Contemplative Bible Reading

Joshua 22:9-12 (New International Version)

⁹ So the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh left the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan to return to Gilead, their own land, which they had acquired in accordance with the command of the LORD through Moses.

¹⁰ When they came to Geliloth near the Jordan in the land of Canaan, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh built an imposing altar there by the Jordan. ¹¹ And when the Israelites heard that they had built the altar on the border of Canaan at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side, ¹² the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.

At this time, God’s people had come into the Promised Land and settled. Two-and-a-half tribes (Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh – RG1/2M) returned to eastern side of the Jordan River as they had agreed to do. RG1/2M then built an “imposing altar” by the river.

The other tribes assumed the altar was a break with them. The altar was to be a place of worship for RG1/2M; they would no longer worship with the other tribes. What else should they do in response but to gather for war?

It is fortunate that cooler heads prevailed. Representatives traveled across the river to ask for clarification. They learned that the “imposing altar” was not a sign of separation. Quite the opposite, the altar was a sign of unity, a sign that they would always be part of the tribes in spite of the river that separated them by geography.

Asking for clarification is a simple thing to do. It is not a sign of weakness; it is not a sign of timidity. I wish more people today would ask for clarification. I wish I would ask for clarification more often. Assumptions can bring us such trouble and start our own little wars. God, grant us cooler heads. Have us to ask for clarification.