January 16, 2024

When all the fighting was over, Joshua dismissed the two-and-a-half tribes to return to their land. After entering their land, they decided to set up an altar to remind them of the altar of God at Shiloh. When the rest of Israel found out, they became fearful that God would punish all of them for the error of those tribes, so they decided to fight against them to remedy their sin. However, they decided to send ambassadors before starting a civil war, and thankfully, they got to the bottom of the issue before they began killing their brethren. They discovered it was more of a memorial so they wouldn’t forget about God, who had been so good to them. The ambassadors were pleased to hear their intentions. I found it commendable that the other tribes offered to give them land with them rather than have them stay across the Jordan. They were willing to give up parts of their land to accommodate them so they could be closer to the altar of God and not forget about Him. They were incensed by the appearance of sin but took the time to dig a little deeper rather than immediately persecute them. 

There are a few lessons in this portion of scripture: 1) Avoid the appearance of sin. 2) Listen to understand before condemning. 3) Offer accommodations to help if needed. 

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. Joshua 22:33