The last time we met we were dealing with the issue of the 2 1/2 tribes who had decided to take their inheritance outside of Promised Land territory on the east side of the Jordan River.
Yet they were still to send soldiers to assist the other 9 1/2 tribes who would be going in to take the land.
And the thorny question posed was…
…how long would the 2 1/2 tribes (Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh) have to fight alongside their brothers before it would be okay for them to lay down their arms and cross back over the Jordan to their homes?
Or a better question might be…
…WHO would decide…
…when it would be okay for the 2/12 tribes to stop fighting and go home?
The answer to that question is Joshua.
He’s the one who would ultimately determine when the timing was right for the 2 /12 tribes to stop fighting alongside their brothers and return home.
Yet, there were still issues concerning his authority.
Was he to have the same authority over the 2 1/2 tribes who refused to receive their inheritance inside the Promised Land as the other 9 1/2 tribes?
What if the 2 1/2 tribes refused to accept Joshua’s leadership?
This could result in a civil war erupting between Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh and the remaining 9/12 tribes at a time when Israel was attempting to take over numerous enemy tribes and cities.
In fact, later on we’ll read about how a war almost broke out between these two groups.
But praise Hashem, fortunately that did not happen.
Read verses 16 and 17.
“They answered Y’hoshua, ‘We will do everything you have ordered us to do, and we will go wherever you send us. Just as we listened to everything Moshe said, so will we listen to you. Only may Adonai your God be with you as he was with Moshe. If anyone rebels against your order and doesn’t heed what you say in every detail of your order, he will be put to death. Just be strong, be bold!'”-Joshua 1:16-17
We can see that Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh indeed kept their promise.
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