Shammah Temple Fellowship: Sermon of Sunday, June 14, 2026
By Pastor Egide Nibitanga
Theme: Which lessons can we draw from the inheritance that Ephraim’s house received
Reference scriptures: Joshua 16:1-10
- God is gracious and trustworthy in the promises He gives us
When Joseph went to Egypt without his father Jacob knowing, no one else thought he was alive anymore. When his father and siblings fled to Egypt years later, they were surprised to see Joseph was alive. Joseph’s children – Manasseh and Ephraim – were given a chance to be like their father’s siblings equals. They were promised by their grandfather to be treated as his own children – because of the kindness of God, the one that doesn’t always care about what peoples and cultures think.
Same as Believers were allowed in, despite the fact that they were not entitled to be there. We were not worthy to be called into the family of God. These two brothers were born in Egypt, not direct children of Jacob, they were a third generation after the patriarch. Our history doesn’t define how far God can take us. No matter how long it takes, when it’s the right time, God moves mountains for your promise to be complete.
- Doing things our easy way can cause trouble in the future
Moses had told the Israelites to kill and destroy all the life in the land they were to conquer. No one would be left behind, unless clearly indicated by God Himself. However, the Ephraim family did not chase away the Canaanites. They kept them close; they made them forced laborers. This was a trap for the future. Consequences were dire. They did not fight back the Israelites, but they influenced them, intermarried, mixed the Israelites and Canaanite families, brought them back into idolatry, a sin that God hated so much.
The Israelites thought they would be able to annihilate the Canaanites if ever they decided to fight them. Even the slightest sin that we keep in our lives can grow slowly, influence us and later completely change us into something we would have never imagined before.
In short, as Believers, we are reminded of how God walks with us in all His trustfulness, no matter how much time it takes. Also, we need to always obey God’s command in detail. Even a small disobedience decision can later come to haunt us and destroy the greatest achievements we’ve ever had serving God. May we learn to trust God’s promises and obey His will on our lives.
