A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God

Joshua 22:34: The people of Reuben and the people of Gad called the altar Witness, “For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the Lord is God.” (ESV).

We have been studying the book of Joshua and what a rich and informative book it has been. The Book of Joshua is largely about the military battles of the ancient Israeli people as they take over the land that God has given them. Warfare in general is not particularly pleasant to think about for most of us. It is unsettling, too, to ponder how God appears to be in the midst of the wars and violence of sinful humankind.  But then, how could he not be? As the ultimate source of all life and the arbiter of all death, God shows that he will guide his chosen people, and keep his promises to them. Chapter 22 of the book does provide us with a pleasant relief from all the fighting. In fact, we will discover what might be described as the birth of diplomacy amongst the Tribes of Israel. We will discover the importance of remembering great and tragic events. We will discover also an interesting word: “witness,” and how the act of witnessing can both glorify God and forge bonds of friendship between people groups.

Chapter 22 is all about the Eastern tribes, sometimes called the Transjordanians, or “the people of Reuben and the people of Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh.” That lengthy phrase gets repeated a lot in this chapter and it is hard to visualize these tribes, but think of them this way: the eastern tribes are similar to the eastern teams in the Canadian Football League—they are not quite as powerful as the western side, but they still matter. We cannot have a national league without them. Joshua’s armies would not be complete without the Eastern tribes.

There is an excellent map of the Twelve Tribes of Israel in the home-group study materials that have been handed out.[1] As we can see, the Jordan River goes straight up and down, north and south. We can see where the land is allotted to Reuben, and to Gad, and because the river flows through the territory of Manasseh, the part on the east is called the “half-tribe of Manasseh.”

We first read about these Eastern tribes in Numbers 32: 20-22, where Moses recruits them to go to war alongside the other tribes of Israel, promising them land after the war is over:

So Moses said to them, “If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the Lord for the war, and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord, until he has driven out his enemies from before him and the land is subdued before the Lord; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the Lord and to Israel and this land shall be your possession before the Lord (ESV).

In that one sentence Moses refers to the Lord some five times. These men were not being asked to leave their farms, their families, their goats and sheep as a favour to Moses; they were doing it for the Lord.

This explains why, when Joshua took over the leadership from Moses, the new recruits were still on board. One of the first things that Joshua does when he assumes command is to address the Eastern tribes:

Remember the word that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying the Lord your God is providing you a place of rest and will give you this land. Your wives, your little ones and your livestock shall remain in the land that Moses gave you beyond the Jordan, but all the men of valor among you shall pass over armed before your brothers and shall help them, until the Lord gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they also take possession of the land that the Lord your God is giving them. Then you shall return to the land of your possession and shall possess it, the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you beyond the Jordan toward the sunrise (Joshua 1:13-15).

In the best military tradition, the men answered Joshua: “All that you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.” (Joshua 1:16). They clearly understood the importance of serving the Lord and of depending on the Lord. We can see, also, how important was the idea of “remembering.” Joshua was not just asking them to fight impulsively, or on the spur of the moment. They were asked to remember what Moses had said, what the Lord was going to give them. They were to play a role in the historic progression of events.

So, that is our foundational understanding of the Eastern tribes. We have had a number of sermons now where we have learned about the battles waged, and the territory gained. We have discovered some remarkable stories, such as the story of Rahab, who helped the Israeli spies (Joshua 2). There is the story of the Jordan River, which stopped flowing long enough for the armies to cross (Joshua 3). There is the story of the fall of the walls of Jericho, with much shouting and blowing of trumpets. There is the story of the Gibeonite deception, where some of the people who would otherwise be at war with the Israelis wore old clothes and cracked sandals to disguise themselves in order to become part of the Israeli army (Joshua 9). Then there is the allotment of the conquered land to all of the various tribes, recorded in great detail through chapters 14-21. Then finally, last but not least, in Chapter 22, we read about Joshua dealing with the Eastern tribes. He says to them:

You have kept all that Moses the servant of the Lord commanded you and have obeyed my voice in all that I have commanded you. You have not forsaken your brothers these many days, down to this day, but have been careful to keep the charge of the Lord your God. And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brothers, as he promised them. Therefore turn and go to your tents in the land where your possession lies, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan. (Joshua 22:2-4).

This should be the happy end of the story. The Eastern tribes have honor, peace and the chance to return home. There must have been a good deal of cheering and joy when Joshua gave them this release.

But a problem does arise. We read in Joshua 22: 10 that the Eastern tribes had built “an altar of imposing size.” And when the Israelites heard about this, the whole assembly gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them (Joshua 22: 11-12). What is happening here? Hadn’t they had enough fighting? They are going to kill their comrades because of an altar being built?

The altar for sacrificing lambs, bulls and goats was rather important. Look, for example at Deuteronomy 12:13-14, where Moses plainly states: “Take care that you do not offer your burnt offerings at any place that you see, but at the place that the Lord will choose in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I am commanding you.” The altar itself was a boxlike structure, and it was to be constructed according to very precise measurements and very specific details, as indicated in Exodus 27:1-8. In Exodus 20:24 we read further that one of the purposes of the altar was to cause God’s name to be remembered: “In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you.” We see that the matter of the altar was a very serious matter indeed.

The altar was to be made of earth, not gold or silver. This reminds us of the Commander of the Lord’s Army who told Joshua that he was standing on holy ground, holy earth: “And the Commander of the Lord’s Army said to Joshua, “Take off your sandals from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy (Joshua 5:15).”  

There were other altars built at different times and places in the history of Israel. For example, Noah builds an altar to the Lord, after the flood, in Genesis 8:20; and Abraham built an altar in Genesis 22:9, where he was prepared to sacrifice his own son in obedience to the Lord—prior to being stopped by the Angel.  But the altar in the time of Joshua was to be built exactly in accordance with instructions from Moses who in turn received them from the Lord, along with instructions about the tabernacle, or holy tent (see Exodus chapters 26 and 27). Just as you do not go off to war without God’s blessing, neither do you build altars on your own initiative.

There is, therefore, much scriptural evidence to help us understand why the Israelites were so concerned about an unauthorized altar being constructed by the Eastern tribes. Thankfully, it appears that cooler heads were going to prevail, before blood was shed. A delegation was formed, with Phineas, the son of a priest, and ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, (Joshua 22: 13-14). They go to Gilead to discuss the matter with the Eastern tribes. They express their concerns. It is here, I would suggest, that we see the birth of diplomacy amongst the tribes of Israel. Instead of immediately jumping to conclusions and going to war, they discuss the matter and try to find out what is going on. Matthew Henry comments as follows: “Their prudence in the zealous prosecution of this resolution is . . .  commendable. They resolve here not to send forth their armies, to wage war, till they had first sent their ambassadors to enquire into the merits of the cause. . .”.[2]

Phineas speaks to the Eastern tribes and gives them a fiery criticism (22:16-20), saying, among other things: “What is this breach of faith that you have committed against the God of Israel . . . (22:16).” They respond with a faithful exclamation:

“The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows” And let Israel know!” If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day. If we have built our own alter to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it, may the Lord himself call us to account. No! We did it for fear that someday your descendants might say to ours ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? The Lord has made a boundary between us and you—you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.’ So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord. That is why we said ‘Let us get ready and build an altar—but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.’ On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings, sacrifices and fellowship offerings. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, ‘You have no share in the Lord.’ And we said, ‘If they ever say this to us, or to our descendants, we will answer: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar, which our fathers built, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices, but as a witness between us and you.’” (Joshua 22:22-28). (NIV).

This is a remarkable explanation. It starts off with an acknowledgement of the greatness of God—He knows! — continuing with an offer to be punished if they were in the wrong, and then a candid admission of fear on behalf of their children. Would the next generation of Israelites remember how the Eastern tribes had helped out in the battles for Canaan? Or would they deny the Eastern tribes any right to worship the Lord and receive his blessings? The copy of the altar was to serve as a kind of memorial, or as they said, a “witness” between the Eastern tribes and the Israelites that the Lord is God. (22:34). Gordon McConville summarizes as follows:

They then offer a positive defense, that they erected the replica altar as a memorial to their loyalty to Yahweh and Israel, in view of the possibility that passing time would efface the memory that they were fully Israelite by decree of Yahweh, confirmed by Moses. . . The Transjordanians thus appeal effectively to a theme of memory and perpetuation, resonating with a concern of Deuteronomy, that the faith should be diligently passed from generation to generation (Deuteronomy 6:1-9).[3]

This explanation, thankfully, was accepted by Phineas and the other leaders. Indeed, they were pleased (Joshua 22:30). And so the altar—properly referred to as a copy, or replica of an altar—was given a name: “A Witness between Us that the Lord Is God (Joshua 22:34).”

This is very thought-provoking. It shows, firstly, how anxious the Eastern tribes were to be in unity with the Israelites, in a military sense. It shows secondly how anxious they were to worship the God that had delivered them through a time of terrible warfare and had restored them to their lands and families. It shows thirdly how they were concerned about peace and the freedom to worship the Lord not just for themselves, but for the generations that followed. All of this meaning was contained in this small structure, this replica of an altar, this memorial.

I believe we should use the word memorial because its purpose was to remember. Probably every country in the world has wars in its history and statues or memorials of some kind to commemorate the fallen, to remember the tragedy, and to encourage the quest for peace. Canada fought in a famous battle in World War 1 at Vimy Ridge, in France. There is a large and beautiful monument there that commemorates that terrible battle, which resulted in the deaths of many Canadians.  It is also a constant reminder of the bond of friendship that exists between Canada and France. Look closely at pictures of that monument—it is not something that glorifies war—among other things, it depicts men and women in mourning; the wives and mothers of the soldiers, the comrades of the soldiers.

Another example of a monument can be found here in Vancouver, near the Waterfront Station. There is a statue of an angel lifting a fallen soldier, taking him up to heaven. When I first saw that, many years ago, I remember thinking it was a bit much, too sentimental or corny or something. I don’t think that anymore. Anything that will remind us of the horror of war combined with the hope of eternity has got to have some merit. Today is November 13, 2022. It was only two days ago that we had our Remembrance Day in Canada. We know how solemn an occasion it is to remember the fallen and that remembrance must motivate our most passionate prayers for peace.

Let’s return to that word “witness.” There are Hebrew and Greek synonyms for that word, but the plain meaning, while having multiple applications, is fairly clear. Webster’s Third New International Dictionary indicates in part that “witness” can be a noun as in “attestation of a fact or an event.” It can also be a verb, “to see or know by reason of personal presence.” One of the first examples of the use of the word witness in the Bible can be found in Exodus 20:16: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.” This, being one of the Ten Commandments, teaches us that truth is sacred. In our current world of social media distortions and conspiracy theories, the sacredness of truth as an absolutely good value has been lost. The importance of this commandment to the ancient Israeli culture encourages us also to accept what we read in the Bible as being true. The ancient scribes and prophets who wrote the Bible under God’s inspiration had nothing to gain and everything to lose by saying or writing things that were not true. It would be a very powerful statement to say that you witnessed something.

Another example of the word witness can be found in Proverbs 14:25: “A truthful witness saves lives, but one who breathes out lies is deceitful.” Then, as now, lies can have the power to ruin and destroy lives.

Moving to the New Testament, in John 1:6-8 we read about John the Baptist: “there was a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light.” Has knowing Jesus changed our lives? Are we, through word and deed, “bearing witness” to the power of God in our lives? Are we concerned about future generations, in the same way that the war-weary Eastern tribes in the book of Joshua were concerned about their children worshipping the one true God, the God we understand as being the Father, Son and Holy Spirit?

Going on to the writings of Paul, in Romans 8:16 we read these wonderful words: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.” Think of it—we are children of God! The joy we feel about that should extinguish any fear we have about the trials and tribulations of this life. The Bible gives us many witnesses, testifying over many centuries, about the truth and reality of Almighty God. We can live in hope for eternity, we can experience a very special joy about that, a joy that deserves to be shared.

Sharing joy—perhaps that is another way of understanding the word “witness.” We know that being “evangelical” can be difficult at times, but perhaps witnessing as to the joy and resilience of the Christian life is easier. In a recent magazine article about loving your neighbour, Stephanie Massicotte points out that, in a courtroom, a witness is not a judge or a jury. A witness does not argue the case; that is a job for the lawyers. A witness simply shares what they know—what they have seen or experienced.[4]

We will look at one final reference of the word witness and that is found in Revelation 1:4-5: “Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.” Yes, Jesus is the ultimate witness who spoke to us and lived with us and performed miracles for us and who rose from the dead on the third day. Yes, it is through Jesus that our sins are forgiven and through him that we will receive grace and peace, beautiful, everlasting peace. 

Let us pray: Lord, help us to understand and appreciate these stories of people who lived thousands of years ago. Help us to understand how God works with his people, protecting them from sin even at the cost of war and destruction. Help us to understand the character of God as revealed in his Son, Jesus Christ, who taught us to love one another and who would not resort to violence even to resist his own crucifixion. Help us to be good witnesses to your glory, in word and deed, living in hope of the peace of heaven.

In the name of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Patrick McKitrick

Outreach Canada Ministries