Joshua 22:7–34 portions (ESV) — 7 Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses
had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half Joshua had given a
possession beside their brothers in the land west of the Jordan. And when
Joshua sent them away to their homes and blessed them, . . . 9 So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and
the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at
Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own
land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through
Moses.
10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan that is in the land of
Canaan, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of
Manasseh built there an altar by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size. . . . 12 And when the people of Israel heard of it, the whole
assembly of the people of Israel gathered at Shiloh to make war against them. .
. .
15 . . . they said to them, 16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this breach of
faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this
day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in
rebellion against the Lord? 17 Have we not had enough of the
sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which
there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, 18 that you too must turn away this day from following the Lord? And if
you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow he will be angry with the
whole congregation of Israel.
. . . 21 Then the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of
Manasseh said in answer to the heads of the families of Israel, 22 “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He
knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith
against the Lord, do not spare us today 23 for building an
altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt
offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself
take vengeance. 24 No, but we did it from fear that in time to come
your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord,
the God of Israel? . .
.
. . . 30 When Phinehas the priest and the chiefs of the
congregation, the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the
words that the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of
Manasseh spoke, it was good in their eyes. . . .34 The
people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they
said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
NOTE: It is
noteworthy that the people of Israel were concerned about the holiness of the
nation and reacted quite quickly to this
apparent sin. It is also good that the parties took time to discuss the issue
before charging into battle. Sometimes we are so quick to judge that we don't
stop to hear the other person's side. Also, we find that, if anything, the
motives of the people were good. But good motives do not make for good actions.
I am not aware of any case of this altar being used in Israel's history, but it
could have been. Many times, Israel took good things and then incorrectly used
them in worship. Even the tabernacle itself was misused. Good motives change
our opinion of a person and their actions, but good motives do not justify bad
actions. The action to build an altar was wrong, the motive was fine, although
the theology was suspect (and that by itself should have been a warning sign).
The Levites were given cities across the nation. Their job was to protect the
theological underpinning of Israel. In the next book, Judges, they stand out as
failures to help the tribes continue in their walk with God. Motives are a good
thing but they don't justify false actions.
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