Skip to content Joshua 22-23: Zeal Without Knowledge Apr 27 · 16 min ...more
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Support this leader
Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Give
Support this leader Liking this video? Support this ministry.
Joshua's Charge to the Eastern Tribes 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to stand on the word. Thanks for joining me this morning. Our passage for today is Joshua chapters 22 and 23, verse 12 of chapter 22. And when the children of0:21 Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. Now I absolutely love the last 3 chapters of Joshua. There are so0:33 many principles that have direct spiritual application to us today that we're gonna see in these 3 chapters. Today, I'm gonna focus my comments, on chapter 22. We're gonna save chapter0:45 23 for the next time because it's Joshua's farewell address to the leaders, which precedes his farewell address to the nation. So we're gonna take chapters 23 and 24 together0:56 next time. Alright. In chapter 22, the tribes of the, that were located on the east side of the Jordan, that's the Reubenites, the Gadites, and a and a half of the tribe of Manasseh. They're1:08 dismissed from their military obligation as the land on the west side of the Jordan has been conquered. Now there's not complete certainty about the amount of time1:19 that had elapsed from when they crossed over the Jordan and began to take the land. Best estimates, 6 to 7 years, in the conquest of the land. But but1:31 something happens. Something happens on their way home. And I don't always do this, but I I want to, to title today's devotional or1:44 zeal without knowledge and devotion without discernment. Zeal without knowledge and devotion without discernment, and we're gonna unpack that today. Alright. Beginning verse 1 chapter 22,1:56 then Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh and said to them, you have kept all that Moses, the servant of the lord, commanded you and have obeyed my voice and2:08 all that I commanded you. You have not left your brother in these many days up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the lord your god. And now the lord your god has given rest to2:20 your brethren as he promised them. Now therefore return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses, the servant of the lord, gave you on the other side of the2:31 Jordan. But take care. He take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the lord, commanded you, to love the lord your2:43 god, to walk in all his ways, to keep his commandments, to hold fast to him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them and sent them2:55 away, and they went to their tents. So Joshua dismisses these battle hardened warriors from their obligations of active military service after about 73:06 years of this military conquest to return home. But notice this, he tells them they're not released from duty. They have spiritual and3:18 cultural responsibilities. Look what he says. But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law. What does he say? Love the lord. Walk in his ways.3:30 Hold fast to him and serve him with all of your heart. You see, they were released from the physical battle, but now the real battle began begins in3:42 advancing the spiritual and the cultural, call of god to follow him. Now of all of the things that Joshua could focus on in his final3:54 words to these men. I mean, it's it was this. Keep the Lord first. And there's no question that Joshua was consistent in this message from start to finish.4:06 We must be. Alright. Hear me on this. We must be intentional about our walk with the lord. Joshua knew that if they focused on the fundamentals, everything else would fall into place. Joshua4:18 knew that if they did not go home and lead their families and communities in holy following the Lord, all that they had accomplished in the the military campaign over the last 74:30 years would soon be lost. So what was Joshua's concern? What was driving him in telling him to stick closely to the lord? Well, he was concerned that the idolatry of the4:41 Canaanite people would seduce Israel into idolatry and immorality and and for good reason. It it had already happened about 10 years prior when they were about to cross over4:54 at Peor. Now we're gonna discuss this again as it pops up many times in the historical books. The main gods or idols or more accurately, demonic principalities.5:05 That's what these demon that's what these idols were. They weren't just stones. They represented principalities and powers. And the and the idols we see today, they're principalities behind them,5:17 forces of darkness. And so these principalities that they worshiped in the land, which archaeologists have uncovered, valid there's validating evidence. It was Baal or Baal,5:29 and he took on different names, and Ashtaroth, which was the female, his in in some versions, his wife. And and there were other there were others, but these were5:41 the main ones. Right? And and the worship of these demonic powers now and and and think about this. It all makes sense when you begin to see what it what they were doing. The the, the5:52 worship of these demonic powers included extravagant sexual orgies with female and male temple prostitutes. Child sacrifice6:04 was also a part of the worship of these demonic powers. Now scholars suggest the child sacrifice was in part a means of disposing6:16 of the byproduct of the sexual encounters in the temple. You know, sex sex was at the center of their worship. Alright? And their religion was a way of disposing of the6:28 unwanted children. You know, sex always seems to find its way in the at at at the center of what the the the spiritual enemy of our soul is doing. Now doctor Henry6:40 Haley says this about Joshua's instructions to the departing soldiers. He said, quote, Canaanite idolatry was such an aesthetic combination of religion6:52 with the free indulgence of fleshly desire that only persons of exceptional strength of character could with strain withstand its allurements, end quote.7:05 Ain't that so true? That that is why we must we must be abiding in the word of god or else we are sucked into the ways of the world. You know, I used to think when I was much7:17 younger when some in particular person would fall into sexual immorality and and, adultery or whatever. And I used to think, how could they do that? But the7:29 longer I live, the more I realize the question we should be answer ask is, how do they not do it? And the answer is abiding in Christ. Now here's another very timely and pertinent part of this chapter.The Altar of Remembrance Sparks Conflict 7:41 Alright. So the the, the 2 and a half tribes, they set up an altar of remembrance on the border as they're going back home home as a reminder to future generations of the connection7:53 with those on the west side of the Jordan. Look at verse 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 Manasseh8:03 built an altar there by the Jordan, a great impressive altar. Now the children of Israel heard someone say, behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the8:15 half 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. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole8:27 congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them. Alright. Here here here we have someone doing a Facebook post saying that8:39 2 and and and and a half tribes had built an altar and were turning away from God and were going to sacrifice to idols and bring judgment upon the entire8:50 nation. Well, before you know it, the tribes on the west side of the Jordan were ready to go to war with their brother on the east side, the very guys they had been fighting alongside for the last 7 years. Now9:03 I I appreciate the zeal these folks had for the lord, but here's the problem. They had zeal without knowledge. Now this may offend some, but9:15 probably not those of you who are consistently in the world in the word because the word is what provides us discernment. But I9:27 see a lot of this today, okay, among both political conservatives and Christians. Christians. Yes. Zeal without knowledge. We need9:38 zeal for the things of god for what is right, but we need to have facts. The tribes on the west side sent a, a delegation led by Phineas to inquire about the9:50 intentions of the 2 and a half tribes. Now look at what Phineas and the tribal leaders had to say. Verse 17. Is the iniquity of Peorot not enough for us from which we are not cleansed till10:02 this day? Although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord, but that you must turn away this day from following the Lord? And it shall be, if you rebel today against the10:14 lord that tomorrow he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel. Now this incident with Balaam and Baal of Peor from Numbers chapter 25, which we looked at a10:26 while back, appears several times in both the old and the new testaments. Now recall, this is where many of the men engaged in idolatry and its related sexual immorality, the result being 24000 people10:38 dying before Phineas, the same guy here, the priest stood up and intervened. Now the senate peor and the experience of god's wrath wrath wrath, got10:49 it, left an indelible mark upon them. I mean, it left the fear of god in them. They understood that the consequences of sin impacted the entire11:01 nation. I don't miss that. They understood that what this these other 2 and a half tribes might be doing in in a breach of covenant with god. Even though they weren't a part of it,11:13 they were all gonna suffer from it. That's why we need to be concerned about our neighbor. We need to be concerned about what's happening down the street. We need to be concerned about what's happening in our community11:22 and in our nation, because we all suffer when there is a breach with the covenant of god. So the east side responds this way. God is our witness. This is not what we were11:34 doing. This was not for offering, but as a monument, a reminder that we serve the the same god. Look at verse 24. But in fact, we have done it for fear,11:46 for a reason saying in time to come, your descendants may speak to our descendants saying, what have you to do with the lord god of Israel? So they were concerned that they wouldn't be11:58 allowed back into that land to go to Shiloh and worship god. So here is the devotion without discernment. Alright? The men of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh12:10 would have been wise to alert the other tribes of their intentions. Communications and even collaboration would have prevented a lot of heartburn. There there's a lesson here about resolving12:21 perceived wrongs. The tribes on the west side, although worked up and ready for battle, first inquired and got the facts, which brought about a resolution, which we read in verse 33. So the thing12:33 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. The children of Reuben and the12:45 children of Gad called the altar witness, for it is a witness between us that the lord is god. Alright. Here's the takeaway. We need to12:57 be careful about how we react to information, okay, that we receive about what other believers are doing or not doing. And in thisZeal Without Knowledge: Seek Discernment 13:09 age of instant communication, you know, we go to these social media platforms, people feel compelled to speak. I I have a policy. I usually don't react,13:21 immediately. I I I wait till I get all of the facts because I see things up that are posted, and it's just partial information. You know? A a lot of information that we get today, especially from13:32 social media, is simply not true. Now it may have an element of truth. It may sound true. But like verse 11 reads in this chapter, now the children of Israel heard13:44 someone say, behold, the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan. Yes. They had built an altar, but13:56 not for the purposes that the people were led to believe. Be zealous for God and his word, but be discerning and wise. As Jesus I mean, when you look what Jesus said14:08 to his disciples there at the end, he said, do not be deceived. He warned us many times that in the end, we need to be careful not to be deceived. Father, we thank you for your14:20 word. What a what a wonderful passage today in chapter 22 and so much to learn. Lord, help us to be discerning in the information that we get, and and I thank you for the zeal.14:32 Lord, I I we should be zealous zeal zealous for the things of god, but we also need to be discerning and have wisdom and submit those things to you. I thank you that, lord, as we see here, there's a way to do that. It's14:43 in in in Matthew 18 as a as a is is also a way of going to people and talking and inquiring and getting information before we act. And, Lord, I pray that we would our devotion would would14:55 have discernment. And and, Lord, that we would, we would communicate. And and, Lord, I I pray that, you would stir our hearts, that, lord,15:07 we would serve you faithfully, and, lord, that we would be on guard as Joshua, encouraged these warriors to to stay close to you, to walk with you, to obey you,15:19 and to teach their children to follow you. Father, thank you. Thank you for this journey. We thank you for the Holy Spirit and and continue to pray that you, through the Holy Spirit, would show us these truths and how to15:30 apply them to our lives, to our families in this world in which we live. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning. And until next time, keep standing15:42 on the word.15:45 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you15:57 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 Joshua's Charge to the Eastern Tribes7:41 The Altar of Remembrance Sparks Conflict12:58 Zeal Without Knowledge: Seek Discernment93.9K followers
Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
93.9K followers
Comments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
Comments
Keep it kind. Comments are public.