Joshua 22 – A Misunderstanding Reconciled

A. The armies from the tribes east of the Jordan are sent home.

1. (1-4) Joshua thanks the eastern tribes for their help in the conquest of Canaan.

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, and said to them: “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.

a. You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded: In the seven years these eastern tribes had been with Joshua, they had helped the tribes west of the Jordan to conquer their enemies. They had been completely obedient and helpful to Joshua and all the tribes of Israel.

i. “Christ, the Captain of our salvation, shall in like sort set forth and celebrate the virtues and praiseworthy practices of his servants and soldiers in that great [festival] at the last day.” (Trapp)

b. You have not left your brethren these many days: The eastern tribes had gone out and fought on behalf of their brethren, even though they already had taken possession of their lands (Numbers 32:33). This was what they had promised to do (Numbers 32:16-19, 32:31-32).

i. “Their aid had not only been valuable as strengthening Joshua’s force, but still more so as a witness of the unbroken oneness of the nation, and of the sympathy which the tribes already settled bore to the others.” (Maclaren)

c. Now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession: Now that the land was conquered and fully distributed to the tribes, the eastern tribes could go back to their families and lands on the other side of the Jordan.

2. (5-6) Before they leave, Joshua gives them an exhortation and a blessing.

But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents.

a. But take careful heed to do the commandment: Joshua told them to take careful heed to the word of God, probably here mostly in the sense of diligently hearing it and knowing it.

b. To love the LORD your God: Joshua told them to love the LORD. This was a matter of the heart, but yet it could still be commanded.

c. To walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments: Joshua told them to obey God with all they had, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him in a personal sense, and to serve Him with all their heart and soul.

i. The order of these commands is important. First, God’s people should take care to hear God. Then they should give Him their love. Next comes a walk of obedience. To mix this order up is to drift into heresy (loving without hearing) or legalism (obeying before loving).

ii. “The verbs in Joshua 22:5 give a comprehensive picture of what a proper relationship to God was to include: to love God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast (or cling) to him, and to serve him. These were to be done not as a matter of external conformity but ‘with all your heart and all your soul.’” (Howard)

d. So Joshua blessed them and sent them away: Joshua would not send them away without a blessing. Joshua understood that they could not do or be what God wanted them to be without His blessing among them (Numbers 6:23-27).

3. (7-9) The armies of the two and a half tribes depart, with much spoil.

Now to half the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan, but to the other half of it Joshua gave a possession among their brethren on this side of the Jordan, westward. And indeed, when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them, and spoke to them, saying, “Return with much riches to your tents, with very much livestock, with silver, with gold, with bronze, with iron, and with very much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren.”
So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go to the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, which they had obtained according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses.

a. Return with much riches to your tents: Their obedience to God and faithfulness to their brethren had been rewarded. God had allowed them to gain much spoil they could take back with them to the east side of the Jordan. Their obedience was greatly blessed, and in this case, it was blessed materially.

i. “It was right that those who stayed at home to defend the families of those who had been in the wars, and to cultivate the ground, should have a proper proportion of the spoils taken from the enemy; for had they not acted as they did, the others could not have safely left their families.” (Clarke)

b. So the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel at Shiloh: This was probably an emotional departure of brothers who had known the closeness of fighting life-and-death battles and fighting side-by-side. These were true veterans of the army of Israel.

B. The incident of the altar by the Jordan.

1. (10) The eastern tribes make an impressive altar.

And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.

a. When they came to the region of the Jordan: Before crossing over the Jordan, the soldiers from the two and a half eastern tribes built a large (great) and impressive altar near the Jordan River.

b. A great, impressive altar: This was significant not only because of its size but because of the normal meaning of an altar. An altar was a place of sacrifice, and both the Israelites and pagans had altars they used for sacrifice.

i. “The altar was constructed in the land of Canaan…it was an imposing altar. Practically, this would render it visible to the Transjordanians in their homeland. The phrase used to describe the altar…is similar to that used to describe the burning bush of Exodus 3:3. Thus it would arrest the attention of passers-by.” (Hess)

ii. “In Hebrew the phrase ‘an imposing altar’ literally means ‘an altar large in appearance.’ It was essential that the altar was large enough to be seen easily, because its function was to be a witness.” (Madvig)

2. (11-12) The tribes west of the Jordan River learn of the great altar.

Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.” And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.

a. Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar: When the news came to the rest of Israel, there was no discussion, there was an immediate reaction. They gathered to make war against their own brothers who built this altar. According to God’s law, the only authorized altar for sacrifice was at the tabernacle, which was at Shiloh.

i. “Another [altar] besides that in the tabernacle: whereas God will have but one altar, for a figure of Christ’s cross, which was the only true altar.” (Trapp)

ii. “Nations often lose in peace what they have gained in war. Would Israel abandon its high level of spiritual commitment and integrity and gradually fall into disobedience and paganism? Or would the people remain faithful to God?” (Boice)

b. The children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh: The text does not say that Joshua had to gather the tribes. They seemed to gather in spontaneous response. It was an automatic reaction because they feared this was an altar of allegiance to the pagan gods of the region.

c. To go to war against them: Their readiness to fight this battle shows the western tribes had great courage to confront their eastern brother tribes on behalf of God’s truth and holiness. This was a healthy organism at work, able to purge itself of poisons. Their later actions show that they were not happy about taking this action, but they were willing to do it.

i. If there was to be war, it would be Israelite soldiers from the west of the Jordan killing Israelite soldiers from the east of the Jordan, soldiers who had fought together against the Canaanites. “We must remember that these men had fought side by side in a conquest that lasted longer than either of our world wars. A special bond would have developed among them in such circumstances.” (Boice)

3. (13-15) Personal, direct confrontation is made before military action is taken.

Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, and with him ten rulers, one ruler each from the chief house of every tribe of Israel; and each one was the head of the house of his father among the divisions of Israel. Then they came to the children of Reuben, to the children of Gad, and to half the tribe of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them, saying,

a. Then the children of Israel sent Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest: Phinehas led the group because he had the authority. He was high priest over all Israel, including the two and one-half tribes on the east side of the Jordan. He not only had the authority, but he also had the heart of a wise shepherd. He wanted to correct the erring, to protect the people of God, and to drive out the dangerous.

b. And they spoke with them: Israel reacted according to God’s character. Their assembling for war demonstrated God’s holiness, but their personal confrontation of those who were thought to be in error demonstrated God’s wisdom and love.

i. “The zeal of the Israelites for the honor of God and the purity of his worship might have ended in terrible disaster had they not obeyed God’s command to always investigate carefully before taking action (Deuteronomy 13:14).” (Madvig)

4. (16-18) Phinehas brings the accusation against the eastern tribes.

“Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD? Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us, from which we are not cleansed till this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, but that you must turn away this day from following the LORD? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the LORD, that tomorrow He will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel.

a. What treachery is this: Clearly, the leadership of Israel thought that the altar at the Jordan represented a rival place of sacrifice and worship, to compete with God’s tabernacle, which was at Shiloh.

i. God had clearly commanded that there was one place of sacrifice and burnt offerings for Israel (Leviticus 17:8-9). The people of Israel were not permitted to worship God in any way they pleased. They had to worship God in the way God commanded, in a way that pleased Him. The principle remains true for God’s people today, who must worship Him in spirit and in truth. (John 4:24)

b. Is the iniquity of Peor not enough for us: Phinehas reminded the eastern tribes that Israel had been punished for rebellion against God before, using the rebellion at Peor as an example.

i. At Peor, Israel’s men had sex with Moabite women, and they gave themselves over to the worship of the Moabite gods. In judgment, God sent a plague that killed 24,000 people (Numbers 25:1-5, 25:9).

ii. This incident would be especially meaningful to Phinehas because he was the one who stopped the plague by making a dramatic stand for righteousness on that occasion of gross sin (Numbers 25:6-9).

c. He will be angry with the whole congregation: Phinehas also knew that the sin of these tribes would reflect on the whole nation. If the eastern tribes were in sin, God’s corrective judgment might not come against the eastern tribes alone, but on the whole congregation.

i. The western tribes were clear about their concerns. They didn’t hold back out of a wrong sense of being nice or friendly. They were courageous for truth.

5. (19) A willingness to sacrifice to keep a brother from sin.

Nevertheless, if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over to the land of the possession of the LORD, where the LORD’s tabernacle stands, and take possession among us; but do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar besides the altar of the LORD our God.

a. Take possession among us: To Phinehas, anything was better than seeing these tribes drift away in rebellion against God. If there was something unclean in their land, he invited them to come and live with the tribes on the western side of the Jordan.

i. The western tribes were willing to sacrifice, to personally pay a price, to bring their brothers back to a right relationship with God and obedience to Him.

b. Do not rebel against the LORD, nor rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar: This was a generous invitation; if the eastern tribes agreed to this it would cost the western tribes a lot of territory, meaning a much smaller area of land for the western tribes. Yet Phinehas and the western tribes were willing to sacrifice to see their brothers free from this sin.

i. God’s people should do more than simply tell their brethren to stop sinning; they should be willing to pay a price to help their brethren walk rightly before the LORD.

6. (20) A second example of the price of sin: the sin of Achan and its effect on all of Israel is remembered.

Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the congregation of Israel? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.

a. Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a trespass: Israel learned by Achan’s sin that led to the defeat at Ai (Joshua 7) that the sin of one or of a few can bring God’s judgment upon all the community.

b. That man did not perish alone: Achan did not bear the corrective penalty of his sin alone. If the sin of one man resulted in such judgment against Israel, the apostasy of two and one-half tribes might be the end of Israel as a people.

7. (21-23) The eastern tribes respond.

Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel: “The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day. If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself require an account.”

a. The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows: The eastern tribes first appealed to God, confident in God’s knowledge of their heart and intention. They believed that their brothers in the western tribes misunderstood them.

i. When believers are misunderstood, their first refuge is God. He knows the heart, and sometimes God’s people must be satisfied with being right before God, even if it means others don’t understand their actions or intentions.

ii. The LORD God of gods: “The original words are exceedingly emphatic, and cannot be easily translated…. El Elohim Yehovah, are the three principal names by which the supreme God was known among the Hebrews, and may be thus translated, the strong God, Elohim, Jehovah.” (Clarke)

iii. “The repeated confession The Mighty One, God, the LORD! can also be translated by the superlative ‘The LORD is the greatest God’. With the strongest of oaths, they confirm that they have no intention to worship any other deity at the altar.” (Hess)

b. If it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day: The eastern tribes also recognized the rightness of what the others were doing in challenging their building of a great and impressive altar. If the eastern tribes really were guilty of treachery or rebellion, they should be called to account.

i. The eastern tribes did what believers should do when they are misunderstood: put themselves in the place of the other person and try to see what they see. The eastern tribes heard the concerns of the western tribes and agreed with them in principle.

ii. “They agreed that if they were worshiping another god or rebelling against God and his commands (including the commands about how to worship), they deserved judgment…. There was no accommodation of relativism, no Hegelian synthesis, no compromise with truth. The reason these people were able to have a real unity and a real peace was that they were locked into the truth and commandments of God.” (Schaeffer)

iii. “The defense is passionate, and this is reflected in the syntax. It is choppy in places, and much repetition is found in these verses. It reflects the agitated state of mind in which the Transjordan tribes found themselves, and we can easily imagine them stumbling breathlessly (and perhaps even indignantly) over their words in order to clarify the matter and justify themselves.” (Howard)

8. (24-29) The eastern tribes explain the reason for building the altar.

But in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, ‘In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, “What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel? For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the LORD.” So your descendants would make our descendants cease fearing the LORD.’ Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the LORD.”’ Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’ Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn from following the LORD this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.”

a. An altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice, but that it may be a witness: The eastern tribes recognized their distance from the center of worship in Israel, and that there was a natural barrier (the Jordan River) between them and the rest of the nation. So, they built the altar as a memorial to link the two segments of the nation.

b. That your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come: The eastern tribes built a large and impressive altar so that it would last. They wanted it to stand as a witness to future generations that the tribes on both sides of the Jordan worshipped the same God.

c. Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices: The eastern tribes understood and agreed with the concern of the western tribes. They explained that the western tribes had misunderstood the meaning of the great, impressive altar. It was not for burnt offerings or other sacrifices.

i. “The altar’s location should have been a clue from the beginning as to its purpose. Significantly, the Transjordan tribes did not build it on their side of the Jordan, but across the river from where they would live. It served little useful purpose to them there; for it to have been used regularly to offer sacrifices, it would need to have been east of the river.” (Howard)

9. (30-31) The explanation of the eastern tribes is accepted by the western tribes.

Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers of the congregation, the heads of the divisions of Israel who were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them. Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the children of Manasseh, “This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.”

a. Now when Phinehas the priest and the rulers…heard the words…it pleased them: Obviously, Phinehas was pleased by this explanation. Yet he deserves credit for being willing to believe his brothers. Phinehas put himself in the place of the eastern tribes and could see that their explanation made sense.

b. This day we perceive that the LORD is among us: Phinehas could see that the LORD was among the people of Israel because unity had been restored among them. This fulfilled the idea later expressed in Psalm 133:1: Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

10. (32-34) Epilogue: the matter is resolved.

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the rulers, returned from the children of Reuben and the children of Gad, from the land of Gilead to the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought back word to them. So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness, “For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.”

a. So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God: Everyone was glad, and everyone enjoyed the blessing of having peace among the people of God.

b. The children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar, Witness: The altar was given the name Witness because it was a witness to the tribes on both sides of the Jordan that the LORD is God.

i. God’s people should respond to misunderstanding in the same manner, according to these same principles.

· It is right to respond with a concern for God’s holiness.

· It is right to respond with directness and clarity.

· It is right to respond with the courage to confront in love.

· It is right to respond with an attempt to reconcile before fighting.

· It is right to be willing to sacrifice to help those believed to be in error; people should not be confronted if there is no willingness to help.

· It is right to see the situation from the perspective of the other person.

· It is right to decide to believe the best of one another.

© 2024 The Enduring Word Bible Commentary by David Guzik – [email protected]