Currently, our church is in the process of planting another church in a town approximately an hour away. The church has just started meeting on their own in the last few months, but the process goes back well past those few months. In fact, the process of planting this church has been one that has spanned the last few years. Thankfully, the Lord has sustained everyone through the process (including its many twists, turns, and unexpected bumps), and it has been a joy to see that church meeting on its own and beginning to grow and flourish.
Interestingly, one of the (at least in my mind) most critical issues has been the temptation to settle down and rest now that the church is officially meeting on its own. Now that they are meeting, the temptation is either to see that as the end of the journey or to sit back and wonder, \"What now?\" Indeed over these last few years, God has made his plans clear in a number of ways - it has been wonderful to see. But now the church is attempting to figure out exactly what they should do now, precisely what that should look like, etc.
I give that example because it parallels in many ways our text this morning. Up to this point in Joshua, we have seen the Lord orchestrate some incredible things - culminating in our text last week in which He fulfilled His promise by dividing the Promised Land among the people. In many ways, it would be tempting to think that last week's text would have been a fitting ending to the book of Joshua because of the glorious ending to chapter 21: \"Not one word of all the good promises that the Lord had made to the house of Israel had failed; all came to pass.\" Could there be a better ending than that?
Actually, there could - for the book of Joshua does not end there. And the reason the book does not end there is because it would, in a sense remain incomplete. The last three chapters of the book of Joshua deal with a central reality of the people of God: obedience. No doubt we have seen the importance of obedience throughout the book of Joshua, but the theme takes on heightened significance in these last three chapters. God, having brought the people into the land, does not want them to fall into the trap of thinking they have reached the end; He wants them to understand that they have a continued responsibility to obey.
As we have walked through the book of Joshua, we have seen over and over again that Israel's journey into, and counquering of, the land serves as an illustration of our own Christian walk in many ways. We should continue to keep this parallel in mind as we finish the book - because, no doubt, we could be tempted to reach points in our lives at which it seems we have reached the end. We could be tempted to think that our race is over long before it actually reaches its true conclusion. In reality, until we reach the final day - and the end of our journey, the rest that we spoke of last week - we need to be reminded of the need for obedience. We need to be reminded of the central importance of following the Lord faithfully all the way to the end. In Joshua 22-24, God is making clear what is required of Israel to faithfully obey, and He is highlighting central truths and aspects of that obedience. He is doing this so that we who come after might be encouraged to obey as well - reminded of the absolute necessity of faithful obedience.
The first reality we see in our text is an explicit call to future, faithful obedience. This call comes in the form of a commendation - our text begins with Joshua praising the faithfulness of the eastern tribes - Reuben, Gad and half-Manasseh. If we recall the very first chapter of Joshua, we will remember that Joshua challenged these tribes whose inheritance was already gained outside of the Promised Land to enter in and help their brothers take the land. The eastern tribes agreed to this - Moses had commanded the same thing - and even pronounced judgment on themselves if they failed to obey. In our text this morning, we see clearly that these tribes fulfilled their obligation as Joshua tells them, \"You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God\" (22:3). These tribes carried out their task admirably and Joshua commends their faithfulness.
Interestingly, Joshua also exhorts them to future obedience as he tells them, \"Only be very careful to observe the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all his way and to keep his commandments and to cling to him and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul\" (22:5). This is Joshua proclaiming the very thing I mentioned in the introduction - though the tribes have reached a great milestone, they are not at the end. Therefore, their past faithful obedience is to be supplemented with future faithful obedience. Joshua exhorts them to hold fast to the Lord and obey all of his commands, and he exhorts them to whole-hearted, sold-out commitment to God that is evidenced by a faithful life.
As we step back and apply this reality to our own lives, we can see the connections easily. Even though it comes in the form of a commendation, Joshua's initial praising of the eastern tribes faithful obedience acually serves as a challenge to us. In verse 4, Joshua declares, \"And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan.\" We will rightly understand the importance of this text for our own lives when we understand that these eastern tribes were allowed to go home only after \"the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers.\" Their rest was intimately tied with the rest of their brothers. Their obedience was tied to the progress of their brothers. In short, they were not allowed to be finished until the whole group was finished. In the same way, their example should motivate us to persevere because none of us have reached the end. No matter where I find myself, I cannot rest because my brothers and sisters have not yet rested. As long as our brothers and sisters are still fighting temptation and confronting sin and speaking the gospel to lost souls, our responsibility to faithfully obey is not ended. In the most real sense, we need to bear each other's burdens and fight each other's battles. This is what it means to be the people of God - it meant that for Israel and it means that for us.
Likewise, Joshua's exhortations to the eastern tribes regarding their future obedience are perfectly applicable to us. Those tribes were to be careful to obey the commands of God, and we are to be careful to obey them as well. We do not look to the commands of the law, but we do look to the commands of Christ - our Savior and Lord. They are not mere recommendations but commands, and our responsibility is to obey. Those tribes were to love the Lord and cling to Him and serve Him with all their heart and soul, and we also are to love the Lord with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Luke 10:27-28). If this love is genuine, it will lead to faithful obedience (John 14:15).
After commending the faithfulness of the eastern tribes and exhorting them to faithful obedience, we see Joshua bestow an incredible blessing on those tribes as he says to them, \"Go back to your tents with much wealth and with very much livestock, with silver, gold, bronze, and iron, and with much clothing. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brothers\" (22:8). On the heels of his commendation, this is a very explicit demonstration of blessing that God grants to these eastern tribes. Even though these eastern tribes were not going to dwell in the land which they helped to conquer, they were allowed to share in the spoil. In a very real sense, they obeyed, and the spoil was a central part of their reward.
I highlight this small portion of our text because it demonstrates a central reality of faithful obedience: it always culminates in blessing from God. Rather than serving as a taskmaster who demands things from us, God stands ready to bestow upon those of us who persevere in faithful obedience in Jesus Christ a blessing that far surpasses even our grandest dreams. The New Testament is clear and bold in making the point that faithful obedience will issue in blessing. The author of Hebrews declares, \"Therefore do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward\" (Heb. 10:35). This is crucial for us to understand because we are often tempted to sin because sin offers us something - it offers some sort of \"reward.\" Indeed, Paul, in 2 Timothy 3:4, declares that in the last days, men will be \"lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God.\" The only reason Paul can speak in this way is because sin does indeed offer some sort of pleasure. It is enticing, or it would not be tempting. Since this is true, the way to fight for obedience and put to death disobedience is by setting our mind on a greater reward. If you could have $5 today or $1,000 a month from now, no one would call you a fool for forsaking the small amount now because you would rather wait and have the larger amount. This is why we need to understand that faithful obedience offers a greater reward than sin. Moses understood this, as the author of Hebrews declares, \"He considered the reproach of Christ reater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward\" (Heb. 11:26). That is, Moses ignored the small pleasures that were offered in Egypt in order to obey God in hopes of a better reward. The way we fight for obedience is by setting our mind on the blessing that faithful obedience will bring.
Beginning in verse 10, the story begins to get more complicated. As the eastern tribes are traveling home, the author tells us that they built “an altar of imposing size” beside the Jordan (22:10). When the western tribes heard the news, they gathered to make war on the eastern tribes. Before taking such a drastic step, however, the western tribes send a group of men to confront the eastern tribes. The reason the western tribes were willing to take such serious measures is because they remembered what God had told them in Deuteronomy 12:13-14: “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.” The reason the western tribes reacted so strongly is because they recognized that the eastern tribes were explicitly violating God’s command by building an altar on which to offer sacrifices. Such background knowledge explains the seemingly offensive nature of the question presented to the eastern tribes: “What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel in turning away this day from following the Lord by building yourselves an altar this day in rebellion against the Lord?” (22:16). In the eyes of the western tribes, their eastern brethren had committed a grievous sin, and they confronted them in that trespass.
Remembering that the focus of these last chapters is obedience, including its many facets and aspects, this part of our story reminds us of a crucial aid to obedience: confrontation. As we step back and look at this situation, we see an excellent example of one part of God’s people boldly and courageously confronting another part of God’s people because they believed they were walking in unrepentant sin. This is a crucial reality for us as God’s people today. We must never forget that confrontation is a good and necessary way that obedience is encouraged and achieved. That is why Jesus told his followers, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother” (Matt. 18:15). In that text, Jesus is holding up the crucial and beneficial nature of confrontation. As God’s people, we must never lose sight of the absolute necessity of confrontation. Some may object that we are not to judge others, but Paul explicitly told the Corinthians, “Is it not those inside the church whom you are to judge?” (1 Cor. 5:12). The people of God are responsible to help their brothers and sisters grow in holiness and walk in obedience, and they are responsible to make use of confrontation, if necessary, to pursue such ends.
That said, we also must be careful that such confrontation flows from right motivations. Again, we need only to look at our text and see what drove the western tribes to know what should drive us. Notice first of all that the western tribes confronted their brothers because they understood that the sin of their brothers would affect them as well. Notice what they say beginning in verse 17: “Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves, and for which there came a plague upon the congregation of the Lord, that you too must turn away this d ay from following the Lord? If you too rebel against the Lord today then tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel” (22:17-18). They go on to say, “Did not Achan the son of Zerah break faith in the matter of the devoted things, and wrath fell upon all the congregation of Israel? And he did not perish alone for his iniquity” (22:20). The western tribes, using their collective memory, understood that judgment for this sin would fall not only on the eastern tribes but on the whole people of God. They remembered the story of Numbers 25 in which some of the Israelites began to worship Baal at Peor. As a result of the actions of some of the people, God’s wrath burned against them all and 24,000 of them died in a plague. Likewise, they remembered the story of Joshua 7 in which Achan sinned. As a result of that one man’s sin, God’s wrath fell on the whole nation, and they were defeated in a battle. Moreover, Achan’s entire family was punished with him in execution. In the same way, we need to understand that the reason confrontation is so necessary is because the sins of others do radically affect you and me. Individual sin has corporate effects, so for the good of our own souls as well as those of our brothers and sisters, we should confront sin and seek to root it out.
But we should also notice that the earnest desire of the western tribes was that their brothers might repent. Notice the emotion that comes through in verse 19: “But now, if the land of your possession is unclean, pass over into the Lord’s land where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take for yourselves a possession among us. Only do not rebel against the Lord or make us as rebels by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God” (22:19). Understanding, and imitating, the attitude expressed in this verse is crucial if we are going to avoid the pitfalls of our own pride in the context of confrontation. The western tribes are willing to let their brethren share their own inheritance if it might keep them from committing this sin. Their earnest desire is not judgment but repentance. They want to see their eastern brethren turn from this transgression and follow the Lord. In the same way, we should never be driven in our confrontation by a desire for vengeance or a desire to heighten our own reputation by seeing another’s reputation tarnished. Confrontation should always take place with great sorrow and with the earnest desire that there be repentance. Like the western tribes of Israel, we do not confront because we desire to condemn. Rather, we confront because we desire to help our brothers and sisters avoid condemnation.
Interestingly, the next section of our text brings closure to the text while also highlighting another dimension of obedience. After being confronted by their western brethren, the eastern tribes protest their innocence: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows; and let Israel itself know! If it was in rebellion or in breach of faith against the Lord, do not spare us today for building an altar to turn away from following the Lord. Or if we did so to offer burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offering on it, may the Lord himself take vengeance” (22:22-23). So the eastern tribes are declaring that they have not violated the command of God. In fact, they are so bold in this declaration that – much like in chapter 1 – they invite the Lord’s judgment if they have in fact violated his command. By this declaration, the people are making clear that they did not build the altar in order to make offerings on it – for such was the command of God. But if there purpose was not to make offerings, why build an altar? The answer to this question actually serves to highlight further aspects of our obedience to the Lord. First, after protesting their innocence in verses 22-23, the eastern tribes declare, “No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of God. You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord” (22:24-25). Here is the first reason given to explain why the eastern tribes built the altar: they wanted to ensure the future obedience of their children. In essence, they feared that the descendants of the western tribes would ostracize their descendants – refusing to consider them part of God’s people and leading them to turn away from the Lord. In short, the eastern tribes built this altar to serve as a reminder that they also were part of the people of God so that their children would serve that God and not turn away.
Before moving on to their second reason, we should understand the significance of what is happening here. The eastern tribes are recognizing that they bear responsibility not only to labor for the obedience of the present generation but for those generations that will come later. They understand that they are laboring for the obedience of their children – laboring to ensure that their children do not turn away from the Lord, as much as they are able. For those of us who are parents, we should feel the weight of that responsibility. Do not wrongly interpret this as if you are responsible to change your child’s heart, but understand that you bear responsibility to teach your children the things of God and to labor to help them walk in obedience, as much as you are able. Even for those who are not parents, the same responsibility falls on you because you are part of the body. You should labor for the obedience of the generations that will come after you. As John Piper has so eloquently declared, “You build more than you see.” The reason that is true is because we are laboring not only for this generation but for future generations as well.
The second reason that the eastern tribes give for erecting the altar is to preserve the unity of the people. They say, “Therefore we said, Let us now build an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice, but to be a witness between us and you, and between our generations after us, that we do perform the service of the Lord in his presence with our burnt offerings and sacrifices and peace offerings, so your children will not say to our children in time to come, ‘You have no portion in the Lord’” (22:26-27). The eastern tribes want to ensure that in the future the people of Israel are united in their worship of God rather than divided. They erected this altar so that both their children and the future generations of the western tribes might remember that the land was given to all of Israel and that the conquest was undertaken by all of Israel – not just 9 ½ of the tribes. The eastern tribes, far from transgressing the Lord’s commands, were laboring to ensure future obedience and future unity.
All in all, as we look at this text, we can praise the Lord for misunderstandings, because this misunderstanding actually served to illustrate for us some of the crucial aspects of obedience. For those of us who are Christians, we should be moved to walk in faithful obedience in the future. Moreover, we should recognize our role in laboring for the obedience of our brothers and sisters – even if that labor includes confrontation. And we should recognize our role in fighting for the obedience of future generations by seeking unity and faithfully teaching the truths of God.
And, no doubt, this task is a bit daunting. Obedience is often difficult, and – more often than not – we are painfully reminded of our failures. Even as we think about the importance of obedience, it is also vitally important for us to remember our perfectly obedient Savior. Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteous life so that we might be declared righteous. In doing this, he also broke the power of sin in our lives – effectively enabling us to walk in righteousness and holiness. As we come to the table, we rejoice in our glorious Savior. And we rejoice in our Lord who has conquered every enemy and equipped us as His people to do the same while promising to be with us always to the end of the age.
For those who might not be believers, you do not need to hear all of this talk about obedience as if that is all that is necessary for you to do. In reality, all of our obedience is filthy before the Lord. The entire book of Joshua up to this point is spent discussing God’s grace in giving the people the land. Only after grace comes down is the need for obedience highlighted. In the same way, your greatest need is to repent of your sins and believe in Jesus Christ and follow Him as Lord. Such faith and following will result in the true ability to obey. Repent and believe today. Amen.