Joshua 22

Joshua 22

Now that the conquest was complete, Joshua gathered the men from the 2 ½ tribes that had chosen land on the eastern side of the Jordan River. They had been commanded by Moses to help their brothers in the conquest of the land since their brothers had helped them previously. They had done all that they had been commanded, and Joshua was ready to send them back to their homes to be with their families and to settle in that land. Before they left, Joshua gave them one last charge. He wanted to make sure that they had their minds set on God as they began their new chapter in life. They had seen God work in many mighty ways and had grown up around Moses and Joshua. Their entire life had been with the nation of Israel as a whole. Now they were headed back across the Jordan to their lands without the nation’s leader right in their backyards. So Joshua gave them his final plea to stay true to God and His Word. That was the most important thing Joshua could have told them as they started a new chapter in life. They understood the importance of obedience and had seen God at work. Now they had to make a choice as to whether they would continue to follow God in their new freedom.


In so many ways this is similar to a kid leaving for college (leaving home for the first time). If they have been raised in the church, then they are like Israel. They have always been around the truth and had authority figures in their lives to point them in the right direction. They may say that they believe it, but it is not until they are on their own that they discover whether it is real or not. It is easy to fill that time with other activities in college. Each student has to figure out what role God will play in their lives. Will they continue to grow in Him, plug into a church through obedience and serve Him or will they forsake all that they had been taught? It is a pivotal moment in everyone’s life, but we all must figure out what we really believe at some point. Hopefully we will stay true to God’s commands and serve Him.

The second of half of Joshua 22 appears to be an immediate falling away from what they taught by Moses and Joshua. After Joshua told these 2 ½ tribes to follow God, they built a magnificent altar by the Jordan, and Israel feared that it was not to God but to themselves. Therefore, Israel declared war on their brothers, fearing that their brothers were worshiping themselves and not God. They feared that they had another Achan on their hands. Thankfully, this was not the case. Although the situation seemed bad, and it looked as if they had fallen away from the Lord, it was just the opposite. Come to find out the 2 ½ tribes built the altar as a sign between the two portions of the land. It was a sign that unified all 12 tribes together under God. They thanked God for what He had done for them on both sides of the river, and wanted the altar to serve as a reminder to their children that Israel was not defined by the Jordan River. They did not want their descendants on either side of the Jordan to fight over who was truly a part of Israel. Although it seemed like a major case of idolatry, it was actually a worshipful experience, praising God for what He had done and asking that He would be with their children in the future.

Sadly, this is not the case for many people. Although there are those great stories of people who stick with God and continue to follow Him, too many fall away. We probably all know someone who has drifted from the faith or may have only played the game (maybe they never really were a child of God). We must have the concern for them that Israel had for their brothers. Although Israel was proven wrong, and they were glad that the situation had been clarified, they showed how much they loved their brothers by confronting them in their possible sin. It is hard to go to someone we love and tell them that they are living in sin, especially since we are sinners ourselves. We might be accused of being judgmental. However, if we have the right motives and we seek to see them come back to the Lord, then we must confront them. It may not be easy, but it is a command. We should never forsake our brothers and sisters in Christ leaving them to wander down a dangerous path of sin.

Matt