Portion for Reading Joshua 22-24Msg: Joshua 22
And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan; a great, impressive altar.
Before crossing over the Jordan, the soldiers from the two and a half tribes build a great, impressive altar near the Jordan River. This was significant not only because of its size, but because of the meaning of an altar. An altar was a place of sacrifice, and both the Israelites and pagans had altars they used for sacrifice. Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar: When the news comes to the rest of Israel, their is no discussion, there is a simple reaction. They gathered to make war against their own brothers who built this altar.
Notice that Joshua does not need to gather them, they gather of own accord. It was an automatic reaction. Why did they do this? Because they feared that this altar was a sign of allegiance to the pagan gods of the region. Their readiness to fight this battle shows great courage to confront on behalf of God’s truth and holiness. This was a healthy “body,” able to purge itself of poisons.
Their later actions show that they are not happy about taking this action, nor will they do it rashly - but they will do it! Phinehas led the group, because he had the authority. He was High Priest over the whole nation, including the two and one-half tribes on the east side of the Jordan. He not only had the authority, he also had the heart of a wise shepherd. He wanted to correct the erring, to protect the nation, and to drive out the dangerous.
Israel reacts according to God’s character. Their assembling for war demonstrated God’s holiness, but their personal confrontation demonstrated God’s love. The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows: They first appeal to God, because He knows for certain their hearts, and they believe that their brothers in the western tribes have misunderstood them.
When we are misunderstood, our first refuge is God. He knows our heart, and we must be satisfied with being right before God even if it means we are wrong in the eyes of some others.
If it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord, do not save us this day: They also recognized the rightness of what the others were doing in coming against them.
The eastern tribes do what we should all do when we are misunderstood: put ourselves in the shoes of the other person and try to see what they see. If we saw what they saw, we might respond in the same way.
(32-34) Epilogue: the matter is resolved.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God: Everyone is glad, and everyone enjoys the blessing of having peace among the people of God. The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness: The altar is given the name Witness, because it was a witness to the tribes on both the eastern side and the western side of the Jordan that the Lord is God.
11. We should respond to misunderstanding in the same manner, according to these same principles.
a. Respond with a concern for God’s holiness.
b. Respond with the courage to confront in love.
c. Respond with an attempt to reconcile before you fight.
d. Determine that you are willing to sacrifice to help them; don’t confront unless you are willing to help.
e. Determine that you will see the situation from the perspective of the other person.
f. Determine that you will believe the best of one another.
© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission
Their later actions show that they are not happy about taking this action, nor will they do it rashly - but they will do it! Phinehas led the group, because he had the authority. He was High Priest over the whole nation, including the two and one-half tribes on the east side of the Jordan. He not only had the authority, he also had the heart of a wise shepherd. He wanted to correct the erring, to protect the nation, and to drive out the dangerous.
Israel reacts according to God’s character. Their assembling for war demonstrated God’s holiness, but their personal confrontation demonstrated God’s love. The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knows: They first appeal to God, because He knows for certain their hearts, and they believe that their brothers in the western tribes have misunderstood them.
When we are misunderstood, our first refuge is God. He knows our heart, and we must be satisfied with being right before God even if it means we are wrong in the eyes of some others.
If it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the Lord, do not save us this day: They also recognized the rightness of what the others were doing in coming against them.
The eastern tribes do what we should all do when we are misunderstood: put ourselves in the shoes of the other person and try to see what they see. If we saw what they saw, we might respond in the same way.
(32-34) Epilogue: the matter is resolved.
And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God: Everyone is glad, and everyone enjoys the blessing of having peace among the people of God. The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness: The altar is given the name Witness, because it was a witness to the tribes on both the eastern side and the western side of the Jordan that the Lord is God.
11. We should respond to misunderstanding in the same manner, according to these same principles.
a. Respond with a concern for God’s holiness.
b. Respond with the courage to confront in love.
c. Respond with an attempt to reconcile before you fight.
d. Determine that you are willing to sacrifice to help them; don’t confront unless you are willing to help.
e. Determine that you will see the situation from the perspective of the other person.
f. Determine that you will believe the best of one another.
© 2001 David Guzik - No distribution beyond personal use without permission