“If the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then cross back over into the land which belongs to Adonai, where the tabernacle of Adonai is located, and take a possession among us. But don’t rebel against Adonai, and don’t rebel against us, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of Adonai our God.”-Joshua 22:19
So let’s get our bearings of where we’re at.
The 2 1/2 tribes (the ones living on the east side of the Jordan River outside of the Promised Land) took it upon themselves to build a huge altar inside the land (most likely Benjamin territory) as a way to make sure they wouldn’t be cut off from their brothers living inside the land.
The 9 1/2 tribes were not pleased with this (to put it lightly) and posed a question to the leadership of Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh that cut right to the heart of the matter.
“If you really feel the land you have taken possession of is unclean, then why not cross back over into the land which God has chose for us?”
I’m telling you the theological implications of that question are huge.
A graduate level seminary student could write a Doctoral thesis on this topic.
So what’s really going on here?
To put it simply, the 2 1/2 tribes of the east were afraid of having their Israelite identity erased.
That’s why they constructed this unauthorized Altar and to make matters worse, they didn’t build it on their own land but across the Jordan River in chosen land territory.
This action speaks volumes.
Because if they really felt their land was legitimate from Hashem’s perspective, why not just build the altar in their own territory for their own family and clan members to see?
Hence, Pinchas (the one leading the delegation representing the 9 1/2 tribes), in quite a sarcastic fashion I might add, calls them on their hypocrisy by pointing out, if you feel the land you chose is so unclean to the point where you can’t even build your own altar there, well then, heck man, why consider settling their in the first place?
Pinchas then leads them to the only logical conclusion remaining.
MOVE BACK TO THE PROMISED LAND AND OUT OF OUR HOLDINGS, WE WILL CARVE OUT TERRITORY FOR YOU.
WOW!
That was quite a generous offer and only someone of Pinchas’s standing would be able to make it.
We’ll continue this discussion the next time we meet.
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