Way of the Leadership

And Joseph called the name of the firstborn Manasseh: For God, said he, hath made me forget all my toil, and all my father's house.

Genesis 41:51

And Israel stretched out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn.

15 And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God which fed me all my life long unto this day,

16 The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow into a multitude in the midst of the earth.

And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh.

Genesis 48:14-16, 20

Then came the daughters of Zelophehad, the son of Hepher, the son of Gilead, the son of Machir, the son of Manasseh, of the families of Manasseh the son of Joseph: and these are the names of his daughters; Mahlah, Noah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Tirzah.

2 And they stood before Moses, and before Eleazar the priest, and before the princes and all the congregation, by the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, saying,

3 Our father died in the wilderness, and he was not in the company of them that gathered themselves together against the LORD in the company of Korah; but died in his own sin, and had no sons.

4 Why should the name of our father be done away from among his family, because he hath no son? Give unto us therefore a possession among the brethren of our father.

Numbers 27:1-4

And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.

And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.

Numbers 32:39-40

Even as the LORD commanded Moses, so did the daughters of Zelophehad: 11 For Mahlah, Tirzah, and Hoglah, and Milcah, and Noah, the daughters of Zelophehad, were married unto their fathers brothers' sons: 12 And they were married into the families of the sons of Manasseh the son of Joseph, and their inheritance remained in the tribe of the family of their father.

Numbers 36:10-12

For the tribe of the children of Reuben according to the house of their fathers, and the tribe of the children of Gad according to the house of their fathers, have received their inheritance; and half the tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance:

15 The two tribes and the half tribe have received their inheritance on this side Jordan near Jericho eastward, toward the sunrising.

Numbers 34:14-15

And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.

16 And the LORD said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.

17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.

18 Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.

Judges 6:15-18

My, Manasseh is a strange tribe indeed. Towards this end of the year which is more righteous still than all the rest, you'll find some few strange things beginning to happen. First, is the matter of Joseph having both Ephraim and Manasseh. After he had Manasseh though, he swore off the memory of his bondage and all his troubles with it completely. Have you ever met someone who made you forget all the bad things that happened as soon as you saw them? Here Manasseh, even as a child, had that effect on one such as Joseph. From there, you can only imagine what will become of the rest of the people. Then though was the matter of the birthright. Ephraim, being the youngest, was reconned ahead of his brother Manasseh in a matter of spiritually speaking. We do not see record of Ephraim being counted among the twelve tribes, however.

That's because Ephraim fitted in neatly underneath Joseph and Dan along with the rest of the people. It's just how things went when the children failed to drive the inhabitants out of the land just as the Lord had said. Over time, they either proved troublesome by harassing the people, intermarrying thus becoming part of the tribes, or else through assimilating into their midst. Manasseh, as we see here, faced much the same situation. The daughters of Zelophehad it seemed had come of age. Yet there was no living male relation through which the blessing flowed. Their land then and all they owned along with their gift would likely pass into the others tribes and be forever lost when they married if ever at all.

It hardly seemed fair, these women thought for the land of Reuben to be cut off due to the sons of Korah's rebellion. Then these women also would face a similar fate, though much slower it seemed even though they had never. In a world dominated by men where things were hardly ever fair, these women were determined that it would change. They didn't host a protest or a meeting. Instead, they called the leaders to come do something about it. The Lord along with them was also consulted. He agreed as did Moses and the rest of the people. So, the daughters were granted a generous inheritance and also allowed to marry anyone of their choosing, provided that their lot fell within the same tribe. As terms go of that day, at least where women were concerned, that was pretty generous, see.

The other part of the tribe, found rest first on the far-side of the river along with the rest. The other half the tribe, moved on into the portion right in the center where Gilead lay. We also see it on record that tells Manasseh's role in building an alter unto the Lord on the far side of the Jordan. They demonstrated great leadership in doing so risked the Lord's displeasure and their own destruction at the hands of the people. From there, later came Gideon who would deliver the people. His part lay in the gift but then when the Lord showed up, the first thing Gideon wanted was to have somewhat to give to the Lord. Little did he have though to give but himself, and indeed, it was all the Lord ever wanted.