Chapter10: East And West Of Jordan
AFTER THE THREE successful campaigns, God commanded the children of Israel to divide the land in faith even before it was completely conquered. “Only divide thou it by lot unto the Israelites for an inheritance, as I have commanded thee,” he said (Josh. 13:6). Jacob, of course, had twelve sons. And God had made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that all twelve would have an inheritance in the land of promise.
The land was divided in three steps. The first took place under Moses on the east side of Jordan, the second and third under Joshua on the west side, first at Gilgal, then at Shiloh. Moses gave two and a half tribes—Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh—an inheritance on the eastern side of the Jordan before he died. After the major campaigns, Joshua divided the land west of the Jordan among the remaining tribes. As we shall study later, the Levites received no land as a capital possession, though they were given land to live in.
Joshua 13:15-31 reminds us of the inheritances received on the east side of Jordan, and then Joshua 13:32 summarizes, “These are the countries [the portions of the land] which Moses did distribute for inheritance in the plains of Moab, on the other side of Jordan, by Jericho, eastward.”
Joshua 13:33 reminds us that Levi did not receive a normal share of the land because the Levites would live on the sacrifices: “But unto the tribe of Levi Moses gave not any inheritance: the LORD God of Israel was their inheritance, as he [God] said unto them.” The Levites did not receive any land because Moses had said so, and Moses said so because the Lord God of Israel had said so. Thus Joshua 13 also emphasizes that the Pentateuch was already completely normative. It was the Word of God to these people. Was this because Moses was a great or wise man? Not at all. It was because Moses was the mouthpiece of God. The Levites received no land because of a propositional statement that called forth a specific action in history.
Joshua 14 describes the beginning of the division of the land on the west side of Jordan. The people were at Gilgal, which had remained their central camp throughout the warfare. There the second phase of the allotment occurred: “And these are the countries which the children of Israel inherited in the land of Canaan, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, distributed for inheritance to them. By lot was their inheritance, as the LORD commanded by the hand of Moses, for the nine tribes, and for the half tribe” (Josh. 14:1-2). Who oversaw the distribution? The priests, Joshua, and the elders. How were the portions determined? By lot. So it was God who made the division. The men only supervised the distribution under the hand of God through the lot.
THE DIVISIONTO JUDAH
First on the west side of Jordan, land was given to Judah. Caleb was of Judah, and so his act of faith is discussed in the second half of Joshua 14. Then Joshua 15:1-12 tells us the boundaries of Judah’s territory. This portion began at the shore of the Dead Sea and ended at the river of Egypt (not the Nile but a little wadi, Wadi el Arish)—that is, at the bend of the Mediterranean between Palestine and Egypt. This area contained Jerusalem, which became important as David’s city and the capital of the southern kingdom. Joshua 15:20-63 provides a detailed list of the cities and towns in Judah’s inheritance.
Why did Judah, who was not the oldest son, receive the first of the land on the west side of the Jordan? You must remember the continuity of history and the continuity of prophecy that are interwoven in the Scripture. God knows and sometimes tells the future. As a matter of fact, Isaiah and other writers insist that this knowledge is one of the marks that distinguishes God from other gods. Because he is a living, infinite God, and not just an idol or a projection of man’s mind, he can tell us the future course of history, just as we can read a history of the past.
Long before the land was divided, Jacob gave a prophecy on his deathbed (Gen. 49). It is sometimes called a blessing, but it was really a foretelling about Jacob’s sons. He spoke first of all to Reuben, the firstborn, the one who should have had preeminence: “Reuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power. Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou it: he went up to my couch” (Gen. 49:3-4). What had Reuben done? This boy, growing into manhood, had had sexual relations with Bilhah, his father’s concubine (Gen. 35:22). Because of this, Jacob set aside his preeminence.
The next two sons were Simeon and Levi. Jacob dealt with them like this: “Simeon and Levi are brethren; instruments of cruelty [swords of violence] are in their habitations. O my soul, come not thou into their secret; unto their assembly, mine honour, be not thou united: for in their anger they slew a man, and in their self-will they digged down a wall. Cursed be their anger, for it was fierce; and their wrath, for it was cruel: I will divide them in Jacob, and scatter them in Israel” (Gen. 49:5-7).
This prophecy referred to an incident that had involved Shechem, a prince in a neighboring land, and Dinah, a daughter of Jacob (Gen. 34). Shechem found Dinah in the field, had sexual relations with her, and then wanted to marry her. These two boys, Simeon and Levi, through a strategy that included a colossal lie, weakened Shechem’s whole people and then killed them all. Because the brothers had lied, Jacob isolated himself from their act; and because of their act, they were not going to receive the first place either. Rather, they were to be scattered. They were not to have a fixed location like the rest of the tribes.
This has a lot to say, does it not, to the existential mentality that history is going nowhere. The biblical emphasis is constantly the reverse. History does have meaning; the past brings forth the present, and the present influences the future. Something happens in history because of a previous effect. Hume was wrong. Cause and effect does exist, not only in science but in meaningful, significant human events.
Jacob prophesied that Simeon and Levi were to be scattered in the land. Something happened, however, to modify this. The prophecy was still fulfilled; yet it was divided into two halves. It stood as Jacob had given it concerning Simeon, but it shifted in the case of Levi. In the midst of the orgies around the golden calf, Moses gave a call: Who is on the Lord’s side? Who will speak for God? Who will act for God against a rebellious people? Then “all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him” (Ex. 32:26) and went forward to end this revolt. Therefore, though the scattering stood, it was turned into a blessing. The Levites, along with the descendants of Aaron (who were of the tribe of Levi), were given a special closeness to the altar and to the Jewish worship.
Now we know why Judah received his place first in the giving of the land on the west of the Jordan, the heart of the promised land. Reuben, Levi, and Simeon had all been set aside.
Jacob continued his prophecy by turning to Judah: “Judah, thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise: thy hand shall be in the neck of thine enemies; thy father’s children shall bow down before thee. Judah is a lion’s whelp: from the prey, my son, thou art gone up: he stooped down, he crouched as a lion, and as an old lion; who shall rouse him up? The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a staff [or lawgiver] from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:8-10).
So Judah was awarded the preeminence among the people of God. Judah received the first share of the land on the west of the river, which included Jerusalem. This is important because Judah is the one out of whom David comes, and David is the one out of whom the truly great Ruler, Christ, comes.
The emphasis in Jacob’s prophecy was that Judah would rule, and whether one translates the word in 49:10 as “lawgiver” or “staff,” this emphasis is not changed. In Judges 5:14 the word is used to mean “a ruler” who symbolizes his authority by holding a scepter. In other words, in Genesis 49:10 a double emphasis is being given through the parallel meaning of the words scepter and staff.
David, Solomon, and their successors came as partial fulfillments of this prophecy that Judah would rule, but the whole truth is far deeper. A greater reign was being prophesied here than the secular regimes of the later Jewish kings. Jacob spoke of Judah as a lion, and in Revelation this symbol is applied to one special Person: “One of the elders saith unto me, Weep not: behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, hath prevailed to open the book [of redemption], and to loose the seven seals thereof” (Rev. 5:5). The final rule that Jacob was describing was the rule of Christ, who shall be the great King of Israel as well as its Redeemer.
Numbers 21:18 speaks of Moses as “the lawgiver” or “staff” or “sceptre.” Deuteronomy describes Moses as a “prophet” and records Moses’ great prophecy about the coming Messiah: “The LORD thy God will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken” (Deut. 18:15). As we have seen, the New Testament expressly relates this to Christ. The idea of the ruler has shifted from Levi (Moses) to Judah (Christ)—an important change. Moses was “the lawgiver” or “ruler,” but a time would come when the ruler would not be from the tribe of Levi but from the tribe of Judah, just as the great prophet when he would come would not come from Levi but from Judah. Interestingly, the last phrase of Psalm 60:7 uses the same word: Judah is my scepter or ruler.
Also in Jacob’s prophecy we find the term Shiloh. When the southern kingdom’s rebellion against God came to the full, and the kingly line from Solomon became totally corrupt, God made a striking statement through the prophet Ezekiel: “And thou, profane wicked prince of Israel, whose day is come, when iniquity shall have an end, thus saith the Lord GOD; Remove the diadem, and take off the crown: this shall not be the same: exalt him that is low, and abase him that is high. I will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be no more, until he come whose right it is; and I will give it him” (Ezek. 21:25-27).
“I’m done with you!” God said. “But I’m not done totally because somebody is going to come—somebody ‘whose right it is’—and then he will rule.” Some believe Shiloh means “The Coming One.” One was coming who was going to be the real ruler of the Jews.
It is important that the division of the land occurred by the God-directed lot and not by the wisdom of men. Joshua and the other Jewish leaders did not read the prophecy and then deliberately fulfill it. God fulfilled it through the throwing of the lot. He guided the lot because Christ would fulfill all of Jacob’s prophecy: He, the Lion of Judah, would come to be Israel’s ruler.
Who is this Christ, this King of the Jews? The Gospel of John portrays the coming one for us. At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Nathanael identified him: “Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel” (John 1:49). Here was a double emphasis: Jesus is deity, but he is also the Old Testament-prophesied king. In Matthew the wise men came asking, “Where is he that is born King of the Jews?” (Matt. 2:2). They asked this of Herod, who was king of the Jews by the grace of Caesar, and his wrath was stirred up because he was threatened by Christ’s kingship. In Luke, Christ’s kingship was strikingly proclaimed at his triumphal entry. As Jesus rode into Jerusalem just before his death, the people strewed his path with palm branches and with their clothes, saying, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord” (Luke 19:38).
This same Jesus is coming again in a space-time moment future to us. Just as Joshua stood in judgment against the Amorites when their iniquity was full, Jesus will come in flaming judgment on the world when the iniquity of the era of the Gentiles is full. What is his name? “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS” (Rev. 19:16).
Jacob prophesied finally that “unto him shall the gathering of the people be” (Gen. 49:10). This is one of the many Old Testament prophecies that say that the Gentiles will have a place among the people of God. The coming one is not only the King of the Jews, but also the Gatherer of the People. And those of us who are Gentiles redeemed by the work of Christ are part of the fulfillment of that prophecy.
THE DIVISION TO JOSEPH
After the division to Judah came the division to Joseph (Josh. 16:1—17:18). Joseph had two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, and each son’s tribe was given a share. Though Ephraim was the younger, he received his place in the giving of the land on the west of Jordan before Manasseh. Why? Once more prophecy entered in:
And Israel [Jacob] said unto Joseph, I had not thought to see thy face: and, lo, God hath showed me also thy seed. And Joseph brought them out from between his knees, and he bowed himself with his face to the earth. And Joseph took them both, Ephraim in his right hand toward Israel’s left hand, and Manasseh in his left hand toward Israel’s right hand, and brought them near unto him. And Israel stretched out his right, and laid it upon Ephraim’s head, who was the younger, and his left hand upon Manasseh’s head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was the firstborn. And he blessed Joseph, and said, God, before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac did walk, the God who fed me all my life long unto this day, The Angel which redeemed me from all evil, bless the lads; and let my name be named on them, and the name of my fathers Abraham and Isaac; and let them grow unto a multitude in the midst of the earth.
And when Joseph saw that his father laid his right hand upon the head of Ephraim, it displeased him: and he held up his father’s hand, to remove it from Ephraim’s head unto Manasseh’s head. And Joseph said unto his father, Not so, my father: for this is the firstborn; put thy right hand upon his head. And his father refused, and said, I know it, my son, I know it: he also shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations. And he blessed them that day, saying, In thee shall Israel bless, saying, God make thee as Ephraim and as Manasseh: and he set Ephraim before Manasseh. (Gen. 48:11-20)
God, working through the lot, preserved the continuity of this prophecy given all those long years previously. After Ephraim was given his place, the half-tribe of Manasseh that had not received land on the east side of the Jordan was allotted its inheritance. Usually the land was given to sons, but in this case daughters also received it because there were no sons (Josh. 17:3-4). Once more we are reminded that these people regarded the Pentateuch as normative in every detail, for when the women presented their case, they argued, “The LORD commanded Moses to give us an inheritance among our brethren. Therefore according to the commandment of the LORD he gave them an inheritance among the brethren of their father” (Josh. 17:4). They regarded the Pentateuch as the Word of God and as something that not only conveyed some sort of religious feeling, but also gave specific commands that were to be obeyed in detail. They were referring to Numbers 27:1-11 and to Numbers 36.
THE FINAL DIVISIONS AT SHILOH
Prior to the final divisions of the land, the Israelites moved permanently from Gilgal to Shiloh (Josh. 18:1). Shiloh was in the hill country, just off the highway to the north of Bethel and Ai as one travels toward Gerizim and Ebal. The Israelites left the plain and established themselves in the mountains. They took the tabernacle with them, which means they removed everything from their former camp.
Although the big campaigns were finished, much land remained to be taken. Therefore, they sent spies to map out the territory so that the lots could be thrown for this piece of geography. “And the men went and passed through the land, and described it by cities into seven parts in a book, and came again to Joshua to the host at Shiloh” (Josh. 18:9). Writing was so common that the spies were able to write their report and present it to Joshua.
The fall of the lot located Benjamin right next to Judah: “And the lot of the tribe of the children of Benjamin came up according to their families: and the coast of their lot came forth between the children of Judah and the children of Joseph” (Josh. 18:11). As a matter of fact, their land came together at the city of Jerusalem. Moses had made this prophecy concerning Benjamin: “The beloved of the LORD shall dwell in safety by him; and the LORD shall cover him all the day long, and he shall dwell between his shoulders” (Deut. 33:12). Benjamin was going to have a special closeness to the Lord. When the northern tribes later turned away from God, the tribes that stood fast were Judah and Benjamin; so Moses’ prophecy was fulfilled.
In the second lot thrown at Shiloh, the remaining tribes received their land. Simeon did not receive a separate inheritance because, as you remember, Jacob said he was going to be scattered. He was given a place in the midst of Judah. So while in the fulfilling of the prophecy of Genesis 49:5-7, the Levites became the special servants of God scattered throughout the people, the Simeonites had no real share of the land.
Next Zebulun’s place was designated. Jacob had prophesied concerning Zebulun: “Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for an haven of ships” (Gen. 49:13). He was the only person related to seafaring. And when the land was divided, Zebulun’s “border went up toward the sea” (Josh. 19:11).
Places were designated, too, for Issachar (Josh. 19:17), Asher (Josh. 19:24), Naphtali (Josh. 19:32), and Dan (Josh. 19:40). Finally Joshua was given a special inheritance, the city of Timnath-serah. Every tribe now had its land. The divisions were complete. The entire matter is summarized like this: “These are the inheritances, which Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the heads of the fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel, divided for an inheritance by lot in Shiloh before the LORD, at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation. So they made an end of dividing the country” (Josh. 19:51).
THE CONCLUSION OF THE ERA OF CONQUEST
We need to look at one more chapter, Joshua 22, in order to bring the era of the campaigns to a close. When the two and a half tribes were given their land east of the Jordan, Moses said to them, “The west side still has to be taken. Are you going to stay here in peace while your brothers who fought for you have to go on in war?”
The fighting men from these tribes responded, “We’ll go with the rest and fight as long as the war is on.”
To which Moses replied, “Good. Then all is well.”
These men built cities and left some of their people on their land. Then for the seven years of campaign, these soldiers were separated from their wives, their families, their inheritance. Now that the campaigns were over and the land divided, it was time to go home.
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan. But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents. (Josh. 22:1-6)
If we use a little imagination, we can feel the tremendous emotion involved in the parting of these comrades at arms. We can picture the men going through the camp, finding the friends with whom they had fought side by side, and saying good-bye to some who had even saved their lives. They shook hands and they parted, as worshipers of God, as friends, and as companions in war. There is a comradeship among men in titanic moments that is one of the great “mystiques” of life. It is the explanation of the mystique of the rope—two men on a mountain battling nature together, depending for their very lives on a common rope.
As the comrades left, they took with them much spoil. Joshua commanded them to divide the spoil with those who had remained on the east side to guard the possessions (Josh. 22:8). Then “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan” (Josh. 22:9).
The men of the two and a half tribes traveled east and put the Jordan between themselves and the majority of the people.
Then came a new note: “And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to” (Josh. 22:10). They built a huge altar, one that could be seen a long way off. And suddenly the complexion of the situation changed. The men who were with Joshua and the priests on the west side of the river spread the word through the camp: “The people who have left us have built a new altar! They’ve built a new altar!” You can hear this bubbling through the camp. The men with whom they had been shaking hands just a few days before seemed to be establishing a rival worship. And these people said, “Something must be done about this! This is rebellion against God!”
Joshua 22:12 is one of the most touching verses we will ever find, if we do not just read it as words but see the human content in it: “And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them.” That is just terrific! We ought to play the bagpipes! These men had just parted as companions of war. I do not know whether they shook hands as we do or rubbed noses like the Eskimos or, like the Brazilians, slapped each other on the back until they could not breathe any longer, but whatever it was, they had said goodbye in the strongest, heartiest sense imaginable. But now they thought the holiness of God was being threatened. So these men, who were sick of war, said, “The holiness of God demands no compromise.” I would to God that the church of this century would learn this lesson. The holiness of the God who exists demands that there be no compromise in the area of truth. Tears? I am sure there were tears, but there had to be battle if there was rebellion against God.
The leaders on the west side did their best, however, to straighten the matter out. They did not fight without first attempting reconciliation. This is a good example of the simultaneous exhibition of both the holiness and the love of God. It is a biblical example of truth and beauty. Because of the concern of the children of Israel for God’s holiness, they were ready for battle; but the fact that they did not attack immediately was a practical demonstration of love. Instead, they chose a prince from each of the tribes and sent them along with Phinehas, the high priest, to see if this matter could be straightened out. When they confronted the two and a half tribes on the east, they did not beat around the bush. I am convinced that what we see here is the kind of thing that Jesus later commanded concerning a practical relationship among the people of God. They came without compromise, talked face to face, and made an honest charge.
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, 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? 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, but that ye must turn away this day from following the LORD? And it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. 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. 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. (Josh. 22:15-20)
Notice that the whole congregation agreed with the charges. This was not a political issue, the two and a half tribes talking rebellion against the rest. Rebellion against God was the issue. The representatives reminded the others of the seriousness of this, not only for the people who had sinned, but for all the people of God. The iniquity of Peor was brought up, which was a corporate sin that had occurred approximately eight years before (see Num. 25:1-3, 18). The representatives said, “Because the people of the congregation were involved, everybody suffered” (Josh. 22:18). And they reminded the two and a half tribes of what happened when Achan sinned. They said, “You can’t sin with impunity and the people of God not be injured. When either a group or one person sins, the whole people is injured. Consequently, we are here to prevent that.” This illustrates the practicality of love. It is no use talking about love if there is no action to it. What was the practicality in this case? It was shown in the willingness of the tribes west of Jordan to sacrifice money and land to resolve the situation properly.
Once more, here is the tragedy of the modern church. Our spirituality and our brotherhood often stop at the point of material possessions. In the early church this was not so. The Christians had things in common not because there was a law to this effect, not because this was an enforced Marx-Engels communism, but because they loved each other. And a love that does not go down into the practical stuff of life, including money and possessions, is absolute junk! To think that love is talking softly rather than saying something sharply and that it is not carried down into the practical stuff of life is not biblical.
We must say with tears that the orthodox evangelical church in our generation has been poor at this point.
This generation of Jews was not. They were willing to go to battle, but they were dialoguing in love to try to find a solution. The solution even came to this: “If you don’t want to live over here, bring everything into our land. Bring your herds, bring your sheep. We’ll move over in our pasturelands. We’ll move out of the villages. We’ll give you some of the cities. You can share it with us, but don’t rebel against God.” How many would have come? Probably the total number who had entered the land had been about two and a half million. Thus those on the east side of Jordan would have been many, many thousands. What a practical lesson for the people of God—a generous, loving offer was made at material cost!
The people being confronted could have gotten angry and responded, “What are you getting so worked up for?” But they did not. We see here the interplay that should characterize discipline in the church of Christ. The majority thought a trespass had been committed. They did not gloss it over; indeed, they were ready to go to battle in order to preserve the holiness and the commands of God. In reply, the other side did not just stalk out the church door, as it were. They gave an honest, open answer:
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, 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,) 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; 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? For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD. Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: but that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you. God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle. (Josh. 22:21-29)
I love this: “We know in our hearts right now that God is satisfied; and we are going to tell you the facts, and we know you will then be satisfied.” They did not have to convince God. God already knew. But they were going to point out the situation lovingly so that the rest of the people of God would know.
This statement, it seems to me, is the key: “If it be in rebellion or if in transgression against the LORD, save us not this day.” They agreed that if they were worshiping another god or rebelling against God and his commands (including the commands about how to worship), they deserved judgment. This is the basis of the marvelous results we will see shortly. These results were rooted and grounded in an agreement that God is holy, that God’s commands must not be breached, and that if God’s commands are breached, this deserves judgment. There was no accommodation of relativism, no Hegelian synthesis, no compromise with truth. The reason these people were able to have a real unity and a real peace was that they were locked into the truth and commandments of God. Without the concept that is laid down here, any right unity is impossible. Any unity, any peace, that is not rooted in truth is nothing!
The two and a half tribes protested that their action was not sinful. They did not build this altar for the purpose of rebellion, nor even for the purpose of worship. Why then did they build it? They intended it to be a pattern, a replica of the true altar by the tabernacle. They wanted this large copy of the real altar to stand as a witness that they, too, had a right to cross the Jordan and worship.
So we come to the marvelous conclusion:
And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God. (Josh. 22:30-34)
First, the ten princes from the west of Jordan along with Phinehas, the priest, turned to the rest and said, “We’re agreed. It’s tremendous! Everything is in place. We see there is no rebellion here. We give you the right hand of fellowship.” Then they returned to the other side of the Jordan and reported to the remainder of the people. The land was at peace, and there was a happy ending indeed. On both sides of the river, the witness of this altar stood, and as it were there came a cry from the entire people of God, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God!”
Why was there this happy ending? Because of the two steps I have mentioned. First, there was a clear agreement on the importance of doctrine and truth, an understanding that the holiness of God demands bowing before him and obeying his commands. Remember Joshua’s words as he sent the people away to the other side of the Jordan: “Take diligent heed . . . to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments.” There was a happy ending because the people did this.
Second, those who were courageous in standing for truth were also courageous in acting in love. If there had been only a stand for truth, there would never have been a happy ending. There would have been only war because the ten tribes would have torn across the river and killed the other Israelites without talking to anybody. There would have been sadness in the midst of misunderstanding. But because of the love of God, the tribes talked to each other openly, and the love and holiness of God were able to come together. Psalm 85 speaks of the righteousness of God and the love of God kissing each other (Ps. 85:10). This was what happened here.
What is a Christian’s duty in life? He has only one basic duty: to exhibit the existence of God and to exhibit his character in the midst of a rebellious world. What is the character of God? God is holy, and God is love. Christians—both individually and corporately—have a duty to stand for God’s truth with no compromise while simultaneously dealing in love with brothers and sisters in Christ—yes, and with men and women outside the church. Joshua 22 is not just history; it is a rule in the continuity of God’s commands to his people through the flow of history. It is an example for the people of God in dealing with each other for all time.
This chapter has emphasized two things: 1) the continuity of prophecy in the flow of history (the very opposite of modern people’s inability to tell the difference between fantasy and reality); and 2) the importance of right action among the people of God. When the people of God are acting as they should, they manifest the unity of the holiness and the love of God.
Whenever church leaders ask us to choose between the holiness of God and the love of God, we must refuse. For when the love of God becomes compromised, it is not the love of God. When the holiness of God becomes hardness and a lack of beauty, it is not the holiness of God. This is the calling to us who live in the New Testament era too—to practice the holiness and love of God with no compromise to either. If anything, it is an even greater responsibility for us than for those who practiced it so beautifully in Joshua’s time, for we live on this side of the cross, the open tomb, the Ascension, and Pentecost.