Title: Portion of Ephraim
Content 28. Ephraim's Portion
Joseph's descendants occupied the next noble place after Judah. Here, too, they come after Judas and testify to the same. Here, a general outline of the descendants of Joseph is given first (verses 1-4), followed by the inheritance of Ephraim (verses 5-10), and the distribution is continued in the next chapter. The inheritance of the tribe of Ephraim was set by lot, and its territory bordered on the southern border of Benjamin and Dan. When they were counted in the wilderness of Moab, Manasseh numbered 52,700 (Numbers 26:34) and Ephraim numbered 32,500 (Numbers 26:37). Before Moses died, when he blessed them, he said, “Thousands of Ephraim, and thousands of Manasseh” (Deuteronomy 33:17). This shows that Ephraim's blessing was greater. In ancient society, having a large family was viewed as a blessing. However, later history shows that population growth has changed from time to time according to God's will.
Here Ephraim precedes the tribe of Manasseh. What draws our attention here is the fact that a famous place was included within the area of Ephraim. The place is not mentioned here, but within their borders, Samuel's hometown of Ramah and Shiloh where the tabernacle was built, and Disra, Shechem, Mount Ebal, Mount Gerizim, and Sychar, which were the capitals of Jeroboam, also belong to this place . Of particular interest to us is that the ten tribes are specifically referred to as “Ephraim.”
God's providence is revealed in small places and also in large historical events. Therefore, we must keep in mind that not all events in history are accidental. God had in mind the time when the nation of Israel would be divided in the distant future, and appointed Ephraim's inheritance here.
However, another feature here is that Ephraim received the inheritance, but even then, Canaan “did not cast out” (verse 10). Not all of the residents of the area were expelled, but God gave the area as an inheritance in advance and made it a settlement for them.