Lies or Truth?

“The men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord” (Joshua 9:14).

“And when the Israelites heard that they (Reubenites, Gadites, half-tribe of Manasseh, verse 10) had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them” (Joshua 22:11-12).

 

I just finished reading the book of Joshua and noticed the difference in the way the Israelites responded to the two events mentioned above.  The first event was the ruse dreamed up by the people of Gibeon when they realized God was helping the Israelites take over the land. The Gibeonites pretended to be from a far country and asked to make a peace treaty with the Israelites.  Apparently, they didn’t want to go to war and risk their lives. So, they dressed in old, worn-out clothes and carried stale and moldy provisions with them to trick the men of Israel.

The Scripture says, “the men of Israel sampled their provisions but did not inquire of the Lord.” Joshua made a peace treaty with them, but in three days they learned the truth.  The Gibeonites were their neighbors and they’d been tricked!

Fast forward to Joshua, chapter 22.  The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh had been given land on the east side of the Jordan River, but before they could settle there, they were required to help the other tribes take possession of the land on the west side of the river.  After they had accomplished that, Joshua blessed them and sent them back to settle in their land on the east side of the Jordan. Before they crossed the river, they “built an imposing altar there by the Jordan” (Joshua 22:10).

Their brothers’ response: get ready for war! Without finding out why the two and a half tribes had built this “imposing altar” they took off, ready to fight.

The reason the altar was built is found in verses 24-29. They knew most of the Israelite tribes were on the west side of the Jordan River and future generations might question what the Reubenites and Gadites had to do with the Lord. The altar was built as a witness between the tribes of the west side and the tribes of the east so that future generations would know that all the tribes worshipped the One and only God. It was not to be a place of worship. That was at the Tent of Meeting in Shiloh. Rather, it was a place of remembrance and commitment. They named the altar “A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.”

The men of Israel put down their weapons and praised God for the faithfulness of the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh.

I think there is a lesson for us today. The leaders of the Israelites were quite willing to accept those strangers and accept their lie as truth, without ever inquiring of the Lord.  But when they questioned the actions of their own brothers, they were ready to fight them.  Later, they learned the truth.

Finding truth isn’t always easy. God is truth so we start there.

“See how I love your precepts; preserve my life, O Lord, according to your love. All your words are true; all your righteous laws are eternal” (Psalm 119:159-160).