July 5, 2023

Remember the one true God

Joshua 22

AC Bradley
Wednesday's Devo

July 5, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

July 5, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

July 5, 2023

Wednesday's Devo

July 5, 2023

Big Idea

God's Definition of Success is Faithfulness.

Key Verse | Joshua 22:16

“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?

Joshua 22

The Eastern Tribes Return Home

1 At that time Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. 3 You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.” 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

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, 8 he said to them, “Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.” 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.

The Eastern Tribes' Altar of Witness

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. 11 And the people of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built the altar at the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region about the Jordan, on the side that belongs to the people of Israel.” 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.

13 Then the people of Israel sent to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, 14 and with him ten chiefs, one from each of the tribal families of Israel, every one of them the head of a family among the clans of Israel. 15 And they came to the people of Reuben, the people of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and 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. 19 But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the LORD's land where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the LORD or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our God. 20 Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity.’”

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? 25 For the LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the LORD.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the LORD. 26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, 27 but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the LORD in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the LORD.”’ 28 And we thought, ‘If this should be said to us or to our descendants in time to come, we should say, “Behold, the copy of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you.”’ 29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD and turn away this day from following the LORD by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle!”

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. 31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the people of Manasseh, “Today we know that the LORD is in our midst, because you have not committed this breach of faith against the LORD. Now you have delivered the people of Israel from the hand of the LORD.”

32 Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the chiefs, returned from the people of Reuben and the people of Gad in the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the people of Israel, and brought back word to them. 33 And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled. 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.”

S2:128 Joshua 22

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Joshua 22

In Joshua 22, the Eastern tribes return to their land in Canaan near the Jordan River. The first thing they did was build a large altar that could be seen by the other tribes. The other tribes feared the purpose of the altar, suspecting it to be (at best) a rival place of sacrifice with God’s tabernacle. They deemed the altar to be a “breach of faith” – a rebellion against God. Rightfully, they did not want to be held accountable for idolatrous worship, so they planned to go to war (v. 12). Yes...they thought a civil war was a great idea!

This initial concern from the other tribes came from a genuine desire to live lives that were pure and undefiled, (Deut. 6:4-7, Deut. 30:15-20). But what they failed to ask before they assumed the Eastern tribes' intentions, was, "What was the motivation behind this altar's construction?" 

Later in the passage, the Eastern tribes’ innocence in building the altar is revealed. Ultimately, all the tribes shared the same goals for their land: to strive for unification (v. 26), to set an example (v. 27), and to whole-heartedly love the Lord (v.22-24).

It's tempting for me to read this chapter and believe that the Western tribes were too harsh and too quick to create such serious accusations! And, while I would still have encouraged them to be “quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to become angry ...”, there is also an undeniable reverence that they have for God that this chapter uncovers (James 1:19).

When another believer does something that concerns you, first pray and ask the one who is Truth to give you wisdom and discernment. May the actions that follow your prayer life be marked by the honor and reverence you have for Him, and make you look more like Him because of it. A prayer by Elisabeth Elliot is a daily challenge for me “Purify my heart, sanctify my thinking, correct my desires. Teach me … to respond with honest praise, simple trust, and instant obedience, that my life may be in truth a living sacrifice …”

This month's memory verse

17 But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.

– James 3:17

Discussion Questions

  • What areas of your life are not marked by commitment and faithfulness to God? Confess this to the Lord, and ask him for strength to live pure and undefiled for Him. Then, share this with a faithful friend. (See Proverbs 2)
  • Who are the people in your life that you need to be actively striving for a stronger sense of unity with? Make 1 effort this week to pursue and invest in them, outside of your norm. 
  • How can you grow in reverence for the Lord? (See Psalm 25:12)

As we gear up to release even more features for Join The Journey in 2025, our staff team, unfortunately, no longer has the margin to continue to support the comment functionality. We have big things in store for Join The Journey 2025. Stay tuned!

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning AC. LOVE your devo and your call to ask questions first. Amy and I try to live out ”seek to understand”. THANK YOU for passing on Elizabeth Elliot’s prayer. Q1. Areas needing work? Too often, when faced with challenges, frustrations, problems etc. I default to a control response and try to analyze and solve. When that doesn’t work, I’ll go to an escape or coping mechanism. Then I have to get to “no other option” before surrendered prayer becomes top-of-mind. Though sanctification has blessed me in many ways this seems to be a slow learning process. Q2. People with whom to seek unity? My 2 Corinthians 5:17 life change has cost me some longtime friends. The LORD has led me into a season of seeking reconciliation. And hopefully a Godly witness to them, (1 Peter 3:15). Q3. Growing in reverence? So, this is a kind of answer in a somewhat circuitous manner. I am a hard left-brained person. My day job is mostly analytical. Some relationship skills are needed. But it’s not highly intensive. In this, my “reverence” has a strong analytical underpinning. This is problematic. This is from a recent post for the Eden Project guys. Love these fellow warriors. Theedenproject.com “We have to recognize that we have been deeply formed in a left-brain dominant culture and Christian sub-culture. The tendency for people is to step out of the actual experience of “God” and back away, or detach from him in order to examine, “think”, study, exegete, etc. Many people feel detached from God because in so many ways, we have been trained to be . . . trained to guard ourselves from the vulnerability of a real relationship, where we seek safety and protection through a sense of power. So many of us are looking AT God instead of moving TOWARD him.” BOOM!
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Hugh Stephenson

I’m reflecting on two segments- ⁃ the opening six verses which sound like a preamble to me. ⁃ the last incident with the alter on the western side of the Jordan River The first six verses remind me of a great command I heard in a message - “Pray it in” “Live it out” Joshua sends these tribes off by honoring their focus on God’s call. As noted below, it seems that it all comes down to one word- “…cling…” In the “preamble” I see the eastern tribes recognized by Joshua for their obedient response to God’s call- FAITHFULNESS “You have kept all that Moses …. commanded” OBEDIENCE “You…have obeyed” LOYALTY “You have not forsaken…” LIVED OUT “You…have been careful to keep the charge…” GOD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISE “God has given rest to your brothers…” Joshua’s charge to them- “Therefore turn and go to your tents…” “Observe the commandments…” “Love the LORD…walk in His ways…keep His commandments…cling to Him…” Ok. Here’s the big word that so much of this passage comes to: “ḏâḇaq” The word translates in the ESV as “cling”. It describes the strongest possible form of adhesion. It’s exactly same word as in Genesis 2:24 referring to husbands and wives. And that makes sense. The covenant of marriage mirrors the covenant I have with God Himself. How did these Eastern tribes do? At the end of this passage they build an altar. God didn’t tell them to. They just did it and it almost blew up on them. They have a defensible reason. But it was still a bad idea. In a recent podcast Emma noted that these tribes gradually diminished over the remaining years. I can’t say I’m stunned. They, like Lot, saw good land and wanted to jump at it even though the Promised Land, the land of milk and honey, was on the west side of the river. When God gives me a plan, He knows what He’s doing. If I want to jump the gun, He may well let me. But it probably won’t go well. When I have waited for Him, I have NEVER been sorry. When I have leapfrogged Him, I have almost always been very sorry.
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Hugh Stephenson

From the notes: Probably the Israelites should not have allowed this altar to stand. God had not ordained it. In the future, other people would misunderstand its existence—as some had already done. Though there is no record in Scripture that this particular altar became an idolatrous snare to the Israelites, the practice of building altars continued in Israel. It resulted in the weakening of tribal ties and allegiance to Yahweh, rather than strengthening them (e.g., Judges. 17:5). "What kind of 'witness' was this huge pile of stones? Was it a witness to the unity of the nation and to the obedience of the Transjordanic tribes? 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." This incident illustrates the fact that—sometimes—action taken with the best of motives and for worthy purposes can result in worse rather than better conditions. This can be the outcome if people do not clearly understand and carefully obey the whole revealed will of God. This kind of mistake often results from enthusiasm over a previous blessing, as was true here.
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Michael Sisson

INTRODUCTION: While the timing may be a bit unexpected, I see in this story a prototype for the Golden Rule. (Mt 7:12) A generation before Yeshua (Jesus), there lived a very famous rabbi named Hillel. According to the Talmud, Hillel taught, ‘What is hateful to you, do not do to your neighbor. That is the whole Torah. The rest is commentary. Go and learn it!’” (Shabbat 31a) Now contrast this with Yeshua’s (Jesus’) formulation of the same general idea: Matthew 7:12 (NASB) “In everything, therefore, treat people the same way you want them to treat you, for this is the Law and the Prophets.” Yeshua’s formulation has become commonly known as “the Golden Rule.” It paraphrases Leviticus 19:18, “You are to love your neighbor as yourself,” which Yeshua called the second-greatest commandment (Mk 12:28-31). In short, Hillel taught a “negative form” of the Golden Rule (“do not do to others...”), whereas Yeshua (Jesus) taught a more proactive “positive form” (“do unto others...”). COMMENTARY: Re: Jos 22:5 See Rom 13:10 Re: Jos 22:11-12 Jos 22:11 (NIV) And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan >>>on the Israelite side,<<< Many will fault Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh for instigating this kerfuffle by seemingly building an altar in violation of Dt 12:13-14. The tribes living west of the Jordan view events through the lens of Hillel’s “negative form” of the Golden Rule. From their perspective, they immediately suspect Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh of violating the Torah and the Golden Rule by >>>doing to others what they find detestable.<<< However, in Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh’s defense, cooler headed Israelites might have asked themselves, “If this is an ‘altar of rebellion’ (v16), why build it on >>>our<<< side of the Jordan rather than their side of the Jordan?” The Israelites would seem to have quickly lost their presumption of goodness in their brethren who had just finished fighting alongside them to conquer the Promised Land. (Jos 22:2-4) Love calls us to presume goodness in others. (See 1Cor 13:7) Re: Jos 22:24-25 Jos 22:24 (NIV) “No! We did it for fear that some day >>>your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel?<<< 25 The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.' >>>So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD.<<< Thus, Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh seemly embodied Yeshua’s “positive form” of the Golden Rule, proactively seeking to love by preserving fidelity to G-d, as well as peace and national unity among future generations by building a monumental “witness.” (See Jos 22:5; Rom 13:10) Re: Jos 22:31 Joshua 22:31 (NIV) And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, >>>“Today we know that the LORD is with us,<<< because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter. >>>Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD's hand.<<< See Ps 82:1 Phinehas credits Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh not only with answering well and diffusing the immediate situation, but also delivering the entire nation from the L-RD’s hand in future by safeguarding their fidelity to G-d, the peace, and their national unity. Re: Jos 22:34 Jos 22:34 (NASB) The sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad >>>called the altar Witness; “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”<<< This is somewhat similar to the covenant between Jacob and Laban (Gen 31:45-53) at Mizpah (a.k.a. “Jegar Sahadutha,” and “Galeed;” Gen 31:49). Classic movie buffs may recall Tallulah Bankhead giving a romanticized definition of “Mizpah” in the WWII propaganda film STAGE DOOR CANTEEN: https://youtu.be/sTy-YRwXAbc
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Sue Bohlin

Thanks, AC. I am on the same page as you in my response to what happened. I am reminded of one of the biggest lightbulb moments of my life, when I learned of "The Four Killer Questions" from Summit Ministries' Jeff Myers. The first one is, "What do you mean by that?" where you "seek to understand" (thanks, Hugh and Amy) by clarifying what you see or hear. Instead of jumping to conclusions about the intentions of the 2 1/2 tribes, SO MUCH angst could have been avoided by simply asking, "Hey, help us understand why you built this altar?" I was recently able to teach about the Killer Questions to our returning alumni at Probe Ministries' Mind Games Camp for high schoolers where we teach students why they can be confident that Christianity is true so they don't "graduate from God" when they graduate from high school. https://probe.org/four-killer-questions-2/
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Michael Scaman

The altar they build was called 'witness' , " by the Jordan, an altar of imposing size." Joshua heard about it and they jumped to some conclusions. They thought the fighting was over and now didn't know. Must have been frustrating way to end 45 years of fighting in the land Phinnehas speared two people in the days of Ballaam son of Beaor and maybe thought he might go through it again and gave some strong warnings. Happily he didn't have to. The altar was called 'witness' but the most reliable one was God. Joshua 21:45 says, “Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.” And the 2 1/2 tribes on the other side of Jordan Joshua 22:3 fought the long long time and were faithful to do that 'not deserting their brohers'
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Amy Lowther

1. Every area of my life is marked with commitment and faithfulness to God. God, thank you for motivating me to commit every part of my life to you. Thank you for helping me do things your way. Amen. 2. When you believe in the Lord and practice His ways, there is unity and possibilities to unify with others because he is alive in all of us. 3. Ways I can grow in reverence for the Lord would be serve for the church, attend service on Sunday consistently, continue to read in the Bible, and help others in general as the Lord would.