SEARCH THE SCRIPTURE by Pastor Kumuyi of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry for today is here. Digest the word of the lord and pray believing.
YOUTH STS LESSON 163_ THE ALTAR OF TESTIMONY
MEMORY VERSE: “And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God” (Joshua 22:34). TEXT: Joshua 22:1-34
The book of Joshua contains a lot of interesting events. In this book, the unlimited power and attributes of God as a “Man” of war was displayed. He displaced great nations that were renowned and powerful. Also in this book, God’s faithfulness in keeping covenant is highlighted as Israel actually possessed the Promise Land. God’s ability in bringing the posterity of Abraham into the Promised Land after centuries gives us the assurance that He will fulfil all He promised. This should strengthen contemporary believers whose hope is in God. In today’s lesson, we will consider the faithfulness and commitment of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half tribe of Manasseh earlier settled before Jordan. They kept to their promises as they fought alongside the nine-and-half tribes until victory was secured. Afterward, they were sent home by Joshua. We shall see also how they made an altar of witness.
THE RETURN OF THE VICTORS (Joshua 22:1-9; Numbers 32:17,18; 2 Samuel 10:11; Jude 1:3; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5)
“And now the LORD your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them: therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side Jordan” (Joshua 22:4). The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh were released to go into their possession by Joshua after a long time of warring. They kept to the promise made to Moses. “And they came near unto him, And said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance” (Numbers 32:16-18).
Question 1: What are some of the lessons learnt from the faithfulness of these tribes to their promise?
“Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me” (Psalm 101:6). Fighting against the Canaanites was not an easy task. It involved so many risks. It is normal for someone to take such risk when it is directly beneficial to him. What happens when you have settled in your own inheritance? Can you sacrifice for others? The Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh did that. There was no record of any of them excusing himself. They fought with all their might and endured till the land was conquered. Christian youths should learn from this attribute and be committed to others’ salvation, success, comfort, peace, happiness, etc. Remember that there are Christians suffering persecutions and passing through other trials. We should pray for them earnestly and consistently. Do not relent your efforts until others’ victory is achieved. Do not get tired in praying, preaching, helping and serving others. Christ has called us to such service. The tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh were encouraged by Joshua to continue in the word and fear of God as they were sent to their own inheritance. Sometimes, youths wonder why they are always guided and guarded by their parents, guardians and leaders. The feeling of self-dependence goes on in their heart. No matter how you feel, there is still need for godly guidance in every area of your life.
Question 2: Did Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh go with blessings to their possession?
“So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away: and they went unto their tents” (Joshua 22:6). Indeed, Joshua blessed them apart from their portion of the spoils of the enemies. Faithfulness to our promises to serve the Lord is rewardable here on earth and in eternity. It is an avenue for us to experience the power of God in our lives. We also obtain unquenchable joy as we go from one victory to another. God’s delights and love are on all that serve Him. There are unlimited blessings of divine upliftment, protection, provision, preservation, promotion and favour for the faithful.
RAISING OF THE ALTAR OF WITNESS (Joshua 22:1-29; Genesis 31:44-46,52; Deuteronomy 13:12-14; 4:26; James 5:12,20; 1 Peter 2:12)
After the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh were sent home by Joshua, they built an altar, which came to the knowledge of other tribes of Israel.
Question 3: How did the other children of Israel hear this news?
“And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go up to war against them. And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh, into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, And with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel” (verses 12-14). It was not recorded here who brought the news to the children of Israel. The most important thing is that they heard it; but one of them did. The lesson here is that whenever you discover that a born again youth is going astray, report to your leader and take steps to bring him back. No one should cover sin for the fear of being misunderstood. “Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). When the news came to Joshua and the children of Israel, they did not take rash decision. They followed the procedures in the Law of Moses by carrying out investigation immediately. “If thou shalt hear say in one of thy cities, which the LORD thy God hath given thee to dwell there, saying, Certain men, the children of Belial, are gone out from among you, and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city, saying, Let us go and serve other gods, which ye have not known; Then shalt thou enquire, and make search, and ask diligently; and, behold, if it be truth, and the thing certain, that such abomination is wrought among you” (Deuteronomy 13:12- 14). This same pattern should be followed by the church. There should be a thorough investigation on every sin-related matter and appropriate action should be taken. After investigating, it was found out that the altar made was that of witness.
Question 4: Why did they make an altar of witness?
“But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD” (verse 27). The reason for their action was to preserve their posterity in the commonwealth of Israel. They did not want physical boundaries to exclude them from divine inheritance. What a challenge to the Christian youth! This is the concern of church leadership and godly parents. As they contend for the faith, their desire is for their children to be partakers of divine inheritance in Christ. Youths should understand why they are monitored, guided and instructed at home, church and school. They need to respond positively to the call to salvation and holy living. Youths’ concern should not only be for themselves alone, they should obey God and preserve godly posterity. In our time, we are not to build any altar of witness, but to be honest in our dealings with God and people everywhere. “Providing for honest things, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men (2 Corinthians 8:21). We should be known by our acts and conducts that we are real Christians. Christ’s command to believers is that our “communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever is more than these cometh of evil” (Matthew 5:37). We should redeem every righteous promise made without failing.
THE RECONCILIATION WITH OTHER TRIBES (Joshua 22:30- 34; 1 Corinthians 5:1-8; 2 Corinthians 12:20,21; Galatians 6:1; John 20:23; Hebrews 13:17)
The way the children of Israel handled this case teaches us great lessons: one, they followed laid down scriptural pattern. This should be emulated in the church today. Two, the children of Israel raised a panel of trusted people to carry out the investigation. The church and school fellowships should borrow a leaf from this. Three, the people sent were good listeners. They were not pursuing personal agenda with sentiment. They listened patiently to the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. This is worthy of emulation. At the end, there was profound joy from both sides. this Is true love in action. It is also noteworthy that the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half tribe of Manasseh did not feel offended over this accusation. They knew their motive was right; so, they were patient to explain their motive to the panel of investigation. What a lesson to youths! There is no need to be offended when misunderstood. As born again children of God, we are not to lose our virtue of patience, gentleness and other fruit of the Spirit because we are wrongly accused. We are to explain patiently until we are clearly understood. Also, we should maintain good communication channels with our parents and leaders concerning what we do. “Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God: whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation” (Hebrews 13:7). “And when Phinehas the priest, and the princes of the congregation and heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words that the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them” (Joshua 22:30). As soon as the delegate sent verified the raised altar, the priest were pleased with the response and report. This brought reassurance and reconciliation among all the tribes of Israel.
Question 5: What do we learn from the manner in which the Israelites handled this matter?
