_THE ALTAR ED._
JOSHUA xxii.
The two tribes and a half had behaved well. They had kept their word,
remained with their brethren during all Joshua's campaign, and taken
their part in all the perils and struggles through which the host had
passed. And now they receive the merited reward of honourable conduct.
They are complimented by their general; their service's are rehearsed
with approval; their threefold fidelity, to God, to Moses, and to
Joshua, is commended; they are dismissed with honour, and they receive
as their reward a substantial share of the spoil which had been taken
from the enemy. "Return," said Joshua, "with much riches unto your
tents, and with very much cattle, with silver and with gold, and with
brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment; divide the spoil of
your enemies with your brethren." It thus appeared that honour, like
honesty, is the best policy. Had these two tribes and a half chosen
the alternative of selfishness, refused to cross the Jordan to help
their brethren, and devoted their whole energies at once to their
fields and flocks, they would have fared worse in the end. No doubt as
they recrossed the Jordan, bearing with them the treasure which had
been acquired on the western side, their hearts would be full of that
happy feeling which results from duty faithfully performed, and
honourable conduct amply rewarded. They brought back "peace with
honour," and prosperity to the bargain. After all, it is high
principle that pays. It demands a time of patient working and of
patient waiting, but its bills are fully implemented in the end.
In sending away the two tribes and a half Joshua pressed two counsels
on them. One was that they were to divide the spoil with those of
their brethren that had remained at home. Here, again, selfishness
might possibly have found a footing. Why should the men that had
incurred none of the labour and the peril enjoy any of the spoil?
Would it not have been fair that those who had borne the burden and
heat of the day should alone enjoy its rewards? But, in point of fact,
there had been good reason why a portion should remain at home. To
leave the women and children wholly undefended would have been
recklessness itself. Some arrangement, too, had to be made for looking
after the flocks and herds. And as the supply of manna had ceased, the
production of food had to be provided for. The men at home had been
doing the duty assigned to them as well as the men abroad. If they
could not establish a claim in justice to a share of the spoil, the
spirit of brotherhood and generosity pleaded on their behalf. The
soldier-section of the two and a half tribes had done their part
honourably and generously to the nine and a half; let them act in the
same spirit to their own brethren. Let them share in the good things
which they had brought home, so that a spirit of joy and satisfaction
might be diffused throughout the community, and the welcome given to
those who had been absent might be cordial and complete, without one
trace of discontent or envy.
Occasions may occur still on which this counsel of Joshua may come in
very suitably. It does not always happen that brothers or near
relatives who have prospered abroad are very mindful of those whom
they have left at home. They like to enjoy their abundance, and if the
case of their poor relations comes across their minds, they dismiss it
with the thought that men's lots must differ, and that they are not
going to lose all the benefit of their success by supporting other
families besides their own. Yet, how much good might accrue from a
little generosity, though it were but an occasional gift, towards
those who are straitened? And how much better it would be to kindle by
this means a thankful and kindly feeling, than to have envy and
jealousy rankling in their hearts!
The other counsel of Joshua bore upon that which was ever uppermost in
his heart--loyalty to God. "Take diligent heed to do the commandment
and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love
the Lord your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep all His
commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your
heart and with all your soul." It is evident that Joshua poured his
whole heart into this counsel. He was evidently anxious as to the
effect which their separation from their brethren would have on their
religious condition. It was west of the Jordan that the sanctuary had
been placed, and that the great central influence in support of the
national worship would mainly operate. Would not these eastern tribes
be in great danger of drifting away from the recognised worship of
God, and becoming idolaters? Joshua knew well that as yet the nation
was far from being weaned from idolatry (see xxiv. 14). He knew that
among many there were strong propensities towards it. He had
something of the feeling that an earnest Christian parent would have
in sending off a son, not very decided in religion, to some colony
where the public sentiment was loose, and where the temptations to
worldliness and religious indifference were strong. He was therefore
all the more earnest in his exhortations to them, for he felt that all
their prosperity, all their happiness, their very life itself,
depended on their being faithful to their God.
We cannot tell how long time had elapsed when word was brought to the
western side that the two and a half tribes had built a great altar on
the edge of Jordan, apparently as a rival to the ecclesiastical
establishment at Shiloh. That this was their intention seems to have
been taken for granted, for we find the congregation or general
assembly of Israel assembled at Shiloh to prepare for war with the
schismatical tribes. War had evidently become a familiar idea with
them, and at first no other course suggested itself for arresting the
proposal. It was one of the many occasions of unreasoning impetuosity
which the history of Israel presents.
No mention is made of Joshua in the narrative of this transaction; he
had retired from active life, and perhaps what is here recorded did
not take place for a considerable time after the return of the two and
a half tribes. It may be that we have here an instance of the method
so often pursued in Hebrew annals, of recording together certain
incidents pertaining to the same transaction, or to the same people,
though these incidents were separated from each other by a
considerable interval of time.
It was well that the congregation assembled at Shiloh. They would be
reminded by the very place that great national movements were not to
be undertaken rashly, since God was the supreme ruler of the nation.
We are not told whether the usual method of asking counsel of God was
resorted to, but certainly the course followed was more reasonable
than rushing into war. It was resolved to begin by remonstrating with
the two and a half tribes. The idea that their proposal was
schismatical, nay, even idolatrous, was not given up, but it was
thought that if a solemn remonstrance and warning were addressed to
them, they might be induced to abandon their project.
A deputation was sent over, consisting of Phinehas, the son of Eleazar
the priest, as representing the religious interest, and ten princes,
representing the ten tribes, to have an interview with the heads of
the two and a half tribes. When they met, the deputation opened very
fiercely on their brethren. They charged them with unheard-of
wickedness. What they had done was a daring act of rebellion. It was
worthy to be classed with the iniquity of Peor--one of the vilest
deeds that ever disgraced the nation. It was fitted to bring down
God's judgments on the whole nation, and would certainly do so. If the
secret act of Achan involved the congregation in wrath, what calamity
to the whole people would not result from this daring and open deed of
rebellion? They were not safe for a single day. The vials of the
Divine wrath could not but be ready, and in twenty-four hours the
whole congregation of Israel might be overwhelmed by the tokens of His
displeasure.
One should have said that if anything was fitted to have a bad effect
on the two and a half tribes, it was this mode of dealing. It is not
wise to assume that your brother is a villain. And scolding, as has
been well said, does not make men sorry for their sins. But one thing
was said by the deputation that was fitted to have a different effect.
"Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass
ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord, wherein the
Lord's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession among us: but rebel
not against the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar
beside the altar of the Lord our God."
Here was a generous, a self-denying proposal; the ten tribes were some
of them in straits themselves, finding the room available for them far
too narrow; nevertheless they were prepared to divide what they had
with their brethren, if their real feeling was that the east side of
the Jordan was outside the hallowed and hallowing influence of the
presence of the Lord.
Instead, therefore, of firing up the fierce reproof of their brethren,
the two and a half tribes were softened by this really kind proposal
and returned a reassuring answer. They solemnly repudiated all idea of
a rival establishment. They knew that there was but one place where
the tabernacle and the ark of the covenant could be, and they had not
the remotest intention of interfering with the spot that had been
chosen for that purpose. They had never entertained the thought of
offering burnt offerings, or meat offerings, or peace offerings on
their altar. They solemnly abjured all intention to show disrespect to
the Lord, or to His law. The altar which they had built had a very
different purpose. It was occasioned by the physical structure of the
country, and the effect which that might have on their children in
years to come. "In time to come your children might speak unto our
children, saying, What have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? For
Lord hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of
Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the Lord: so shall your
children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. Therefore we
said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering,
nor for sacrifice; but that it may be a witness between us, and you,
and our generations after us." It was not a rival, but a witness, a
pattern; a reminder to the two and a half tribes that the true altar,
the Divine sanctuary, hallowed by the token of God's presence was
elsewhere, and that there, and only there, were the public sacrifices
to be offered.
The acquaintance with the physical structure of Palestine which we
have obtained in recent years enables us to appreciate the feeling of
the two and a half tribes better than could have been done before. The
mere fact that a river separated the east from the west of Palestine
would not have been enough to account for the sense of isolation and
the fear thence arising which had taken hold of the heads of the two
and a half tribes. It is the peculiar structure of the valley in which
the river runs that explains the story. The Jordan valley, as has
already been mentioned, is depressed below the level of the
Mediterranean Sea, the depression increasing gradually as the river
flows towards the Dead Sea, where it amounts to 1300 feet. In addition
to this, the mountainous plateau on each side of the Jordan valley
rises to the height of 2000 or 2500 feet above the sea, so that the
entire depression, counting from the top of the plateau to the edge of
the river, is between three and four thousand feet. On each side the
approach to the Jordan is difficult, while, during the warm season,
the great heat increases the fatigue of travelling and discourages
the attempt. All these things make the separation between the two
parts of the country caused by the river and its valley much more
complete than in ordinary cases of river boundaries. There can be no
doubt now that the heads of the two and a half tribes had considerable
ground for their apprehensions. There was some risk that they should
cease to be regarded as part of the nation; and their explanation of
the altar seems to have been an honest one. It was designed simply as
a memorial, not for sacrifices. We see what a happy thing it was for
the whole nation that the deputation was sent across before resorting
to arms. A new light was thrown on what had seemed a daring sin; it
was but an innocent arrangement; and the terrible forebodings which it
awakened are at once scattered to the winds.
But who can estimate all the misery that has come in almost every age,
in circles both public and private, from hasty suspicions of evil,
which a little patience, a little inquiry, a little opportunity of
explanation, might have at once averted? History, tradition, fiction,
alike furnish us with instances. We recall the story of Llewellyn and
his dog Gelert, stabbed by his master, who thought the stains upon his
mouth were the blood of his beloved child; while, on raising the
cradle which had been turned over, he found his child asleep and well,
and a huge wolf dead, from whose fangs the dog had delivered him. We
remember the tragedy of Othello and Desdemona; we see how the fondest
love may be poisoned by hasty suspicion, and the dearest of wives
murdered, when a little patience would have shown her innocent--shown
her all too pure to come in contact with even a vestige of the evil
thing. We think of the many stories of crusaders and others leaving
their homes with their love pledged to another, detained in distant
lands without means of communication, hearing a rumour that their
beloved one had turned false, and doing some rash and irrevocable
deed, while a little further waiting would have realized all their
hopes. But perhaps it is in less tragic circumstances that the spirit
of suspicion and unjust accusation is most commonly manifested. A
rumour unfavourable to your character gets into circulation; you
suspect some one of being the author, and deal fiercely with him
accordingly; it turns out that he is wholly innocent. A friend has
apparently written a letter against you which has made you furious;
you pour a torrent of reproaches upon him; it turns out that the
letter was written by some one else with a similar name. But indeed
there is no end to the mischief that is bred by impatience, and by
want of inquiry, or of waiting for explanations that would put a quite
different complexion on our matters of complaint. True charity
"thinketh no evil," for it "rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth
in truth. It beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all
things, endureth all things." If its gentle voice were more regarded,
what a multitude of offences would vanish, and how much wider would be
the reign of peace!
The explanation that had been offered by Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh
proved satisfactory to Phinehas and the princes of the congregation,
and likewise to the people of the west generally, when the deputation
reported their proceedings. The remark of Phinehas before he left his
eastern brethren was a striking one: "This day do we perceive that the
Lord is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against
the Lord; now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the
hand of the Lord." There was a great difference between the Lord being
among them, and their being in the hand of the Lord. If the Lord were
among them they were under all manner of gracious influence; if they
were in the hand of the Lord they were exposed to the utmost
visitations of His wrath. It was the joy of Phinehas to find not only
that no provocation had been given to God's righteous jealousy, but
that proof had been afforded that He was graciously blessing them. If
God often departs from us without our suspecting it, He is sometimes
graciously present with us when we have been fearing that He was gone.
So it was now. Phinehas in imagination had seen the gathering of a
terrible storm, as if the very enemy of man had been stirring up his
countrymen to rebellion and contempt of God; but in place of that, he
sees that they have been consulting for God's honour, for the
permanence of His institutions, and for the preservation of unity
between the two sections of the nation; and in this he finds a proof
that God has been graciously working among them. For God is the God of
peace, not of strife, and the Spirit is the Spirit of order, and not
of confusion. And when two sections of a community are led to desire
the advancement of His service and the honour of His name, even by
methods which are not in all respects alike, it is a proof that He is
among them, drawing their hearts to Himself and to one another.
Perhaps the common adage might have been applied to the case--that
there were faults on both sides. If the ten tribes were too hasty in
preparing for war, the two and a half tribes had been too hasty in
deciding on the erection of their altar, without communication with
the priests and the civil heads of the nation. In a matter so sacred,
no such step should have been taken without full consultation and a
clear view of duty. The goodness of their motive did not excuse them
for not taking all available methods to carry out their plan in a way
wholly unexceptional. As it was, they ran a great risk of kindling a
fire which might have at once destroyed themselves and weakened the
rest of the nation through all time. In their effort to promote unity,
they had almost occasioned a fatal schism. Thus both sections of the
nation had been on the edge of a fearful catastrophe.
But now it appeared that the section that had seemed to be so highly
offending were animated by a quite loyal sentiment. Phinehas gladly
seized on the fact as a proof that God was among them. A less godly
man would not have thought of this as of much importance. He would
hardly have believed in it as anything that could exist except in a
fanatical imagination. But the more one knows of God the more real
does the privilege seem, and the more blessed. Nay, it comes to be
felt as that which makes the greatest conceivable difference between
one individual or one community and another. The great curse of sin is
that it has severed us from God. The glory of the grace of God in
Christ is that we are brought together. Man without God is like the
earth without the sun, or the body without the soul. Man in fellowship
with God is man replenished with all Divine blessings and holy
influences. A church in which God does not dwell is a hold of unclean
spirits and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird. A church
inhabited by God, like the bride in the Song of Solomon, "looketh
forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible
as an army with banners."