Phinehas and the Princes Return - Joshua 22:32

In the book of Joshua, we learned how Eleazar’s son Phinehas and ten princes asked the tribe of Reuben, Gad and one-half the tribe of Manasseh, “What trespass is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD” … and they answered among other words, “God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle, and when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spoke, it pleased them And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD” and in chapter twenty-two and verse thirty-two of Joshua we learn how, “Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned”, where we read, 

And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.

The verse reads, “And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gilead, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and Phinehas” whose name means “mouth of brass” and was “the son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron; his zealousness for the Lord averted a plague on Israel and gained him the promise of the Lord of an everlasting priesthood in his family and a spiritual leader and ruler of Israel”, “the son of Eleazar the priest” or “the male offspring and progeny belonging to Eleazar whose name means ‘God has helped’ and was the high priest son of Aaron”, “and the princes” which means “and the chiefs, captains and leaders”, “returned from the children of Reuben” or “went back separate and apart from 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 Reuben”, “and from the children of Gad” which means “and separate and apart from the offspring and progeny belonging to Gad whose name means ‘troop’ and was the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid, and full brother of Asher and the progenitor of the tribe of Gad”, “out of the land of Gilead” or “from the territory, region and country belonging to Gilead whose name means ‘rocky region’ and was a mountainous region bounded on the west by the Jordan, on the north by Bashan, on the east by the Arabian plateau, and on the south by Moab and Ammon; sometimes called 'Mount Gilead' or the 'land of Gilead' or just 'Gilead'. Divided into north and south Gilead”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Phinehas” and those with him departed from “Gilead" where the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh” were located and went back to their own territory

The verse continues, “… unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again.” Joshua or the writer added the words, “unto the land of Canaan” which means “to the district, region and territory 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”, “to the children of Israel” or “toward 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”, “and brought them word again” which means “and carried to them, the children of Israel, speech, utterance and message another time”. Joshua or the writer shared how “Phinehas” and those with him went back to their location in “Canaan” where the offspring of “Israel” were located and carried a message to them concerning the altar that was built.

When we consider the words in this verse, we discover how “Phinehas, the ten princes and those with them” were so satisfied with the explanation given by the “Reubenites, Gadites and one-half tribe of Manasseh” that they went back to their homes in “Canaan” where the offspring of “Israel” were located and told them what they heard. We shall see how they respond in our next verse, but for now, let us consider that this deescalated the situation greatly. God wants there to be peace in our lives, and because His Son Jesus came into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days, we may have peace with God when we yield our lives to Him as our “Savior and Lord”. (See Romans 5:1) God knows us, loves us and wants to forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and to equip us with His Holy Spirit so we can be guided into all truth and given the ability to live according to that truth in a manner that keeps us in peace with Him throughout all eternity. (See Romans 15:33; 2 John 1:3)

Next time we learn how, “the thing pleased the children of Israel”, 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".