This chapter deals with false criticism, Joshua starts by commending Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh because they had obeyed Moses, Joshua 22:1-2 / Numbers 32:1-27. Following the defeat of the Midianite kings, the two and a half tribes requested that the land east of Jordan be given to them as their possession, Numbers 32:5. Moses at first was suspicious of the idea because he felt it would prevent the rest of the people from crossing over, Numbers 32:6.
The men of the two and a half tribes assured Moses that they would fight with their brothers until the land was subdued west of Jordan, Numbers 22:18-19. Moses then made an agreement with them that if they would help take the land of Canaan then they could have the land east of Jordan, Numbers 32:20-22. Moses then gave the word to Joshua and to Eleazar the priest that the two and a half tribes were to receive the land east of Jordan that had belonged to Sihon and Og, kings of the Amorites, Numbers 32:28-33.
In short, they had obeyed Joshua, they had fought alongside their brothers, they had obeyed God and therefore, they can go and possess the land east of Jordan, Joshua 22:3-4 / Joshua 1:12-18. Joshua then goes on and commands the two and a half tribes to love God, walk in all His ways, keep His commandments, hold fast to Him, and serve Him with all their heart and soul, Joshua 22:5.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Here we have six one-syllable words, dramatic imperatives that can lead the soul into a state of being well pleasing to God. The message here is founded upon the ‘first and great commandment’, Mark 12:29-30. Throughout the Scriptures, the ‘love of God’ is equated with keeping God’s Word and doing His will, John 14:15 / John 14:23.’
Joshua then proceeds to compensate the two and a half tribes and so he blessed them, and they went to their homes, Joshua 22:6. We are told to the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan along with their fellow Israelites, Joshua 22:7 / Joshua 13:8 / Joshua 14:3 / Joshua 18:7.
Joshua sent them home and blesses them again and gives them a portion of the spoil, Joshua 22:8. So the two and a half tribes left the Israelites at Shiloh, Joshua 18:1, to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses, Joshua 22:9 / Numbers 32:1-5.
The two and a half tribes returned to the land that had been given them to possess and now, across the Jordan, they are separated from their fellow Israelites. There may have been a feeling of isolation and so the two and a half tribes, therefore, decided to build an imposing altar, Joshua 22:10. The altars were important because it was upon the altar that sacrifices and burnt offerings were made. This one must have been large enough to be seen at a great distance.
Woudstra, in his commentary, says the following.
‘These tribes evidently intended the altar they built to be a replica of the brazen altar in the tabernacle courtyard at Shiloh, Joshua 22:28. If they did, it is easy to understand why the other tribes reacted to its construction so violently. God had prohibited the building of altars in the land apart from the ones He ordained, Deuteronomy 12:1-14.’
Word got to the rest of Israel that the altar had been built, Joshua 22:11, somehow misunderstanding always travels fast. It’s like a wind, there’s no way of stopping it and so the ‘whole congregation of Israel’, Joshua 22:12, was ready to go up against their brothers in war, Deuteronomy 13:12-18.
The whole group of people did not cross the Jordan but they sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and ten chiefs from the tribes, Joshua 22:13-14. Maybe, out of love they didn’t attack immediately. Isn’t that how we are to act? Galatians 6:1.
Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and ten chiefs went to Gilead and met with the two and a half tribe, and tells them the whole assembly of God asks, how could they break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could they turn away from God and build themselves an altar in rebellion against Him now? Joshua 22:15-16.
Coffman, in his commentary, says the following.
‘The punishment for such a sin as making another altar, as well as the designation of that offense as sinful, is found in Leviticus 17:4 / Leviticus 17:8-9 / Deuteronomy 12:4-14 / Deuteronomy 13:12-16.’
They ask, was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Joshua 22:17. Peor, Joshua 22:17, is where the people worshipped idols, Numbers 25:1-9, and where twenty-four thousand people died as a result of a plague from God, Joshua 22:17.
Barnes, in his commentary, says the following.
‘Phinehas, who had borne a conspicuous part in vindicating the cause of God against those who fell away to Baal-Peor, means that terrible as the punishment had been, there were still those among them who hankered after Baal worship, and even practiced it in secret, Joshua 24:14-23.’
They ask them if they are now turning away from the LORD? Joshua 22:18. They remind them if they rebel against God today, then tomorrow God will be angry with all of Israel, not just them, Joshua 22:18. They offer them land west of the Jordan if the land they possess is defiled, Joshua 22:19. Notice they say, come over to God’s land, where His tabernacle stands, and share the land with them Joshua 22:19.
They offer all of this simply to discourage them from rebelling against God or rebelling against the rest of Israel by building an altar for themselves, other than the altar of God, Joshua 22:19. They mention Achan, the sin he committed and the consequences of his sin, Joshua 22:20 / Joshua 7:1-26.
Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh were willing to discuss the issue which is great news, the name of God was invoked, and notice that the three names of God are repeated, the Mighty One, God, and the LORD, Joshua 22:21-22 / Psalms 50:1.
Three different names but each one has a meaning, the Mighty One, El, represents the earliest Hebrew idea of God meaning strength, God, Elohim, suggests the manifold ways in which El the Mighty One displayed His greatness, as the source of all power, mental, moral, and physical, in heaven and earth.
The LORD, Jehovah, the name by which God revealed Himself to Moses, Exodus 3:14, meaning the Self-Existent One, the author of all being, He whose supreme prerogative it was to have existed from all eternity, and from whose will all things were derived.
Keil and Delitzsch, in their commentary, says the following.
‘The combination of the three names of God-El, the strong one; Elohim, the Supreme Being to be feared; and Jehovah, the truly existing One, the covenant God, Joshua 22:22, serves to strengthen the invocation of God, as in Psalms 1:1, and this is strengthened still further by the repetition of these three names.’
God’s judgment is asked if any wrong was intended and will be used ONLY if God required it, Joshua 22:23. And what was it? It was a fear that future generations would question the two and a half tribe’s part with God’s people, Joshua 22:24. The Jordan would be looked upon as a border forbidding them from having a portion with God’s people, Joshua 22:25.
They wanted to build and altar but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, Joshua 22:27. They wanted the altar to be a witness between them and Israel and the generations that follow, that we they worship God at His sanctuary with their burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings, Joshua 22:27.
By doing this, in the future, Israel’s descendants will not be able to say to them, they have no share in God, Joshua 22:27. If Israel’s descendants ever say this to them, or to their descendants, they can answer by saying, look at the replica of God’s altar, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and the rest of Israel, Joshua 22:28.
Cook, in his commentary, says the following.
‘They erected this altar to keep alive their claim of having the same interest as the other tribes in the sanctuary of God, located at that time, in Shiloh.’
They never intended to rebel against God or turn away from Him by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of God that stands before His tabernacle, Joshua 22:29. The altar would serve as a witness to the fact that the people were one with each other and God.
Notice that Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and ten chiefs heard the explanation and they were pleased, Joshua 22:30. Phinehas spoke up and said that the Lord was in their midst because they haven’t been unfaithful to God in this matter and now they have rescued the Israelites from God’s hand, Joshua 22:31. They went back to spread the word that they had jumped to a false conclusion, Joshua 22:32.
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, Joshua 22:33. Notice that it was the Reubenites and the Gadites named the altar, A Witness Between Us, that the LORD is God, Joshua 22:34 / Matthew 7:15-20. The absence of the mention of the half-tribe of Manasseh suggest it was the Reubenites and the Gadites who erected the altar in the first place.
When word got to the rest of Israel that the altar had been built, Joshua 22:11, somehow misunderstanding always travels fast. It’s like a wind, there’s no way of stopping it and so the ‘whole congregation of Israel’, Joshua 22:12 was ready to go up against their brothers in war.
This reminds me of some brethren, they hear something, and before they get all the facts in the case they are ready to go to war, Proverbs 15:1. How many congregations have been split down the middle because all the facts weren’t gathered in the case? Somehow, we forget all about Ephesians 4:3, and Colossians 3:14.
We can learn from this, don’t tell anything bad about anyone, check it out with the person you’ve been told about and if it’s true, try to help them but if it’s not true, straighten out the person who talked to you. No, we sit back in our smugness, and say, ‘nope, not gonna be anybody ruling the roost here but me. If things don’t go to suit me, then things just won’t go,’ or ‘even if all I heard wasn’t true, most of it probably was anyway. So, we’ve just nipped it in the bud now.’
How often do our brethren listen to what someone has to say? We close our minds and let words pass by and sometimes we do not even sit down and discuss. We must beware of being so prejudiced that we will not accept the truth from the person we have called in question. Love demands that we do. If you’ve told something about someone else that wasn’t true, did you go back to correct it when you found out the truth?