Joshua 22:13-24
Jos 22:13
And the children of Israel sent unto the children of
Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the
land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
Before any hostilities take place, they had decided to
send Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest.
They did not want to take up arms against their brethren without knowing
their intent and reason for constructing a great altar.
Phinehas was a very conservative and obedient man when it came to the law
of God.
Jos 22:14
And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince
throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the
house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.
Then to accompany Phinehas the priest, there were ten
princes or leaders of each of the tribes on the western side of Jordan.
They wanted to have a major consensus of what was happening on the east
side of Jordan, whether it be idolatry or a misunderstanding by the ten western
tribes. These were the chief
princes of the ten tribes.
And Moses chose able men out of all
Israel, and made them heads over the people, rulers of thousands, rulers of
hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (Exodus 18:25)
Moses set up the ruling order in which the rulers of the thousands were
the chief prince in the tribe, sort of like the commanding general of each tribe
and Moses was the Commander in Chief.
Jos 22:15
And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the
children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and
they spake with them, saying,
Then the delegation had arrived on the eastern side of
Jordan and immediately met with them to see what was happening concerning that
altar and if they had turned aside from the LORD and were going after strange
gods. No doubt since this was a
spiritual matter it was probably Phinehas who was the one who made the verbal
inquiry.
Jos 22:16
Thus saith the whole congregation of the LORD, What
trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to
turn away this day from following the LORD, in that ye have builded you an
altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD?
Even though it was an accusation drawn up by the western
tribes, they were called the congregation of the LORD because this is a
spiritual matter and not a political matter.
They immediately wanted to know what trespass they committed against the
God of Israel which caused them to turn away from following the LORD?
The altar was an indication that they might have violated the law of God
and implied that they have now turned to serving false gods and that is nothing
more than rebellion. If that was
the case then the ten tribes could attack under the banner of the congregation
of the LORD. Before a specific
accusation can be made they must inspect the altar to see if it was a violation
of the law of God.
Jos 22:17
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from
which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the
congregation of the LORD,
2 And
they called the people unto the sacrifices of their gods: and the people did
eat, and bowed down to their gods. 3 And Israel joined himself unto
Baal-peor: and the anger of the LORD was kindled against Israel. (Numbers
25:2-3) And those that died in the
plague were twenty and four thousand. (Numbers 25:9)
They were questioned that when Israel had joined itself to Baal-peor in
the plains of Moab was that sin too small so that now they must add to that sin
even through 24,000 people died as a result of that idolatry.
Many times Israel had sinned in idolatry and God made it known to them by
giving them a time in history when Israel had previously taken part in some type
of sin and they would be reminded of it as they are being reminded here
concerning the sin in Moab. One
thing about sinful human nature is that it can continue to repeat previous sins
and think they are exempt from consequences.
Jos 22:18
But that ye must turn away this day from following the
LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the LORD, that to
morrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel.
What the representatives were afraid of is that if the
tribes on the east side of Jordan were involved with idolatry, then the judgment
of God might fall upon the entire nation of Israel.
They remember what happened with the situation with Achan in chapter 7,
when they lost 36 men when they attacked AI and they traced it back to Achan who
took the spoils from Jericho when they were commanded not to take any personal
spoils. They did not want a repeat
of that. They probably thought if
that is what God was willing to do for the rebellion of one man, what would he
do to them if three tribes rebelled.
Jos 22:19
Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be
unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the LORD,
wherein the LORD'S tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel
not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the
altar of the LORD our God.
Then the representatives made a very kind offer to them.
They told them that if the land they were dwelling in was unclean
according to the law of God, then they were welcome to join them on the western
side of Jordan where the Tabernacle was in Shiloh and that they could dwell
among the rest of the tribes. Then
they reiterated their warning that they should not be in any rebellion against
the LORD in building an altar which was beside the altar of God.
The altar in view is the one that was located in the Tabernacle where God
chose to place his name and accept sacrifices.
The greatest sacrifice in history took place on Calvary when the Lord
Jesus Christ paid for the sins of all his elect.
It would be like people looking to Mecca like Islam does, Independence
Missouri like Mormons do, Nepal like Buddhists do, India like Hindus do, etc.
These are altars beside the altar which was Calvary.
Looking anywhere else besides Calvary for salvation is totally futile and
eternally damming.
Jos 22:20
Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the
accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? and that man
perished not alone in his iniquity.
Then they brought up the situation of Achan how he
trespassed against the LORD concerning the spoils from Jericho when they were
supposed to bring all the spoils of war into the house of God but Achan thought
that he could hide some of it for himself.
As a result of his sin 36 men died in the attack on AI plus he and his
whole family was put to death for his sin.
Never let it be said that our sin does not affect anyone else.
Jos 22:21
Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and
the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of
Israel,
Then after all the accusations of the representatives of
the ten tribes had been levied, there came a response from the heads of the
three tribes.
Jos 22:22
The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth,
and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression
against the LORD, (save us not this day,)
Their response was one that was a reverence for God and
they acknowledged that he is the God of gods and that he has all knowledge and
would easily know whether Israel was in rebellion or if they had transgressed in
any way against the LORD. In the
parentheses they asked that if they have rebelled or transgressed then the LORD
should deal with them immediately.
The LORD would instantly know whether they have gone into false religion and
idolatry. Israel would also know if
they have transgressed against the LORD.
Jos 22:23
That we have built us an altar to turn from following the
LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer
peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
If we built this altar to depart from the LORD or to
offer burnt or meat offerings or peace offerings then let the LORD require it of
us, that is, then let the LORD judge us and deal with us if we have
intentionally done anything to go contrary to the law of God.
They had absolutely no desire to depart from the LORD in any fashion and
they were confident the LORD knew it.
Jos 22:24
And if we have not rather done it for fear of
this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our
children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?