CHAPTER 22

The Misunderstanding
Key Passage:
For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not
carnal, and walk as men?

Their Discharge (verses 1-8)

1. The East Jordan tribes were called upon by Joshua and given a strong commendation.
2. For five long years they had been waging the battle against the enemy, never able to return home to their
families, wives, children, parents, and loved ones.
3. Having fulfilled their mission and kept their , the tribes were now free to go
home. God had given His people .
4. Joshua was concerned about the walk of his people (verse 5).
5. Joshua shared the rich spoils of battle with them and their family members back home.
6. Interestingly enough, in verse 4 Joshua referred to the land where the 2½ tribes desired to live, “the land
of possession.”
• This would be in contrast to “the land of the possession of the LORD” of verse 19.
• Whereas the land where the 2½ tribes settled was given to them by Moses (Numbers 32:33), the
Promised Land (i.e., Canaan) was given by the LORD (Genesis 15:18-21).

Their Concern (verses 9-10)

1. As the men of Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh made their way east and passed landmarks
that brought back memories of the great things God had done, their hearts began to disturb them.
2. Yes, they were going home to the land that they had chosen for themselves; but somehow they began to
feel isolated from the nation of Israel.

Their Submission (verses 11-29)

1. Word traveled quickly that the tribes east of the Jordan had erected an altar.
2. Phinehas appears to speak on behalf of all the tribes.
3. From the nation’s recent history, Phinehas cited two serious cases of rebellion as warning to these tribes.
• When the men were involved with the Moabite women and served their god (Numbers 25) and as a
result, 24,000 people died.
• The sin of Achan after the victory at Jericho (Joshua 7). His sin led to defeat at Ai and the deaths of
thirty-six Jewish soldiers. It also led to his own death and that of the members of his family.
4. The delegation invited the 2 ½ tribes to claim their inheritance within the land that God had promised to
bless (Deuteronomy 11:10-32).
5. The accused tribes responded to the charges by repeatedly invoking the name of the Lord in an effort to
show that their intentions were pure and that the Lord knew their hearts.
6. The accused tribes clarified the matter by explaining that they weren’t setting up a rival religion.
• The altar they built wasn’t for sacrifices.
• They had erected a memorial/monument to remind the tribes west of the Jordan that Reuben, Gad,
and Manasseh were a part of the Jewish nation.
7. The reasoning of the 2 ½ tribes for building the memorial is puzzling.
• Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were not even living in the land of God’s choice, yet they feared lest
the children across the river would lead their children astray!
• They also accused of creating the problem of the Jordan River.
8. Somewhere near this “witness monument” were the twelve stones that the men had carried from the midst
of the Jordan River (Joshua 4:20-24).
• It reminded the Jews that they had crossed the river and buried their past forever.
• Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh had crossed the river and gone back again.

Their Agreement (verses 30-34)

1. Phinehas was pleased, the delegation was pleased, and the Children of Israel across the Jordan were
pleased; but was the Lord pleased?
2. “Peace at any price” isn’t God’s will for His people.
3. The 2 ½ tribes named their altar, , which means “witness.”