Day 69 – A Year in the Bible – Joshua 22-24
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JOSHUA 22 – THIS DAY WE PERCEIVE THE LORD IS AMONG YOU
Our Sin Affects the Entire Congregation
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. – Joshua 22:19-20
The congregation of Israel stood against (what they believed was) sin among their people and reminded them of how Achan sinned against the Lord, and God’s wrath came against them all. Truly, if they sinned or we sin, it does not just affect us and us alone, but it hurts the entire congregation (Body of Christ).
The Risk of Making Assumptions
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. – Joshua 22:26-29
This Day We Perceive that the LORD is Among Us
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. – Joshua 22:30-31
Ed: For It Shall Be a Witness Between Us that the LORD is God
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. – Joshua 22:34
We read in Numbers 32 that the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh asked Moses for the land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. That piece of land was not the Promised Land but the land right before the Promised Land. They saw that it suited their lifestyle, and Moses allowed them to have it, but with the condition that they go with the other tribes and fight alongside the other tribes, they also might have their land. The Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh agreed.
In our reading in Joshua today, the men of these 2 ½ tribes had fulfilled the obligations as Moses commanded and went back across the Jordan to establish their own homes. The leaders of Israel heard that those tribes had built an altar on the Eastern side of the Jordan River. Only one altar was to be made by the Children of Israel to worship God. So that reporting assumed the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh were breaking their covenant with God and with them, and assuming this breach, they gathered to destroy them for it. But before battle, they sent envoys to verify the reports. They found that the truth was those tribes hadn’t built an altar to God but had built an altar that future generations from both sides of the Jordan would remember that though they settled east of the Jordan, they were entitled to worship the same LORD as their brothers and sisters on the western side. So rather than an altar of worship built with a rebellious spirit, it was a memorial and reminder that both sides would never forget that the Jordan River was not a barrier between the Children of Israel but that they were all still one family.
Wouldn’t it have been sad if the Western tribes had not verified what was going on before they went into battle? How often do we jump to conclusions and assign motives? Assumptions and the rumors we spread when making them are dangerous and can destroy relationships. Had the Western tribes jumped into battle based on assumptions, it would have resulted in a civil war for no reason. When we act on rumors, the same things happen, whereas when we stop for a minute to find out the truth, we often find we have created an issue in our minds that wasn’t reality.
What a lesson for today!!! Seek the truth. Reject assumptions. Know the joyful sound.
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JOSHUA 23 – THE LORD YOUR GOD FIGHTETH FOR YOU
One Man of You Shall Chase a Thousand
Be ye therefore very courageous to keep and to do all that is written in the book of the law of Moses, that ye turn not aside therefrom to the right hand or to the left; that ye come not among these nations, these that remain among you; neither make mention of the name of their gods, nor cause to swear by them, neither serve them, nor bow yourselves unto them: but cleave unto the LORD your God, as ye have done unto this day. For the LORD hath driven out from before you great nations and strong: but as for you, no man hath been able to stand before you unto this day. One man of you shall chase a thousand: for the LORD your God, he it is that fighteth for you, as he hath promised you. Take good heed therefore unto yourselves, that ye love the LORD your God. – Joshua 23:6-11
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JOSHUA 24 – WITNESS AGAINST YOURSELVES
Land For Which Ye Did Not Labour
And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and olive yards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD. – Joshua 24:13-15
Ye Are Witnesses Against Yourselves
And Joshua said unto the people, Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve him. And they said, We are witnesses. Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel. And the people said unto Joshua, The LORD our God will we serve, and his voice will we obey. – Joshua 24:22-24
Today we have not only reached the end of the book of Joshua, but in the last verses, we see that Joshua died at the age of 110. He lived his life as a good and faithful servant. Joshua, like Moses, reminded the children of Israel who they were, where God brought them from, and where they were going. Before he died, he commanded the leaders to serve the Lord and reject other gods. The people spoke and affirmed their allegiance to God. Joshua says to them,“Ye are witnesses against yourselves that ye have chosen you the LORD, to serve Him.”
In other words, you are the witnesses to your decision. No one else needed to judge them. Their lives would tell the truth about whether they served the Lord or didn’t. They had agreed that their faithfulness’s verdict would be their own lives.
Isn’t this true of our own lives today? The way we walk through our lives shows what is in our hearts. We can make people think that we are one way or another, but what is in the heart comes out through our actions or words and becomes a witness either for or against us. A witness to what we believe and know of God. It is my prayer that I can say by my life, The Lord my God will I serve, and His voice will I obey.
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