To WAR!

Jumping to conclusions. Acting on bad intel. Making assumptions. Projecting motives. What do these all have in common?

For starters, they can all ruin interpersonal relationships very quickly. On a larger scale, wars have been fought or nearly fought because of any one of these things, or a combination thereof. For example, I’m sure many of us are old enough to know what I am talking about when I say “Weapons of Mass Destruction.” Yes, I am talking about the false justification for the U.S. invasion of Iraq back in the early 2000’s. That is one instance where faulty info led to a war that resulted in the deaths of more than 200,000 Iraqis, Americans and other allies, among myriad other negative consequences. I know that war was about more than just WMDs, and that there are many opinions on if the war was justified or not, but that’s not my point nor where I want to go with this. Rather, I want to direct us toward Joshua chapter 22 for the point of this blog post. 

In this passage, the two-and-a-half tribes of Israel whose inheritance lay on the east side of the Jordan River are released by Joshua from their military service (they were helping the other tribes take possession of the Promised Land by subduing the heathen nations), and they headed home. After crossing the river, but before dispersing to their respective lands, they built “an alter of imposing size” near the Jordan River. When the Western tribes caught wind of it, their response was “To WAR!” Why this response, especially considering these men on the other side of the river were their brothers and had just endured many months of battling side-by-side? Because they assumed the altar was in idolatrous defiance of the one and only altar before the Tabernacle where sacrifices could be rightly made to the Lord. They had already seen the result of one man turning away from the Lord (Achan, in chapter seven), and they had no appetite for another episode like that. 

In verses 13 through 20, the leaders of Israel (with their massive army behind them) come and accuse the two-and-a-half tribes of spiritual treason and even offer to have those tribes abandon their possession east of the Jordan to come live with the rest of Israel “if the land of your possession is unclean.” While there was that offer of diplomacy and call to repentance, the majority of the children of Israel stood ready to wipe out nearly a third of their own people. This was how seriously they took obedience to the Lord, and while their motives were sound, their assumptions were misguided. 

Thankfully, the men of the eastern tribes were given the opportunity to defend their actions. They explained that the massive altar was not in fact intended for making sacrifices of any kind, but was actually meant to be a memorial to future generations so it would not be forgotten by the western tribes that their brothers and sisters to the east of the river were of one blood with them, and of one heart towards the Lord. After the explanation, the rest of Israel lowered their bows, spears and swords and said, “Oh, never mind. I guess we rallied tens of thousands of troops and marched for days with the intent of destroying our brothers without just cause.” The text tells us the all the people of Israel were glad and recognized God was among them, which are both very good things; but, I imagine some of the people, especially the leaders, might have felt a little silly having gone through so much effort and made such a show based on faulty assumptions. They could have sent a few leaders to make inquiries and not troubled the entire nation until and unless there was just cause for such action. 

When I read this passage, I laughed a little, but also felt that sting of conviction knowing I have been guilty of all the of the phrases listed in the opening paragraph. I have stirred up strife and injured relationships because I didn’t take time to wait and ask questions, or if I did, I didn’t believe what was said and/or projected motives onto someone. The Bible really does address so many of the struggles we face in our daily lives, and this story from the Old Testament is a great example of that. We can see both from this passage and from other historical and personal events that we should indeed be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger as James 1:19 says. In some rare cases, hasty, misinformed decisions have led to human suffering and death, but more often for us it leads to injured relationships and regret. 

For the sake of our relationships and testimonies, may we, by the power of the Holy Spirit and obedience to the Word of God, be a people marked by careful consideration and intentional conversation. If we follow the advice of God’s Word (and Treebeard – “Don’t be hasty!”), we will be less apt to take up arms and plunge headlong into battles we ought not engage in, injuring others and revealing our own imprudence, impatience and pride. May our cry of “WAR” not be a call to armed conflict, but rather an acronym to help us – Wait, Ask, Respond.