Chapter 80. Joshua 22. The Altar Ed.
WHEN the Israelites had subdued Canaan and the warfare was over, Joshua called the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who had left their wives and possessions on the other side of the Jordan and said to them: You have kept the commandment of Moses and have obeyed my voice; you have not left your brethren to fight for themselves. Now that God has given them rest, you return to your tents and families and possessions that Moses; gave you on the other side of Jordan. But remember Moses’ commandment to love your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments. Serve Him with all your heart, and with all your soul. And so did Joshua send there away with his blessing, and with their share of the spoil of war—cattle, silver, gold, brass, and iron, and much clothing —bidding them share with those who had stayed with the women and children. At Shiloh the two and a half tribes left their brethren and went back to the land of Gilead. When they had arrived on their side of the Jordan, they erected a great altar on the shore.
This was told the children of Israel, who immediately assembled at Shiloh where the tabernacle was set, and intended to go and fight them. But first they send Phinehas, the son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites and with him ten princes; one from each of the tribes of Israel to inquire into the matter.
These spoke to the Reubenites and Gadites and Manassehites in the name of the whole congregation of Israel saying: What is this ye have done against the God of Israel, that you should turn from following Him and build an altar, so rebelling against Him. Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us? We are not cleansed yet from it, although there was a plague in the congregation. Why must you turn away from the Lord and rebel against Him? Tomorrow God will be. angry with the whole congregation.
Now if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over to the land of the Lord’s possession where His tabernacle is and take possession among us but do not rebel against the Lord and against us by building another altar than the altar of our God. Remember Achan and the accursed thing, and the wrath which fell upon Israel, that man did not perish alone in his iniquity.
Then the Reubenites and Gadites and the children of Manasseh answered the priest and the princes: The Lord God of gods, the. Lord God of gods, He knoweth and Israel shall know; if it is in rebellion or transgression against the Lord that we have built an altar to turn from following the Lord or if to offer burnt offerings or peace or meat offerings on it, then let the Lord require it. But we have done it rather for fear of this: In time to come, your children might say to our children: “What have you to do with the Lord God of Israel? for the Lord has made the Jordan a border between you and us.” So your children would make our children cease from fearing the Lord. So we said: Let us build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice but for a witness between you and us and our generations after us, and that your children may not say to ours: Ye have no part in the Lord. God forbid that we should turn from following the Lord or to build another altar for sacrifices than the one which is before the tabernacle.
When Phinehas and the princes heard this explanation, they were glad and answered, We perceive that God is among us this day, because ye have not committed a trespass against the Lord, and ye have delivered the children of Israel from the hand of the Lord in punishment.
The ambassadors then returned to their land and explained all to the children of Israel who blessed God. Of course they did not go to fight their brethren on the other side of Jordan. The Reubenites called the altar “Ed”, meaning “witness”, for they said: “It shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
While it was nice to see the desire of these people to remember God, and their fear that their children might forget Him, we must not forget that it was their wish for the things of this life, the rich plains of Gilead for their cattle which had brought them there. God’s will for them had been the land of Canaan, and Moses tried to show them their short coming, but they had their way. Oh! let us beware and not wish to find our happiness in the things of this world, but our treasure should be in heaven, and that is where God wants our hearts.
“If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
ML 01/07/1912