Joshua 22:1-34 Comments by Stephen Ricker
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Reubenites, Gadites, and the Half-Tribe of Manasseh Returns to the East Side of the Jordan
Comments for Study 17

Joshua 22:1-34
Memory Verse: 8

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I. Time to Go Home (22:1-9)

>1. Who did Joshua ask for?

* Joshua 22:1 "Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh"

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>What did he say to them? (2; Num. 32:20-22)

* Joshua 22:2 "and said to them, "You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded."

* Numbers 32:20-22 "Then Moses said to them, "If you will do this--if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him-- then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD."

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>What were they permitted to do? (4)

* Joshua 22:4 "Now that the LORD your God has given your brothers rest as he promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan."

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>2. What were they and us to remember? (5; Matt. 22:36-40)

* Joshua 22:5 "But be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the LORD gave you: to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul."

* Matthew 22:36-40 "Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: "'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."

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>3. What does it mean to bless someone as Joshua did? (6-7)

* Joshua 22:6-7 "Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their homes. (To the half-tribe of Manasseh Moses had given land in Bashan, and to the other half of the tribe Joshua gave land on the west side of the Jordan with their brothers.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,"

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>What had the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan acquired while keeping their promise to fight? (8)

* Joshua 22:8 "saying, "Return to your homes with your great wealth--with large herds of livestock, with silver, gold, bronze and iron, and a great quantity of clothing--and divide with your brothers the plunder from your enemies."

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>What can be learned of the Lord here even though these tribes weren't living in the promised land? (9)

* Joshua 22:9 "So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses."

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II. They Build an Altar (22:10-20)

>4. Where did the two and a half tribes build an altar? (10)

* Joshua 22:10 " When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan."

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>What did Israel do when they heard this? (11-12)

* Joshua 22:11-12 "And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them."

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>What does that say about this generation?

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>5. Before they went to war with their brothers what did the other tribes do? (13-14)

* Joshua 22:13-14 "So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead--to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh. With him they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans."

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>What did they say? (15-16)

* Joshua 22:15-16 "When they went to Gilead--to Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh--they said to them: "The whole assembly of the LORD says: 'How could you break faith with the God of Israel like this? How could you turn away from the LORD and build yourselves an altar in rebellion against him now?"

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>What does it mean to break faith?

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>6. What happened in Peor? (17-18; Num. 25:1-4)

* Joshua 22:17-18 "Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? Up to this very day we have not cleansed ourselves from that sin, even though a plague fell on the community of the LORD! And are you now turning away from the LORD? If you rebel against the LORD today, tomorrow he will be angry with the whole community of Israel."

* Numbers 25:1-4 "While Israel was staying in Shittim, the men began to indulge in sexual immorality with Moabite women, who invited them to the sacrifices to their gods. The people ate and bowed down before these gods. So Israel joined in worshiping the Baal of Peor. And the LORD's anger burned against them. The LORD said to Moses, "Take all the leaders of these people, kill them and expose them in broad daylight before the LORD, so that the LORD's fierce anger may turn away from Israel."

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>What does this say about the purity and righteousness of the Lord and of us? (Rom. 13:12-14)

* Romans 13:12-14 "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave decently, as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and debauchery, not in dissension and jealousy. Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature."

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>What did the tribes west of the Jordan invite their brothers to do? (19-20)

* Joshua 22:19-20 "If the land you possess is defiled, come over to the LORD's land, where the LORD's tabernacle stands, and share the land with us. But do not rebel against the LORD or against us by building an altar for yourselves, other than the altar of the LORD our God. When Achan son of Zerah acted unfaithfully regarding the devoted things, did not wrath come upon the whole community of Israel? He was not the only one who died for his sin.'"

* Joshua 7:1 "But the Israelites acted unfaithfully in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Carmi, the son of Zimri, the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the LORD's anger burned against Israel."

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III. A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God (22:21-34)

>7. What did the two and a half tribes believe should happen to this if what the other suspected was true? (21-23)

* Joshua 22:21-23 "Then Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh replied to the heads of the clans of Israel: 22 "The Mighty One, God, the LORD! The Mighty One, God, the LORD! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the LORD, do not spare us this day. 23 If we have built our own altar to turn away from the LORD and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the LORD himself call us to account."

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>Why did they build the altar? (24-25)

* Joshua 22:24-25 "No! We did it for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the LORD, the God of Israel? The LORD has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you--you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the LORD.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the LORD."

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>8. How were they thinking of their children, grandchildren and all their descendants? (26-27)

* Joshua 22:26-27 "That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar--but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the LORD at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the LORD.'"

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>How would the altar act as a witness and how might we do this for our descendants?

* Joshua 22:28 "And we said, 'If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the LORD's altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.'"

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>What witness do we have? (1 John 4:1; Rom. 5:5; Eph. 1:13-14)

* 1 John 4:1 "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world."

* Romans 5:5 "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us."

* Ephesians 1:13-14 "And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."

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>9. How should false altars be far from us? (29)

* Joshua 22:29 "Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices, other than the altar of the LORD our God that stands before his tabernacle."

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>What was Phinehas glad had not happened? (30-31)

* Joshua 22:30-31 "When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community--the heads of the clans of the Israelites--heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. And Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, said to Reuben, Gad and Manasseh, "Today we know that the LORD is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the LORD in this matter. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD's hand."

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>Would the Lord Jesus be far from us if we had a false altar in our hearts? (Luke 16:13)

* Luke 16:13 "No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."

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>10. What had been averted? (32-33)

* Joshua 22:32-33 "Then Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders returned to Canaan from their meeting with the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites. They were glad to hear the report and praised God. And they talked no more about going to war against them to devastate the country where the Reubenites and the Gadites lived."

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>What was the name of the altar?

* Joshua 22:34 "And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the LORD is God."

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