Joshua 22:1 "Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,"

The key to understanding this chapter is to remember that when the children of Israel had taken all the land east of the Jordan, Joshua had given this land to these three tribe for their possession. They men of these tribes settled their families, built their fences and picked up their swords to bear arms for the battle in taking the rest of the land for the other nine and a half tribes that did not have their possession yet. While their woman and children remained behind, in most part, they provided forty thousand troops that went ahead of the main body of men, women and children, following the priests and the ark of the covenant across Jordan. God had stopped the flow and they crossed on dry land. So these three tribes produced the shock troops for the rest of the tribes.

Now the battles are all over, the land has been surveyed out, and by lot, they have been distributed as an inheritance to the other nine and a half tribes. These men had earned the right to return to their possessions.

Joshua 22:2 "And said unto them, "We have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded :"

These men had done everything that God and Joshua had commanded them to do, and they earned their rights to freedom and peace of mind.

Joshua 22:3 "Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God."

Joshua is telling them that you haven't seen your family or been with them, and you have been faithful to your duty as God commanded you to.

Joshua 22:4 "And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the Land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side Jordan."

So now that all the other tribes are finally living in peace, and have their possessions that God promised them through Moses; it is time for you to return to your families, and enjoy your possessions that God has given to you, through Moses, on the other side of the Jordan river.

Joshua 22:5 "But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the Law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul."

Joshua is telling these soldiers of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh to follow the commandment and the Laws that God through Moses has given to you. This is the key to their success and happiness; to follow the Word of the lord, and to love the Lord with all your heart. When you know the Lord's Word, God expects you to follow that Word. First thing in our lives is to Lord the Lord our God with all our minds and hearts. the Lord wants you to tell Him that you love Him, sure He can read your mind, but say the Words. With Love comes your commitment to Him, and loyalty and devotion. To walk in all His ways is to follow those instructions that are written in His Word.

Their example then was written in the Ten Commandments that He gave Moses, and in the other laws that had been given Moses for the past forty years. When you "cleave unto Him", you hang on to those promises that He gave you in His Word, and remind Him that you are aware of them, and want them for yourself. Sure you can have the knowledge of the Word, but we must also be doers of the Word, given service beyond just lip service. As a servant to the Lord, many times you have to become that servant also to others. That is the example that our Lord Jesus Christ set for us in His life. Giving service is a privilege God has given us to serve Him, for that is what brings blessings into our lives. Our works are very important both in this life, and it carries on to the Millennium.

Joshua 22:6 "So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents."

All forty thousand of these troops are picking up their tents and heading back across the river to their wives and families.

Joshua 22:7 "Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. and when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,"

The men of Manasseh were together for this meeting with Joshua at Shiloh, but now they were to part, half of the men of Manasseh would return back across the river, and the other half would remain west of the Jordan in their land of inheritance. See the chart on page 138 for the location of the different tribes.

Joshua 22:8 "And he spake unto them, saying, "Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren."

Joshua had a lot of Gold, silver, Brass, and iron, to be taken back home and divided up fairly amongst all the brethren back there. Remember that all this wealth is from the cities of the enemies, and they were killed off in the battles of war. Even their wives and children were killed as God had commanded, so these spoils go to the victor. these men earned their spoils that they were given, for they were the troops that went out ahead of the others in battle.

Joshua 22:9 "And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the Land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. "

Remember that Shiloh was the place where the children of Israel had placed their tabernacle after crossing the Jordan, and from Shiloh they left their families and went into battle. Now the war is over, and these men are going back home. It was no accident that Reuben and Gad were on the other side of the river, for God had placed them there, and given the command to Moses. In Genesis 49:19 Jacob prophesied the nature and type that this tribe of Gad would be. "Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last." In Reuben Jacob prophesied; Genesis 14:3; "Reuben, thou art my first born, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power."

Gad and Reuben were the strength of the tribes, so it was not accident that they were also appointed by God to go before the other in battle. We see the love of God for these people by allow their families to have their possession before the battles started, keeping them safe while the men folk went ahead in battle for the rest of the brother tribes.

Joshua 22:10 "And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to."

Notice that these men had not crossed over the river yet, they were still in the land of Canaan, when they build this altar to God. This verse brings us up to this day. This river that they were about to cross was a boundary, and dividing point that in time will separate the tribes east of the river from the tribes west of the river, and it came to light as these men were about to cross over and take their possession. In time there will be a lack of communication between these two peoples, and in time they will grow to be strangers to one another. So now we will see one of the best examples anywhere as to how churches can form their divisions, both claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ, yet there is friction between the two divisions.

How can this happen? The two churches just don't communicate between each other. They have picked up things that they don't agree upon, and in most cases they just don't understand what the Scriptures have said on the things that made them divisions in the first place. Many of these things are laughable and childish, and from it come denominationalism. It is for this reason that I chose to be independent, to study the Word chapter by chapter and verse by verse. This river of Jordan now is starting a division between the people of Israel.

These men of these three tribes east of the Jordan are thinking of what Joshua said, and at the same time they are thinking of their children in future years. The other crossed over Jordan with great victories, yet their children were home and safe all the time. This altar would an altar for their children to remember the blessing of God, not to offer sacrifices and offerings and go against the Word of God. No, that would still be done at the tabernacle at Shiloh once a year by the high priest.

Joshua 22:11 "And the children of Israel heard say, "Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel."

The kids on the west side the river will be proud to say, "we have the biggest church in town". The kids on the other side of the river didn't even have a church, so they will build one for the family. Remember this is a remembrance of what was on the other side the river, not the place of worship. The church is where we go to remember the Lord God, and these men wanted their families to continue to serve the Living God in future generations. Again, these men decided to do this without telling Joshua or the people of the other tribes. There is a problem forming here.

Joshua 22:12 "And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go to war against them."

Of course these people of the nine tribes west of the river are imagining that the other three tribes are building an altar to serve a heathen god. They put the worst possible twist to what they have heard taking place over in Jericho, where they crossed over the Jordan. The gossip circles were working over time, and all the people, hundreds of thousands of them are ready to kill their brother and go to war against them. Notice that there still has been no communication between these two groups of people. They want to kill the shock troops that went in, risked their very lives to secure their homes and family.

Think about what is happening her both from the family position and the national news position. The new papers or television puts out a story, where in most cases is not the truth, but the story is trying to generate interest for their point of view. Things are left out, and other fact just are nothing but lies, and yet nations want to go to war over a pack of half truths and lies. Families even split up over gossip and rumors, that are not true. The point is that the people east of the river built another church, and the people west of the river says, lets kill them for doing that. No communication, think how stupid this whole thing was.

In the division today, they all claim to follow the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, yet they brake up over what they would even call our Lord and Savior.

Joshua 22:13 "And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,"

Eleazar was one of Aaron's sons so this Phinehas was a priest and of the family of the High priest. "Phinehas" in the Hebrew tongue means "mouth of brass", and this old boy's name fits him. He was considered a man of authority amongst all the tribes. The west church is bringing out the big guns for this verbal battle across the river. This man is suppose to be the true priest from God.

Joshua 22:14 "And with him ten princes, of each chief house of prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousand of Israel."

Within this group going across the river to set these men straight are all the right reverends of the church. They are the top of the heap of the church. This is the deacon board setting the people straight in their thinking. See what is going on here?

Joshua 22:15 "And they came unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying,"

As these men from the church west of the river came before the entire congregation of the three tribes, old brass mouth, Phinehas, opens his mouth and speaks. remember that there still has been no communication as to what the problem is yet.

Joshua 22:16 "Thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, `What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord in that ye have builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord?"

Nobody has taken the trouble to even ask the people what the altar was, and for what purpose. These people west of the river have presumed all sorts of things that just was not so, and they have had no faith in the very people that were with them for the past 400 years, and did the dirty would in gaining their possessions in the first place. Their own brethren accusing them of turning to heathenism, to idolatry. Do you see what has happened here?

Joshua 22:17 "Is the inquity of Peor to little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord,"

Old brass mouth is still shooting off the insults. Remember that Baal-poer is the location of the worship of Baal worship, it is the worshipping phallic symbols and this is what Brass mouth Phinehas is accusing these honest brethren of God of doing. Phinehas was there at the time when the sin of Baal-poer was brought to the surface.

Numbers 25:6 "And, behold, one of the children of Israel came and brought unto his brethren a Midianitish woman in the sight of Moses, and in the sight of all the congregation of the children of Israel, who were weeping before the door of the tabernacle of the congregation."

This was a lady of another race was married to an Israelite man. This man was proud of his wife and was flaunting the fact before everyone.

Numbers 25:7 "And when Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, saw it, he rose up from among the congregation, and took a javelin in his hand."

When old brass mouth saw this happening, he rose up and took a javilin in hand.

Numbers 25:8 "And he went after the man of Israel into the tent, and thrust both of them through, the man of Israel, and the woman through her belly. So the plague was stayed from the children of Israel."

He killed the man of Israel through his back and the woman through her belly. Pehinehas knew that that religious practice that was going on was killing the people of Israel. Nobody wanted to do anything about it, but Phinehas made the move and the plague stopped. Why did it stop? People saw the death of these two, and they didn't want to mess around with those heathen practices any more.

Numbers 25:9 "And those that died in the plague were twenty and four thousand."

Numbers 25:10 "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying,"

Numbers 25:11 "Phinehas, the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, hath turned My wrath away from the children of Israel, while he was zealous for My sake among them, that I consumed not the children of Israel in My jealousy."

Old Phinehas is thinking that by these three tribes worshipping the Idolatry of Baal-poer, they are about to start another plague, he is assuming something that isn't so.

Joshua 22:18 "But that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it will be, seeing ye rebel to day against the Lord, that to morrow He will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel."

Again Phinehas is assuming the worst. He hasn't even given anyone a chance to speak. It is easy to give lip service to those that are fighting for your freedom and on the front line, but when those troops come back home, those same loud mouths turn against these fighting men, and assume the worst of them. This type was very common a few years back even in our country. Certain people forget these heros, after the war is over, for that is the reason for memorials any way. That altar was a memorial for future generations that they would not forget God, and what He had done for Israel in the past. This altar didn't honor the men, but honored YHVH Father. Not for sacrificing and offerings, but as a memorial.

It is just like when a church teaches the whole bible, chapter by chapter and verse by verse; then those churches that stick to their one verse and teach nothing but traditions of men just can't understand why that other church would teach the traditions of men like they do, and they start rumors about that bible teaching church. The point here is that before this Phinehas started accusing these tribes, he should have allowed them to explain themselves. He is going strictly of hearsay. So we see a likeness to what is going on today all over our land. Solomon stated, "There is nothing new under the sun", which is so true.

Joshua 22:19 "Notwithstanding, if the Land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the Lord's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but revel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us. in building you an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God."

He made his speech and still he has no idea what these men of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh had done, or committed to.

Joshua 22:20 "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 perished not alone in his iniquity.' "

Again Phinehas is trying to scare these people into some sort of confession, that is not necessary. Sure Achan took the accursed thing out of Jericho and hid the gold and silver under that mantle of the heathen priest to Baal. Phinehas is assuming that something like this is going on here. In Joshua seven we read that they took Achan, his entire family and their wealth and stoned them, burned them with fire and buried them under a mound of rock. Well the speech of Phinehas has ended and it is time for the men of the three tribes to speak.

Joshua 22:21 "Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousand of Israel,"

This is what Phinehas should have asked for in the beginning.

Joshua 22:22 "The Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, He knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the Lord, (save us not this day,)"

Here Phinehas and the heads of the tribes are standing there, and Lord God of gods is repeated twice so they don't miss it. The head of Reuben is stating plainly that if what they have done is not to honor the Lord God Himself, then let us not live this day. If we are not honoring the Lord, then we want to be destroyed today.

Joshua 22:23 "That we have built us an altar to turn from following the Lord, of if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the Lord Himself require it;"

If we are to use that altar to offer burnt offering, or meat offering, or peace offerings, then let the Lord judge us. God can read our hearts, and if that was our purpose than let God Himself require our death.

Joshua 22:24 "And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, `In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, "What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel?" '

So now they will tell Phinehas exactly why they built the altar. The point here is that in time your children will say to our children, don't you have a church? We have a church, we are better than you. You must be a bunch of heathen? Remember that the Jordan river is dividing the two peoples, and separating the worship place. In time communication will cease, and the people will form their own minds from the gossip they hear. Get it? One group thinking they are better than the other group because of misunderstanding. These people of Gad and Reuben are thinking about their children and the treatment they will receive from the other tribes.

Joshua 22:25 "For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord; so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord."

Again this speaker from Reuben is saying what their kids will say about our children in the next generation. By doing this your children will cause our children from revering the Lord.

Joshua 22:26 "Therefore we said, `Let us now prepare to build us an altar,' not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:"

Get it, this altar is not for any of the sacrifices and offerings that are to be given at the tabernacle, but for a memorial to remember the one True God.

Joshua 22:27 "But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before Him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, `Ye have no part in the Lord.' "

That when we come to Shiloh to do our peace offerings and sacrifices, your children will not tell our children that, "Ye have no part in the Lord." A generation down the road, the children of the west side the river, would be able to say to the children on the east side the river, your not The Lord's children. The accusation is that you don't have a church on the other side the river. That's why the altar was built, as a reminder of where the one true worship for them would be.

Joshua 22:28 "Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, `Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.' "

When our children would ask us what the altar of the Lord is like, we can say, there it is, look at it. This was a reminder of the real thing build over there in Shiloh, and not for any offerings or sacrifice.

Joshua 22:29 "God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord, and turn this day from following the Lord, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the Lord our God that is before His tabernacle."

Naturally that place for the meat and burnt offerings and sacrifices could only be at one place and that is at God's tabernacle at Shiloh.

Joshua 22:30 "And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them."

Finally there is communication, and understanding on both sides of the river; and it pleased them. Communication and understanding is all that was necessary to defuse this entire issue. This Phinehas had already convicted these people and then to hear the exact words of the truth floored him. He sat there dumping on these people with lies and accusations, and here every word of his speak did not apply to what was really going on.

Joshua 22:31 "And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, "This day we perceive that the Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord."

Today there are so many that just don't understand the spiritual truth because of the river that runs between them and God, and it is not the Spirit of God. It is a spirit of non communication and understanding of the Word. Today the biggest worry is that one congregation will lose members to another church. Each church should allow Christ to be the line of communication. The point is that we follow Jesus Christ, and not some church or man that holds up his traditions.

Did you get Phinehas' remark, he accused the men of Gad and Reuben of delivering the Israelites out of the hand of the Lord; Old Phinehas completely missed the mark, for they never were out of the hand of the Lord in the first place. Phinehas put them there and now to cover his lose gossiping jaw, he makes this remark to make himself appear to look better. Phinehas had them delivered into the hand of Satan in his mind, which was a complete lie, and just about started a war. These are the church leaders of that day trying to cover their back sides. I didn't see an apology anywhere.

Joshua 22:32 "And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again."

Phinehas and his elders are heading back home with the good news.

Joshua 22:33 "And the thing pleased the children of Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt."

It is a good thing that they did not go to war, for the children of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh were the real warriors in the war in Canaan, and they were trained and tested for battle. God would have prevailed on the east tribes' side had it happened. The problem was that they listened to these religious men, rather than using common sense. Even though Phinehas had a good reputation from year prior, as in the book of Numbers, he lost it in later years.

Remember when the children of Israel lost the war at Ai, they forgot to take counsel with God, and they got whipped. Here they also forgot to seek God's counsel, and it almost brought civil war to the tribes. Though they were a nation, they were still family, the family of Jacob.

Joshua 22:34 "And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the Altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God."

This word "Ed", in the Hebrew means "witness". We are witnesses to God's Word when we feed the sheep of the Lord. When they have the Word, things like this are less likely to happen. The chapter was directed to how easily a church, or family can be split by a lack of communication. In this case the worry was over being divided by a river, and in the end, that wasn't a problem at all. The point is before you act on anything, communicate to see what the problem is all about. In most cases there is no problem in the first place, but only lies and misconceptions.

Many today think that showing love to another church or group shows weakness, but quite the contrary, love never shows weakness. Love is the strongest force in the world. Love in church, and marriage or a friendship, communication is important for if a problem exist, you can stop it before it even gets started. Communication is the way that we can allow others to understand the Love of our Heavenly Father for His children, and when we return that love to Him, he blesses us and takes care of us. We grow to understand God's love more completely as we study His Word and allow His Holy Spirit to speak and lead our walk in these flesh bodies. The more we allow the Holy Spirit to control our lives, and we keep our personal selfish nature out of it, God will not allow us to make such foolish moves as we witnessed here in Joshua 22. Be honest and straight forward in all our communication.