Grace Church
257 Kendall Street
Burlington, WI 53105

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A Bad Altar Call Joshua 22 Promised Land Living in Problematic World Sermon #20 Elbert Hubbard said, “The man who is anybody and who does anything is surely going to be criticized, vilified and misunderstood...”   I don’t know if Hubbard was right but I do know that there are very few things more difficult to live with than being misunderstood. Sometimes it can be almost unbearable. When you are misunderstood, it’s very hard to defend yourself and correct the matter. And have you noticed that when you are misunderstood, no matter how hard you try to correct the misunderstanding, it usually gets worse? You go fully loaded, ready to “set them straight,” and all you do is dig yourself in deeper! The harder you work, the worse it gets and the deeper it hurts. The sting of misunderstanding can be paralyzing.   In his wonderful book, Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back, Chuck Swindoll shares this experience. He writes:   “A close friend of mine has an acquaintance in Texas who is a young attorney. He is a member of a sizable law firm run by a rather traditional kind of boss who enjoys a special kind of ritual at Thanksgiving time. Every year this young attorney participates in the ritual because it means so much to his employer. On the large walnut table in the board room of the office suite sits a row of turkeys, one for each member in the firm. It isn’t just a matter of “if you want it, you can have it; if you don’t, you can leave it.” The members go through some rather involved protocol. Each man stands back from the table and looks at his turkey. When his turn comes, he steps forward and picks up the bird, announcing how grateful he is to work for the firm and how thankful he is for the turkey this Thanksgiving. This young attorney is single, lives alone, and has absolutely no use for a huge turkey. He has no idea how to fix it, and even if it were properly prepared he has no way to use all its meat. But because it is expected of him, he takes a turkey every year. One year his close friends in the law office replaced his turkey with one made of paper‑mache. They weighted it with lead to make it feel genuine, and attached a real turkey neck and tail to make it look just like a real turkey. But it was a bogus bird through and through.   On the Wednesday before Thanksgiving, everyone gathered in the board room. When it came his turn, this young man stepped up, picked up the large bird, and announced his gratitude for the job and for the turkey. Later that afternoon, he got on the bus to go home. With the big turkey on his lap, he wondered what in the world he would do with it. A little further down the bus line, a rather run‑down, discouraged‑looking man got on. The only vacant seat on the bus was the one next to our young attorney friend.    He sat down and they began to talk about the holiday. The lawyer learned that the stranger had spent the entire day job‑hunting with no luck, that he had a large family, and that he was wondering what he would do about Thanksgiving tomorrow. The attorney was struck with a brilliant idea: This is my day for a good turn. I’ll give him my turkey! Then he had a second thought. “This man is not a freeloader. He’s no bum. It would probably injure his pride for me to give it to him. I’ll sell it to him.”   He asked the man, “How much money do you have?” “Oh, a couple of dollars and a few cents,” the man answered. The attorney said, “I would like to sell you this turkey.” And he placed it on the man’s lap. “Sold!” The stranger handed over the two dollars and whatever coins he had. He was moved to tears, thrilled to death that his family would have a turkey for Thanksgiving. He got off the bus and waved good‑bye to the attorney. “God bless you. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. I’ll never forget you.” The bus pulled away from the curb, as both men smiled.   Can you picture though this man going home, announcing as he got inside the front door, “Kids, you’ll never believe what a nice man I met today! Come here, look what I have.” Then he’d lay the thing down, I’m sure, on the kitchen table and begin to unwrap the brown paper, only to find this fake glob of paper and lead weights, with only a real neck and real tail. What the man probably said, Simon and Schuster couldn’t even publish!   The next Monday, the attorney went to work. His friends were dying to know about the turkey. You cannot imagine their chagrin when they heard the story of what happened. I understand, through my friend, that they all got on the bus every day that week, looking in vain for a man who, as far as I know, to this day still entertains a misunderstanding about a guy who innocently sold him a fake turkey for a couple of bucks and a few cents. That’s misunderstanding!”   If you are sitting here today, no doubt you have felt the terrible pain of being misunderstood. To some degree or another, we have all had that experience.   Basically, when you stop to analyze it, there are two steps involved in misunderstanding. First, an innocent act, or word, or implication causes a misunderstanding. What makes it so painful is that you innocently say something, or do something, or imply something which is mistakenly interpreted. Second, an offense is created as a result. It is painful to be misunderstood and the results of a misunderstanding can be disastrous.   Joshua 22, (on p. 167 of the Bibles on the chairs) is about a terrible misunderstanding that nearly caused a civil war. It’s also about a passion for the honor of God’s name and His holiness. And wonderfully, it is about the maturity of both parties and the final problem solving of this terrible misunderstanding.   Let me bring you up to speed. When Israel had conquered some other pagan armies on the other side of Jordan over forty years before, these two and a half tribes; Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, had been impressed with the fertility of the land. At that time they asked Moses if they could settle there instead of crossing Jordan. Moses had consented on one condition, when the nation crossed Jordan, they would send an armed force to fight and help the rest of the nation claim their inheritance. They had done that. Some forty thousand of their best soldiers left their wives, children and livestock and faithfully fought alongside the other tribes for seven years. Now it’s time to go home. Joshua commends them for their faithfulness and blesses them. It must have been a glad and sad occasion. I’m sure there were tears shed as they marched out, to cheers from their fellow soldiers from the other tribes. There is something that brings camaraderie and closeness when you work or “fight” together in a great cause. But now it was time to go home.   When these two and a half tribes came to Jordan, possibly they saw the twelve stone memorial that had been set up seven years before when the nation miraculously crossed Jordan, and it gave them an idea. They then built an altar, a huge altar that was a replica of the altar in the Tabernacle. The NKJV calls it a “great impressive altar.” It was not for idolatry or for sacrifice. It was a memorial so that their children would not forget their roots and so that the children of the other tribes would also not forget their roots.    Now they knew what their intent was, they knew what their motives were...but the other tribes did not. It appeared to the other ten tribes in Canaan that as soon as these two and a half tribes got out of sight, they had built an altar for pagan gods. Because this violated the Law and would bring God’s judgment upon the entire nation, the other tribes gathered for war. They were ready to fight the very ones that they had just said good-bye to, their fellow soldiers that they had fought along side of for seven years. But before they attacked their brothers, they sent a small delegation to investigate. Phinehas the priest and ten elders, one from each tribe went to ask, “What’s going on?”   This morning, to give you a full picture of how intense this situation was, I wanted to show a clip from the recent movie, Sum of All Fears. Those of you who have seen it will remember that nerve-wracking scene when the United States and Russia are on the very brink of nuclear war. Each president is sending e-mail messages to the other that are only being misunderstood and misconstrued. It nearly erupts into World War III. That’s similar to what’s taking place in Joshua 22.   Wonderfully though, in Israel’s case, both sides determine to work through and solve it. It ends with greater closeness, more understanding and rejoicing.   Please hear this, that is not what usually happens when there is a misunderstanding, particularly among believers. Too often when there is a misunderstanding, we declare a holy war. We are so quick to think the worst. Too many times we put the worst interpretation on the actions of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Rather than problem solving and furtherance of the kingdom, it ends in division and fragmentation of the cause of Christ. Mark it down, believers will have misunderstandings. They are also going to disagree. Scripture commands us though to seek to Biblically problem solve.   For our church, for the relationships with our brothers and sisters in Christ at Grace Church, Joshua 22 may be the most important message for us in the book of Joshua. By God’s grace may this Bad Altar Call challenge and teach us how to Biblically problem solve. May it encourage us to determine to work through misunderstandings instead of going to “war” over them. This chapter has powerful lessons that each of us must learn to protect us from needless, unbiblical division. 1. Our tendency is to assume the worst and jump to conclusions, vss. 10-20. One dark rainy night a salesman had a flat tire on a lonely road. But to his dismay he had no lug wrench. Seeing a nearby farmhouse, he set out on foot. Surely the farmer would have a lug wrench, he thought. But would he even come to the door? And if he did, he’d probably be furious at being bothered. He’d say, “What’s the big idea getting me out of bed in the middle of the night?” This thought made the salesman angry. “Why, that farmer is a selfish old clod to refuse to help me.” Finally the man reached the house. Frustrated and drenched, he banged on the door. “Who’s there?” a voice called out from a window overhead. “You know good and well who it is,” yelled the salesman, his face red with anger. “It’s me! And you can keep your old lug wrench! I wouldn’t borrow it is it was the last one in the county.”   Too often rather than what we should be – people of joy and victory, believers are like the decaying world around us. We are negative, pessimistic, assuming the worst. Like that salesman, we are judge, jury and executioner based only on our own imaginations. I’ve met folk like that. A small incident happens but what they work up in their own mind is a national crisis.   Somehow the ten tribes still on the Eastern side of Jordan heard about this huge altar built by the two and half tribes and they immediately jump to the wrong conclusion. The two and half tribes may have been stupid but they were not sinful. How often do we do that? We see someone do something and make false assumptions. Or, worse, we hear something second hand and do not check the facts. Like the ten tribes we conclude the worst possible scenario. Amazingly, these were the same tribes that they had just heaped praise upon and kissed good-bye. But now they do an about face. Instead of thinking the best, they assume the most horrible scenario.     Is that us? What do you do when you hear that a Christian whom you have known and respected, has done or said some terrible thing? Do you immediately accept what you hear to be the truth, or do you refuse to believe it until you have spoken to that Christian and heard his/her explanation? If we do not know whether it is true then we ought to think the best, and we certainly ought to not share it with someone else. A good rule of thumb is “If you are not part of the problem and you are not part of the solution, then you are probably participating in the sin of gossip.”     Many a fine Christian has had their reputation ruined by gossip. Many a faithful pastor’s ministry has been seriously undermined by such irresponsible talk. Innocent actions can be misconstrued, exaggerated and blown up out of all proportion.   These ten tribes were too quick to misconstrue and much too quick to be ready to fight...and we do the same. We jump to conclusions, often wrong ones. Why do we do that?   A. We jump to conclusions when we are motivated by bad past experiences. I want you to imagine this morning that you are looking through purple tinted cellophane. If you did that, everything would look purple. All of us look at the world through the tinted cellophane of our past experiences.   When the ten tribes confronted the transjordan tribes, they brought up two past horrible cases. In verse 17 they referred to the “sin of Peor” and in verse 20 to Achan. At Peor the nation fell into idolatry, God judged them and 24,000 people lost their lives. You’ll recall from Joshua 7 when Achan sinned, coveted some of the loot from Jericho and took it. Later when Israel attacked Ai thirty-six soldiers lost their lives because of his sin. God would not tolerate idolatry. These ten tribes have good reason from their past experiences to fear the sin of idolatry and God’s judgment. They’d paid the high price in the past for the sin of a few. Based on what they had gone through before, they assumed that the two and a half tribes were committing spiritual adultery. They concluded that they were guilty of apostasy.   All of us need to be aware of the tendency to look at the world based on our past experiences. But when we judge the present, based on the past, we often are wrong. Let me illustrate. Just say that your first marriage fell apart because your spouse was unfaithful. You remarry but whenever your spouse comes home late, you burn with suspicion. You are looking at your present marriage through the lens of your past marriage...and you are undermining your present relationship.   Most of us contaminate present relationships because we look at them through the lenses of our parents or our original home. We approach our jobs like that. We even approach our churches like that. Because we had a bad experience in a past church, our radar is up for anything that is similar to our previous bad experience. We must judge the present on its own merits. Please don’t carry baggage from past relationships, like these ten tribes did, into your present ones. Scripture urges us to be different. I Corinthians 10:13 says that “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” You and I are to believe the best about others until we have no other alternative. We ought to never rush to the worst interpretation. If we all trusted our brothers and sisters in Christ and assumed the best, the church of Jesus Christ would be spared of so much heartache and pain.   B. We jump to the wrong conclusions when we forget the accused’s past faithfulness and reputation, vss. 1-3. Joshua is lavish in his praise of them. Look at the powerful words that he uses “all...everything...for a long time.” These soldiers had obeyed in all and in everything. And they had done it for a long time – seven years! It’s easy to obey in the short term but they had stuck it out for seven years while they were away from their wives and children. Surely, they had some credit coming. They had proven themselves. For the ten tribes to jump to this wrong conclusion after seven years of faithfulness and impeccable integrity is inexcusable. The greatest indicator of future behavior is past behavior. If someone has had a good reputation in the past, if you know how they have lived righteously previously, it’s wrong to assume, without having all of the facts that they have done otherwise. A good reputation should be worth some credit and trust in a questionable situation.   C. We cause more damage by making harsh accusations, when we should ask exploratory questions. Someone has wisely said, “An accusation hardens the will, a question pricks the conscience.” These leaders from the ten tribes can loaded for bear. They came with their verbal guns blazing. They made accusations, rather than asking questions. Proverbs 18:13 says, “He who answers before listening‑‑ that is his folly and his shame.”   Accusing your spouse of being unfaithful is a serious charge. That’s what these leaders were accusing the two and a half tribes of. This was spiritual adultery and a breach of the covenant. They also accused them of rebellion. This is big stuff. They compared them to idolaters from Peor and to Achan. Both of these situations had resulted in the loss of innocent life.   Last week I had to apologize to one of my kids. I jumped to conclusions. If I had asked questions first, I would have found out that they had made a very good decision. But I accused first and I was wrong.   In the church we must gather information and make sure we have our facts, before we make accusations. God blessed in Joshua 22 in spite of the way that they handled it. But it could have been a tragic scene.   We must learn to hear both sides before we jump to conclusions. We must learn to ask questions, gather information and get our facts straight before we ever make accusations.   D. We often assume the worst when we have great intentions. You may remember the Peanuts comic strip by Charles Schultz where Charlie Brown plaintively wailed, "How can we be wrong, when we're so sincere?" I’ve felt that way many times in my adult life. There might be a cause to which I commit myself wholeheartedly only to find out later that I'm on the wrong side. Or there might be a person I champion only to find out that they aren't what they seemed, and I feel personally embarrassed or betrayed. Sometimes I get myself in trouble when my selective memory causes me to misrepresent the facts of my own history, usually to my advantage. That happens when you get older. As they say about middle‑aged athletes, the older they get, the better they were.   We would be derelict in our study of this text if failed to note that these ten tribes had a godly, holy motive. They were concerned about their brothers, the two and a half tribes. They were concerned about their spiritual condition. They were also concerned about faithfulness to God and His holy Name. Their accusations, though wrong, had a great intention. They were purely motivated.  To protect God’s name they were willing to go to war against one third of the nation, which would have probably resulted in the loss of life of another third of their countrymen. Their motives were impeccable. They were passionate, even to the point of great sacrifice in their faithfulness to God.   Too often we are caught in a web of jumping to conclusions because we have pure motives and good intentions. In a friendship we tend to take the side of our friend, often without hearing the whole story. We may even become angry or go on a crusade for a friend, but we are wrong – because we only have half the information. We have accepted our friend’s subjective spin as fact, and we are wrong. In every situation, particularly in a conflict between good people, there are always two sides. We need to hear both sides before we come to conclusions.   Fortunately, before they went to war, cooler heads prevailed. First, they formed an investigative committee of spiritual leaders. Secondly, they went directly to the “offenders” and talked to them face to face. A lot of problems and misunderstandings would be solved if we would just pick up the phone and talk to the person who has been accused. (Sadly, too often we pick up the phone and talk to everyone else – and that’s sin.) Thirdly, they were motivated by compassion and concern for these two and a half tribes and they shared that with them. Finally, they were lovingly generous. In verse 19 they offered to share their own land. They would rather personally sacrifice than have their brothers’ sin. And though they made some mistakes in how they handled it, God rewarded their love, sacrifice and intent. We see that in the response of the two and a half tribes. 2. Each of us will be periodically misunderstood or falsely accused. We either cool down or heat up the situation in how we respond, vss. 21-29.  Look at vss. 21-23. What a wonderful response!! Sadly, they are unusual.   A. We tend to, when falsely accused, respond defensively and even angrily. These two and a half tribes after being confronted didn’t get angry and respond, “Who are you to accuse us?” They didn’t stomp out the “church door” when they were falsely accused but instead had a wonderful response.   As I prepared this, it rang home in my own heart. I’m in my 15th year as your pastor. We’ve come a long way in fifteen years. The last three though have had some deep waters. To be candid, they have been the toughest in my ministry here. Maybe they stick out because before we had been virtually storm free. With our name change though and other philosophical steps, I’ve had to face being misunderstood, some strong charges and even some false accusations. God is working in me and helping me grow in how I respond. And I so appreciate your love and patience with me as I have grown and as the Lord has burned off some needed dross in my life.   B. We need to respond submissively. The accused tribes invoked the name of the Lord six times as they replied to these charges. In so doing, they used the three fundamental names for the Lord: El-The Mighty One, Elohim-God, Yahweh-the Lord. It was a solemn oath that the intentions of their hearts were pure and that the Lord knew their hearts. They also submitted, requesting that if they were guilty of idolatry and spiritual adultery, to please judge them and let God hold them accountable. Remember idolatry was a capital offense.   They didn’t blow off this accusation but responded with sincere emotion. They opened their hands and hearts, submitting to the scrutiny of their brothers. They threw themselves on their mercy and on the mercy of God.   It is hard to accuse someone who has a gracious submissive spirit. Proverbs 15:1 says, “A gentle answer turns away wrath.” Many times our attitude, when we have been misunderstood, will disarm the situation. That’s exactly what happened here.   C. We need to respond with candor and honesty. The two and a half tribes mentioned all three kinds of offerings that Israel practiced; burnt offerings, grain offerings and trespass offerings (v. 23), making clear that this altar was not for worship or sacrifice. Then, they gave a legitimate reason for the altar. It was a memorial of witness that they were part of Israel, so that in the future the other tribes would not cut off their children from the people of God. It was also a reminder to their own sons that they were to sacrifice at the Tabernacle on the other side of Jordan. Perhaps as they neared Jordan they sensed the distance and felt a sense of isolation. It was a legitimate concern and allowed by the Law. What had been interpreted as a symbol of spiritual infidelity was really meant to be a reminder to be faithful to God. They were preparing for the next generation.   We find a similar memorial of witness in Genesis 31 between Jacob and his father in-law, Laban. This was also not unusual since they had arrived in Canaan. This was the eighth memorial erected in Canaan.   Sadly, what devolved into a source of division was intended to be a symbol of unity. They also did not build it on their side of Jordan but on the other side of Jordan, on the side of the ten tribes, further indicating that it was not an altar of sacrifice but of witness. Its very location should have been a hint to its true purpose. This was not a useable altar. It was a replica of the altar because worship and their relationship to God was the common bond of unity with the rest of the nation. Here its imposing size comes into play. They though gave an honest answer with valid basis.   Often, if we will just listen to why people make the choices that they do, it will give us great understanding and help us see the reasonableness of their choices. We’re a society of second guessers. Every decision whether by a coach, or an elected official or even church leadership is scrutinized, dissected and second-guessed. Often there are multiple options that can all be right. We though can disarm misunderstandings, accusations and second-guessing if we will seek to respond graciously, honestly and reasonably.   D. We need to evaluate our own motives for our actions. Though the altar was not an altar for idolatry, it was an altar of distrust. Though it had a good intention, without any reason or provocation, it questioned the integrity of the ten tribes’ descendants down the road. A little communication could have avoided this whole incident. If they had simply shared with the other tribes what they were going to do and why, there would have been no questions.    They could have even waited. Three times a year all of the Jewish males gathered at the Tabernacle to worship. If they had not been caught in the emotion of the moment and acted impulsively, this whole misunderstanding could have been avoided. Also, they were insecure. Meeting three times a year with the rest of the nation would be a constant reminder to both sides that they were part of the nation.   While the ten tribes should have put themselves in their sandals and that would have helped them see the motive, prior to making such strong accusations. They, too, should have put themselves in the sandals of the ten tribes and they would have seen how this action could be misunderstood and misinterpreted.   Obviously, we cannot plan for every situation. But like ancient Israel, in a local church we are a Body, a family. We are accountable to one another and have obligations to one another. Too often we are so self-oriented that we forget our responsibility to the rest of the Body. We need to seek to not cause needless offense. 3. When we learn that we’ve been wrong in our false accusations, we need to clean it up, vss. 30-33.   A. We need to accept reasonable explanations. Their explanation pleased these leaders. Someone wisely has said, “No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” Some folk, when they have made a false accusation, will never be convinced otherwise. If you’re wrong, you’re wrong. We need to be careful that our pride does not cause us to make a second error. Anyone can jump to the wrong conclusion. Pride entices us to foolishly cling to a wrong conclusion.   B. We need to rejoice that we were wrong. “They were glad to hear the report and praised God.” The other tribes were glad to learn that they had been wrong. Sometimes we are so convinced that we are so right and get caught up in the cause, that we are almost disappointed to get good news. The ten tribes rejoiced though that they had misunderstood and falsely accused their brothers. We need to be as thankful that people are living the right way as we are grieved when we believe that they are living the wrong way.   C. We need to share with others who also have false information. This is important, yet so rarely done. They returned with a good report. Too often we will be told bad things about someone, but when we learn that they are untrue, we do not go back and correct the erroneous information. That’s wrong!   When we go back and correct wrong information, I believe that we are protecting truth. Our God is a God of truth, as His children, we too must love truth. We are to be lovers of righteousness and we should love, passionately love, spreading good news. To learn that an accusation is false is good news! Conclusion: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if all misunderstandings among God’s people ended like this!! In a book describing the occupation and distribution of the Promised Land, why should this single incident be treated in such detail? Simply because it illustrates key principles that were vital to Israel living together in the land harmoniously and under God’s full blessing. The same principles apply to those in God s family today. The same principles apply to the church. What can we learn? What are the take home truths?   1) It is commendable for believers to be zealous for the purity of the faith. Compromise of truth is always costly (Jude 3).   2) It is wrong to judge people’s motives on the basis of circumstantial evidence. We need to gather all the facts and avoid a quick response on the basis of an emotionally charged account of a situation.   3) Frank and open discussion will often clear the air and lead to reconciliation. But we must approach such a confrontation in a spirit of meekness, not arrogance (Gal. 6:1).   4) If we are wrongly accused, we would do well to remember the wise counsel of Solomon, “A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Prov. 15:1).   Some men in Israel did the right thing, and thus averted catastrophe. The lessons are many for us among God’s people today. Jesus says, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called the sons of God” (Matthew 5:9).    Peacemaker is an active word. It means much more than “peaceful”; it means those who pursue peace, even if that effort risks conflict. It means taking forthright and necessary, even difficult, steps. If He were here, our Lord would say: “Blessed are those who do not assume the worst when they hear of the sins of another. Blessed are those who go directly to supposed sinners. Blessed are those who are frank and up‑front about their concerns. Blessed are those who are loving and magnanimous in their confrontations over sin. Blessed are those who reprove their sinning brother in private. Blessed are those who go a second time to their brother with others who care. Blessed are those who will, when all else fails, tell it to the church–with tears” (Matt. 18:15-17).    These are blessed because they are “peacemakers” and “the sons of God.” “Blessed” means, essentially approved. Are we approved of God? Are we those who act to bring peace to God’s people?