A Little Misunderstanding Can Be A Dangerous Thing
(This is a long passage, and you should go to it and read the complete passage before going on.)
Joshua 22:10-34
10 And when they came to the region of the Jordan which is in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—a great, impressive altar.
11 Now the children of Israel heard someone say, “Behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan, in the region of the Jordan—on the children of Israel’s side.”
12 And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.
16 “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: ‘What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD?
21 Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered and said to the heads of the divisions of Israel:
26 Therefore we said, ‘Let us now prepare to build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering nor for sacrifice,
27 but that it may be a witness between you and us and our generations after us, that we may perform the service of the LORD before Him with our burnt offerings, with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your descendants may not say to our descendants in time to come, “You have no part in the LORD.”’
28 Therefore we said that it will be, when they say this to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say, ‘Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.’
29 Far be it from us that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn from following the LORD this day, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for grain offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the LORD our God which is before His tabernacle.”
33 So the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
On their way returning home, the two and a half tribes set up an altar on the west side of the Jordan River, the side where the other ten and a half tribes lived. Remember that the two and a half tribes were to settle on the EAST side of the Jordan. Setting up an altar beside the one in the tabernacle did not violate the Ten Commandments. This action would, however, violate the law that all sacrifices had to be made on the altar in the tabernacle (Leviticus 17:5-7). It looks to me like the fighting men of the two and a half tribes lacked an understanding of the commandment about where and why to build an alter for sacrifices. This would turn out to be a problem later on in Israel’s history, especially after Solomon took the throne and he, himself, set up alters all over including alters to false gods. The practice of setting up altars at will helped the spread of idolatry in Israel. Idolatry was one of the major offenses against God’s commandments.
Heresy often begins the same way. An incomplete or incorrect understanding of the Bible leads the way to heresy. Many cults have begun with good intentions by people with poor understanding of the Bible. When people hear these half-truths, their ears get tickled and they want more. This feeds the problem and it begins to grow. People will leave the true church to follow a lie and condemn themselves.
The ten and a half tribes understood the danger of setting the altar at will. They confronted the tribes on the east of Jordan. The two and a half tribes replied that it was not an altar for offering sacrifices but for memorial (vv. 26-27). The idea was to remind their children that they were part of the nation of Israel. The answer satisfied everyone and avoided a potential civil war.
Christians should join together to celebrate what God has done for us. A memorial service can be a good thing to remind of God’s grace towards us. A celebration of the paying off of a mortgage or at the end of series of special services where people were blessed can be a glue to bind a congregation together, as long as the celebration is about what God has done for us and not what we’ve done for ourselves.
(Dragging out my soapbox here.) I’ve never been an advocate of naming buildings, rooms or anything after people in the congregation or large contributors to a ministry. The glory is God’s, not ours. (Putting away the soapbox now.)
Stephen Cram June 12, 2011 Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2:8
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