“They were: the son of Hur, in the hills of Efrayim; the son of Deker, in Makatz, Sha‘albim, Beit-Shemesh and Eilon-Beit-Hanan;”-1 Kings 4:8-9
Alrighty, let’s dive into the list of Solomon’s twelve officers who were in charge of providing food and supplies for the royal court.
The first district was managed by Ben-Hur (the son of Hur).
His area mainly covered the hilly terrain of Ephraim, but also included some of Manasseh’s territory in the west.
Now, let’s look at something interesting in Chapter 11.
“Now this Yarov’am was a strong, energetic man; and Shlomo, seeing how serious the young man was, made him supervisor over all the work being done by the tribe of Yosef.”-1 Kings 11:28
This district is being referred to as the “House of Joseph”!
Why?
Because it covered land owned by both of Joseph’s sons.
Fascinating, right?
Even after hundreds of years, and even after Jacob’s famous crossed-hands blessing had officially split Joseph’s tribe into Ephraim and Manasseh, people still thought of those two sons as just filling in for good ‘ole Papa Joseph.
In other words, Joseph was the real boss.
His sons were just keeping his seat warm.
Keep that fact tucked away in your back pocket because we’re coming back to it.
Onward.
District number two was run by Ben-Deker (son of Deker) and covered four cities.
But only Beth-Shemesh and Shaalbim ring a bell today.
This territory was located roughly in the area where the tribe of Dan used to reside.
This was before those homies packed up and headed north.
Why did they leave?
Because, per God’s command, they failed to drive out the Canaanites and the Philistines.
This was the territory that Joshua had assigned them when the Israelites first entered the Promised Land.
Now there’s one other little detail I gotta point out.
Five of Solomon’s twelve district managers were listed without a first name.
We only know them as the “son of so-and-so.”
In Hebrew, “son of” is BEN.
That’s why you see names like Ben-Deker and Ben-Hur.
Kind of mysterious, ain’t it?
Especially when you compare that to Joseph.
Joseph had been dead for centuries by Solomon’s time.
And yet people still referred to Ephraim and Manasseh collectively as the “House of Joseph.”
Think about that for a second.
These men were running major government districts in the Holy Land.
Yet we don’t even know their names anymore.
Meanwhile, Joseph’s name was still echoing across the nation generations after his death.
Even in the Book of Revelation, Ephraim and Manasseh are no longer mentioned as one of the Tribes of Israel.
They’ve been replaced by the name Joseph.
So even at the very end of the Bible, Joseph’s name is still carrying weight!
Interestingly, the tribe of Dan is also omitted from the Revelation 7 list!
This shows that even if you are a bona fide, God-ordained Tribe of Israel…
If you fall into idolatry…
You’ll be removed!
This leads directly to today’s takeaway.
In terms of eternal significance, your earthly position, titles, and power don’t mean diddly squat.
You could have big-time fame in your generation and still fade into obscurity.
On the other hand, if you walk in faithfulness to the Lord, your influence can outlive you by centuries.
Joseph probably never imagined that hundreds of years later, his descendants would still basically be operating under his banner.
That’s what a godly legacy does.
Ya feeling me here, man?
This should give you a serious pause for reflection.
Forget about earthly power, position, and authority.
What kind of spiritual legacy are you leaving behind?
That’s the real question you should be asking yourself every day.
I hope you’re feeling me here, homie.
Done.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
“By faith Joseph…
gave instructions concerning his bones.”
— Hebrews 11:22
“The world is passing away along with its desires.
But whoever does God’s will remains forever.”
— 1 John 2:17
“Each man’s work will become evident;
for the Day will show it,
because it is to be revealed by fire
— the fire itself will test what
sort of work each one has done.
If the work that someone has built survives,
he will receive a reward.”
— 1 Corinthians 3:13-14
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