Building an Altar - Joshua 22:11

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses, and when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to”, and in chapter twenty-two and verse eleven of Joshua we learn what happened when the children of Israel heard, “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar” where we read, 

And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.

The verse reads, “And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the children of Israel” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means ‘God prevails’ and was the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob” “heard say” or “were given the faculty for hearing, perceiving and understanding utterance, declaration and proclamation”, “behold, the children of Reuben” which means “lo, look and consider, the offspring and progeny belonging to Reuben whose name means ‘behold a son’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah and the progenitor of the tribe of Reuben” “and the children of Gad” or “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Gad whose name means ‘troop’ and was seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and full brother of Asher and progenitor of the tribe of Gad” “and the half tribe of Manasseh” which means “and the one-half belonging to Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh” “have built an altar” or “have constructed and erected a sacrificial place”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring belonging to “Israel” were given the faculty for perceiving that the offspring of “Reuben, Gad and one-half tribe of Manasseh” erected a sacrificial place.

The verse continues, “… over against the land of Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of Israel.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “over against the land of Canaan” which means “opposite and on the other side of the territory and region belonging to “Canaan” whose name means ‘lowland’ and was the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua” “in the borders of Jordan” or “within the circuit, edge and boundaries belonging to Jordan whose name means ‘descender’ and was the land west of the Jordan peopled by the descendants of Canaan and subsequently conquered by the Israelites under Joshua”, “at the passage of the children of Israel” which means “at the region or opposite side pertaining to the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means “God prevails” and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”. Joshua or the writer shared how the sacrificial place erected by the “tribes of Reuben, Gad and one half of Manasseh” was erected at the edge of the Jordan River where the people of Israel crossed into the promise land.

When we think through the words in this verse, we discover how the people of “Israel” were given the faculty for perceiving that the “tribes of Reuben, Gad and the one-half tribe of Manasseh” had erected a sacrificial place at the edge of the Jordan River in the location that the children of “Israel” crossed into the promise land. God knew all these things, and He would use them to promote unity within His people. We shall see how this works out in our next few verses, but for now, let us be reminded that Jehovah God knows us and our situations as well. When we yield to His Son Jesus who was crucified on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised from the dead after three days, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and put His Holy Spirit within us to guide us into all truth and empower us to live according to that truth so we trust Him in every situation we encounter. (See John 3:16:16:13; Acts 1:8; Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn what happened, “when the children of Israel heard of it”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".