Ep. 54 - Civil War...Almost

Last we left the Israelites, they had just defeated the 5 kings of the Amorites in the southern part of Canaan.  The Amorite kings had marched a huge army to Gibeon.  Not only did the Israelites defeat the Amorite army…but because God stopped the sun…the Israelites utterly destroyed the Amorites…hardly any Amorite soldiers made it back to their cities.  Because of this amazing victory, Joshua and the Israelite army could march throughout the southern part of Canaan and easily defeat their cities.  But what about the northern part of Canaan?  Up in the north is where all the other “ites” lived…the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Jebusites, the Hivites, and even some leftover Amorites.  Of course, these people in the north of Canaan were all watching what was going on in the south.  They would have seen the Gibeonites making peace with Israelites and surviving…and on the other side would have seen the Amorites getting destroyed while hailstones came down from the sky and the sun standing still.  After seeing all this, would any of these people in the north try to make peace with the Israelites?  Would any of these people take the easy road like the Gibeonites had done?  

Well, unfortunately, no.  No, it seems that they wouldn’t take the easy road at all.  In fact, looking at everything happening in the south, the people in the north decided that the best thing to do was…to assemble an even bigger army!  And the Bible says, “So they went out, they and all their armies with them, as many people as the sand that is on the seashore in multitude, with very many horses and chariots.  …they came and camped together at the waters of Merom to fight against Israel.” (Josh 11:4,5) Now of course, this wasn’t Joshua’s first rodeo.  And Joshua checked with God first, and God told him, “Do not be afraid because of them, for tomorrow about this time I will deliver all of them slain before Israel. You shall hamstring their horses and burn their chariots with fire.” (11:6) With God’s blessing, Joshua marched the Israelite army north to a place called Merom.  Joshua’s style, of course, was to get to the battle as fast as he could to try to surprise the other army…which he did again here.  The Israelites rushed from Gilgal to Merom, and when they arrived, they saw the ginormous army…so many soldiers that they couldn’t even count them.  But neither Joshua nor the Israelite army even hesitated, and they attacked the huge army as soon as possible.  And the Bible says that “the LORD delivered them into the hand of Israel, who defeated them and chased them to Greater Sidon, to the Brook Misrephoth, and to the Valley of Mizpah eastward; they attacked them until they left none of them remaining.” (11:8) It happened almost exactly the same way as it had happened with the Amorites (minus the hailstones and the sun standing still)…the Israelites defeated the huge army and then chased them and killed them while they tried to run away to their cities.  (BTW kidzos, I put up a map of this battle on papasbiblestories.com called “Map – Israelite Invasion of Canaan (Northern Campaign)”…so go check that out.) There might not have been any crazy miracles this time, but the result was the same…the complete annihilation of the enemy army…which was followed up by attacking and defeating their cities. 

After the big victory over the north, Joshua turned the Israelite’s attention to mopping up a bit.  A number of the cities that the Israelites had already conquered ended up being re-occupied by the Canaanites…and so they had to be conquered again.  Also, the Israelites made it a point to defeat the Anakim (which I’m sure you kidzos remember the Anakim were the giants that had scared the Israelite spies way back in episode 36).  All told, from the time that the Israelites attacked Jericho to the war in the south, to the war in the north, to all the mop-up…Joshua and the Israelites ended up fighting the people living in Canaan for about 6 or 7 years.  And after all this fighting, the Bible says that, “Joshua took the whole land, according to all that the LORD had said to Moses; and Joshua gave it as an inheritance to Israel according to their divisions by their tribes. Then the land rested from war.” (11:23) The war with the people living in Canaan was over…and the Israelites had won. 

Now, even though all the armies in Canaan had been defeated, that didn’t mean that there were no people left in Canaan…or that there was no resistance left in Canaan.  Indeed there was.  In fact, at the end of all the fighting, the Israelites only directly controlled somewhere between ½ and two-thirds of the land that God had given to the Israelites.  (BTW kidzos, I put a map of this too on papasbiblestories.com called “Map – Unconquered Land in Israel”…go check that out too.) Many people were still living in Canaan, and more than a few of them could still hold a sword.  Even though there were no more big armies to defeat, no doubt Joshua was more than willing to keep up the fight until the Israelites directly controlled all the land God had given them.  But this wasn’t God’s plan.  And God came to Joshua and said, “You are old, advanced in years, and there remains very much land yet to be possessed. ... I will drive out from before the children of Israel; only divide it by lot to Israel as an inheritance, as I have commanded you.  (7)  Now therefore, divide this land as an inheritance to the nine tribes and half the tribe of Manasseh. ” (13:1,6-7) Joshua and the combined army of the Israelites were not to continue to to fight, even though it probably would have been easier to defeat the remaining people with the whole Israelite army together.  Instead, while the land still had some people living in it, it was to be divided among the tribes and each tribe was to move onto their land and to continue to push out the Canaanites who lived there.  This would make it harder for the Canaanites to keep re-occupying conquered cities, but at the same time, pushing out the remaining people would be much harder for the tribes.  God wanted to see if each individual tribe would continue to trust in God’s strength to give them victory. 

Even though Joshua was probably more than a bit disappointed that he wouldn’t continue the fight, he obeyed God’s command and began dividing the land among the tribes.  Now, this whole dividing the land among the tribes business was a whole thing with its own share of drama (which we might get into in the next episode…but Papa’s not going to get into it now).  But the highlights are like this: first, for nine and a half of the tribes (Judah, Ephraim and half the tribe of Manasseh, Benjamin, Simeon, Zebulun, Issachar, Asher, Naphtali, and Dan…and we will get into the other two and a half tribes in a second) they divided the land by lot (that is to say they divided the land randomly); second, for the tribe of Levi, because their tribe was dedicated to the tabernacle and its services, they didn’t get any land but they were instead given 48 of the conquered cities; third, six of the other conquered cities became “cities of refuge” (which we also won’t get into now); and lastly, the tabernacle, which for all these war years had been at the base camp in Gilgal where the Israelites had first crossed the Jordan River, was moved to Shiloh…a city in the middle of Canaan where it would stay for the next 300 years.  (And of course, I’ve put yet another map on papasbiblestories.com showing all this, called “Map – Land Given to the Tribes”.)

Now, talking about the other two and a half tribes (Reuben, Gad, and the other half of the tribe of Manasseh), well, actually, their land had already been given to them by Moses a number of years ago…well before the Israelites had even crossed the Jordan (Num 32).  You see, these particular tribes had lots and lots of cattle and goats and sheep and other animals.  And after the Israelites had finished fighting King Sihon of the Amorites, King Og of Bashan, and the Midianites, the people of these two and a half tribes looked around at the land that they’d just conquered, and they were like…ya know what…this land would be perfect for all our animals…probably even better than the land in Canaan …why don’t we just stay here?  So, they talked to Moses, and he agreed…under one condition – that when it was time to cross over the Jordan and fight the people in Canaan, the men of these two-and-a-half tribes would cross over too.  All the Israelites were to fight for all the land that God had promised them…no exceptions.  And the two-and-a-half tribes agreed.  And they’d followed through.  Throughout all these years of fighting in Canaan…Jericho, Ai, the Amorites in the south, all the other people in the north…the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had been faithfully fighting alongside the rest of the tribes. 

But now that the main fighting was over, and since God had said it was time for all the tribes to settle in their lands, well, that meant that it was time for the men of these two-and-a-half tribes to go home to their lands too.  Knowing this, Joshua called the two-and-a-half tribes together and said, “You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you.  (3)  You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God.  (4)  And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan.” (22:2-4) But even though these two and a half tribes had kept their word, and even though everything had worked out…Joshua and the rest of the Israelites seemed to be a little…uneasy.  With the Jordan River in between them, these tribes would be alone.  And not only that, but these tribes were also going to be more exposed to their heathen neighbours with all their weird idol worship than the rest of Israel.  So, before they left, Joshua said to them, “Take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” (22:5) And with that, a worried Joshua blessed them, and the tribes crossed the Jordan and began settling their land. 

But after some time had gone by, a strange rumour reached the Israelites. It seemed that the two-and-a-half tribes had made an “impressive alter” just on the other side of the Jordan.  And not only was it impressive, but it seemed to look a lot like the altar of burnt offering…the very same altar that was in the Tabernacle.  Now maybe this doesn’t sound like a big deal…but it was.  Because God had told the Israelites, on pain of death, that they shouldn’t offer their sacrifices in any other place than at the official Tabernacle…which was now at Shiloh.  Now, no one had said that they’d seen anyone actually sacrificing on this altar, but because everyone was already worried about how close those tribes were to their heather neighbours, it seems that everyone jumped to conclusions and assumed the worst…that they’d already been influenced by their heathen neighbours and had rebelled against God.  Now, the Israelites took this extra seriously because sometimes God would punish all of Israel when one group or sometimes even one person rebelled.  Do you kidzos remember when some of the Israelite men had committed harlotry with the Midianite women?  Yah, a plague had started going through the whole camp…not just affecting doing the bad things.  Do you kidzos remember what happened when Achan had taken that stuff from Jericho and buried it in his tent?  Yah, the Israelite attack on Ai failed and 36 soldiers died.  The Israelites really didn’t want whatever was going on the other side of the Jordan to affect them too.  So, what were the Israelites going to do?

Well, the Bible says that “the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered together at Shiloh to go to war against them.” (22:12) The Israelites had gotten so worked up about this alter thing that they were going to war.  Oh boy…the Israelites were definitely taking this seriously!  But before picking up their swords and heading over the Jordan, someone decided that…you know what…maybe…just maybe…before they started killing people, it might be a good idea to talk to the two and a half tribes to…ya know…at least see what they have to say for themselves.  They should at least try to find out why they’d turned against God so quickly, shouldn’t they?  And so, the nine-and-a-half tribes decided to send 10 leaders (one from each tribe) along with Phineas to talk to the wayward tribes.  Do you kidzos remember Phineas?  Yah, the son of Eleazar the high priest and the guy who’d gotten so upset that people were rebelling against God that he’d taken a spear and stabbed an Israelite man and a Midianite woman right through in their tent!  Yah, that guy!  If anyone was serious about rebellion…it was Phineas.  So, this small envoy crossed the Jordan, found the leaders of the two-and-a-half tribes, and got right down to business and said, “Thus says the whole congregation of the LORD: 'What treachery is this that you have committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from following the LORD, in that you have built for yourselves an altar, that you might rebel this day against the LORD?’” (22:16)

When the two-and-a-half tribes heard this accusation, they were shocked!  Treachery…rebellion…what are these people talking about?  There was nothing like that going on here!  And they replied and said, “The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, He knows, and let Israel itself know—if it is in rebellion, or if in treachery against the LORD, do not save us this day.  (23)  If we have built ourselves an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer on it burnt offerings or grain offerings, or if to offer peace offerings on it, let the LORD Himself require an account.” (22:22-23) The two-and-a-half tribes were adamant that they hadn’t done anything wrong.  They then went on to admit that’d they’d built an altar…but not for sacrificing.  So, then, why did they build the altar?  Well, they continued and explained, “in fact we have done it for fear, for a reason, saying, 'In time to come your descendants may speak to our descendants, saying, "What have you to do with the LORD God of Israel?  (25)  For the LORD has made the Jordan a border between you and us, you children of Reuben and children of Gad. You have no part in the LORD."” (22:24) So the two-and-a-half tribes were worried that, with them being separated from the rest of the tribes, as time went on, eventually the other nine-and-a-half tribes would look at them and be like…who are you guys…you’re on the other side of the river…there is a division between us…and so you guys can’t come to the tabernacle and offer sacrifices.  And should that day come, the two-and-a-half tribes wanted to be able to say, “Here is the replica of the altar of the LORD which our fathers made, though not for burnt offerings nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between you and us.” (22:28) And the idea was that when the nine-and-a-half tribes saw the alter that looked a lot like the one in the tabernacle, that they’d be like…oh yah…that does look an awful lot like the alter we have in the tabernacle…I guess you guys can come and make sacrifices on the real one. 

When Phineas and the other 10 leaders heard their explanation, they were super happy.  Thank the Lord…it had just been a huge misunderstanding!  There was no rebellion going on here.  And Phineas said to them, “This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because you have not committed this treachery against the LORD. Now you have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.” (22:31) And with that, the small envoy made their way back over the Jordan River to Shiloh where the angry army was waiting and told them the good news.  The Bible says that “the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God; they spoke no more of going against them in battle, to destroy the land where the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.” (22:33) Crisis averted.  And just to make sure that this little misunderstanding didn’t happen again, after the envoy left, the two-and-a-half tribes decided to put up a sign on the altar explaining why it was there, which said, “Witness, "For it is a witness between us that the LORD is God."” (22:34) Never again would strange rumours start about sacrificing on the wrong alter.  There would be no more misunderstandings…at least not on that side of the Jordan.

So, what do you kidzos think we can learn from this story?  Well, maybe we can learn something about jumping to conclusions.  I can’t tell you how many times Papa’s been told something about someone that seemed bad at first but turned out to have a perfectly good explanation after hearing the whole story.  For example, maybe you hear that so-and-so doesn’t come to church much anymore.  Now just knowing that and nothing else, one might jump to the conclusion that this person doesn’t like their church, or maybe isn’t a Christian anymore, or maybe even doesn’t believe in God anymore. Yikes!  But what happens most of the time when you ask more questions is that there is a perfectly good reason…like in this example maybe they’ve been doing more travelling recently for work, or maybe they’re working nights now and need to sleep during the day, or maybe you find out that they’ve been sick and they just didn’t want to tell anyone.  In Papa’s experience, nine times out of ten, there’s a perfectly good explanation for something that, at first, seemed bad.  This is why it’s important to…as we say…give the benefit of the doubt.  To give the benefit of the doubt means to always assume that someone has a good reason for what they are doing until proven otherwise.  If the Israelites had given the two-and-a-half tribes the benefit of the doubt, before jumping to conclusions they would have kindly and courteously asked about the altar…at which point they found out the truth before getting all riled up.  Giving the benefit of the doubt is always a good idea because, most of the time, it prevents unneeded arguing, bad feelings, and unnecessary fighting…and it really would have helped the Israelites avoid getting so close to war all those years ago.