The Children of Israel Sent - Joshua 22:13

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “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, and when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them”, and in chapter twenty-two and verse thirteen of Joshua we learn how, “the children of Israel sent” where we read, 

And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,

The verse reads, “And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, …” 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” “sent unto the children or Reuben” or “extended, directed and reached out to the offspring and progeny belonging to Reuben whose name means ‘behold a son’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah who was the progenitor of the tribe of Reuben”, “and to the children of Gad” which means “the offspring and progeny belonging to Gad whose name means ‘troop’ and was seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's”, “and to the half tribe of Manasseh” or “and to one-half of the clan or people group belonging to Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring of “Israel” reached out to the offspring of “Reuben, Gad and the one-half tribe of Manasseh”. 

The verse continues, “… into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest,” Joshua or the writer added the words, “into the land of Gilead” which means “into the territory, region and district 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”, “Phinehas” whose name means “mouth of brass” and was 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” “the son of Eleazar the priest” which means “the male offspring belonging to Eleazar whose name means ‘God has helped’ and was the spiritual leader and ruler”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring belonging to “Israel” went into the territory belonging to “Gilead”, and “Phinehas” the male progenitor belonging to the spiritual leader Eleazar was dispatched to encounter the “tribes of Reuben, Gad and one-half of the tribe of Manasseh”. 

When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we see how offspring belonging to “Israel” perceived that the tribes of “Reuben, Gad and one half of the tribe of Manasseh” built their “altar” at the location “Israel” went into the promise land, and they dispatched “Eleazar’s” son “Phinehas” to confront the “tribes of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh”. In other words, God knew what happened, and in a similar manner because everyone has sinned, (See Romans 3:10, 23) He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we trust in, rely upon and cling to Him as our “Savior and Lord”, we will be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and provided with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us in all our ways to make Him the priority of our lives. (See John 3:16; 16:13, Acts 1:8 and Revelation 4:11)

Next time we learn how “Eleazar the priest’s son Phinehas” brought, “with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes 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".