In Joshua 22:21-29, the two and a half tribes that had
chosen their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan were confronted by the
ten tribes because of the great altar they built. These borderline tribes answered
the accusations against them by making excuses and blaming God and others for their
bad choices and sins. Notice the first things they did was invoke the name of
the Lord six times as they replied to the charges; and in so doing, they used
the three fundamental names for the Lord: "El [the Mighty One], Elohim
[God], Jehovah [the Lord]." They were claiming that their intentions were
pure and that the Lord knew their hearts.
Of course, the fact that the Lord knows our hearts, and
that we've taken an oath, is no guarantee that our actions are right, because
we don't know our own hearts (Jer. 17:9). All sorts of questionable activities
can be shielded by, "But the Lord knows my heart!" When a whole
nation misinterprets what is supposed to be a good deed, and it brings them to
the brink of war, then there must be something wrong with that deed.
The accused tribes made it clear that they weren't setting
up a rival religion because the altar they built wasn't for sacrifices. Rather,
they were putting up a witness that would remind the tribes west of the Jordan
that Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were a part of the Jewish nation. But what is interesting
is that these “borderline” tribes pointed to the children as their concern. But
it wasn't their children who would ask, "What have we to do with the Lord
God of Israel?" No, their children would be provoked by the children of
the tribes in Canaan! Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were not even living in the
land of God's choice, yet they feared lest the children across the river would
lead their children astray! It is obvious to us that the danger was just the
opposite.
Not only did the “borderline” tribes accuse their fellow
Jews of having worldly children, but they even accused God of creating the
problem in the first place! "For the Lord has made the Jordan a border
between you and us" (Josh. 22:25). No! They were the ones who had made
the Jordan River the dividing line! In choosing to live east of the Jordan, the
two and a half tribes separated themselves from their own people and from the
land God had given to all of them. They put their cattle ahead of their
children and their fellow Jews, but they blamed God and the other tribes for
the problem that they created.
They also claimed that this great pile of stones was a “witness
altar” to the unity of the nation and to their obedience. But was it? No, it
was a witness to expediency, the wisdom of man in trying to enjoy "the
best of both worlds." The two and a half tribes talked piously about their
children, but it was their wealth that really motivated their decision to live
east of the Jordan.
Somewhere near this "witness altar" were the
twelve stones that the men had carried from the midst of the Jordan River
(4:20-24). It reminded the Jews that they had crossed the river and buried
their past forever. But Reuben, Gad, and
the half tribe of Manasseh had crossed the river and gone back again. Their
"altar" contradicted the altar that Joshua had erected to the glory
of God. "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which
are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God" (Col.
3:1).
Like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, when confronted by
God for their disobedience, they made excuses and ultimately blamed God for
their sin and bad choices. I’m afraid that too many of us today as believers
are doing the same thing.
May the LORD help us to simply confess our sin and ask
forgiveness. 1 John 1:6-10 describes exactly what we are doing when we claim to
be right instead of acknowledging our sin and asking forgiveness.
God bless!
