Joshua 22: 1-12
Jos 22:1
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and
the half tribe of Manasseh,
Then Joshua called the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half
tribe of Manasseh. These were the
three tribes which were on the east side of the Jordan.
These three tribes had crossed over to help the other tribes subdue the
land in obedience to the LORD. The
wars against the heathens in the land had now ended and they had rest.
Jos 22:2
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:
Joshua commends them for having kept their promise that
they would help in the subduing of the land for the other tribes who had crossed
over Jordan into Canaan.
And they answered Joshua, saying, All
that thou commandest us we will do, and whithersoever thou sendest us, we will
go. (Joshua 1:16) They listened
to Joshua and followed all his commands.
And Moses said unto them, If the
children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every
man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you;
then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: (Numbers 32:29)
Jos 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.
He commends them that they continued to stand by their
brethren until the last battle was fought.
They spent about fourteen years away from their homes on the east side of
Jordan. They had obediently kept
the charge of the commandment of the LORD as a sentry keeps his charge in
guarding an area assigned to him.
They remained vigilant until the last battle and until the enemy was subdued.
Jos 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.
Now Joshua releases them from their military duty because
the promise of God was now fulfilled as there was peace in the land.
They could now return to their homes and their inheritance on the east
side of the Jordan. The number
would have been about 40,000 as that was the number of men that Joshua initially
took to help him in the fight. About
forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle, to the
plains of Jericho. (Joshua 4:13)
Jos 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.
Then Joshua not being political at this time gives them a
spiritual admonition that those on the east side of Jordan should be careful and
heed the law of Moses and walk in that law so they would not be in disobedience
to the LORD. They were to walk in
all the ways of the LORD such as in faith, service, truth, righteousness
according to the law and holiness with hope in the LORD.
They were to be completely dedicated unto the LORD since he has shown how
faithful he is in keeping a promise that he made to Abraham about 600 years
prior. If they would begin to
falter in any area, they would then be walking in disobedience.
Jos 22:6
So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went
unto their tents.
So then Joshua dismisses them with a blessing and sends
them back to their homes on the east side of Jordan.
It must have been a sad parting since half of the tribe of Manasseh was
on the west side and half on the east side.
Joshua was part of the tribe of Ephraim which was brother to Manasseh as
both were descendants of Joseph and his sons.
Jos 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,
Then the half tribe of Manasseh is mentioned as having
their inheritance on the east side of Jordan in the land of Bashan and the other
half was on the west side of Jordan in the land of Canaan.
Joshua blessed both tribes and commended them into the hands of the LORD
with a great blessing.
Jos 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.
Here Joshua was addressing the half tribe of Manasseh as
they were departing back to their inheritance across Jordan on the east side.
They had gone to war in obedience to the LORD and now they were given the
spoils of the enemies which they conquered.
They had much cattle and the grazing lands in Bashan were very good.
All the silver and gold along with iron, brass, and clothing that they
took from the Canaanites as spoils of war were now given to them to take home
and they were to share and divide the spoils of the enemy among them.
They were to divide the spoil among the brethren they had left behind who
did not go with Joshua to war.
David had also done something similar to those who did not partake in the battle
with the Amalekites.
For who will hearken unto you in this
matter? but as his part is that
goeth down to the battle, so shall
his part be that tarrieth by
the stuff: they shall part alike. (1 Samuel 30:24)
Jos 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.
So all three tribes had left to go back to their
inheritance on the east side of Jordan in Gilead.
They left from Shiloh where the Tabernacle was placed.
They probably had to use boats to go back over the Jordan since there was
no parting of it by God for their return.
Now the children of Reuben and the
children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land
of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place
was a place for cattle;
(Numbers 32:1)
Jos 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.
The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh had returned to
their land but had built a very great altar which was by the Jordan River.
It was large enough to be seen from a distance.
The tribes on the western side of Jordan must have thought that it was
some type of sacrilegious altar.
Since the Tabernacle was in Shiloh which was about 16 miles (26 KM) west of the
Jordan and about 25 miles (40 KM) west of Gilead and Jazer, maybe the three
tribes wanted to use it as an altar to the LORD.
Whatever their purpose for building this altar was it raised the ire of
the tribes in Canaan. If it was an
altar which was fashioned by the use of tools, then it would have been a
violation of the type of altar which God allowed.
25 And if thou wilt
make me an altar of stone, thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou
lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted it. 26 Neither shalt
thou go up by steps unto mine altar, that thy nakedness be not discovered
thereon. (Exodus 20:25-26)
Jos 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.
Then the children of Israel on the west side of the
Jordan came to the knowledge that Reuben, Manasseh, and Gad had built an altar
on the eastern borders of Jordan at Bethabara where Israel had crossed the
Jordan to come into the land. God
had prescribed a certain place where there was to be sacrifices and the keeping
of his law concerning them and the other tribes had feared that Reuben, Gad, and
Manasseh may have violated that decree and would bring the wrath of God down on
them. The altar may have been an
innocent sign that the eastern tribes were one with the western tribes as all
being Israel.
Jos 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 up to war against them.
Then the ire of the ten tribes on the western side was to
the point they were ready to go to war against them.
They knew that Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh had fought side by side with
them to help them conquer the land of Canaan but if they had now gone to serve
and worship other gods, they were deemed to be an enemy of God and their enemy.
So they gathered themselves together at Shiloh where the Tabernacle was
located and had planned to make war against the eastern tribes.
If they suspected idolatry has now invaded the eastern tribes, then it
was their obligation to put away any and all idolatry from Israel.
There are many places in the law where Israel was required to “put away”
the sins from Israel whether they be corporate sins or individual sins.
The hands of the witnesses shall be first upon him to put
him to death, and afterward the hands of all the people. So thou shalt put the
evil away from among you. (Deuteronomy 17:7)