All of the work of allocating the land is done. God’s call to Moses has been completed. God’s call to Joshua has been fulfilled. And in Joshua 21:44 “Yahweh gave them rest on every side, according to all that he had sworn to their ancestors, and nobody from all their enemies withstood them”. And in Joshua 21:45 “And nothing failed from all the good things that Yahweh promised to the house of Israel; everything came to pass”. Joshua releases Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh and blesses them saying in Joshua 22:4 “turn and go to your tents to the land of your possession”. And now they must fight the greatest battle of all, living in faith and trust in God. As they cross the Jordan, they recognize their separation from the rest of the nation and in Joshua 22:24 “because of anxiety”, build an altar that was like the altar of sacrifice to the Lord as a memorial. Their fear is immediately manifested in the reaction in Joshua 22:16 “Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh?” It is now all the congregation West of Jordan against those East of Jordan, the very rift they feared.
To The Descendants of Gershon Thirteen Cities and Their Pasturelands
Joshua 21:27–33
To The Remaining Families of the Levites Twelve Cities.
Yahweh Gave Them Rest On Every Side
Joshua 21:41–45
All of the allotments have been made, the cities of refuge have been named, the “cities of the Levites” given in
Joshua 21:41 All the cities of the Levites among the property of the Israelites were forty-eight cities and their pasturelands.
and this marks the end of this time of God’s call for Moses and God’s promise to deliver the children of Israel from oppression and bring them into “a good and wide land” in
Exodus 3:8 And I have come down to deliver them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up from this land to a good and wide land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to the place of the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Perizzites and the Hivites and the Jebusites.
and it is the end of the call of Joshua who was to deliver the land, their inheritance in
Joshua 1:6 Be strong and courageous, for you will give the people this land as an inheritance that I swore to their ancestors to give them.
God has delivered and they now have possession in
Joshua 21:43 And Yahweh gave to Israel all the land that he swore to give to their ancestors, and they took possession of it and settled in it.
and they enjoy a time of peace, “rest on every side” in
Joshua 21:44 Yahweh gave them rest on every side, according to all that he had sworn to their ancestors, and nobody from all their enemies withstood them, for Yahweh had given all their enemies into their hand.
and in this time, God has fulfilled all that he has spoken to them in
Joshua 21:45 And nothing failed from all the good things that Yahweh promised to the house of Israel; everything came to pass.
Turn And Go To The Land of Your Possession
Joshua 22:1–6
Joshua releases the two and a half tribes that had taken their inheritance on the East side of the Jordan. They have fulfilled their obligation to help as all Israel together took possession of their land in
Joshua 22:2–3 and he said to them, “You have observed all that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, and you have listened to my voice in all that I have commanded you; 3 you have not forsaken your kinsmen these many days, up to this day, and you have observed the obligation of the command of Yahweh your God”.
Now, Joshua says “turn and go to your tents to the land of your possession” in Joshua 22:4 but he also reminds them that they now must “hold fast” and live for the Lord in
Joshua 22:5 Only be very careful to observe the commandment and law that Moses Yahweh’s servant commanded you, to love Yahweh 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.”
The Whole Congregation of The Israelites Gathered For Battle
What Is This Treachery
Joshua 22:15–29
All of Israel on the West side of Jordan has heard about this altar built by those on the East side of Jordan and even though they had fought side by side for at least five years prior, they are ready to go to war, a civil war, with their brothers. How could this happen? How could their relationship turn so quickly from comrade to enemy? But here they are, and note the tribes from West of the Jordan come saying “all the congregation of Yahweh” as if those East of the Jordan are not part of the Lord’s people in
Joshua 22:16 “Thus says all the congregation of Yahweh: ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel by turning away today from following Yahweh, by building for yourselves an altar to rebel today against Yahweh?
and listen to their rant about “the sin of Peor” “compare Num 25; Deut 4:3”1 and “The incident with Achan … (see Joshu 22:20)”1 which was based on their fear that in
Joshua 22:18 “If you rebel today against Yahweh, tomorrow he will be angry with all of the congregation of Israel”
But this is all blown out of proportion, in fact, there isn’t any rebellion. It is all misunderstanding based on rumor and gossip. It is only when the heads of the clans of Israel listened to the explanation from the descendants of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh that they understood in
Joshua 22:27 instead, it is a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us for performing the serving of Yahweh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings; so that your children may not say in the future to our children, “You have no portion in Yahweh.” ’
These leaders had acted out of fear, their own uncertainty about the future as they took this action to build a second altar to the Lord in
Joshua 22:24 But in fact, we have done this because of anxiety, because of a reason, saying, ‘In the future your children may say to our children, ‘What is the relationship between you and Yahweh the God of Israel?’
When we react to the actions of others and ascribe imagined motives based on our own fear of what might happen, we have created a division that separates us.
Study Verses
- Joshua 21:41–45 Yahweh Gave Them Rest On Every Side
- Joshua 22:1–6 Turn And Go To The Land of Your Possession
- Joshua 22:15–29 What Is This Treachery
Today’s Reading
- Joshua 21:27-45
- Joshua 22:1-29
References
- 1. Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., … Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Jos 22:17). Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.