Bird's-eye view
This incident is a high-stakes family drama, a near-run thing that almost plunged the covenant people into a bloody civil war. Having faithfully fought alongside their brothers to secure the inheritance west of the Jordan, the two-and-a-half tribes are now heading home to their own allotted portion. The war is over, the land is settled, and the unity of Israel is paramount. But on their way, they do something that, on the surface, looks like high treason against Yahweh. They build an altar. And not just any altar, but a "large altar in appearance." To the ears of their brethren back in Shiloh, this sounds like the first clang of the apostasy bell. The law was clear: there was one central sanctuary, one place for sacrifice. To build another was to establish a rival religion, to tear the covenant body in two. The reaction of the western tribes, while startling in its immediacy, was driven by a fierce zeal for the purity of worship and the unity of God's people. This is a story about a massive, dangerous misunderstanding, and it serves as a crucial lesson on the importance of godly suspicion, the necessity of due process, and the glorious power of a soft answer to turn away wrath.
The core issue is covenantal fidelity. For the western tribes, the altar on the border looks like a declaration of independence, a schismatic act that would invite the judgment of God upon the entire nation. Their readiness to go to war is not bloodlust; it is a radical commitment to corporate holiness. They remembered the sin of Achan and how the whole nation suffered for the sin of one family. They remembered the apostasy at Peor. They were not about to let a rival altar stand and bring God's curse down upon them all. What unfolds is a master class in conflict resolution, but it begins here, with a potential act of apostasy and a zealous, righteous, and almost catastrophic response.
Outline
- 1. The Crisis of Two Altars (Josh 22:10-12)
- a. The Eastern Tribes' Construction Project (Josh 22:10)
- b. The Western Tribes' Alarming Report (Josh 22:11)
- c. The Western Tribes' Call to Arms (Josh 22:12)
Context In Joshua
This chapter comes right at the end of the main action of the book of Joshua. The conquest is complete (Josh 11:23), and the land has been meticulously divided among the tribes (Josh 13-21). The previous section (Josh 22:1-9) records Joshua's commendation and dismissal of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. He blesses them for their faithfulness in fulfilling their promise to Moses, fighting for their kinsmen before settling in their own inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. They are sent away with honor and great riches. This makes the sudden turn of events so jarring. These are not disgruntled or rebellious tribes; they are honored veterans of a holy war. The incident of the altar, therefore, does not arise from a context of existing strife, but erupts suddenly into a time of peace and settlement, threatening to undo everything that had just been accomplished. It serves as a crucial test of Israel's covenantal integrity now that they are no longer united by a common external enemy but must learn to live together as a settled people of God.
Key Issues
- The Centrality of Worship
- The Sin of Schism
- Corporate Responsibility and Guilt
- Zeal for God's Glory
- The Danger of Misunderstanding
- Due Process in Covenant Community
A Misunderstanding of Monumental Proportions
One of the recurring themes in Scripture is how easily the saints can misunderstand one another, and how quickly those misunderstandings can escalate. The gospel itself advances through a cloud of misunderstanding, as the world misinterprets the motives and actions of the church. But here, the conflict is internal. Brothers in the covenant are at loggerheads. The eastern tribes build a monument intended to preserve unity, but the western tribes see it as an instrument of schism. The builders see a witness to their inclusion in Israel; the observers see a rival to the one true altar at Shiloh.
This story is a gift to the church because it demonstrates that not all conflict arises from malice. Sometimes, well-intentioned actions can be catastrophically misinterpreted. The Reubenites and Gadites were not trying to start a new religion; they were terrified of being excluded from the true one. The western tribes were not looking for a fight; they were terrified of God's judgment on the whole nation for idolatry. Both sides were motivated by a desire for covenant faithfulness, but their perspectives were skewed by the Jordan River that separated them. Before we rush to judgment in our own disputes, we must learn the lesson of Joshua 22: assume the best, gather the facts, and give your brother the benefit of the doubt before you gather the troops at Shiloh.
Verse by Verse Commentary
10 And they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, and 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.
The returning soldiers arrive at the Jordan, the great dividing line. This river is not just a geographical feature; it is a potent symbol. It separates their inheritance from that of their brothers. And right there, at the border, they build an altar. The text makes two crucial points about it. First, its location: "in the land of Canaan," meaning on the western bank, just before they crossed over to their own territory. Second, its size: it was a "large altar in appearance." This was not a discreet pile of stones. This was a statement piece. It was built to be seen, to be noticed from a distance. The word for "large" suggests greatness in size and visibility. They intended to make a point, and they succeeded, though not in the way they initially hoped. In a world where altars were for sacrifice, and sacrifice was strictly regulated by God's law to be at one central place, building a great big altar anywhere else was, to put it mildly, asking for trouble.
11 And the sons of Israel heard it said, “Behold, the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on the side belonging to the sons of Israel.”
News travels, as it always does, and often it travels without the necessary context. The report that reaches the main body of Israel is factually correct but spiritually alarming. Notice the precision of the report: the culprits are named, the object is identified ("an altar"), and the location is specified ("at the entrance of the land... on the side belonging to the sons of Israel"). From their perspective, this is an act of spiritual aggression. Their brothers have not even made it home yet, and they are already setting up a rival worship center on Canaanite soil. It looks like a flagrant violation of the Deuteronomic laws that established a central sanctuary to guard against the pagan high places (Deut. 12:5-14). This report contains all the elements necessary to ignite the righteous indignation of a people zealous for the glory of their God.
12 Then the sons of Israel heard of it, and the whole congregation of the sons of Israel assembled themselves at Shiloh to go up against them in war.
The response is immediate and severe. There is no committee meeting, no fact-finding mission, no letter of inquiry. The "whole congregation" gathers at Shiloh, the very place where the true tabernacle and the one altar of God stood. Their gathering place is significant; they are rallying to the standard of true worship. And their purpose is unambiguous: "to go up against them in war." This was not a bluff. This was a holy war, an act of covenantal discipline. They believed their brothers had committed a capital offense against God, an act of apostasy so grievous that it threatened the standing of the entire nation. They remembered the lesson of Achan, whose sin brought defeat upon all Israel. They were prepared to amputate two and a half tribes from the body of Israel in order to save the whole. Their zeal was commendable, even if their information was incomplete. They loved God more than they loved peace, and they feared God's judgment more than they feared a civil war. This is a terrifying and instructive moment. It shows the high cost of covenant unity and the fierce jealousy God's people must have for the purity of His worship.
Application
We live in an age that prizes tolerance above truth and unity above purity. The actions of the western tribes strike our modern ears as extreme, hasty, and uncharitable. And while they did jump the gun, their motives were profoundly righteous. They understood something we have largely forgotten: that false worship is not a matter of personal preference but a declaration of war against the living God, and it endangers the entire community.
The first application for us is to examine our own zeal. Are we as passionate for the purity of the gospel and the holiness of the Church as Israel was for their one altar? When we see what appears to be a compromise with the world or a deviation from biblical worship, does it stir us to action, or do we just shrug and say it is none of our business? Corporate responsibility is a deeply biblical concept. We are our brother's keeper. Their sin can and does affect us all. We should desire a church that is willing, metaphorically, to assemble at Shiloh when the truth of the gospel is at stake.
But the second application is the necessary corrective. Zeal must be matched with wisdom and due process. As the rest of the chapter shows, the western tribes, for all their warlike preparations, did have the wisdom to send a delegation first. They did not attack on the basis of a rumor. They sought clarification, and in so doing, they averted a disaster. In our own conflicts, we must be quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger. We must go to our brother, hear his side of the story, and be willing to admit that what looked like an altar of rebellion might just be a monument of remembrance. Righteous zeal is essential, but it must be clothed in the humility and love that is willing to listen before it draws the sword.