The allotment of the land seems to be fluid. Some of the cities whose kings were defeated in battle were later listed in the account as ones that they couldn’t take possession of. Some cities were listed as going to first one tribe and then another. There may have been more than one city named Megiddo, for example, or situations may have changed even as the allotment was being documented. Either way, this account does not create a problem with the Bible’s inerrancy, because there are reasonable explanations for what might look like discrepancies. People who want not to accept the Bible as inerrant and thus authoritative like to latch on to such discrepancies as so-called evidence, but it doesn’t take a great effort of thought to discern reasonable explanations for the apparent inconsistencies. Faith demands that we choose to accept unconditionally God’s word as truth, but the inconsistencies found here are certainly not insurmountable obstacles to faith.
Unlike Caleb, Joseph’s descendants were not prepared to be used by God to take from nature and the earlier inhabitants the territory given to them; instead they wanted a greater share of land because a large portion of their allotted inheritance was rendered uninhabitable by nature or the presence of hostile enemies. That is not lovely, especially since they had large numbers of people on their side, presumably significantly greater resources than Caleb had at his disposal. The book of Judges records that one city was taken; otherwise, these tribes had Canaanites living in their midst. That wasn’t God’s plan for them! He had demonstrated His ability and willingness to help them do great things in the past, but they failed to move forward.
We New Testament people of God can also fail to engage the enemy in battle and thus fail to take new ground. New Testament writers warn us that we are confronted in battle with a powerful and ugly enemy, and if we fail to accept this reality, engage the enemy and stand firm in the strength God gives us, we will not gain ground. Great victories rarely fall into our laps. Do we want to be Ephraims or Calebs? It is a choice we make now. Why not talk to God today about who you most resemble, and commit to being the very Caleb He wants you to be? Can Ephraims expect to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when they see Jesus face to face?
The lot seems like a random way to distribute inheritances of the land, but God would surely have been in the outcome. If He can direct His will through the lot, how else can He do so? We can ask that His will be done in matters of our own lives and trust Him to bring it about when we see that He can work through such means as the lottery.