Joshua 22:26-27 "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."
In this 22nd Chapter, we find the 2 and 1/2 tribes going back across the Jordan River to inhabit the land that Moses had promised them. Their land was outside the border of what is known as the Promised Land, but it is the land in which they chose to dwell. As they return across the Jordan River, the people realize the need for a reminder of the Lord's blessings so they build an altar. When the other tribes heard of the altar, they rose up against Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Mannasseh. They saw the altar and assumed the people had already turned to worship the gods of the other side Jordan. In reality, the altar was built as a witness to the people, and for generations to come, that there is only one true and living God.
Quite honestly, it seems to me the 9 1/2 tribes jumped to conclusions about the 2 1/2 tribes. Does that still happen today? Someone looks differently from us. They may express their faith a little different from us. Their conversations about the Lord may even make us a little uneasy. We may even label them a "fanatic". We don't do certain things because people down the road, "they" do that in their worship and we don't want to be identified with them. Right? I could go on and on with this today, but I won't. The Lord has spoken to my heart concerning worship. Worship is a very personal matter between an individual and the Lord. We should not attempt to make everyone fit our mold. The main tribes of Israel thought the 2 1/2 tribes were just putting up an altar for a "show". At least they did go to them and enquire about the altar. Whether they had an open mind or not when they arrived is not told, but they did listen and they did understand the reason for the altar was not false worship; rather it was the reminder of God's mercy and grace.
God's people are not our enemies. We may have different ideas about worship. We may even have different ideas about the manner in which God saves us. But for me, if the child of God acknowledges that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only saving element for heaven, then they are my brother and my sister in Christ. Maybe we, as children of God, need to stop and realize who the true enemy is and he is really good at driving wedges among the children of God. Flesh and blood are not our enemies. Satan is the enemy and we must put on the whole armour of God to be able to withstand his wiles. Let us not get detracted from the battles we must fight.
In this 22nd Chapter, we find the 2 and 1/2 tribes going back across the Jordan River to inhabit the land that Moses had promised them. Their land was outside the border of what is known as the Promised Land, but it is the land in which they chose to dwell. As they return across the Jordan River, the people realize the need for a reminder of the Lord's blessings so they build an altar. When the other tribes heard of the altar, they rose up against Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Mannasseh. They saw the altar and assumed the people had already turned to worship the gods of the other side Jordan. In reality, the altar was built as a witness to the people, and for generations to come, that there is only one true and living God.
Quite honestly, it seems to me the 9 1/2 tribes jumped to conclusions about the 2 1/2 tribes. Does that still happen today? Someone looks differently from us. They may express their faith a little different from us. Their conversations about the Lord may even make us a little uneasy. We may even label them a "fanatic". We don't do certain things because people down the road, "they" do that in their worship and we don't want to be identified with them. Right? I could go on and on with this today, but I won't. The Lord has spoken to my heart concerning worship. Worship is a very personal matter between an individual and the Lord. We should not attempt to make everyone fit our mold. The main tribes of Israel thought the 2 1/2 tribes were just putting up an altar for a "show". At least they did go to them and enquire about the altar. Whether they had an open mind or not when they arrived is not told, but they did listen and they did understand the reason for the altar was not false worship; rather it was the reminder of God's mercy and grace.
God's people are not our enemies. We may have different ideas about worship. We may even have different ideas about the manner in which God saves us. But for me, if the child of God acknowledges that the blood of Jesus Christ is the only saving element for heaven, then they are my brother and my sister in Christ. Maybe we, as children of God, need to stop and realize who the true enemy is and he is really good at driving wedges among the children of God. Flesh and blood are not our enemies. Satan is the enemy and we must put on the whole armour of God to be able to withstand his wiles. Let us not get detracted from the battles we must fight.