Joshua 22

Joshua 22:2

2. And Joshua called for all Israel, &c.] In this and the following chapter, Joshua appears a true imitator of Moses, concluding his book and his life with a pious exhortation to the duties of religion, as the only means of procuring and perpetuating the blessings of Heaven. We also see in him a worthy pattern for every parent to follow in life, to lead his children by a holy example;

AND it came to pass a long time after that the LORD had given rest unto Israel from all their enemies round about, that Joshua waxed old and † stricken in age.

Joshua 22:5

5. — the Lord your God, he shall expel them] This relates to the Canaanites yet remaining unsubdued, whom the Israelites, provided they faithfully adhered to the worship of the true God, would certainly be enabled to conquer. Bp. Patrick.

Joshua 22:6

6. — take diligent heed] He exhorts them, like a wise and religious governor, to improve the experience they had of the great providences of God towards themselves and their whole nation, into a constant and dull.

The Reubenites, &c. build an altar, at which the Israelites are offended. Before CHRIST 1444. cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul.

Joshua 22:7

7. — neither make mention of the name of their gods.] That is, do not mention their names, as objects of worship, with any sort of reverence.

— nor cause to swear by them.] This being a peculiar mark of respect, as implying an acknowledgment that he, in whose name the oath was taken, had power to punish those who forewore themselves. Dr. Wells.

Before CHRIST about 1437. into days. a Exod. 14. 14. sunset. b Deut. 5. 22. & 23. 14. c Ps. 16. 4. you will cleave, See.

Joshua 22:9

9. — the country of Gilead.] The country of Gilead, here put for the whole country possessed by the Israelites, to the east of Jordan: so called from Gilead, the son of Machir, and grandson of Manasseh. Stackhouse. 10. — came unto the borders of Jordan, — in the land of Canaan.] This expression would seem to import, that they built the altar in the land of Canaan, before they went over Jordan: but this is by no means probable; and indeed is contradicted by the next verse, which says, that they built it over against Jordan. The meaning must be, that, when they came to the borders of Jordan, and then passed into their own country, they staid there to build the altar. Bp. Patrick. — great altar to see to.] Namely, an altar which made a great slew, being built very high, so that it might be seen afar off, but after the pattern of the altar of the burnt offering at the tabernacle. Dr. Wells. Their purpose was no more than to erect this as a monumental record to posterity: by raising it in the particular shape of an altar, they intended it as a memorial of the near relation, close friendship, and perfect unity of religion, that subsisted between them and their brethren in western Canaan. Pyle. A memorial, that, though they were parted by the river, yet they were of the same religion and extraction with the other tribes, and had an equal right to the tabernacle of Shiloh, and the worship of God there performed. Stackhouse.

Joshua 22:12

12. — gathered themselves together] The tribes now lived separate, having gone to settle in their several possessions. — to go up to war] To consult about going to war; for they imagined them to be apostates from their religion, which required them to worship the Lord alone, and at no other place but that which He Himself had chosen. Bp. Patrick. They thought this altar to be built, either in imitation of heathen high places, or as a separate place of sacrifice and public worship, distinct from that of the tabernacle, and consequently to imply a plain revolt from the express law of God. Pyle.

Joshua 22:17

17. Is the iniquity of Peor too little &c.] Is the iniquity, of which so many of us were guilty in worshipping Peor, too small a provocation committed by us They give them good satisfaction. Before CHRIST 1444. was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,

Joshua 22:19

19. — if the land of your possession be unclean,] If you think that the land of your possession is unclean, or less holy, for want of an altar among you, then “pass ye over” unto our land. Dr. Wells. This expresses a wonderful zeal for God and the common good, wherewith they were now possessed, which made them rather desire to give up some of their own lands to the tribes east of Jordan, than suffer them to “rebel against the Lord,” and thereby break the common bond, which bound the tribes to each other as well as to God. Bp. Patrick.

Joshua 22:25

25. — ye have no part in the Lord:] Ye are none of the Lord’s people, as not living within the bounds of the promised land. Dr. Wells.

Joshua 22:28

28. — Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord,] They could not have exactly imitated the pattern of the true altar of God, if they had not attended it, as a place

of worship, together with their brethren; on which account their altar would be “a witness” that they (the Eastern tribes) had a right to approach the tabernacle, as well as the western. Bp. Patrick.

Joshua 22:29

29. God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord,] We cannot have a stronger proof of the zeal of the whole nation for the observance of the Divine law, than this transaction between the two tribes and a half, and the remaining tribes. Here we see the two tribes and a half building an altar at the passage of Jordan, a pattern, or after the pattern, of the altar of the Lord. The remaining congregation, alarmed at the idea of this being a rebellion against God, who had commanded that there should be only one altar for His people, prepared to punish it by instant war. But, on their sending ambassadours to expostulate, the two tribes and a half shew, by the earnestness of their answer, “God forbid that we should rebel &c.” that the impression was indeed most deep, which the judgments of God had made on the whole nation, that they were animated with the most watchful anxiety to fulfil the Law, and to avoid the wrath of Jehovah, at once their Sovereign and their God. Dr. Graves.

The report satisfied the people. Joshua’s exhortation Before CHRIST 1444. good in their ages. ¶ That is, A witness.

Joshua 22:34

34. — that the Lord is God.] That the Lord is our God, that we own no other God, and will worship Him only; and consequently that we have a right to serve Him at His tabernacle as well as they. Bp. Patrick, Dr. Wells.

Chap. XXIII. ver. 1. — a long time after] According to Abp. Usher, this happened seventeen years after the division of the land. See the dates in the margin of the Bible.

— Joshua waxed old] This had been said of him before the division of the land took place, Josh. xlii. 1; and, since that time, he built a city on his own allotment. It is probable that he was now in the last year of his life. Bp. Patrick.