Year 7, Day 207: Joshua 22

Theological Commentary: Click Here

When I read Joshua 22, I am reminded of the continual question about perception and reality.  Naturally, this leads us to the question of motivations and intent.  Human beings like to see actions and assume they understand motivation and intent.  Human beings have a remarkable tendency to get it wrong.

Before I get to the text, I’ll use my wife and myself as an example.  How many times does she say something or do something and I react to it based on my assumptions?  So often, especially when it leads to a disagreement, I find that my assumptions are wrong and I have attributed false motives to her words or actions.  That exactly what I get when I read this chapter.

First of all, start with the account of Joshua dismissing the Transjordan tribes.  This is such a great moment because we hear Joshua praising these Hebrew people because they have kept their word.  However, remember back to where this story began.  Before the people crossed over, they came and asked for the land east of the Jordan.  They were accused of making the request so that they would get out the fighting to come. To prove they were wronged in the accusation, they left their women and children and fought all the battles in Canaan with the Hebrew people.  Today, we hear Joshua confessing that the accusation had been false.  They lived up to their word.  They are dismissed in honor; their work being completed.

Next, we look at the second story.  When these tribes go over the Jordan, they build an altar of witness.  They are afraid that because they live on the other side of the Jordan that the Hebrew people in Canaan will claim that they have no inheritance with them.  They build the altar to show for generations to come that they are a united people.

However, the tribes on the west of the Jordan see the altar and again make the wrong assumption about their motives.  They think that they’ve built an altar for sacrificing.  They assume that they have built an altar to start going astray from the Lord.  They come ready to fight their brothers because of their incorrect assumptions.

Fortunately, cooler heads prevail.  The east tribes explain their actions to the west tribes and everything settles down.  The west tribes accept the altar of witness.  If only that had been willing to inquire before assuming motivation to the actions of another!

In the end, this is another great lesson to learn.  Attributing motivations to others without knowing the motivations can really be dangerous and lead us down a wrong path.  Yet, this is something that humans being do with excellence.  We love believing that we know why other people do and say the things they do and say.  So often we’re just wrong when we make that mistake.

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