Joshua 17:12-13

12 Yet the people of Manasseh could not take possession of those cities, but the Canaanites persisted in dwelling in that land. 13 Now when the people of Israel grew strong, they put the Canaanites to forced labor, but did not utterly drive them out.

YAHWEH commanded the Israelites, more than once, to destroy all the people in Canaan, the Promised Land. Their religious practices included child sacrifice and religious prostitution, and they were an evil nation in his eyes. YAHWEH did not want his chosen race influenced by this pagan culture. He promised, more than once, that he would drive the pagan nations out of the land, that he would deliver them just as he had in Egypt.

Manasseh’s failure to drive out the Canaanites followed the same pattern as Ephraim in chapter 16. The Canaanites were determined to remain on the land. Manasseh made slaves of the Canaanites instead of following YAHWEH’s command to destroy them. If they had to power to enslave them, they had the power to defeat them. The Manassehites wanted peace and wealth, and enslaving the Canaanites was a convenient and innocent solution. However, this resulted in their downfall, as recorded later in the book of Judges.

The Israelites became comfortable and complacent in their disobedience. We all have areas in our lives where we have become comfortable and complacent because we do not call on the power of the Holy Spirit, given to us under the Covenant of the New Testament, to fight our battles. James tells us in chapter 4 that “you have not because you ask not.” Spend time taking inventory of areas in which you have not completely surrendered to the Holy Spirit and ASK Him to give you victory. The words of a contemporary Christian song reinforces how we are to fight our battles

Bethel Music. “Surrounded (Fight My Battles)”
This is how I fight my battles
It may look like I’m surrounded
But I’m surrounded by You

And for those who prefer hymns, we have the words of Eugene M. Bartlett’s hymn, “Victory in Jesus.

O victory in Jesus, my savior, forever!

He sought me and bought me with His redeeming blood,

He loved me ere I knew Him, and all my love is due Him.

He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood.

For the prayer today, sing one of the songs above as your prayer.