Joshua, Chapter 22:

Joshua Verses, Chapter 22 of the Book of Joshua of the Bible.

Joshua - Old Testament — Joshua – Old Testament

Eastern tribes return to Gilead

1. Joshua called together the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh
2. and said to them, “You have fulfilled all the commands of Moses, the servant of the Lord.
3. You have not abandoned your brothers all this time, from then until today, but have faithfully carried out the mission that the Lord your God gave you.
4. Now that the Lord has given your brothers rest, as he promised, return to your homes, to the land that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you beyond the Jordan.
5. But carefully keep the commandments and the law that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you. Love the Lord your God, follow all his ways, obey his commandments, hold fast to him, and serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
6. Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they returned home.
7. (Moses had given land in Bashan to half the tribe of Manasseh, and Joshua had given land on the west side of the Jordan to the other half of the tribe, along with the other Israelites.) When Joshua sent them home, he blessed them,
8. saying: “Return home with the riches you have accumulated: large flocks, silver, gold, bronze, iron and many clothes. Divide the spoils of your enemies with your brothers.”
9. So the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh left the other Israelites at Shiloh in the land of Canaan and returned to Gilead to their own land, which they had received as an inheritance from the Lord for through Moses.
10. When they arrived at Geliloth, near the Jordan in Canaan, the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large altar there, next to the Jordan.
11. When the other Israelites heard that they had built an altar on the border of Canaan, at Geliloth, near the Jordan, on the Israelite side,
12. the entire assembly of Israel gathered in Shiloh to declare war against them.
13. Then the Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, to the land of Gilead, to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh.
14. With him they sent ten leaders, one from each tribe of Israel, each leader of his own family from the clans of Israel.
15. When they came to the land of Gilead, to the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, they said to them, “The whole assembly of the Lord says, How is it that you have committed this faithlessness against the God of Israel? How could you turn away from the Lord, building an altar for yourselves and rebelling against him?
16. Was not the sin of Peor enough for us? To this day we have not cleansed ourselves from this sin, even though a plague has fallen on the entire assembly of the Lord!
17. Now you are turning away from the Lord! If the land you have inherited is defiled, cross the Jordan into the land that belongs to the Lord, where the tabernacle of the Lord is, and take possession of the land among us. But do not rebel against the Lord or against us by building an altar for yourselves other than the altar of the Lord our God.
18. Was not the sin of Achan son of Zerah enough in regard to the consecrated things? Did not the wrath of the Lord fall upon the whole assembly of Israel because of this sin? And wasn’t he the only one who died because of his sin?”
19. Then the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the clans of Israel:
20. “The Mighty God, the Lord! The Mighty God, the Lord! He's the only one who knows! May all the people of Israel know this! If we have acted infidelity or rebellion against the Lord, do not spare us today.
21. If we built this altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings, grain offerings and sacrifices on it, may the Lord himself call us to account for this!
22. “We did not do this out of rebellion or unfaithfulness to the Lord. We did this because we were afraid that in the future their descendants would say to us, 'You have no part with the Lord.'
23. And if they told us this, they could take away our children, making them stop fearing the Lord.
24. Therefore we decided to build an altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices,
25. but as a memorial between us and you, and among future generations, that we will worship the Lord with our burnt offerings, grain offerings, and fellowship sacrifices. Then your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no part with the Lord.'
26. “On the contrary! We did this because we were afraid that in the future their descendants would say to us: 'See the model of the altar of the Lord, which our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a memorial between us and you.'
27. Can the Lord call us to account for rebelling against him? No! On the contrary, we did this because we feared that in the future their descendants would say to us, 'You have no part with the Lord.'
28. “And if they told us this, we would answer, 'See the pattern of the altar of the Lord that our ancestors built, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a memorial between us and you.'
29. “Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him by building an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God before his tabernacle, with burnt offerings and grain offerings and sacrifices. May the Lord ask us to account for this in the future!
30. When Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders of the tribes of Israel, heads of the clans, heard what the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh said, they were satisfied.
31. Then Phinehas, son of Eleazar the priest, said to them, “Today we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord. By this you saved the Israelites from the hand of the Lord.”
32. After this, Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the land of Gilead, from the tribes of Reuben and Gad, to the land of Canaan, where they met the other Israelites and gave them the report.
33. Everyone rejoiced at the news and praised God. And they no longer spoke of making war against the tribes of Reuben and Gad, nor of destroying the land where they lived.
34. The men of Reuben and Gad named the altar Witness Among Us, to declare that the Lord is God.