CHAPTER 22
and told them,
“You
have done
all
that
Moses
the servant
of the LORD
commanded
you,
and you have obeyed
my voice
in all
that
I commanded
you.
All this time
you have not
deserted
your brothers,
up to
this very day,
but have kept
the charge
given you
by the LORD
your God.
And now that
the LORD
your God
has given your brothers
rest
as
He promised them,
you may return
to your homes
in
the land
that
Moses
the servant
of the LORD
gave
you
across
the Jordan.
But
be very
careful
to observe
the commandment
and
the law
that
Moses
the servant
of the LORD
gave you:
to love
the LORD
your God,
to walk
in all
His ways,
to keep
His commandments,
to hold fast
to Him,
and to serve Him
with all
your heart
and all
your soul."
(To the half-tribe
of Manasseh
Moses
had given land
in Bashan,
and to the other half
Joshua
gave land
on the west
side
of the Jordan
among
their brothers.)
When
Joshua
sent
them to
their homes
he blessed them,
saying,
“Return
to
your homes
with your great
wealth,
with immense
herds of livestock,
with silver,
gold,
bronze,
iron,
and very many
clothes.
Divide
with
your brothers
the spoil
of your enemies.”
So the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh
left
the Israelites
at Shiloh
in the land
of Canaan
to return
to
their own land
of Gilead,
which
they had acquired
according to
the command
of the LORD
through
Moses.
And when they came
to
Geliloth
near the Jordan
in the land
of Canaan,
the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh
built
an imposing
altar
there
by
the Jordan.
Then the Israelites
received
the report:
“Behold,
the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh
have built
an altar
on
the border
of the land
of Canaan,
at
Geliloth
near the Jordan
on
the Israelite
side.”
And when they
heard this,
the whole
congregation
of Israel
assembled
at Shiloh
to go
to war
against them.
The Israelites
sent
Phinehas
son of
Eleazar
the priest
to
the land
of Gilead,
to
the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh.
With him
they sent ten
chiefs—
one
family
leader
from each
tribe
of Israel,
each
the head
of a family
among the clans
of Israel.
They went
to
the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh
in
the land
of Gilead
and said
to them,
“This is what
the whole
congregation
of the LORD
says:
‘What
is this
breach of faith
you have committed
today
against the God
of Israel
by turning away
from
the LORD
and building
for yourselves
an altar,
that you might rebel
against the LORD
this day?
Was not the sin
of Peor
enough
for us,
from which
we have not
cleansed
ourselves
to
this
day?
It even brought
a plague
upon the congregation
of the LORD.
And now,
would you
turn away
from
the LORD?
If you
rebel
today
against the LORD,
tomorrow
He will be angry
with
the whole
congregation
of Israel.
If
indeed
the land
of your inheritance
is unclean,
then cross over
to
the land
of the LORD's
possession,
where
the LORD’s
tabernacle
stands,
and take possession
of it among us.
But do not
rebel
against the LORD
or against us by building
for yourselves
an altar
other than
the altar
of the LORD
our God.
Was not
Achan
son
of Zerah
unfaithful
regarding
what was set apart for destruction,
bringing wrath
upon
the whole
congregation
of Israel?
Yet it was not
only
Achan
who perished
because of his sin!’”
Then the Reubenites,
the Gadites,
and the half-tribe
of Manasseh
answered
the leaders
of the clans
of Israel,
“The LORD,
the Mighty One,
is God!
The LORD,
The Mighty One,
is God!
He
knows,
and may Israel
also know.
If this
was in rebellion
or breach of faith
against the LORD,
do not
spare us
today.
If we have built
for ourselves an altar
to turn away
from
Him
and
to offer
burnt offerings
and grain offerings
on it,
or
to sacrifice
fellowship
offerings
on it,
may the LORD
Himself
hold us accountable.
But in fact
we have done
this
for fear
that in the future
your descendants
might say
to ours,
‘What
have you to do
with the LORD,
the God
of Israel?
For the LORD
has made
the Jordan
a border
between us
and you—
you Reubenites
and Gadites.
You have no
share
in the LORD!’
So your descendants
could cause
ours
to stop
fearing
the LORD.
That is why we said,
‘Let us take action
and build
an altar for ourselves,
but not
for burnt offerings
or sacrifices.
Rather,
let it be
a witness
between us
and you
and
the generations
to come,
that we will worship
the LORD
in His presence
with our burnt offerings,
sacrifices,
and peace offerings.’
Then in the future,
your descendants
cannot
say
to ours,
'You have no
share
in the LORD!’
Therefore we said,
‘If they ever
say this
to us
or
to our descendants,
we will answer:
Here is
the copy
of the altar
of the LORD
that
our fathers
made,
not
for burnt offerings
or sacrifices,
but
as a witness
between us
and you.'
Far be it from us
to rebel
against the LORD
and turn away
from
Him
today
by building
an altar
for burnt offerings,
grain offerings,
or sacrifices,
other than
the altar
of the LORD
our God,
which stands
before
His tabernacle.”
When Phinehas
the priest
and the leaders
of the congregation—
the heads
of Israel’s
clans
who
were with him—
heard
what
the descendants
of Reuben,
Gad,
and Manasseh
had to say,
they were satisfied.
Phinehas
son
of Eleazar
the priest
said
to
the descendants
of Reuben,
Gad,
and Manasseh,
“Today
we know
that
the LORD
is among us,
because
you have not
committed
this
breach of faith
against Him.
Consequently,
you have delivered
the Israelites
from the hand
of the LORD."
Then Phinehas
son
of Eleazar
the priest
and the leaders
returned
to
the Israelites
in
the land
of Canaan
and brought back
a report regarding
the Reubenites
and Gadites
in the land
of Gilead.
The Israelites
were satisfied
with the report,
and they
praised
God
and spoke
no
more about going
to war
against them
to destroy
the land
where
the Reubenites
and Gadites
lived.
So the Reubenites
and Gadites
named
the altar Witness,
saying,
“It
is a witness
between us
that
the LORD
is God.”