The Altar of Near Disaster Text: Joshua 22:30-34
Introduction: The Godly Fear of Schism
There are few things more terrifying to a godly man than the prospect of schism within the household of faith. It is a tearing of the body, a civil war among brothers, a scandal that gives the enemies of God every reason to blaspheme. In our own day, we have become far too accustomed to ecclesiastical division. We treat denominations like consumer brands and church splits like unfortunate but necessary business decisions. We have lost the biblical horror of it.
But in our text today, we come to the final scene of a high-stakes drama that brought Israel to the razor's edge of a holy war against itself. The tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, having fulfilled their duty to fight alongside their brothers for the promised land, had returned to their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. On their way, they built a great, imposing altar by the river. When the tribes on the west side heard of it, they immediately gathered for war. To them, this was a plain act of apostasy. It was a rival altar, a declaration of spiritual independence, a flagrant violation of the central tenet of their covenant: one God, one tabernacle, one altar of sacrifice.
They sent a delegation, led by Phinehas the priest, a man whose zeal for God's holiness was already legendary. You will remember him from the incident at Peor, where his swift action with a spear stopped a plague and turned back God's wrath. This was not a man to be trifled with. He was not coming to negotiate liturgical preferences. He was coming to confront what he believed to be high treason against Yahweh. A wrong move here, a misunderstood word, and the plains of Gilead would run red with Israelite blood.
What we are about to read is the happy resolution to this near catastrophe. It is a story about the vital importance of clear communication, the beautiful relief that comes with understanding, and the way in which a potential stumbling block can be transformed into a powerful witness. This is a story that teaches us how to handle controversy among the saints, how to value unity, and how to preserve the peace that Christ has purchased for His people.
The Text
So Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands 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. And it was good in their sight. And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, "Today we know that Yahweh is in our midst because you have not committed this unfaithful act against Yahweh; so then you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of Yahweh." 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. And the word was good in the sight of 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. And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; "For," they said, "it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God."
(Joshua 22:30-34 LSB)
The Relief of a Good Report (v. 30-31)
We begin with the immediate reaction of Phinehas and the delegation to the explanation given by the eastern tribes.
"So Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the congregation, even the heads of the thousands 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. And it was good in their sight." (Joshua 22:30)
The eastern tribes had just delivered a passionate defense. They explained that the altar was not for sacrifice or burnt offering. It was not a rival to the one true altar at the tabernacle. Rather, it was a memorial, a "witness," built out of fear that one day the western tribes might look at their children and say, "What have you to do with Yahweh, the God of Israel? For Yahweh has made the Jordan a border between us and you... you have no portion in Yahweh." This altar was not an act of rebellion, but a desperate, tangible plea for inclusion. It was a declaration of solidarity, not schism.
And when Phinehas and the leaders heard this, the text says simply, "it was good in their sight." There is a world of relief packed into that phrase. The swords could be sheathed. The spears could be put away. The cloud of God's judgment, which they rightly feared, was lifting. This demonstrates a crucial principle for dealing with conflict in the church: godly men are willing to listen. They came ready for war, but they did not come with closed ears. They presented their charge, and then they waited for an answer. And when the answer came, and it was a good one, they had the humility and grace to accept it. They were not looking for a fight; they were looking for faithfulness.
Phinehas then gives the theological interpretation of this happy turn of events.
"And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said to the sons of Reuben and to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Manasseh, 'Today we know that Yahweh is in our midst because you have not committed this unfaithful act against Yahweh; so then you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of Yahweh.'" (Joshua 22:31)
Notice the direct link Phinehas makes between faithfulness and the presence of God. "Today we know that Yahweh is in our midst." Why? "Because you have not committed this unfaithful act." The presence of God with His people is not some vague, sentimental feeling. It is covenantally conditioned. Sin invites judgment and drives out the manifest presence of God. Faithfulness secures it. The western tribes feared that the sin of the eastern tribes would bring God's wrath down on the entire nation, just as the sin of Achan had done at Ai. Corporate solidarity is a biblical reality. Your sin is never just your own; it affects the whole body.
Phinehas says, "you have delivered the sons of Israel from the hand of Yahweh." This is a striking statement. By proving their innocence, the eastern tribes had not just saved themselves; they had saved everyone. They had averted a judgment that would have fallen on all twelve tribes. This is the logic of the covenant. When one part of the body is healthy, the whole body benefits. When one part is diseased, the whole body is at risk. This is why church discipline is not a mean-spirited act of exclusion, but a loving act of preservation for the entire community.
The Blessing of Peace (v. 32-33)
The delegation now returns with the good news, and the relief spreads throughout the whole nation.
"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. And the word was good in the sight of 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." (Joshua 22:32-33)
The report is received, and it is as good to the people as it was to the leaders. Their response is immediate and twofold. First, they "blessed God." Their first instinct was not to congratulate themselves on their diplomatic skill, or to pat the eastern tribes on the back. Their first instinct was to give glory to God. They recognized that this peace was a gift from His hand. He had preserved the unity of His people. He had prevented a civil war. True revival is always marked by a readiness to bless God for His mercies, especially the mercy of peace and unity in the church.
Second, "they did not speak of going up against them in war." The war council was permanently disbanded. The matter was settled. There were no lingering suspicions, no backroom murmurings, no probation period for the eastern tribes. The explanation was accepted, the brothers were vindicated, and the peace was secured. This is what true repentance and true forgiveness look like. When a matter is dealt with biblically, it is done. We are not to keep bringing it up. We are not to hold it over people's heads. We are to bless God and move on in fellowship.
This whole episode is a masterclass in handling potential division. The western tribes showed zeal for God's holiness. The eastern tribes showed a willingness to explain their actions patiently. The delegation showed a willingness to listen carefully. And both sides showed a readiness to rejoice when the misunderstanding was cleared up. If every church conflict were handled with this combination of theological seriousness and relational grace, the church would be a far more peaceful and powerful witness in the world.
The Altar Named "Witness" (v. 34)
The final verse gives us the name of the altar and its enduring purpose.
"And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; 'For,' they said, 'it is a witness between us that Yahweh is God.'" (Joshua 22:34)
What began as a source of terrible suspicion is now transformed into a monument of shared faith. They name the altar "Ed," which is the Hebrew word for "Witness." A witness to what? A witness "between us," that is, between the tribes on the east and the tribes on the west. And what does it bear witness to? "That Yahweh is God."
This altar, which nearly divided them, now stands as a permanent, physical reminder of the one fundamental truth that unites them. Despite the geographical barrier of the Jordan River, they serve the same God. They are one people, under one covenant, bound together by their shared confession that Yahweh, and no other, is God. The very thing that was mistaken for an instrument of schism becomes a sacrament of unity.
This is a beautiful picture of how God works in His church. He can take our blunders, our misunderstandings, and our near disasters, and in His providence, turn them into something that strengthens our faith and solidifies our fellowship. He can redeem our follies. The place of our greatest fear can become the site of our strongest testimony. The argument that almost broke us apart can, once resolved, become a story we tell for generations about the faithfulness of God and the preciousness of our unity in Him.
Christ, Our True Altar and Witness
As with all Old Testament narratives, we must see how this story points us to Christ. This whole conflict was about altars and access to God. The western tribes rightly understood that there could only be one altar of sacrifice, because there is only one true God and one way of atonement He has prescribed.
The New Testament makes it abundantly clear that Jesus Christ is the final and ultimate altar. The author of Hebrews says, "We have an altar from which those who serve the tabernacle have no right to eat" (Hebrews 13:10). Our altar is not a place, but a person. All the sacrifices of the Old Testament were shadows and types that found their substance and fulfillment in the one perfect sacrifice of Christ on the cross. To erect another altar for sacrifice, to suggest another way of salvation, is the ultimate act of spiritual treason. It is to deny the sufficiency of Christ's work.
But Christ is not only our altar; He is also our Witness. The eastern tribes built an altar of stone to be a witness to their unity. But we have a living Witness. Jesus is the "faithful and true witness" (Revelation 3:14). He is the ultimate testimony that unites all of God's people, whether Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. Just as that altar stood between the tribes, a witness to their common faith, so Christ stands between us. He is our meeting place. He is the one in whom we, who were once separated by a river of hostility, are made one new man.
The fear of the eastern tribes was that the Jordan River would become a permanent dividing line. And in the church, we have our own "Jordan Rivers," do we not? We have divisions of geography, of race, of class, of culture, of denomination. And the fear is always that these divisions will become the defining reality, that we will say to those on the other side, "What have you to do with the Lord?"
But the gospel declares that in Christ, there is no east or west. The cross of Jesus Christ is the great altar of witness that stands astride every human division. It testifies that we all belong to the same family, that we all serve the same Lord, that Yahweh is God. It is the witness that we are one people. And when conflict arises, when misunderstandings threaten to tear us apart, we must do what Israel did here. We must approach one another with a zeal for the truth, a willingness to listen, and a heart that is eager to bless God for the peace He has given us in His Son. For He is our peace, who has broken down the dividing wall of hostility, and He is our great altar, the only witness we will ever need.