The Altar
Of The LORD
Our God
They came to the Reubenites,
the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, in the
land of Gilead, and they said to them, “Thus says the whole congregation of the
LORD, ‘What is this treachery that you have committed against the God of Israel
in turning away today from following the LORD, by building yourselves an altar
today in rebellion against the LORD? Have we not had enough of the sin at Peor from which even yet we have not cleansed ourselves,
and for which a plague came upon the congregation of the LORD, that you must
turn away today from following the LORD! If you rebel against the LORD today,
he will be angry with the whole congregation of Israel tomorrow. But now, if
your land is unclean, cross over into the LORD’s land
where the LORD’s tabernacle now stands, and take for
yourselves a possession among us; only do not rebel against the LORD, or rebel
against us by building yourselves an altar other than the altar of the LORD our
God.
Joshua 22 records a number of flawed
first impressions. One impression was that some of the tribes had built an
altar near the Jordan. Because God had commanded that He alone be worshipped
and that sacrifices be performed only on the tabernacle, some of the tribes saw
the building of the new altar as an act of apostasy. Fortunately, Phinehas the priest led a delegation to find out why they
had built the altar. They were told that it was a memorial of unity for all the
tribes under the one God of Israel.
Often our first impressions can be
wrong. Open communication, however, can correct misunderstandings that are
created by our own pride and prejudice.
First
impressions often lead to wrong conclusions.
Our Daily
Bread – July 9, 2007