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RevDWW
03-04-2008, 11:50 AM
Be careful which sport you take up or which call to arms you heed. Seems that forums and churches are fraught with those that take delight in the long jump and sprinting. Jumping to conclusions with no idea of the full truth behind a situation. Running to battle an enemy that is not the enemy. Check the facts or as the saying goes ‘Look before you leap” especially before doing the hop, skip, and jump into the position of an accuser of the brethren.

Israel had ended seven years of conquest over the children of Canaan and prevailed in taking the Land of milk and honey as their own. Joshua gave leave to the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh that had settled on the other side of Jordan to return to their tents. It wasn’t long before a rumor started that those tribes had built an altar to a strange god. The men of Israel decide to go to war with their brethren, because they were worried that God might bring His wrath on them as well as those on the other side of Jordan. They decided to go see what the story was and found that the altar was built as a memorial to those on both sides of the river that the inhabitants of the other side of the river served the same God as Israel in the promise land.

Maybe we can take heart from this story and be careful not to accuse one another of serving some strange God.

May all who call on Jesus as Lord and Christ be blessed forever more.
May the Lord strengthen all our brothers and sisters hands as we work for His kingdom.

May we all pray at the altar Ed!



Joshua 22
1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,
2 And said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you:
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.
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.
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.
6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
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,
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 up to war against them.
13 And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,
14 And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel.
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,
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?
17 Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,
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.
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 rebel not against the LORD, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar of the LORD our God.
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.
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 thousands of Israel,
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,)
23 That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
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?
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.
26 Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.

DividedThigh
03-04-2008, 11:55 AM
good job guys, i have always loved that story and the conclusion, very good , and great advice, lol,dt

bishoph
03-04-2008, 02:54 PM
Wow....what an interesting take on such a tragic story. While I see where you may have drawn such a conclusion, I would have to disagree with your perception of the outcome.

I would rather cry out Let us never bow at the altar called ED!

First notice that these 2 1/2 tribes were willing to live outside of the promise land. Just on the other side of Jordan. The spiritual implications of that alone are staggering. They had become comfortable living in the wilderness, and chose to remain in the wilderness over the promised land. In Numbers 32, Moses rebuked these tribes for repeating the sin of the spies and bringing doubt to God's people. They said that the land outside of promise was good for cattle so they sacrificed living in the promised land and enjoying all of the benefits that would come with it for the sake of "cattle." It almost reminds me of people in India starving to death with cows walking around in plenty. (They are more willing to worship the cow than to feed the hungry.)

They built the altar and named it Ed, however notice that it was an altar that would never see sacrifice, or offering. It was a place of empty worship. Just on the other side of Jordan was a memorial built by Joshua when they crossed over, that was erected so that when their children asked "what meaneth these stones" they could remind them of the God who brought them into the promised land with miraculous power. And now the tribes of Rueben, Gad, and 1/2 of Manasseh, erect a memorial outside of promise so that their children would grow up feeling that they served the same God.

IMO, The tragic ending of this story is found in the New Testament when Jesus visits the country of the Gadarenes, the place of hidden sin (they kept swine which was against the law) and delivered the demoniac. Once again the people of this region rejected the promised one and chose to live outside of promise. So much so that they begged him to depart from their coasts, and we cannot find where he ever visited them again.

May we never bow at the altar of Ed!

:stirpot

COOPER
03-04-2008, 03:05 PM
Wow....what an interesting take on such a tragic story. While I see where you may have drawn such a conclusion, I would have to disagree with your perception of the outcome.

I would rather cry out Let us never bow at the altar called ED!


:stirpot

Typical.........:smack whats wrong with you?

bishoph
03-04-2008, 03:11 PM
Typical.........:smack whats wrong with you?

I guess maybe I study just a little too much. lol

COOPER
03-04-2008, 03:27 PM
I guess maybe I study just a little too much. lol

Your much learning has made me mad...J/K:heeheehee

RevDWW
03-04-2008, 03:47 PM
Joshua 22
6 So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents.
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,
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.
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.

Perhaps they were not out of the will of the Lord after all..........