Navigating can be difficult. Figuring out where you want to go, how you will get there, what route you will take. It used to be WAY more difficult [think: printed maps and atlases]. But even today - there are places we want to go, things we want to do, things we want to see. People we want to see. Getting to where we want to go isn't always easy - detours, construction, confusing signs, strange places, etc. But isn’t it true that often the most difficult part about navigating is the people we are navigating with? Or navigating around? Back seat drivers, and high-maintenance riders, and small bladders - not to mention other drivers. And traffic - THAT can be the most difficult thing of all. Getting somewhere in a smooth and timely fashion would be a piece of cake if it weren’t for all these other folks out on the road. Yes, navigating can be fraught with difficulties. People can help us get there, but they can also make it more challenging. People are messy!
As we come to Joshua chapter 22, the land of promise has been conquered (for the most part), and divided up. If you remember, back before Israel crossed the Jordan river into Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh told Moses that they wanted to settle in that land on the east bank, that area known as Gilead [map]. And Moses said ok, but on one condition - promise to send your fighting men into Canaan and help your brothers conquer the actual land of promise [that was in Numbers 32]. Which they did. And now here in chapter 22, the "Reubengadmanites" have stood by the other 9½ tribes for seven long years, helping their brothers go about conquering and taking possession of the actual land of promise, on the west side of the Jordan. Seven years of faithfulness [1-3].
Finally, they’re released, free to go back home to their families/tents on the other side of the Jordan, with all their spoils [4-9]. Joshua leaves them with one last charge, a holy reminder [5].
And on their way home, the Reubengadmanites build an [altar] [10]. Why did people build altars in those days? Altars were for worship. And Israel already had one [Ex 27]. Deut. 12:13-14 “Be careful that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every cultic place you see, but in the place which the LORD chooses in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.” Josh. 18:1 Then the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at Shiloh, and set up the tent of meeting there; and the land was subdued before them.
This new altar isn’t just any pile of stones - it’s a great altar. And it’s an exact copy of the ONE altar at Shiloh [28]. And their brothers, hear of it. The Reubengadmanites have built themselves a 2nd altar! And how do the brothers respond? [12] They gather for war, at Shiloh. After all they’ve all been through together. Their brothers are ready for war.
We can be so quick to rush to judgment, short fuses. Even w our own family. At least Israel does care enough to be willing to go to war for the sake of their brothers, to help them continue to live into the promises of God. For everyone’s sake. ‘Cause our (dis)obedience DOES impact our brothers. There are consequences not only to us but also to those around us [18]. Thankfully, before they lash out and attack, Israel sends a delegation. They send Phineas, a priest [13], and 10 leaders, heads of households. For a face-to-face meeting. This is no place for an email. Or even worse, a text or a social media post [thank you iPhone]. Communication is always key to any relationship, and critical conversations are best handled in person (or at least phone) [seriously, we need to be very wary of opting for the text].
Still, the sons of Israel have jumped to a conclusion about their brothers. NINE TIMES the Phineas delegation accuses the Reubengadmanites of wrong-doing, before they even hear their side of the story [15-20]. That’s what WE do. We jump to conclusions, sometimes at the drop of a hat. We criticize people, our brothers even, often behind their back. Give people a chance. Believe the best [1Cor. 13:7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.]. And go talk to them. If you can, go talk to them in person. Listen to their (side of the) story. Yes, experience teaches us that people are messy and that they fall short. We come to expect the worst in people. But especially in God’s family, we need to give one another the benefit of the doubt. Believe the best about our brothers and sisters.
How does it feel to be misjudged? The Reubengadmanites are being misjudged. But look at the reason they give for building this altar [24-25]. We are concerned about what you may do. Are they believing the best? They’re pre-judging their brothers!
I do love their response [22-23]. They know this One in Whom they have believed. And they know that He knows. He knows every motive and thought of every heart. And the Reubengadmanites are surrendered to what the Lord wants, and they are entrusting themselves to Him. Relationships are tricky. And people are messy. And God will help us work it out as we trust Him and believe the best and communicate.
But people are not the problem. They are not the enemy. My brother, my sister, the one sitting across from you, the one who [annoys] you to death - they are [precious], made by God, made in His image, with crazy potential to reflect His goodness. Just as much potential as you and I have. People are not the problem. People are the reason. Remember the first problem in the garden? It is not good for man to be alone. People are not the problem. People are the reason. Why did Jesus Christ come to earth? He came for the people. You and me, and everyone else. People are not the problem. People HAVE problems - we all have problems. But we are the reason, the reason He came. They’re the reason we’re here this morning. You might think, well I’m just here to learn to love God more. 1Jn 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also. I learn to love God as I learn to love my brother. The two are inseparable. Again, we're not saying it’s always easy - navigating can be difficult. We all fall short…
Thank the Lord that we are not defined by who we don’t love. There are things that describe me. Some of those make it hard for me to love. Some of those make it hard for others to love me. But things that describe me don’t define me. Our culture today insists that we are defined by who we love. But no - we are defined by Who loves us. Someday, real soon, each of us is going to meet our Maker, stand before the One Who so loves us, and all that’s going to matter is, what did I do with the [gift of God’s love, Jesus], on the cross.
I see this as a parent. I so want my kids to know that God so loves them. I want to protect them from the negative influences, from all the brokenness. And while I can protect them from a lot of things, I can’t protect them from Adam. Our cute little bundles of joy need no help living into brokenness. MINE! We emerge from the womb wired to choose what we want over what God wants, to love self before God, before others. We perfect this in adolescence, as we make more and more choices to live into me first. What I want. But hopefully, Lord-willing, we come to the place where we come to the end of ourselves and learn to say, what YOU want Lord, thank You Lord, I love You TOO, Lord, love others thru me Lord. Now THAT is a difficult road to navigate. But the destination is so worth it!
In the end what we see in Joshua is that the Lord keeps His promise. He has pulled out ALL the stops to bring the people He loves into the land He promised them, into this place of blessing, where they can pursue and enjoy a relationship w Him, pure and undistracted devotion to the God Who loves them [2Cor 11.3]. AND where they can be a family, a people known by their love, a community of uncommon unity. In Christ. Yeshua, the Promised Messiah. The God Who loves & saves.
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