Living Without Apostacy

Once, I played one of those fun mixer games at camp where we divided into partners, and one member of the partnership was blindfolded. Then they separated the partners, standing the blindfolded ones on one side of a field, and the "seeing" partner on the other side. The seeing partner had to "guide" the blindfolded member through an obstacle course, using only their voice. The goal was to bring their partner to stand next to them.

I remember being so confused. There were a lot of voices, they were all yelling at the tops of their lungs, and I didn't know my partner's voice very well. Eventually, though, as other people found their partners, I could hear mine better, and I was able to close the gap toward that person. Eventually, I felt his hand on my arm, and I removed my blindfold, amazed at the progress I'd made. I no longer stood at a great distance from him -- I now stood right next to him, on his side of the dividing line.

Okay, same story, second verse in Joshua 22. I had forgotten about this little episode tucked near the back of Joshua, but it's a story of assumptions, communication, and "almosts." 

The land of Canaan had been mostly taken for Israel -- all the land that God had promised. Pockets of foreigners still remained, to be an ongoing "project," but the Israelites, for the first time in a long while, had peace. And Joshua sends for the leaders of the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.

These 2 1/2 tribes have made their homes on the east side of the Jordan River, also called the trans-Jordan territory, and because of familial loyalty, they've helped their 9 1/2 brother-tribes conquer the rest of the Promised Land. But it's been a while since they've been home. 

So Joshua tells them: "For a long time now -- to this very day -- you have not deserted your brothers but have carried out the mission the Lord your God gave you. Now that the Lord your God has given your brothers rest as He promised, return to your homes in the land that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of the Jordan" (Joshua 22:3-4).

Go home, y'all; you earned it. Be at peace. It reminds me of one of the scenes in the movie, The Return of the King, when Aragorn tells the king of the dead army -- after they helped to defeat the enemy at Minis Tirith -- that he holds their oaths fulfilled. And you see the sense of peace sweep over these ghostly men of war, and a wind sweeps through and slowly blows them into nothingness. It's kinda cool.

Obviously, the 2 1/2 tribes are not ghosts, but they've earned their stripes, and Joshua "holds their oaths fulfilled." He reminds them: "Be very careful to keep the commandment and the law that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you; to love the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to obey His commands, to hold fast to Him and to serve Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Joshua 22:5).

So the 2 1/2 tribes turn and head toward home. They reach the Jordan River, and when they come to Geliloth, a place near the Jordan, they get ready to ford it. But before they do, they build "an imposing altar." 

This is significant. The nation of Israel has set up the place of worship to the Lord their God... at Shiloh. It's where the Tabernacle is set up; it's where they put the Ark of the Covenant. It's the "resting place" of God. Shiloh means peace, remember? (See this post: Shiloh, the Place of Peace). 

Someone sees the 2 1/2 tribes building this imposing altar, and they run back to the people who make the decisions and spread the alarm. "The 2 1/2 tribes are committing apostacy! They've built an altar in another place from Shiloh; they surely are going to worship other gods!" (This is not a Scripture verse, just what must have happened based on the following events.)

"So the Israelites sent Phinehas son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead -- to Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (Phinehas has a reputation for upholding, with flair, the law of the Lord; see Numbers 25). With him, they sent ten of the chief men, one for each of the tribes of Israel, each the head of a family division among the Israelite clans" (Joshua 22:13-14).

So it's an imposing group of grave-faced individuals who come. But it's not just them. In 22:12, it says that "the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to to go war against them."

In other words, justice must be carried out, because of this altar.

As it turns out, when Phinehas and Co. bring their accusations against the 2 1/2 tribes, the 2 1/2 tribes stare at them, shocked. Then they give their defense, beginning with this: "The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord!" The repeat the name of the Lord as a witness to what they're about to say. In other words: "We're serious, y'all; we're not playing games."

"If this had been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day!... No! We [built that structure] for fear that some day your descendants might say to ours, 'What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you -- you Reubenites and Gadites! You have no share in the Lord.' So your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord."

And here's the reason behind the method: "That is why we said, 'Let us get ready and build an altar -- but not for burnt offerings or sacrifices.' On the contrary, it is to be a witness between us  and you and the generations that follow, that we will worship the Lord at His sanctuary (in Shiloh, for the present)... Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours, 'You have no share in the Lord.'"

So when this all comes clear, Phinehas the priest and all the leaders with him, realize where their assumptions have led them. It's true that if their assumptions had been correct, it would have been a big deal in this national theocracy (apostacy is a really big deal; we should recognize this even today, but unfortunately, apostacy is also subtle and an easy trap to fall into; see my post: "Word for the Church: Rhetoric and Holy Boundaries").

But thank the Lord that their assumptions were false. Phinehas and the rest of the Israelite leaders recognize this as soon as they get the explanation. "Ooohhhhh." Phinehas says, "Today, we know that the Lord is with us, because you have not acted unfaithfully toward the Lord in this matter."

They communicate where each of them stands on this issue, and as they do, it turns out, when the smoke clears and the blindfolds are removed... that they're standing on the same side.

I love the last line of the chapter: "And the Reubenites and the Gadites gave the altar this name: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God.

What a great symbol of unity.

I still have yet to read Francis Chan's Until Unity, but I want to do so as soon as I can. Francis Chan's heart is evident through his ministry, and I'm looking forward to reading his perspective on the Biblical call for unity in the church. As Jesus Himself says: "I pray also for those who will believe in me through [the message of the disciples] (that's us, y'all!), that all of them may be one, Father, just as You are in Me, and I am in You. May they also be in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me" (John 17:20-21). 

This is a strong call to ministry to the world through unity in the church, unity among the followers of Christ. To be very clear -- this is not a call for unity with the world or the agendas or social manipulations of the world. Given that I've seen people call for this very thing... I need to make sure that's understood.

Unity with the Father, unity with Jesus -- it's a needed message today, isn't it? There's this whole... I don't know... undercurrent of division in the church that is slowly no longer "undercurrent" and rather turning into "blatant" division.

The problem is, how to determine what is apostacy (turning away from the Lord and turning toward the things of this world) and what is miscommunication and assumption?

Let's bring it back to Scripture. Y'all, if we don't know or accept what is in the pages of God's Word, how can we live according to God's Word? How can we call ourselves followers of Jesus if we turn away from what Jesus Himself commands? 

And yep, I'm going there. Romans, Corinthians, other parts of Scripture that aren't "the words in red"... written by writers inspired by the Holy Spirit, who is 1/3 of the Trinity, God Himself, so when we "unhitch" those portions of Scripture from the parts we're more comfortable with, when we pick and choose which portions of Scripture to obey and which to disobey... we've got some serious issues.

Let's get back to the Word. Let's get back to the Word that is the One from John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. At the very beginning, Jesus was. And at the very end, Jesus will be. That's our story and that's our song, that's our testimony, so let's live it without apostacy.

Let's build our altar: A Witness Between Us that the Lord is God!