And now Jehovah your God hath given rest to your brethren, as he said unto them; and now return, and get you unto your tents, unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of Jehovah gave you beyond the Jordan.
The fighting is over, and Joshua sends the men of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh home. But their home lies back across the Jordan, outside the land Israel had just fought to win.
They leave with praise, not just permission.
To their credit, the warriors from Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh stayed with the other tribes in the fight until all the enemy's power was broken. Joshua now speaks to them. He commends them for obeying Moses and himself (v.2) and for not leaving their brothers during these many days of war. So he tells them they are free to go home to the east side of the Jordan — the possession God had granted them before they crossed the river (v.4).
They go home because God kept His promise of rest. But the word Joshua uses to send them off is a solemn one.
The Lord had now given rest to Israel, just as He had promised. So Joshua said to these warriors, "Return." He commended their faithfulness and obedience, and earnestly urged them to be wholehearted for the Lord. He begged them to love the Lord, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all their heart and soul. Then he blessed them and sent them away... There is a blessing for any child of God who follows the Lord with a true heart, even if he does so only for one day... but "Return" is a solemn sentence.
Why did their possession lie beyond the Jordan? They had asked for it there.
"Do not bring us over the Jordan" had been the settled decision of the two and a half tribes. God had greatly enriched them on their way to the promised land. They preferred to settle down and enjoy their riches rather than press on to the inheritance. Convenience, not faith, guided them. The cities of Gilead attracted them more than the soldiers' tents across the Jordan. Settling down, whatever form it takes, is a sorrowful thing.
What they left behind mattered more than the miles. The ark was the chest that held God's covenant and marked His presence with Israel. It had crossed the river and stayed there.
The ark had gone over. The feet of the priests carrying it had divided the waters of the Jordan. The ark had gone over, leading and sheltering the Israel of God. It is true that Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had gone over too. But Israel and the ark stayed there, and the two and a half tribes return. They return to settle where their brothers had only wandered... and to find a home where the ark had never rested.
Their record was clean. What was missing lay deeper than conduct.
They had been faithful to the commands of Moses and Joshua, had kept the commandment of the Lord, and had not forsaken their brothers... There was nothing to find fault with in them, as far as anyone could see. But as we saw in Joshua 1, their hearts (I do not say their thoughts) were not set on heavenly things. Their cattle were their starting-point.
Living far from the centre of the nation changed nothing for them.
And if any of them lived far from the centre of the nation's life and worship, the word was still to be their rule there.
Every step home took them away from the place of victory. Yet that did not change how God dealt with them.
"Return" from the scene of hardship and of victory to the shepherd's tent! "Return" from Canaan to Gilead! "Return" from the promised possession to the inheritance of your own choice! Departure from any degree of zeal for God, or nearness to God, is grievous... Perhaps, in a sense, the Lord accepted them in the position they had chosen (see end of v. 9). He acts toward His people by His own standard of faithfulness, even when they are in a false position. "He remains faithful."
- Rest earned — these men fought on until the enemy's power broke. Joshua praises their obedience, then sends them home.
- Rest given — they go home because God kept His word and gave Israel rest.
- Rest relocated — they take that rest back over the Jordan, to land of their own choosing, where the ark had never rested.
- Rest without heart — no one could fault their conduct, yet their cattle, not the inheritance, was their starting-point. Joshua's answer is a call to love God and hold fast to Him.
- Rest still under the word — distance changed nothing. God's word was to rule them there, and He stays faithful even to people in a false position of their own choosing.
Only, take great heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of Jehovah commanded you, to love Jehovah your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.
The men of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh had kept their promise: they crossed the Jordan, fought beside their brothers, and may now go home. Joshua praises them, but before he lets them go he presses one thing on them — not more warfare, but love.
The commendation in the previous verses is real, yet Joshua does not stop there. Commentators connect the urgency of his charge with where these tribes were going.
He urgently warned them to take careful heed to keep the commandment and the law that Moses had given them (v.5). Joshua had a special concern for these tribes. They had chosen to take the territory east of Jordan, so a boundary naturally separated them from the rest of Israel. Still, they went home with Joshua's blessing (v.6).
Their record so far had been good. One writer notes that even so, something was missing at the root of it.
Joshua's appeal in Joshua 22:5 again points to the danger of a lowered Christianity. The real backbone of all the conduct of the Christian was lacking. Obedience to known commands, and brotherly love, are not enough to keep us going for any length of time. Conduct, obedience, devotedness and service should flow from love. Unless love is at work, our activity soon comes to an end. A child can make a hoop roll with the first stroke of its stick, but it soon stops unless the stick strikes again.
The word behind "cling to him" is not a religious term. It comes from the closest human bond there is.
To cleave is the word God used at the beginning of human history. It expresses the undivided and unchanging affection a man should keep for the wife of his choice (Gen. 2:24). This love is so close and unifying that by cleaving the "two shall be one flesh" (Eph. 5:31). Cleaving also expresses the loving obedience and worshipping service which should mark the people of God. Six times Moses and Joshua urged the children of Israel to cleave to the LORD their God (Deut. 10:20; Deut. 11:22; Deut. 13:4; Deut. 30:20; Joshua 22:5; Joshua 23:8).
Joshua asks for the whole heart and the whole soul. One writer explains why such a demand is not a burden.
Walking in the way of the divine commandments was all for their real good, their deep, full blessing. The path of whole-hearted obedience is the only path of true happiness. Blessed be God, those who love the Lord can always walk this path.
Later in the same chapter these tribes stop at the river and build a great altar. One writer asks what such an altar was really for.
What a poor thing was their altar of Ed! It was not for worship. They never meant to place any "burnt offering, or grain offering, or peace offering" on it. What then was this great altar for? "To see to!" To recall the brilliant past! To witness that, in days gone by, those who built it were soldiers in Canaan and worshippers at Shiloh! How often the Christian builds his altar of Ed. People talk of what they used to be, how they served God, how they enjoyed seasons of heartfelt worship. By that sign from the past they would prove that they are sound now. Traditions and memories hold such souls, not the living energy of the present.
The same lesson has a positive side. One writer turns it into a prayer.
May we, in the language of Joshua 22, so carry ourselves that we need no altar to see to. May we need nothing to declare where we belong, where we worship, whose we are and whom we serve. Then everything about us will be clear and beyond question. Our testimony will be distinct, and the sound of our trumpet certain.
- Love first. Obedience and loyalty to your brothers are not enough on their own. Conduct, obedience, devotedness and service must flow from love, or the movement stops like a hoop nobody strikes again.
- Love clings. To cleave is the marriage word: undivided, unchanging affection. Moses and Joshua urge Israel to it six times.
- Love walks. Walking in all His ways and keeping His commandments is the shape love takes. God asks it for their good, not against it.
- Love is whole. God asks for all the heart and all the soul. Whole-hearted obedience is the only path of true happiness, and those who love the Lord can always walk it.
- Love needs no monument. Live this verse and you need no great altar "to see to" to prove whose you are. Everything about you will be clear, and your testimony distinct.