This situation looks like it's about to turn volatile. But a wise choice is made that prevents soldiers from rushing across the river to begin fighting their fellow Israelites. They send a group of godly men to take stock of the situation. "So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead---to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. With him they sent ten of the chief men, one from each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans." (Joshua 22:13-14)
You'll remember Phinehas from our study of the book of Numbers. He is the son of Eleazar, Israel's second high priest, and the grandson of Aaron, Israel's first high priest. Phinehas is a man who took swift and decisive action when idolatry crept into the camp of Israel---when many of the men of Israel were drawn astray from the Lord by their lust for pagan women and attended heathen feasts with those women and bowed down before images of false gods. One Israelite male decided to boldly flaunt his sin in the face of the entire camp; he strode into camp in the sight of all Israel with a pagan woman on his arm and took her into his tent to have sexual relations with her. Phinehas was horrified by the effect this might have on the congregation. He was offended on the Lord's behalf that anyone would dare to sin against Him in this manner. Phinehas took a spear, marched into the man's tent, and thrust his spear through the man and his female companion. Phinehas, unlike his fellow citizens, didn't stand frozen in shock when such sin came into the camp. When he took action, it encouraged his fellow citizens to take action, and the problem of all the men who had taken part in idolatry was dealt with. I have a feeling Phinehas was elected as the main person to look into what was going on across the river because the men who chose him for this job knew he would take action if action was warranted. He has handled a serious matter of idolatry before and is capable of handling a case of idolatry again if that's what's taking place.
"When they went to Gilead---to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh---they said to them: 'The whole assembly of the Lord says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the Lord and build yourselves an altar of rebellion against Him now? Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the Lord! And are you now turning away from the Lord?'" (Joshua 22:15-18a) The "sin of Peor" is a reference to the incident in the book of Numbers when many men engaged in idolatry with heathen women at Baal Peor. That terrible time is etched in Phinehas' mind and he says something like, "We haven't lived down the shame to this day!"
The sin of Peor cost 24,000 men their lives. Phinehas and the men with him fear something similar is about to happen again. He knows the effect a few sinners can have on an entire congregation. He understands that people can be emboldened by the sins of others to commit the same sins themselves, so he issues a warning that God's anger could fall on the entire congregation if idolatry is going on here, because idolatry has a way of sneaking in and branching out. "If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the whole community of Israel. If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the Lord's land, where the Lord's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us." (Joshua 22:18b-19a) Phinehas and those with him display a heart like the Lord's when they beg the men who built the altar to repent. (At this time they still assume that the altar is a rival altar to the one at Shiloh or that it is an altar to another god; either of these scenarios is a shocking sin.) They say something like this to those who built the altar: "If you've done something in your land that has defiled it from being fit for use, you can turn your backs on it and come with us! If something about this land is tempting you to sin, you never have to set eyes on it again. Pack up right now and return to Shiloh with us where you can make things right with the Lord at His house."
The impassioned speech concludes with an appeal to think about how the sins of a portion of a nation's population can affect the whole nation. "But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the Lord our God. When Achan son of Zerah was unfaithful in regard to the devoted things, did not wrath come on the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin." (Joshua 22:19b-20) They plead, "Don't think only of yourselves! Think of the nation as a whole! Remember how Achan took things from Jericho that he was forbidden to take? And remember how his sin caused the Lord not to go out with our army to attack the city of Ai? And remember that some of our men fell in battle at Ai? It wasn't only Achan who suffered for his sin; he brought trouble on us all. He brought shame on us all. He caused the nations around us to laugh us to scorn when we fled from the battle. Don't be a rebel like Achan and disobey a direct order from God. Also don't be idolaters like the men who sinned at Baal Peor. You won't be affecting only yourselves. You'll be affecting every man, woman, and child in Israel."
Although Phinehas and the elders with him are operating under an incorrect assumption, their advice about not being selfish is very sound advice. A person's wrongdoing won't affect only himself. Satan tries to tempt us into sin by saying, "Who will know? Who will it hurt? If you decide later on that this wasn't the best choice for yourself, the regret is yours alone. It's your life and you have the right to live it the way you want to live it. Nobody has the right to tell you how to live your life. Nobody has the right to judge you for your choices." But this---like everything else Satan says---is a lie. Phinehas and his companions think their brothers who live on the eastern side of the Jordan have fallen for this lie and they are eager to correct the error before the sin begins affecting more than just those who have committed it. But in tomorrow's passage they'll hear welcome news. The altar isn't what they think it is. They will rejoice when they hear the altar's purpose. When they cross back over the Jordan River and report back to the other tribes of Israel, the remainder of the congregation will rejoice with them.
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