remember much of it -- we're in the middle of working our way through it again.

In one recent episode, Zeke Braverman, the Braverman family's patriarch, purchases a junk-heap car. As he stands in his driveway, waving directions to the truck driver backing toward his garage, his wife Camille sees what's happening. She runs outside and demands an explanation.

Zeke grins. "I'm gonna fix it up."

The story-family has decent money; likely, if Zeke had wanted a new car to tool around in during his retirement years, it wouldn't have been a huge problem. But he buys the junk heap, and in ensuing episodes, we see him bonding with his grandson as the two of them clean car parts and remake the engine.

Why does he buy an unfinished car? Because he gets the joy of wrestling with the gift in order to invest in the final product. That car will mean a whole lot more to him in the end because of the struggle in the middle.

This morning, I was going to stick with Joshua 16, but Joshua 16 only detailed the land distributed to the tribe of Ephraim. I didn't feel right leaving poor Manasseh out in the cold, so I read Joshua 17, too. 

Quick review: Jacob is the grandson of Abraham, who gets the original promise from the Lord that He will be given the Promised Land. So after Joshua leads the nation of Israel into the Promised Land and they conquer most of it, they have to apportion it according to these twelve tribes. The thing is, the tribe of Joseph is now divided into two tribes, because Jacob adopted Joseph's two sons as his own just before his death. 

When Jacob spoke his final blessing over Joseph's sons, he -- significantly -- crossed his hands and laid his right hand on Ephraim (the youngest's) head and his left on Manasseh (the oldest's head). Just as he, Jacob-the-younger, had inherited the "oldest's" blessing in place of his brother Esau, so Ephraim now inherits the "oldest's" blessing in place of his brother Manasseh.

How does that work out, though? Twelve tribes, twelve apportionments, how does Joseph get two apportionments? The tribe of the Levites is the official priesthood among the twelve tribes of Jacob, and because they get their apportionment from the Lord, that leaves only eleven sons of Jacob -- unless one of the tribes splits in two, which is exactly what happens.

Confusing, I know. But that's as quick as I can make it.

Okay, so in Joshua 16, the tribe of Ephraim is assigned land, and they move in. Technically, both Ephraim and Manasseh move in, but in Joshua 17, we read about a little bit of sibling rivalry. Not between actual Ephraim and Manasseh (who are long dead), but their descendants.

Joshua 17:14 says: "The people of Joseph (both Ephraim and Manasseh) said to Joshua, 'Why have you given us only one allotment and one portion for an inheritance? We are a numerous people and the Lord has blessed us abundantly.'"

They need some elbow room. It reminds me of when my brother and I used to rib each other in the backseat of the car. Poke, poke, poke, until one of my brother's pokes actually hurt, and I'd yell, and my mom's hand of doom would reach around from the front seat and seek out one of our knees. And when that hand of doom appeared, you better know you've got to move your knee, because if it got hold of your knee, little pokes from your brother are like bunny kisses.

So anyway, poke, poke, poke, Ephraim and Manasseh need to be separated. They have become too numerous, too many people filling up a small-ish area of land. 

Joshua tells them: "You are numerous and very powerful. You will have not only one allotment, but the forested hill country as well. Clear it, and its farthest limits will be yours; though the Canaanites have iron chariots and though they are strong, you can drive them out" (Joshua 17:17-18).

Here's what I was thinking: Ephraim gets the already-cleared land, the already-built cities and towns. They've conquered the territory, and they've moved in. Manasseh is right there with them, but there's just too many of them for the current construction. So Joshua tells Manasseh to clear the forest.

Work for what you've got. Wrestle with the gift. All for the sake of investing in the final product.

I'm not saying that Ephraim didn't appreciate their land as much as Manasseh finally did theirs. But the pattern of wrestling with the gift, utilizing the object, is something we all recognize. 

For instance, for Christmas a few years back, I received a recurve bow and a set of arrows. Hands down, best gift ever; I love it (still). I don't hunt, but I love to target shoot. Anyway, that bow would be perfectly useless without the arrows, a trophy to hang on the wall, maybe. The arrows aren't much good for anything without the bow -- I guess you could use them as marshmallow sticks if you were desperate. 

But put together -- bow with arrows -- you get the joy of archery. The pull of the bow and the release of the arrows. 

Here's the best gift ever, even better than a bow and arrows: The gift of salvation. We are given it freely, but unless we live in it, wrestle with it, use it and work with it, we miss out on much of the joy that accompanies it. 

Philippians 2:12-13 says: "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed -- not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence -- continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God Who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose."

And we just went through the entire book of James which pairs faith with deeds: "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead" (James 2:17).

So clear your land you've already been given. Wrestle with the gift that is already in your hands. Pair together the gift and the work. 

There's something about the work of the hands that brings the greatest joy. David points to the work of God's hands in Psalm 8: "When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars which You have set in place, what is man that You are mindful of him, the son of man that You care for him?"

But because He loves us, He made us the work of His hands, and as as result, "crowned him with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5). 

How can you wrestle with your gift today? How can you take it and use it and pour out to others with it? So many ways.