In yesterday's passage we found Phinehas making an impassioned speech to the tribes east of the Jordan, imploring them to turn from sin, begging them to think not only of themselves but of how ill things will go with all Israel if many of the citizens fall into sin. Phinehas provided two examples of times when the sin of a few (or of only one) brought trouble on the whole nation. He and the elders even offered to take the eastern tribes across the Jordan with them and give them land on that side, where the tabernacle resides, if that will help keep them out of sin. This offers displays a sacrificial love! It displays a heart like the Lord's! The tribes west of the Jordan were willing to give up some of their land in order to keep their brothers and sisters faithful to the Lord. Is love really love if it is not sacrificial?
Phinehas, the elders with him, and the remainder of the congregation of Israel will soon breathe a sigh of relief when they hear the explanation for the altar. It is not a rival altar to that at Shiloh. It is not a heathen altar. It is instead a monument to brotherhood, set up signify that they are a part of the nation of Israel though geologically separated from the majority of its tribes by the Jordan River. It is a symbol of their faith in the same God that the western tribes worship.
The men who built the altar now make their reply to the erroneous assumption that has been made about them. "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? 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." (Joshua 22:24) These men were concerned that in times to come the Jordan River would be used as a barrier. They didn't want their descendants prevented from crossing the Jordan into the western territories to worship at the house of God. If they were prevented from making sacrifices and offerings at Shiloh, they might grow distant from the Lord. Not having unfettered access to the Lord's house and to the hearing of the reading of His laws and commandments could cause them to stray from His laws and commandments. Pagan beliefs could begin to be mixed in with true religion. This could lead to apostasy over the generations, causing their descendants to "stop fearing the Lord."
The men continue providing their explanation. "That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar---but not for burnt offerings and sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at His sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the Lord.' And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord's altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'" (Joshua 22:26-28)
Though their decision to built a replica altar was borne of a fear that generations to come would exclude the tribes from the east from fellowship at the Lord's house, it was not an irrational fear. Human nature being what it is, it was not impossible to believe that someday the tribes east of the Jordan would be treated differently than those on the side of the Jordan where the tabernacle was located. People have been excluded from various types of assemblies and groups for pettier reasons than this. The eastern tribes wanted to make sure that the western tribes could never claim they had voluntarily excluded themselves from the congregation of Israel by deciding to live east of the Jordan. The never wanted anyone to be able to say that they were not a part of the nation of Israel and that they were not the Lord's people. If they were not part of Israel and were not the Lord's people, how could they make a replica of the altar at Shiloh? They could not have made a replica of an altar they had never seen; therefore the replica altar is to be "a witness between us and you" as they said to the men from the west.
The men who built the altar wrap up their explanation with words intended to dissolve any doubt that they intend to remain faithful to the Lord. "Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before His tabernacle." (Joshua 22:29)
The men from the west are thrilled to learn their fears were in vain. No rival altar or heathen altar has been built. The eastern tribes are not rebelling against the Lord. "When Phinehas the priest and the elders of the community---the heads of the clans of the Israelites---heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. 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 been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's hand.'" (Joshua 22:30-31) The Lord warned the Israelites that if they ever turned away from Him, He would not go out with their armies. He warned them that He was capable of uprooting them from the land just as He uprooted the heathen nations before them. The men from the west are happy to hear that they need not fear such things at this time; their brothers have not been unfaithful to God.
"Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the elders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived. And the Reubenites and Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us---that the Lord is God." (Joshua 22:32-34) The Lord is God of the people on both sides of the Jordan. Though they are separated by this river, they are one people. They serve God---the only God.
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