Joshua 22:1-34 How to Peacefully Resolve Problems

Joshua 22:1-34 How to Peacefully Resolve Problems

Joshua 22:1-34 How to Peacefully Resolve Problems – let’s begin with a story:

That little weasel. Ben took one look through the glass wall and knew what was going on. His supervisor was in there telling the boss about “his” great ideas for increasing production – except the ideas had come from Ben, over lunch that very day. Well, if that’s the way Larry wanted to play, maybe a few scratches on his brand-new car were in order.

Later, Ben returned from the parking garage to find a note from his boss: Larry tells me you have some great ideas for streamlining production. Can’t wait to hear them.

Misunderstandings can cause arguments, conflicts, broken relationships, and worse. We can avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict if we refrain from jumping to conclusions about what we see or hear. Some people automatically assume the worst about another person’s actions without giving them a chance to explain. Since only God knows a person’s true motives, it’s best to avoid passing judgment until we learn all the facts. What seems to be a faithless or hurtful act on the surface may turn out to be something quite different from what we imagined. ¹

The Setting: Returning Home After a Battle (Joshua 22:1-9)

FOUR PRIMARY CAUSES OF CONFLICT

1. Some disputes arise because of misunderstandings resulting from poor communication (see Josh. 22:10–34).

2. Differences in values, goals, gifts, calling, priorities, expectations, interests, or opinions can also lead to conflict (see Acts 15:39; 1 Cor. 12:12–31).

3. Competition over limited resources, such as time or money, is a frequent source of disputes in families, churches, and businesses (see Gen. 13:1–12).

4. Many conflicts are caused or aggravated by sinful attitudes and habits that lead to sinful words and actions (see James 4:1–2).²

The Source: A Misunderstanding About Worship (Joshua 22:10-11)

“When they came to the region of the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh built a large, impressive altar there by the Jordan. Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side.”” (Joshua 22:10–11, HCSB)

As we will see in verses 27 and 28, the Israelites on the east side of the Jordan built an altar not for sacrifice or worship, but, rather, as a symbol of their solidarity with their brothers on the west side of the Jordan. So incensed by this were their brothers on the west side, however, that civil war nearly ensued.³

“Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the Lord!’ We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.” (Joshua 22:27–28, HCSB)

There were two sides to the problem: there were communication problems (9 ½ tribes) and carnal problems (2 ½ tribes). Both contributed to the problem.

If we want to peacefully resolve problems we have to deal with both problems. We have to LISTEN and OBEY.

Both groups caused problems that led to misunderstandings and as a result lead to conflict. First, let’s look at the east side of the Jordan. This group of 2 ½ had communication problems.

FOUR WAYS WE CAN GET OURSELVES LED INTO MISUNDERSTANDINGS⁴

1. Act on hearsay and rumor. (Joshua 22:11-12)

“Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of the Jordan, on the Israelite side.” When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.” (Joshua 22:11–12, HCSB)

The first step towards division was taken when the nine and one-half tribes acted on hearsay. They didn’t see the altar the two and one-half tribes had built—they only heard about it. That’s always how Satan begins to bring people into division and opposition. So often, divisions in families or churches are based simply on what is heard. Rumors take on a life of their own and fires are fanned when people act on hearsay.

First, we must learn never to discount rumors. They may be true, and we had better take them seriously and get to the heart of them. It’s important that we do our reality testing, because a rumor also may not be true. If only that wealthy industrialist had taken the time to track down the rumor, if only he had been willing to listen in an unbiased way to the pleas of my friend and hear his side of the story, something of health could have come. Instead, a broken relationship and shattered dreams were the result.⁵

2. React without checking the facts. (Joshua 22:13-14)

“The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead. They sent 10 leaders with him—one family leader for each tribe of Israel. All of them were heads of their families among the clans of Israel.” (Joshua 22:13–14, HCSB)

The second mistake of the nine and one-half tribes was that they got worked up before they checked the situation out. That is, they sharpened their swords and grabbed their shields before they established the facts. “He that answers a matter before he hears it, it is a folly and a shame unto him” (Proverbs 18:13). Making a decision without learning the whole story leads to folly and shame ultimately.⁶

Second, we should learn to keep cool while we gather the information. Warfare among the Israelite tribes could have eclipsed the truth. We need to sit on our emotions when they become white hot and not move to any final action in a moment of fury.⁷

We can avoid a lot of unnecessary conflict if we refrain from jumping to conclusions about what we see or hear. Some people automatically assume the worst about another person’s actions without giving them a chance to explain. Since only God knows a person’s true motives, it’s best to avoid passing judgment until we learn all the facts. What seems to be a faithless or hurtful act on the surface may turn out to be something quite different from what we imagined. ⁸

3. Use God’s name loosely. (Joshua 22:15-18)

“They went to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, in the land of Gilead, and told them, “This is what the Lord’s entire community says: ‘What is this treachery you have committed today against the God of Israel by turning away from the Lord and building an altar for yourselves, so that you are in rebellion against the Lord today? Wasn’t the sin of Peor, which brought a plague on the Lord’s community, enough for us, so that we have not cleansed ourselves from it even to this day, and now, you would turn away from the Lord? If you rebel against the Lord today, tomorrow He will be angry with the entire community of Israel.” (Joshua 22:15–18, HCSB)

The third misstep the nine and one-half tribes made was using the Lord’s name loosely. That can happen to Spirit-filled believers as well. We hear something. Our righteous indignation flares up. And then we use the name of the Lord quite liberally when we say, “The Lord showed me this,” or, “The Lord wants you to know that.” But we must be careful. Are we sure it’s the Lord? It might simply be our own opinion or perspective.

4. Bear false witness to others. (Joshua 22:19-20)

“But if the land you possess is defiled, cross over to the land the Lord possesses where the Lord’s tabernacle stands, and take possession of it among us. But don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his sin.’ ”” (Joshua 22:19–20, HCSB)

The fourth mistake the nine and one-half tribes made was when they bore false witness in accusing their brothers of rebelling against God. We usually think of bearing false witness as telling a whopper of a lie. While it can be that, it’s not limited to that. Bearing false witness means giving the right information, but with the wrong implication.

Third, we need to talk frankly with the one about whom the rumors have spread. It is important to engage in honest conversation and to listen if we are still not certain. We need to take the rumor, and the person about whom the rumor has spread, to someone with greater objectivity and let that person give us a frank reading on the situation. How sad is a broken relationship.⁹

Unlike the 9 ½ on the west side of the Jordan who had communication problems, the 2 ½ on the east side of the Jordan also contributed to a misunderstanding. They did it through a carnal heart. The were disobedient. They were supposed to live on the same side as the other 9 ½ tribes. Instead, they chose to live on their own on the east side.

How do you know when you’re carnal? How do you know that, although you’re part of God’s family and part of the kingdom, you’re on the wrong side of the Jordan? In the response of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, we see three indications of the state of the heart of one who is carnal.

Their disobedience was based upon a heart problem. This story lists three ways which can lead to a carnal heart.

FOUR ACTIONS WHICH CAN REVEAL A CARNAL HEART¹⁰

1. People with a carnal heart hide their disobedience in spiritual superiority. (Joshua 22:21-24)

“The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans, “Yahweh is the God of gods! Yahweh is the God of gods! He knows, and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against the Lord that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from Him. May the Lord Himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it. We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with the Lord, the God of Israel?” (Joshua 22:21–24, HCSB)

“Don’t judge me,” says the carnal believer. “God knows my heart.” Yes, God does know our hearts. The problem is, we don’t. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Jeremiah asks. (Jeremiah 17:9). We can’t know our own heart—but the Word of God can because it is a “discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). Therefore, it doesn’t matter what your heart tells you. It matters what God’s Word declares.

2. People with a carnal heart blame God (Joshua 22:25)

“For the Lord has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in the Lord!’ …” (Joshua 22:25, HCSB)

Secondly, carnal people blame the Lord either directly or indirectly for any given problem. Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh blamed the Lord for the division. Carnal people blame the Lord—and sometimes others—for their own sins and shortcomings.

“Then the man replied, “The woman You gave to be with me—she gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate.”” (Genesis 3:12, HCSB)

3. People with a carnal heart blame their family problems on churches and other believers. (Joshua 22:25)

“…So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing the Lord.” (Joshua 22:25, HCSB)

Thirdly, carnal people blame their family problems on churches or other believers. Blaming the church is always an indication of carnality. “If your kids were better behaved, our kids wouldn’t be rebellious,” says the carnal parents. It is the mature believer who understands that it’s not up to the church, Boy Scouts, or the school system to raise his kids. It’s up to him. When his kids struggle, it’s the mature believer who says, “Lord, I have dropped the ball. Show me what I need to do.”¹¹

4. People with a carnal heart want worship without church accountability. (Joshua 22:26-28)

Finally, carnal believers say, “I’m going to worship how I want to worship, where I want to worship, in the way I want to worship.” God never told the two and one-half tribes to build an altar. He wanted His people to gather around the single altar of the tabernacle. But the two and one-half tribes did it their way.

The same is still true today. Carnal Christians say, “I can worship just as well out on the golf course as I can in church.” The Word, however, clearly says, “Do not forsake the assembling of yourselves together” (Hebrews 10:25) and “Behold, how good, and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity” (Psalm 133:1).

The Solution: Take the initiative to make peace with one another

As Christians, we should be the ones to initiate the effort at making peace with others (Joshua 22:29-31)

“We would never rebel against the Lord or turn away from Him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of the Lord our God, which is in front of His tabernacle.” When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders, the heads of Israel’s clans who were with him, heard what the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased. Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the descendants of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh, “Today we know that the Lord is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against Him. As a result, you have delivered the Israelites from the Lord’s power.”” (Joshua 22:29–31, HCSB)

For the church, peacefully resolving problems with one another is essential for unity and growth (Joshua 22:32-34)

“Then Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest and the leaders returned from the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead to the Israelites in the land of Canaan and brought back a report to them. The Israelites were pleased with the report, and they praised God. They spoke no more about going to war against them to ravage the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived. So the Reubenites and Gadites named the altar: It is a witness between us that the Lord is God.” (Joshua 22:32–34, HCSB)

Peace, combined with truth, is the highest priority; without truth, it is a compromise. Truth without a desire for peace is brittle legalism.

Jesus said, “Blessed is the peacemaker.” Nothing pleases God more than when His people honestly seek truth and peace and when He sees the war fever between brothers and sisters turn to joy and understanding. This is worth our every effort.¹²