Alrighty, by all appearances, it would seem like we’ve got a nice farewell party going on here in Joshua 22 between the 2 1/2 tribes who would be returning to their homes on the eastern side of the Jordan River and the 9 1/2 tribes who would remain inside the Promised Land.
Underneath all of the smiles, goodwill handshakes and hugging, a deep-seated mutual distrust was brewing in the background.
This has actually been the bane of man since the beginning of human civilization.
It’s easy to be nice and friendly and refer to each other as brothers during a gala event when the goodwill (and drinks) are flowing.
It’s quite another feat altogether to maintain that positivity once you’ve gone you’re separate ways.
Here’s the brutal reality we’ve got to face and it’s a problem that has always reared its ugly head throughout all of human history.
I’m talking about the so-called “us and them” mentality.
The body of Israel at this moment was split into 2 parts.
We had the “us” part of the equation living inside the Promised Land.
But then across from the Jordan River, there was the “them” part of the equation living outside the Promised Landl.
This was a situation that created immediate mutual suspicions and we’re gonna see later on that it would lead to trouble.
Now you might be thinking…
…come on man, the 2 1/2 tribes weren’t located that far away.
They were only a couple of miles across the Jordan River.
Yeah, that’s true but listen up homies.
This was during a time when there weren’t such things like automobiles, helicopters and motor-powered sleek and speedy fishing boats.
So for all practical intents and purposes, Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh might as well have been located a million miles away.
Let’s get something straight about the Jordan River.
It wasn’t just a geographical boundary marker dividing one huge land mass from another.
This was also a SPIRITUAL BOUNDARY MARKER folks!
To the west of the Jordan River was a piece of real estate that the Creator of the whole universe had cherry-picked for His Chosen People.
But to the east of the Jordan River, was real estate that was NOT Promised Land territory.
Period.
There aren’t words to describe just how significant this is man.
I understood this significance when I flew into Israel a couple of years ago (way before this Covid nonsense happened).
I was sitting in my nice and comfy aisle seat carefully monitoring my little TV screen in front me that was showing me real time precisely where the aircraft I was riding in was located.
And the instant I knew my plane had just flown over the Jordan River into Holy Land territory, I popped the Champagne and started crying tears of joy.
See, here’s the thing about the ancient Middle Eastern mindset you’ve got to understand and this is something I’ve spoken about before.
The ancient Middle Eastern mind believed that a deity’s power was territorial.
And yes, even the ancient Israelites believed this about their one powerful God who they worshipped.
They still hadn’t reached the understanding that HASHEM has power anywhere and everywhere and that His jurisdiction is not just limited to the land of Israel (though the presence of His Spirit is especially strong there).
Are you catching what I’m laying down here homies?
Back in Joshua’s day, it was just understood that the Promised Land was the earthly dwelling place of HASHEM.
And outside of the Promised Land, God had no home and thus His power and authority outside of Canaan was limited.
The truth is despite the many decades of God dwelling with His people, the ancient Israelites were still handcuffed by a lot of false beliefs concerning the true nature of Hashem.
At this time, they still didn’t understand that their God was actually the only God in existence.
That’s right.
They still believed that the GOYIM (the gentile nations) had their gods and they had their one God.
And they still hadn’t come to terms with the Lord’s omnipotence and that His was power was not in any way restricted to territorial boundaries.
God’s sovereignty extends over every nation in existence right now.
And yes, that includes North Korea homies.
If the Lord ever decides to make quick work of Kim Jong Un, he’s toast.
And also consider what being a Hebrew literally meant.
It means to “cross over” in the sense that you LEAVE BEHIND the rules and authority of one region for another.
Given all this, I can well understand the distrust and suspicion the 9 1/2 tribes felt towards Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh.
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