OVERVIEW:
The two and a half tribes who chose their inheritance on the other side of Jordan build an altar and call it Ed; Joshua exhorts Israel’s leaders; Joshua exhorts all the people of Israel and brings them to a point of decision.
HIGHLIGHTS & INSIGHTS:
As we came through Numbers 32, you’ll remember that two and a half tribes (the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh) chose to live on “this side” of the Jordan River before they ever even saw what God had in store for them in the land He specifically had chosen for them on the “other side”. They live in infamy to this day as the classic biblical example of a people who willfully chose less than God’s best for their lives. Sadly, many believers through the centuries have failed to learn from their tragic mistake. As the old saying goes, “If we don’t learn from the mistakes of history, we are destined to repeat them!”
In chapter 22 of today’s reading, Joshua allows these two and a half tribes to return to the land of their choosing. God, in His grace, allowed them to go, because He never forces anyone to “live close to Him.” The practical reality was, they were leaving the fertile land of Shiloh (the place of “peace” and “rest”), for their chosen inheritance in Gilead (which means “stony place”). As Jesus taught us in the Parable of the Seed and the Sower, it is impossible to “bear fruit” from stony ground. Let us learn from the example of these two and a half tribes to never settle for anything less than God’s absolute best for our lives! A life of “fruit bearing” requires the land of our inheritance in Canaan!
On their way back to their inheritance, these two and a half tribes built an altar they called “Ed” (meaning “witness”) as a memorial to remind their children and the other tribes in Israel that they, too, were the people of God and worshipped the God of Israel. It was actually an attempt to convince their children, along with the children of Israel, that they were “spiritual” and really loved the Lord, even though they willfully had chosen to live away from the presence of God as it was manifested in the land that was promised via the ark of the covenant.
Kids, however, aren’t stupid. The children in these two and a half tribes, just like our children, were able to see through all of their parent’s rationalizations and justifications while they tried to do things that bore “witness” of their true spirituality. The reality is, that altar didn’t “witness” to anything other than their parent’s disobedience and compromise! It has been my observation, through the years, that children can put up with a whole lot of their parents faults, frailties, and even failures, if they will own them! One thing kids just can’t seem to be able to withstand, however, is hypocrisy. Or, in other words, their parents trying to give the appearance of spirituality when there is no reality. Perhaps we should stop and ask ourselves, are there any “Eds” we have built to try to give “witness” to our kids, and to the other believers in our local church, that we are living closer to God than we actually do? An “Ed”, in our 21st century world, can be anything from going to church and praying before meals, to reading the Bible and/or acting interested in the things of the Lord, but not truly cultivating an intimate relationship with Him, or longing to have His presence close to us at all times. Are you settling for less than God’s best on “this side” of the Jordan, or are you passionately pursuing the closeness of His holy presence on the “other side”?
In chapters 23 and 24, Joshua knows he’s about to die. He begins to give the children of Israel a history lesson, walking them back through God’s faithfulness to them as a people from their inception as a nation. On one hand, he is passionately PLEADING with them to love God and to continue to follow Him in obedience and faithfulness, and on the other hand, he is passionately WARNING them of the consequences that would inevitably destroy them if they were not obedient and faithful to the Lord. He warns them that any co-mingling or any connection, whatsoever, with these nations they had previously destroyed would cause them to become snares and traps, along with being scourges in their sides, thorns in their eyes, and ultimately, those nations would overtake them!
In 24:14-15, Joshua brings his address to a conclusion. What he’s been moving toward is a time of decision. He draws a line in the sand, as it were, and asks the children of Israel to decide to either go all the way with the God who had delivered them from the gods their forefathers served in Egypt and on the other side of the flood, or to just forget serving the Lord, and go back and serve their false gods. Notice, God wanted His people to choose to go one way or the other. He wanted them to be cold or hot, but not to find a place of “lukewarmness” or compromise, somewhere in the middle. (Revelation 3:15–16)
In Joshua 24:24, “The people said unto Joshua, The Lord our God will we serve, and his voice we will obey.” Is that the decision of your heart today? If so, then tell your “Joshua” about it!
CHRIST IS REVEALED:
Through JOSHUA (the prophet), ELEAZAR (the priest), and JOSEPH (the King) — Joshua 24:29-33
Note: The book of Joshua ends with three funerals: Joshua, Eleazar, and Joseph. A prophet, priest, and king were buried right there in the middle of Israel’s inheritance, picturing that it is only through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Prophet, Priest, and King, that we have access to our inheritance in Him.