Joshua 22
The Altar by the
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Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and
the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manas'seh,
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and said unto them, Ye have kept all that
Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you,
and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you: Num.
32.20-32 · Josh. 1.12-15
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ye have not left your brethren these many
days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of
the LORD your God.
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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.
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But take diligent heed to do the
commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the LORD charged you, to love the LORD your God, and to walk in all his ways, and to
keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with
all your heart and with all your soul.
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So Joshua blessed them, and sent them
away: and they went unto their tents.
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Now to the one half of the tribe
of Manas'seh Moses had given possession in Bashan: but unto
the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on
this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto
their tents, then he blessed them,
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and he spake unto them, saying, Return
with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with
silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very
much raiment: divide the spoil of your enemies with your
brethren.
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And the children of Reuben and the
children of Gad and the half tribe of Manas'seh returned, and
departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gil'e-ad, to the
land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to
the word of the LORD by the hand of
Moses.
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And when they came unto the borders of
Jordan, that are in the land of Canaan, the children of
Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manas'seh built
there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to.
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And the children of Israel heard say,
Behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half
tribe of Manas'seh have built an altar over against the land of
Canaan, in the borders of Jordan, at the passage of the children of
Israel.
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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.
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And the children of Israel sent unto
the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half
tribe of Manas'seh, into the land of Gil'e-ad, Phin'ehas the son of
Ele-a'zar the priest,
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and with him ten princes, of each chief
house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel; and each one was a head of the house of their fathers among the thousands
of Israel.
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And they came unto the children of
Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of
Manas'seh, unto the land of Gil'e-ad, and they spake with them,
saying,
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Thus saith the whole congregation of the
LORD, What trespass is this that ye have
committed against the God of Israel, to turn away this day from
following the LORD, in that ye have builded you
an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the LORD? Deut. 12.6
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Is the iniquity of Pe'or too
little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day,
although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, Num. 25.1-9
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but that ye must turn away this day from
following the LORD? and it will be, seeing ye rebel today against the LORD,
that tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of
Israel.
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Notwithstanding, if the land of your
possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land
of the possession of the LORD, wherein the
LORD's tabernacle dwelleth, and take possession
among us: but rebel not against the LORD, nor
rebel against us, in building you an altar besides the altar of the
LORD our God.
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Did not Achan the son of Zerah commit a
trespass in the accursed thing, and wrath fell on all the
congregation of Israel? and that man perished not alone in his
iniquity. Josh. 7.1-26
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Then the children of Reuben and the
children of Gad and the half tribe of Manas'seh answered, and said
unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,
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The LORD God of
gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and
Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in
transgression against the LORD, (save us not
this day,)
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that we have built us an altar to turn
from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon
burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings
thereon, let the LORD himself require it;
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and if we have not rather done it
for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children
might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the
LORD God of Israel?
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For the LORD hath
made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and
children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD:
so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the
LORD.
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Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to
build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for
sacrifice:
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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.
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Therefore said we, that it shall be, when
they should so say to us or to our generations in time to
come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar
of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for
burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness
between us and you.
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God forbid that we should rebel against
the LORD, and turn this day from following the
LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings,
for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, besides the altar of the
LORD our God that is before his
tabernacle.
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And when Phin'ehas 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 Manas'seh spake,
it pleased them.
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And Phin'ehas the son of Ele-a'zar the
priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad,
and to the children of Manas'seh, This day we perceive that the
LORD is among us, because ye have not
committed this trespass against the LORD: now
ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the
LORD.
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And Phin'ehas the son of Ele-a'zar the
priest, and the princes, returned from the children of Reuben, and
from the children of Gad, out of the land of Gil'e-ad, unto the land
of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word
again.
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And the thing pleased the children of
Israel; and the children of Israel blessed God, and did not intend
to go up against them in battle, to destroy the land wherein the
children of Reuben and Gad dwelt.
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And the children of Reuben and the
children of Gad called the altar Ed: 3 for it shall be a witness between us that the LORD is God.
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