+ DAILY PRAYER +
The Allotment of Ephraim and Manasseh The allotment of the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, at the waters of Jericho to the east, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel; 2 it continues from Bethel to Luz, and it passes along to the territory of the Arkites at Ataroth….
This Daily Devotion covers the first five books of the Bible, Genesis through Deuteronomy also called the Books of Moses or the Pentateuch, in a period of one year in a Monday through Friday format, the Psalms and order of devotion follow those presented in The Treasury of Daily Prayer from Concordia Publishing House.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.
Hear my prayer, O Lord; give ear to my pleas for mercy!
In your faithfulness answer me, in your righteousness!
Evening and morning and at noon I utter my complaint and moan,
and he hears my voice.
Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you;
He will never permit the righteous to be moved.
Psalm 56:8-13
8 You have kept count of my tossings;
put my tears in your bottle. Are they not in your book?
9 Then my enemies will turn back in the day when I call.
This I know, that God is for me.
10 In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
11 in God I trust; I shall not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
12 I must perform my vows to you, O God;
I will render thank offerings to you.
13 For you have delivered my soul from death,
yes, my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God in the light of life.
Reading for Tuesday September 5th Joshua 16:1 – 17:13
The Allotment of Ephraim and Manasseh
16 The allotment of the descendants of Joseph went from the Jordan by Jericho, at the waters of Jericho to the east, into the wilderness, going up from Jericho into the hill country to Bethel; 2 it continues from Bethel to Luz, and it passes along to the territory of the Arkites at Ataroth. 3 Then it goes down, to the west, to the territory of the Japhletites, up to the territory of Lower Beth-horon, then to Gezer, and ?it ends? at the sea.
4 And the descendants of Joseph, Manasseh and Ephraim, received their inheritance. 5 This was the border of the descendants of Ephraim according to their families: the border of their inheritance to the east was Ataroth Addar, up to Upper Beth-horon. 6 The border continues to the sea; from Micmethath to the north, the border turns to the east to Taanath Shiloh, and it passes along it from the east to Janoah. 7 Then it goes down from Janoah to Ataroth and to Naarah; it touches Jericho and ends at the Jordan; 8 from Tappuah the border goes to the west, to the wadi of Kanah, and ?it ends? at the sea. This is the inheritance of the tribe of the descendants of Ephraim according to their families, 9 with the cities that were set apart for the descendants of Ephraim in the midst of the inheritance of the descendants of Manasseh, all the cities and their villages. 10 But they did not drive out the Canananites who were dwelling in Gezer, and so the Canaanites live in the midst of Ephraim to this day, but they became forced laborers.
The Allotment of the Other Half-Tribe of Manasseh
17 Then the allotment was made for the tribe of Manasseh, because he was the firstborn of Joseph. To Makir, the firstborn of Manasseh, the father of Gilead, ?were allotted? Gilead and Bashan, because he was a warrior. 2 An allotment was made for the remaining descendants of Manasseh, according to their families: For the children of Abiezer, Helek, Asriel, Shechem, Hepher, and Shemida—these were the male descendants of Manasseh son of Joseph according to their families.
3 But Zelophehad son of Hepher, son of Gilead, son of Makir, son of Manasseh, had no sons, only daughters. These are the names of his daughters: Mahlah, Noah, Hoglah, Milcah, and Tirzah. 4 They came before Eleazar the priest, Joshua son of Nun, and the leaders, saying, “Yahweh commanded Moses to give an inheritance to us among our kinsmen.” Therefore, according to the ?command of Yahweh? he gave them an inheritance among the kinsmen of their father. 5 Thus ten shares fell to Manasseh, besides the land of Gilead and Bashan, which is beyond the Jordan, 6 because the daughters of Manasseh received an inheritance among his sons. And the land of Gilead was allotted to the remaining descendants of Manasseh. 7 The border of Manasseh was from Asher to Micmethath, which is opposite Shechem; then the border goes to the south, to the inhabitants of En Tappuah. 8 The land of Tappuah ?belonged to Manasseh?, but Tuppuah on the border of Manasseh ?belonged to the descendants of Ephraim?. 9 Then the border goes down to the wadi of Kanah to the south of the wadi. These cities belong to Ephraim among the cities of Manasseh. The border of Manasseh is north of the wadi, and ?it ends? at the sea. 10 The south is Ephraim’s, and the north is Manasseh’s; the sea is their border; Asher touches the north and on the east Issachar. 11 In Issachar and Asher, Manasseh had Beth-shean and its villages, Ibleam and its villages, the inhabitants of Dor and its villages, the inhabitants of En-dor and its villages, the inhabitants of Taanach and its villages, the inhabitants of Megiddo and its villages; the third is Napheth. 12 But the descendants of Manasseh were not able to take possession of these towns; the Canaanites were determined to live in this land. 13 And it happened, when the ?Israelites? grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor but never drove them out completely.
Lord’s Prayer
Daily Prayer
O God, who alone knits all infants in the womb, You chose improbable servants—old and childless—to conceive and parent the forerunner of Christ and, in so doing, demonstrated again Your strength in weakness. Grant us, who are as unlikely and unworthy as Zecharias and Elizabeth, the opportunity to love and serve You according to Your good and gracious will; through Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, now and forever.
Concluding Prayer
Heavenly Father, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts to direct and rule us according to Your will, to comfort us in all our afflictions, to defend us from all error, and to lead us into all truth; through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.
