Joshua · chapter 22 of 24
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Joshua 22 tells that Joshua blesses Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh and sends them to their lands east of the Jordan. There they build a great altar, and the rest of Israel, thinking it an act of rebellion, prepares for war. Phinehas and ten chiefs go to ask for an explanation and discover that the altar is a witness that those tribes also belong to the Lord, so conflict is avoided.
The eastern tribes had promised to fight alongside their brothers until the land was conquered. Joshua 22 tells of their return home and a misunderstanding that could have ended in civil war. The chapter shows both the seriousness with which Israel defended the purity of its worship and the value of dialogue before acting.
Joshua summons the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He commends them because they have kept everything Moses commanded them and what he himself commanded them, and they did not abandon their brothers for a long time. Now that the Lord has given rest to Israel, he sends them back to their tents, with the exhortation to take care to keep the commandment: to love the Lord, walk in all his ways, keep his commandments, hold fast to him and serve him with all their heart. He blesses them and shares the plunder with them. They leave Shiloh for Gilead.
When they reach the region of the Jordan, at Geliloth, the sons of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh build an altar of great size there. The other Israelites hear that they have built an altar facing the land of Canaan, and the whole congregation gathers at Shiloh to go to war against them. First they send Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, with ten chiefs, one for each tribe.
The envoys accuse them of unfaithfulness against the God of Israel, recalling the sin of Peor and that of Achan, and offer that, if their land is unclean, they should cross over to the Lord's land where the tabernacle stands, but not rebel. The eastern tribes answer with a solemn oath before the Lord, the Mighty One, God. The altar is not for offering sacrifices, but a witness so that in the future the sons of the western tribes will not say to those of the east that they have no share in the Lord. They built it as a copy of the Lord's altar, not as an altar of their own.
Phinehas and the chiefs are pleased with that answer and acknowledge that the Lord is among them. They return and tell the people, and the Israelites bless God and no longer speak of war. The Reubenites and Gadites call the altar Witness, because it is a witness among them that the Lord is God.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
Joshua exhorts the eastern tribes to keep the commandments of Moses: to love the Lord, walk in all his ways, hold fast to him and serve him with all their heart. In a few words, it sums up the meaning of the whole law.
The envoys ask what unfaithfulness they have committed against the God of Israel in turning away today from following the Lord. Israel takes very seriously the risk of another temptation like that of Peor, and the punishment that fell on the whole community for the sin of one.
The eastern tribes explain that the altar will be a witness between them and the western tribes that they also serve the Lord, and so that their children will not say they have no share in him. Their motive was not rebellion but the fear of being excluded over time.
The Reubenites and Gadites call the altar Witness, because it is a witness that the Lord is God. The conflict ends because both sides listened and explained before fighting.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: To love the Lord, walk in all his ways, keep his commandments, hold fast to him and serve him with all their heart. — Joshua 22:5
Answer: An altar of great size. — Joshua 22:10
Answer: They gathered at Shiloh to go up to war against them. — Joshua 22:12
Answer: Phinehas, son of the priest Eleazar, with ten chiefs, one for each tribe. — Joshua 22:13-14
Answer: As a witness and not for sacrifices, so that their children would not be excluded from the Lord in the future. — Joshua 22:26-28
Answer: Witness, because it is a witness that the Lord is God. — Joshua 22:34
This chapter teaches us not to draw conclusions before listening. Israel nearly went to war against its brothers over a misunderstanding. Before acting, they sent a delegation to ask. In the church, many divisions are born from hasty interpretations of what someone else did. A small group can ask how it handles conflict: do we speak directly with the person or assume the worst?
In addition, the eastern tribes reveal a legitimate concern: that future generations not be left outside the faith. Today we can ask what signs we leave so that our children and grandchildren know they belong to the Lord, whether in family prayer, in shared reading of the Word or in taking part in the church.
Joshua 22 ends with peace restored and an altar called Witness by the Jordan. In Joshua 23, the aged Joshua will gather the leaders of Israel for a first farewell address, reminding them to remain faithful to the Lord.
Because the law of Moses established one place of sacrifice, the tabernacle, and a rival altar could look like idolatry or separation. Israel remembered the consequences of the sin of Peor and of Achan, where the whole community suffered for the unfaithfulness of some.
Phinehas was the son of the priest Eleazar and the grandson of Aaron. In Numbers 25 he acted with zeal against the idolatry of Peor. Here, as leader of the delegation, he shows a combination of zeal and prudence, for he first asks and listens.