An Altar of Witness
Open Your Bible
Joshua 22:1-34, Psalm 7:8-10, 2 Corinthians 1:21-22
BY Tameshia Williams
After the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh helped the rest of Israel conquer Canaan, Joshua released them to return to their homes across the Jordan. As he sent them off, he blessed them and charged them to maintain their allegiance to God, saying, “Love the LORD your God, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, be loyal to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul” (Joshua 22:5).
The conversation was between Joshua and those three tribes, but his words are also for us today. As the people of God, He calls us to love Him wholeheartedly and walk in His ways. We pattern our thoughts and actions after His very thoughts and actions expressed in His Word. It’s a lifetime of continuous transformation, as we rely on the power of the Spirit to shape and reorient our values and behaviors to look more and more like Jesus. He gets our full allegiance.
Being loyal to God includes being committed to taking a stand for righteousness, even when it challenges our relationships. Sometimes we do this in quieter ways, and other times we take a more vocal stand—like Israel did when they learned the three tribes had built an altar at the border (Joshua 22:9–12).
Israel’s history included many instances of infidelity and rebellion against God. However, Joshua 22 shows us an Israel whose priority was walking in God’s ways, even to the point of being willing to fight their own countrymen. Here was the generation seeing God’s promises fulfilled, and they were determined to be faithful to Him as He had been to them. This is a lesson for us today: Do we desire God’s holiness and presence to the point of boldly standing against anyone or anything that would threaten our allegiance to Him?
It was also a lesson to seek understanding before taking action. Thankfully, the altar was not a sign of rebellion but a show of solidarity. The Eastern tribes built it to ensure unity and permanently mark their inclusion as the people of God (Joshua 22:24). It was a memorial of remembrance and a visual declaration that the Lord was their God and would always be their God. The action of the three tribes is a model for us. Although we no longer use altars, we can still incorporate rhythms of remembrance into our spiritual practices. What could these periods of reflection look like for us?
When we set aside time to remember God’s faithfulness and the many ways He has worked in our lives, we come away with a renewed sense of wonder for who He is, as well as a deeper awareness of His presence. This awareness fosters joy and a confidence that He will be with us throughout every season of life. This can intensify our commitment to love God without reservation, serving Him with all of our heart and soul (Joshua 22:5).
59 thoughts on "An Altar of Witness"
-
I am so thankful to God for opening my mind to understand the scriptures and meditate on them. It is such a treasure! I hope this post serves as a reminder of my intention to seek him.
-
@HOPE, Praying dear heart, that you know the loving arms of the Father who walks with you in this season. Praying your mind and heart is set on Him, and that your disappointments and heartaches soon turn to joy..
This verse from Amazing Grace kept playing in my head as I wrote ..
The Lord has promised good to me
His word my hope secures
He will my shield and portion be
As long as life endures..Sending you a hug from across the pond Hope..❤
-
Prayers for a hurting victim of miscarriage and pregnancy loss now turning the page on another month with a negative pregnancy test. This season is teaching me that the Lord is preparing my heart to be a mom. He is grooming me in ways that have revealed a lot of convictions such as anxiety, depression, a wedge in my marriage. Jealousy towards others who are pregnant. Ladies – prayers appreciated and I’m shouting words of rejoice over our God who heals and loves us even in the pits. He is Good always.
-
Same here, Michelle! “Do It Again” by Elevation Worship keeps coming to mind during our readings. Great is His faithfulness!!
-
An impressive Second altar was built, though against the Deuteronomy instructions that clearly state the LORD alone will choose the place of worship (Deuteronomy 12:13-14). One’s initial thought could be, oh no they did again. But one needs to finish the story to see the heart behind the action. This altar of memorial was misunderstood as an idolatry one, for how different can an altar differs in looks, but the spiritual values behind it, ONLY God can perceive. For God looks to the inside (the heart, the core, the motives), and men can only see the outside (the structure, the construction). The eastern tribes were separated from their brothers by geography, but they wanted to show their longings for “Oneness” with the western tribes. I believe God smiled in this story when his children reconciled, worked through their surface differences and united in one accord. May we not be quick to jump to conclusions, not hasty to make assumptions about our brothers and sisters in Christ, on their “altars” and actions, but through wisdom and patience let us see their deep longings to unite. Let us seek peace and reconciliation with one another. God is the God of one accord. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).
-
Today’s reading makes me so thankful for the gift of the Holy Spirit. From the passages we read and looking at everyone’s comments, I can see how the Spirit prompts us to action, gently convicts us of our sin, creates intersections/opportunities, and encourages us in our weakness. What a gift that God would seal us with His Spirit and clothe us with power from on High! May we all become more and more sensitive to His voice and leading.
-
Tingles and Praise for the awesome God we serve Tina!!!!
-
Taylor, I am praying you would have the confidence to do what the Lord is asking of you. Lord, please continue to give Taylor grace but help her move toward Your perfect will. Lord, I can relate to having our flesh go strongly against what we know You ask of us. Lord, please have mercy but guide her in love toward making the best decisions for herself, as her days continue. I pray for her to trust in You more than herself in this scenario. Please guide her heart and help her to know when and how to let go. Please grant her eyes to see Your perfect, holy will for her life. Help her trust that Your ways are higher and more superior to hers. God, please bless her and comfort her, as you have for me, when I have failed to do your will until it became no other option but to. God, You are merciful in Your love towards us. You give us the choice to say no- but even in our no, You are still present. Father, may You continue to gently lead Taylor to do what You have called her to do in this life- understanding it is but a blink compared to all of eternity. Lord, draw her heart to you and bless her time in Philly. Thank you, Jesus, for your constant mercy and love and acceptance. I pray these things in Your name. Amen.
After concluding my thoughts on today’s lesson, I am thankful to see God’s “witness” to this issue in Israel. I believe the altar is not the true witness, but symbolic of God’s faithful witness between the tribes of Israel. In this chapter 22, we do not see God speak directly to either party. The 9 1/2 tribes come against Gad, East Manasseh, and Reuben and are ready to war. But they make their case and all tribes come to understand they are in agreement about following the Lord. They state their cases as if God is standing in the room judging them. It encourages me to know that even when we don’t visibly see God playing judge/witness – He is in fact working. And this beautiful altar He allowed to be built symbolizes His witness of Israel.
Post Comments (59)