bridges, not barriers.

Joshua 22:20-29 (JDV)

Joshua 22:20 Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who was destroyed because of his iniquity.'”
Joshua 22:21 The Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh answered the heads of the Israelite clans,
Joshua 22:22 “The Mighty One, God, Yahveh! The Mighty One, God, Yahveh! He knows, and may Israel also know. Do not spare us today, if it was in rebellion or treachery against Yahveh
Joshua 22:23 that we have built for ourselves an altar to turn away from him. May Yahveh himself hold us accountable if we intended to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings on it, or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it.
Joshua 22:24 We actually did this from a specific concern that in the future your descendants might say to our descendants, ‘What relationship do you have with Yahveh, the God of Israel?
Joshua 22:25 You see, Yahveh has made the Jordan a border between us and you descendants of Reuben and Gad. You have no share in Yahveh! ‘ So your descendants may cause our descendants to stop fearing Yahveh.
Joshua 22:26 “Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice.
Joshua 22:27 Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of Yahveh in his presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings. Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in Yahveh! ‘
Joshua 22:28 We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Notice at the replica of Yahveh’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.
Joshua 22:29 We would never ever rebel against Yahveh or turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offering, grain offering, or sacrifice, other than the altar of Yahveh our God, which is in front of his tabernacle.”

bridges, not barriers.

The altar for the Eastern tribes was intended as a bridge to keep the connection between the tribes strong, not as a barrier to it.

How often we misunderstand other believers because we don’t take the time to see things from their point of view.

Lord, help us to build bridges, not barriers.