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 in chapter twenty-two and verse ten of Joshua we learn what happened, “when they came unto the borders of Jordan” where we read,
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.
The verse reads, “And when they came unto the borders of Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and when they came” which means “and at the time and moment they, Eleazar and the ten priests, lighted upon, attained and entered” “to the borders of Jordan” or “to the circuit or edge pertaining to Jordan whose name means ‘descender’ and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”, “that are in the land of Canaan” which means “that exist within 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”. Joshua or the writer the writer shared at the time “the children of Reuben, Gad and one-half the tribe of Manasseh” entered the boundary pertaining to the “Jordan River” which were within the territory which belonged to “Canaan”, the following happened.
The verse goes on to say, “… 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.” Joshua or the writer continued with the words, “the children of Reuban” which means “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 the children of Gad” or “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 who’s the progenitor of the tribe that descended from Gad” “and the half tribe of Manasseh” which means “and 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” “built there an altar” or “constructed and erected a place of slaughter” “by Jordan” which means “beside the Jordan whose name means ‘descender’ and was the river of Palestine running from the roots of Anti-Lebanon to the Dead Sea a distance of approximately 200 miles (320 km)”, “a great altar to see to” or “a large, distinguished and haughty sacrificial place as an appearance, spectacle and vision”. Joshua or the writer shared how “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh” erected a massive and spectacular place of sacrifice at the boundary of the Jordan River.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how the tribe of Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh erected a massive and spectacular place of sacrifice at the edge of the Jordan River before they crossed to the other side. We shall learn more about this in our next few verses, but for now, let us be mindful that these were activities that were in the lives of the people of Israel. God knows every part of our lives, and when He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and raised Him from the dead after three days, He made the way through faith and trust in Him to be forgiven of our sins, granted everlasting life and given His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and to help us in our everyday activities to reflect His image to others in the world. (See Psalm 17:15)
Next time we learn how the children of Israel hear that, “the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar”, 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".
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