Sermon Tone Analysis
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Introduction
You know the Hokey Pokey don’t you?
Does that even translate into Spanish?
You put your right foot in
You put your right foot out
You put your right foot in
And you shake it all about… (I’d better stop right there before I get myself into trouble)
We’re going to see today a group of tribes that do just that.
They play the hokey pokey with God’s plan.
Now the Hokey Pokey might be a fun song, but when it comes to God’s plan we cannot straddle the fence… or the border like this group of Hebrews did.
If you will remember our text in the book of Joshua, the Israelites have taken the land and Joshua divided it up so that each tribe might claim their portion.
But there is one group that was left out of the land assignments...
In our text today Joshua seems to be commending this group, but he gave their inheritance to the other tribes and he sends them away.
I.
An Inheritance Rejected - Numbers 32
In Numbers 31 the Israelites went to battle against the Midianites in order to execute the Lord’s vengeance on the nation of Midian for sending their daughters to interfere with the sons of Israel.
After this battle with Midian, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses if they could occupy the land because they saw the land was good for their cattle.
Moses warned them that they were dangerously close to committing the same sin that Israel committed in Kadesh-barnea when they rejected God’s plan to enter Canaan.
These tribes answered Moses’ warning...
This was An Inheritance Rejected.
What actually happened here is that the Tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh made a choice to reject their inheritance in Canaan so that they could stay in Gilead and Bashan.
This decision and transaction is so mundane, that it boggles my mind!
There is a warning by Moses and later by Joshua that they are making a decision contrary to God’s plan.
But they are simply allowed to make this choice.
We see no record of Moses consulting with God about this (nor Joshua for that matter), but after hearing their promise to help with the coming battles, he accepted their proposal without any apparent hesitation.
This land to the east of the Jordan is called Transjordan by biblical scholars.
And we’ll use that term only because it is easier to say than the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.
The land includes Gilead and Bashan as well as the land that was formerly Ammon and Moab.
The tribes that took their inheritance west of the Jordan are called the Cisjordanic tribes.
The text here does not really indicate whether or not God had any issue with this plan of the Transjordanic tribes to remain east of the Jordan.
But it would surprise me greatly if He agreed with this plan.
II.
Rejecting God’s Best - Rejecting God’s Rest - Deuteronomy 12:10
On the surface this all seems very innocent.
These were God’s people.
They were just asking if they could take their inheritance on the other side of the Jordan.
The real problem here was that they were choosing something other than God’s plan.
We see this clearly in Deuteronomy 12:10...
The rest of the Promised Land is what God had planned for ALL the Sons of Israel.
But this group of tribes refused His plan and they refused His rest, which would be evident in His hand of protection.
In fact throughout Numbers 32 and even Joshua 22 there is an underlying tension.
Both Moses and Joshua give warnings about rejecting God and bringing God’s judgment upon Israel.
My understanding of this passage is that the Transjordanic tribes were basically choosing to live outside of God’s best plan for them.
The choice to make their home across might have been good for their cattle, but it created several problems over the years.
It put them out of God’s protection
It put them in close proximity with their enemies
It exposed them to the influence of their enemies
We Do This Today
Don’t we often do this?
We make choices based on what we think is best for our lives:
We marry and divorce
We take jobs and leave jobs
We buy houses and cars
We take trips
We choose our careers or change our careers
We move across the country
In reality many of us follow our own whims rather than seek God’s will about anything.
As a Pastor
As a pastor, I see this on occasion.
Somebody will come to me seeking wise counsel about this or that life situation, but they completely refute or outright ignore my counsel.
Even when I point them directly at their error, they will sometimes become defensive and continue down their path.
These people are best left to their own mistakes.
They will rarely accept any outside advice, because they are seeking approval for what they have already decided to do.
How many of you have ever lived life knowing that you were actively choosing to live outside of God’s will?
Isn’t there a discord or a lack of harmony in life when we make that choice?
How different is life when we move back into harmony with God’s will?
The difference is huge.
However, we act on a whim without a thought of what God would say or desire for our lives.
PRINCIPLE Refuse to desire anything outside of God’s plan.
This guiding principle will force you to always seek an understanding of God’s plan and work as well as how He would wish to use you according to His plan.
Let’s jump into Joshua 22...
The battles are won, the land has been divided among the tribes.
But Joshua needs to deal with this group of Transjordanic tribes (Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh).
III.
After the Battle - Joshua 22:1-9
These brother tribes of Israel did everything that was asked of them.
They pulled their load.
They helped in battle.
They gave up their portion of the inheritance.
And then they asked Joshua to release them so that they could return to their chosen land across the Jordan.
Joshua gave them a warning and a blessing and made sure that they had their portion of the spoils of war.
And then he sent them on their way...
These Transjordanic tribes left with every full intention of remaining good Hebrews and maintaining their relationship with their brother tribes and with God.
But they failed to heed the warnings of others and failed to consult God or seek His desire for their best.
I truly believe that these people believed what they were saying.
They DID intend to keep their relationship with Israel and with God.
But they were putting themselves in a direct line of attack from their enemy and believed that they were above any influence and immune to any attack from the enemy.
This put them in a position of weakness rather than rest and protection.
PRINCIPLE Sometimes God allows us to step out of His blessing.
Often when this happens, it happens with no protest from God.
I think these Transjordanic tribes felt a certain disconnect as their decision became reality.
As they neared the Jordan river, they stopped to build a large altar...
III.
The Offensive Altar - Joshua 22:10-34
A. Second Thoughts?
The text is silent as to why they felt the need to build an altar.
Perhaps they were having second thoughts about their departure.
Just as the Transjordanic tribes were thinking about their departure, so were their brothers in the Cisjordanic tribes.
Apparently they had concerns for the breaking of their fellowship and were keeping an eye on the Transjordanic tribes.
B. To the Brink of War
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