Josh 22.1-34 deals with the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh who came over the Jordan from the east side to assist the other tribes in their battles against the Canaanites, and now those battles have ended. Joshua commends them for their obedience to Moses, himself and to Yehovah. He dismisses them to go back to their inheritance of the east side and tells them to follow the Lord only; the controversy over a large altar built by them near the Jordan.
v 1…Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (see Num 32.33 for what this means),
v 2…and said to them, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, and have listened to my voice in all that I commanded you.
v 3…You have not forsaken your brothers (selfless service) these many days (14 years; seven conquering it and seven dividing it) to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God.
v 4…And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he spoke to them; therefore turn now and go to your tent, to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan.
v 5…Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love (by action) the Lord your God and walk in all his ways and keep his commandments and hold fast (cling) to him and serve him (our purpose) with all your heart and with all your soul (a parallelism).”
v 6…So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents (home on the east side).
v 7…Now to the one half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given a possession in Bashan (two sections of the eight in Num 26.29-32 on the east side), but to the other half Joshua (six sections of the eight) gave a possession among their brothers westward beyond the Jordan. So when Joshua sent them away to their tents, he blessed them,
v 8…and said to them, “Return to your tents with great riches and very much livestock; with silver, gold, bronze, iron and with very many clothes; divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”
v 9…And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned home and departed from the sons of Israel at Shiloh which is in the land of Canaan; to go to the land of Gilead, to the land of their possession which they had possessed, according to the command of the Lord through Moses..
v 10…And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan, a large altar in appearance (this would have been on the east bank where the river jetted out into Canaan; their mistake was they did not consult the other tribes about this).
v 11..And the sons of Israel heard it said (it being reported to them; this shows it was on the eastern side or those in Canaan would have known about the building of it), “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the frontier (over against) of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the passage belonging of the sons of Israel (where they crossed over at first into Canaan; near Bethabara where Jon immersed-John1.28).
v 12…And when the sons of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the sons of Israel gathered themselves at Shiloh (where the Urim and Thummim were if needed) to go up against them in war (which is the case if a city or a tribe fell into apostasy-Deut 13.12-18).
v 13…Then the sons of Israel sent to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas (Pinchas) the son of Eleazar the priest (of Num 25 fame; probably the “sagan” or deputy high priest),
v 14…and with him ten chiefs, one chief for each father’s household from each of the tribes of Israel (nine tribes and from the half-tribe of Manasseh); and each one of them was the head of his father’s household among the thousands of Israel.
v 15…And they came to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the half-tribe (two sections) of Manasseh, to the land of Gilead, and they spoke with them saying,
v 16…”Thus says the whole congregation of the Lord, ‘What is this unfaithful act which you have committed against the God of Israel, turning away from following the Lord this day, by building yourselves an altar, to rebel against the Lord this day (their mistake was they assumed they had committed a sin; they were hasty in their zeal)?
v 17…Is not the iniquity of Peor enough for us (the idol worship associated with it); from which we have not cleansed ourselves to this day (of the same and disgrace of it), although a plague came on the congregation of the Lord,
v 18…that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? And it will come about if you rebel against the Lord today, that he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow.
v 19…If, however, the land of your possession is unclean (no altar to offer sacrifices on to expiate the sins of the nations that were there), then cross into the land of the possession of the Lord where the Lord’s tabernacle (Mishkan) stands and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or rebel against us by building an altar for yourselves, besides the altar of the Lord your God.
v 20…Did not Achan the son of Zerah act unfaithfully in the things under the ban, and wrath fall on all the congregation of Israel (the fear now)? And that man did not perish alone in his iniquity (36 men died at Ai-Josh 7.5).”
v 21…Then the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered, and spoke to the heads of the families of Israel.
v 22…”The Mighty One, God, the Lord, the Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows (that we believe and have no thought of departing from him), and may Israel itself know. If it was in rebellion, or if in an unlawful act against the Lord, do not save us this day!
v 23…If we built us an altar to turn away from following the Lord or if to offer a burnt offering or grain offering on it, or to offer sacrifices of peace offerings on it, may the Lord himself require it (seek it out for judgment).
v 24…But truly we have done this out of concern, for a reason, saying, ‘In the time to come your sons may say to our sons, “What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel (you are strangers to the promises of the covenant).
v 25…For the Lord had made the Jordan a border between us and you, sons of Reuben and sons of Gad, you have no portion in the Lord. So your sons may make our sons stop fearing the Lord (like saying”Go serve other gods”).’
v 26…Therefore we said, ‘Let us build an altar, not for burnt offerings of for sacrifice;
v 27…rather it should be a witness between us and you and between generations after us, that we are to perform the service of the Lord before him (in the Mishkan, and eventually the Temple) with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings, that your sons may not say to our sons in the time to come, “You have no portion in the Lord.”
v 28…Therefore we said, ‘It shall also come about if they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, then shall say, “See, the copy of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifice; rather it is a witness between us and you (that we are one people, united in the faith; to make a copy of the altar means they had to have seen it and been originally partakers of that altar; this altar was a type, a picture of the Mosaic altar).” ‘
v 29…”Far be it from us that we should rebel against the Lord and turn away from following the Lord this day; by building an altar for burnt offering, for grain offering or for sacrifice, besides the altar of the Lord our God which is before his tabernacle (Mishkan).”
v 30…So when Phinehas the priest (deputy to the high priest, or “sagan”) and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the families of Israel who were with him, heard the words which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the sons of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them (they had a plausible defense).
v 31…And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the (high) priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is in our midst, because you have not committed this unfaithful act against the Lord; now you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of the Lord (in judgment).”
v 32…Then Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the sons of reuben and from the sons of Gad, from the land of Gilead, to the land of Canaan, to the sons of Israel, and brought back word to them.
v 33…And the word pleased the sons of Israel, and the sons of Israel blessed God; and they did not speak of going up against them in war, to destroy the land in which the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad were living.
v 34…And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness (“Ed”); for they said, “It is a witness between us that the Lord is God.”
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