Ah…misunderstandings…
I finished reading the book of Joshua last night and came across an interesting story. Let me share it with you ~
The Israelites had finished conquering the land of Canaan and were ready to settle down, so Joshua sent the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh back across the Jordan River to the land Moses had given to them there. The rest of the 9 1/2 tribes settled on the west side of the Jordan, but these tribes settled to the east. Joshua blessed them for all of the help they had given their brothers during the conquest of Canaan. It was time for them to return home. So they went.
When they got to a city near the Jordan River, they built an imposing altar there before crossing over to the other side. Unfortunately, their fellow Israelites heard about the altar and the news sparked war!
Joshua 22:11-12 says, “And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.”
Whoa! War over an altar? Why?
The thing is, God had set up certain standards for worship, and He expected the people to obey them. They were to worship and offer sacrifices at the tabernacle, and at this time, it was set up in Shiloh, a town on the west side of the Jordan. People would come from the other cities in Israel to worship there at specific times each year. The altar in Shiloh was the only altar meant for worship in the land. So when the men from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh built this huge altar near the Jordan, the action got the rest of the tribes all riled up and ready to fight.
Trouble was, they assumed something without really knowing the facts. They saw this big altar and well, what else are altars used for except sacrifice? So why build one unless you intend to use it for that very purpose? Nine and a half tribes assumed the worst and sent a delegation ahead to meet with the other two and a half tribes to see what was up, while the rest of their army stayed back ready for war.
To their credit, these nine and a half tribes checked their facts before going off half crazy and began shedding innocent blood. I wonder how often when presented with a situation we do the same thing. How easy it is to jump to conclusions when something looks suspicious or appears to go against what God intends in His Word. And we should hold His Word in the highest regard and be ready to defend and honor His Name. But, we must be cautious as well, especially when we are judging a fellow believer.
As it turned out, the delegation from the nine and a half tribes talked to their fellow Israelites. I’d like to say they sat down calmly and tried to find out their motives in a logical way, but the Scripture indicates otherwise.
“How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?”
Clearly, they were still angry and ready for a fight. They went on to give these wayward brothers of theirs a good lecture on why such a thing was offensive and could end up getting the whole nation in trouble. They feared judgment upon themselves, which I suspect was their main reason for confronting their brothers. They’d seen God’s wrath fall on the whole camp for the sin of a few or even one, and they didn’t want to go through that again. Who could blame them?
But they got it all wrong. The men of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh replied, “”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.
“That is why we said, ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or 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.’”
They built that imposing altar as a witness between their tribes. They feared they might be forgotten by the majority of the tribes because of the dividing river Jordan between them. Thus, the altar…and the huge misunderstanding.
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On a totally different note, the sun is shining outside my window on this Valentine’s Day making the snow sparkle and my mini roses are blooming. My sweet husband and one of my sons gave me chocolate today partly for Valentine’s Day and partly for my birthday. I decided that a birthday is better after the day is over when you can look back and reflect on all the good, all the blessings of the day, rather than living the day with our wide and varied expectations. :)
But I did have lunch with my parents at what is becoming a favorite restaurant – the Grand Traverse Pie Company – did you know they make cherry coffee? I had some in Traverse City, but never close to home. This could become a habit! And of course I brought home a pie…so we’ve covered three basic food groups so far – chocolate, coffee, and pie. That about says it all – misunderstandings notwithstanding. ;-)
Happy Valentines’ Day!
