Sent Home With the Father's Blessing
22 1 Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them, "You have kept all Moses the servant of our Father commanded you, and obeyed my voice in all I commanded you. 3 You have not abandoned your brothers these many days, down to this day, but kept the duty of your Father's command. 4 Now your Father has given your brothers rest, as he promised. So turn back to your tents, in the land you possess, which Moses, servant of our Father, gave you across the Jordan. 5 Only take great care to do the command and law Moses, servant of our Father, commanded you: love your Father, walk in all his ways, keep his commands, cling to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul.
6 Then Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. 7 Moses had given the half-tribe of Manasseh a possession in Bashan; to the other half Joshua gave a possession with their brothers west of the Jordan. When Joshua sent them home to their tents, he blessed them. 8 He told them, "Go home with great wealth—abundant livestock, silver, gold, bronze, iron, and many clothes. Share the plunder from your enemies with your brothers."
An Altar to Witness Their Father
9 Then Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh turned back from the Israelites at Shiloh in Canaan, to Gilead, their own possession, settled there at the command of our Father through Moses. 10 Reaching the region of the Jordan in Canaan, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh built an altar there by the Jordan—an altar impressive in size. 11 The Israelites heard, "Look, Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar facing Canaan, in the region of the Jordan, on Israel's side." 12 When Israel's people heard, the whole assembly of Israel's people gathered at Shiloh to wage war against them. 13 The Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh in Gilead, 14 with him ten chiefs, one per ancestral house, from every tribe of Israel, each head of his ancestral house among Israel's clans. 15 They came to the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh in the land of Gilead and said to them, 16 The whole assembly of our Father asks: What treachery is this against our Father, the God of Israel — turning today from following him, building yourselves an altar today to rebel against him? 17 Wasn't Peor's sin enough for us? We haven't made ourselves clean from it to this day, though a plague struck the congregation of our Father. 18 that you must turn away today from following our Father? If you rebel against him today, tomorrow he will be angry with all Israel's congregation. 19 But if the land of your possession is unclean, then cross over into the land of our Father's possession, where his tabernacle dwells, and take possession among us. Only do not rebel against our Father, and do not draw us into rebellion with you, by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of our Father. 20 Did Achan son of Zerah not act unfaithfully with the devoted things, bringing wrath on all Israel's community? He was not the only one who died for that guilt.
21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of Israel's clans. 22 The Mighty One, our Father! The Mighty One, our Father! He knows, and let Israel itself know! If in rebellion or in unfaithfulness against our Father, do not spare us today. 23 that we built our own altar to turn away from following our Father, or to offer on it burnt, grain, or peace offerings — may our Father himself call us to account!
24 Rather, we did this from fear that someday your children might say to ours, 'What connection do you have with our Father, the God of Israel? 25 For our Father made the Jordan a border between us and you, Reubenites and Gadites — you have no share in him.' So your children might stop our children from revering our Father. a a v25 The eastern tribes' deepest fear was not about land but about belonging — that one day their children would be told they had no share in the Father. The whole quarrel is really about who still belongs to him.
26 Therefore we said, 'Let us build ourselves an altar, not for burnt offering and not for sacrifice, 27 But a witness between us and you, and our generations after us, that we serve our Father before him with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and peace offerings — so your children won't tell ours someday, 'You have no share in our Father.'
28 We thought: if they ever say this to us or our future generations, we'd answer, 'See the model of our Father's altar our ancestors made — not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but a witness between us and you.'
29 We would never rebel against our Father or turn away from following him today by building an altar for burnt offerings, grain offerings, or sacrifices, apart from our Father's altar before his dwelling!
30 When Phinehas the priest, the leaders of the community, and the heads of Israel's clans who were with him heard what the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites said, they were pleased. 31 Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and Manassites, "Today we know our Father is among us, since you haven't betrayed him this way. Now you've saved Israel's people from the hand of our Father." 32 Phinehas son of Eleazar the priest, and the leaders, left the Reubenites and Gadites in Gilead and returned to Canaan, to Israel, and reported back to them. 33 The report pleased the Israelites, and the Israelites blessed our Father and gave up going to war against them to destroy the land where the Reubenites and Gadites lived. 34 The Reubenites and Gadites called the altar Witness, for it is a witness between us that our Father is God.
