1 Chronicles 5:23–26

Read the passage.

The third of the Trans-Jordan tribes was actually only half of the tribe of Manasseh. The other half settled in the Promised Land with the majority of the Israelites. I haven’t looked ahead, but I presume that half will get a genealogy in upcoming chapters.

We are told that the half-tribe of Manasseh grew quite numerous and successful. They lived in mountains and hill country, and their leaders are described as “mighty men of valor” (v. 24). They were famous warriors, kind of like a cross between Olympic athletes and war heroes. And yet they did not lead their houses in the way of the Lord. Despite their worldly success, they failed where it mattered most, and the Lord removed them, along with Reuben and Gad, from the land they had worked so had to obtain.

Let us run the race of life so as to win a victor’s crown that only You can give.