If I was to give this chapter a heading, it might be:

A Questionable Memorial Causes a Kerfuffle

There 5 things that stand out to me in this.

THING ONE

Look how loyal the men of Reuben, Gad, and Eastern Manasseh are! They’ve been away from their wives and children for probably at least a year. Maybe more. They have fought and camped beside the men from the other tribes; helping to drive the Canaanites out of cities they will not live in.

Joshua blesses them and sends them off with glowing praise and piles of war booty. To me it has “well done good and faithful servant” vibes.

There’s a detail here that is important:

“So the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home, parting from the people of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the land of Gilead, their own land of which they had possessed themselves by command of the Lord through Moses.”
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭22‬:‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Shiloh is where the Tabernacle was set up. Old habits die hard. These people have spent their entire lives living with the Tabernacle in the middle of their camp. Now they are moving away from it.

THING TWO

The decision to build a replica of God’s altar was probably not the wisest move. But it might imply something very interesting. The text doesn’t specify what material was used to build the altar but it’s described as “very large” and they later say it was to last for many future generations which leads me to wonder if it was made of stone and earth.

And, if it was, this suggests that perhaps a more permanent stone-and-earth altar was built at Shiloh to supplement the use of the portable bronze altar. Or maybe the bronze altar was set permanently on or into a rock and earth platform.

(Ok that was not really “Thing 3.” That was a bonus. NOW on to the actual Thing Three…)

Have you ever done something that “seemed like a good idea at the time?” The eastern tribes had the best of intentions, but loyalty to Yahweh was not what the rest of Israel understood from the memorial they built.

I wonder if anyone stopped to think about how the building of their memorial altar might be interpreted by the rest of Israel.

😬 Uh, guys? We all know that there’s only one legit altar where we can offer sacrifices to Yahweh. What if the other tribes mistake our memorial for an actual altar? Won’t that look like rebellion?

🧔🏾‍♂️🧔🏻🧔🏽‍♂️……. Hmmmmm…………………………

………………………………. Nah….. It’ll be fine.

There are kinda two extremes when it comes to what others think.

1. 😼 I don’t care what anyone thinks.
2. 😰 I care too much about what others think.

It seems to me that neither is great and somewhere in the middle would be a good idea. Perhaps something like…

🤓 I will consider how my words and actions might be perceived by others and whether it would cause them to stumble. I will consider others ahead of myself (Phil 2) but I will not be internally or morally bound by the preferences of others if it is a matter where the Word of God and the conviction of the Holy Spirit gives me Christian liberty.

Yeah. I know. It’s a mouthful.

And it is WAY more work than the two extremes above. If you want to dig into this have a look at 1 Corinthians 9-10 and Romans 14.

“Temperance” or “balance” ⚖️ is a fruit of the Spirit. And when He controls our lives, I don’t think we live in either of the extremes. Jesus was the greatest servant of all, but at the same time, He was not running around frazzled at the beck and call of every Tom, Dick, and Harry in Israel who wanted free food and miracles. He did what the Father wanted Him to do. He wasn’t driven by the unending needs of the people. He was on assignment.

Well… I’ve wandered rather far afield.

Back to Joshua 22…

The point is… I’m not sure building a memorial that looked like a duplicate altar was the best idea. It’s a good lesson. We may desire to build something to the glory of God. But it’s probably a good idea to stop and think about how others might perceive what we’re doing. Our motives may be obvious to us, but they aren’t to others.

Which leads me to…

THING THREE

It’s been like five minutes since Joshua and the men of Israel were saluting Reuben, Gad, and 1/2 Manasseh and sending them off with well wishes and slaps on the back. But when they get word about this duplicate altar, they’re literally ready to go run them all through with swords. 😳

The mood swung so fast I got whiplash. 😵‍💫

This part feels like “Class-missing-recess syndrome.”

I’m sure the Israelites had no concept of 20th century public school. But the whole “you’re gonna get us all in trouble” idea must be universal.

I’m old enough to have experienced the phenomenon of missing recess because one or two bad actors ruined it for everyone.

I don’t know if teachers do that anymore. It’s actually a very good idea, I think. Kids need to learn that their actions have consequences on the people around them.

We all know the first and greatest commandment of friendship: “To have friends you must be friendly.”

The second is like unto it. “To have friends, thou shouldest not be an idiot.”

I watch YouTube. There are a LOT of people out there who needed that lesson in school.

😏

The reason that the guys from west of the Jordan are ready to go to war is because they know what trouble one person or one choice can bring to the whole nation.

They had to retreat at Ai and they lost some good men in that battle because one guy – Achan – disobeyed.

Thousands of them died a few years before because one man – Balaam – lured Israel into worshiping the Baal of Peor. The people who didn’t even participate in the idolatry were still affected.

It’s not unlike the Golden Calf incident. The whole lot of them were in trouble, not just the ones that asked for a god or who helped make the calf and sacrificed to it.

Same with the fiery serpents. Just because you weren’t complaining didn’t mean you or your child couldn’t get bit. 🐍

We should be invested in the holiness of others because the sin that other people bring into the community will have an effect on us whether we agree with it or not.

Now, the community of Israel does a VERY wise thing before going to war. Instead of assuming the intentions behind the altar, they send a delegation of leaders to find out WHY they have done it.

I’ve said it before but it bears repeating. When we ASSUME, it makes an ASS out of U and ME. 🫏

Love “thinketh no evil,” 1 Cor. 13:5. It assumes the best instead of the worst.

If you find yourself often “at war” with another, ask yourself if you interpret their words or actions in the worst way possible or the best way possible? Do you immediately assume that they mean something negative? Or do you assume that you may have misunderstood or they may have not communicated it very well? Do you ask for clarification?

Yes, people can be hateful. Yes, they might intend to be critical and hurtful. But in most cases, you might want to “send a delegation” and have a calm conversation to get clarity like Israel does. (Which, by the way, includes my guy Phinehas.)

One more thought… Even if a person does mean to attack you with words, is that person the ultimate authority on truth or your worth as a human being?

I didn’t think so.

So ask yourself if you are giving their words (or maybe your own words) more weight than God’s Word.

If you are, repent. Because that’s not “an issue,” it’s basically idolatry. You are recognizing that person’s word as superior to the LORD’s. Not cool.

It’s WAY more liberating to call sin “sin” and repent of it and receive forgiveness and grace and the victory of Jesus over it than to drag along with perpetual “issues.” You can’t be forgiven of “issues.” Jesus didn’t die for “issues.” Call it sin and repent.

Critics and those who can’t seem to find anything nice to say to you are just angry people spouting angry nonsense. It is beneath your dignity as a child of God to worry over it. Be free in Jesus’ name!

One thing we can do in difficult conversations is to either ask the other person to “Please take this in the best possible way” or to preemptively tell the other person (who you can see is uncomfortable about telling you something – perhaps giving some constructive criticism), “I promise I’ll take it in the best way possible and will not be offended.” You can do that. As long as you mean it.

It’s a little awkward at first, but let me tell ya, that’s a powerful tool to have in your people toolbox. It releases tension and brings such a calm. Love and humility do that.

THING FIVE

Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh .5 explain their motivation behind building this memorial (even if making it as a huge replica of the altar at Shiloh was a questionable idea).

“No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord. Therefore we said, ‘Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”’
‭‭Joshua‬ ‭22‬:‭24‬-‭27‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This memorial has nothing to do with them. Its sole purpose was for future generations.

How much do we think about and DO THINGS for the benefit of future generations?

French theologian Hyacinthe Loyson delivered a sermon in Paris in 1866. He spoke about farmers. The sermon was later translated into English. One line in it was:

“These trees which he plants, and under whose shade he shall never sit, he loves them for themselves, and for the sake of his children and his children’s children, who are to sit beneath the shadow of their spreading boughs.” 🌳🌳🌳

It’s the same sentiment as this proverb, said to be of East Indian origin:

“Blessed is he who plants trees under whose shade he will never sit.” 🌳🌳🌳

It seems to me that much of the world is concerned mostly with the here and now. Or maybe the next 12-18 months in the future. When is the last time you had a conversation with someone about 20 years in the future? Or 50? Or one hundred?

Have you ever intentionally made something for future generations? There’s a time capsule buried under the flagpole at my library. I think it’s scheduled to be opened in like 2063 or something.

Humanity is flux. People rarely live in one location for more than a few years. 🚚 We’re not ancient Israel settling in the Promised Land. But I’m still moved by how these men wanted their descendants – people they would never know – to have some physical reminder and evidence that they were the people of Yahweh.

It wouldn’t look like a giant replica of an altar today. It might look like a YouTube video. Or a blog. (I mean, ya know how they say “the internet is forever.”) 💻

I’m beginning to think of this blog as my memorial to future generations. Let it stand as evidence that rational, thinking people love and trust the Christian Bible and KNOW it to be Truth. And that we worship Yahweh, the Maker of Heaven and Earth and His eternal Son and our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, together with the Holy Ghost. ✝️

If anyone ever tries to tell you that “you have no portion in the LORD,” let this be your witness…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬ ‭ESV‬‬