← Prophecy Watchers
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In Joshua 22 here, we're going to study the threat the nation falls under, the threat of civil war. And I'm going to go through just a couple of slides just to remind us where we got to here, because we, for the last few weeks, we've been doing a lot of studies around Christmas about the birth of Jesus and our Christmas services and things. But as we're diving back into Joshua, you know, to start the new Year, I got some messages from several people over the break about how they finished the Bible before New Year and they started over on New Year's Day. And that is just a tremendous blessing. So my encouragement to all of you, if you haven't started reading the Bible for the New Year, is to do that, make that a goal, that in 2026, you read through the Bible cover to cover in chronological order. It's really not difficult. And once you start doing it and you get into this rhythm, your walk with the Lord and your faith just comes alive. I mean, it will change your life. And as you do it, you really need to lean on first. John 2:27, 28, that the holy Spirit, every time before you read, just ask the Lord. Lord, your Holy Spirit dwells within me. The Author himself dwells within me. Teach me everything out of your Word. And that's our prayer every week as we dive into the word of God that His Holy Spirit would teach us. And the second verse there, verse 28, is very important. And now little children abide in him that when he shall appear, so that's in the rapture of the Church, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before him at his coming. So as you study the Bible and you grow in your faith, and you let the Lord refine you and burn things out of your life that shouldn't be there, and you become this vessel fit for service when he appears in the Rapture, you will not be ashamed. You'll be confident to stand before him. And unlike, remember the ten virgins, five of them were ashamed. You don't have to be ashamed. You can have oil in your lamp and ready for the Savior to bring you home. And that is what it's all about, is to serve him now, to be a faithful, unashamed bride looking for his return. And then from second Timothy four, eight, you'll have a crown, a crown of righteousness laid up for you for all of those who love his appearance. So there's a crown tied to the Rapture. But if you will get in the Word of God daily, as Acts 17:11 declares you want to search the Scriptures daily to prove that anything is so of what you're hearing. Let the Bible be the filter by which you receive all information. So not the other way around. Don't look at the Bible through the lens of the world, look at the world through the lens of the Bible. If you'll just reverse that, it'll change your life and you'll be able to see truth for as it really is. So last January we started in Joshua. And so we're on a solid year now in this book. And it's just really been a very fruitful study. I wasn't really sure when we first started out. I honestly didn't think it would take us a year to get through the whole book. But it's been a really fruitful study and the Lord has really, I think, delivered a lot of great insights into the Word here. So in God's charge to Joshua, just don't forget that Joshua, he was a young man that grew up in total obscurity in Egypt. And he only shows up twice, you know, in the excess event. And then in the wilderness wanderings, kind of walking through. Remember Moses changes his name to Jesus or Yehoshua or Yeshua, and he changes his name to Joshua in Hebrew, in the Greek it would be Yeshua. But Moses did that. And he was the son, the firstborn son of nun. And we're going to see something at the very end of this message that ties into that in Africa, these pillars in Morocco that talk about Joshua. It's very interesting. But then we studied Rahab and this young lady who had faith based on simply what she had heard about the God of Abraham and seeing what he did to the Egyptian army. And she ends up in the lineage of Jesus, which is amazing. And that scarlet thread that starts in Rahab's, starts all the way back in Genesis 3:15, the seed of the woman. But that scarlet thread carries through, goes through Rahab, and then all the way to the end of the cross where we get salvation. They crossed the Jordan, they set that marker, they went through circumcision that they had never done. That whole generation had not done that. Walking through the wilderness. Jesus showed up in Joshua 5 with his sword drawn. They fought Jericho, Jericho fell by the sound, by a sound. And that's, that's always been fascinating to me because by sound we all get caught up in the air. But it's also a war cry to the earth and to God's enemies in the seven year tribulation. It's a sound. It all Starts with a sound, the sound of a trumpet from 1st Thessalonians 4. That gets us caught up. But it's a war cry. And before the Lord goes to war, he calls his ambassadors home. So you want to make sure you're on that side of the. Of the ledger. If you're here and you're not saved, we'll get that. We'll take care of that at the end of this message. But the accursed things with Achan, remember, Achan took the accursed things, they went and conquered AI. They had the Mount of Cursing at Mount Ebal and Mount Gerizim. They took an oath with the Gibeonites, those traitors from Norman that lived not too far away, about 35 miles away from them. And they. They came in, they deceived him, they took this oath. And then based on that oath, they had to go and fight with them against Adoni Zedek, who was called the King of righteousness. He was a typology of the Antichrist. And then we had the long day of Joshua and the physics. And then Joshua really had this campaign of conquering the south. Remember, he divided the land. He went across the middle, and he conquered the south. And they turned and conquered the north. And they didn't wipe out some of the Nephilim. And those may have been some of the ones that fled and ended up in Peru and in South America with a lot of the artifacts down there, the temples and those elongated skulls and things that have been found. They took a survey of their victory, then they started allotting the inheritance. And in chapter 13, we were reminded of the two and a half tribes that stopped short of their inheritance east of the Jordan. And that's really the main focus of chapter 22. Here is these two and a half tribes that really were not willing to follow their brothers into what God had called them to. And because of that, the whole nation is divided. And there's a deep lesson here. We're going to talk about the end, but the nation is divided, and it almost leads to civil war within the body, within the nation of Israel. Okay, then we have. We talked about our inheritance with Judah, because Jesus is from the tribe of Judah, and we are heir of all things, joint heirs with Christ. He's the heir of all things. We are joint heirs with him, and we get to share in that. Then his legitimacy to the throne. They set up the tabernacle in the land. We talked about Benjamin, the son of my right hand, and the inheritance that, remember, they all were kind of Roaming around, not being speedy to take their inheritance. And Joshua finally had to cast lots for them and call out their inheritance. And it probably would have been different if they would have been bold enough to step into what God called them to. And then some of them were forsaking the call. Then we talked about the six cities of refuge and how that relates to Christ. And then last time in Joshua, we talked about the 48 cities that were destined or allotted to the Levites and why the Lord wanted to spread them out. So today we'll talk about this false peace. And on this chart that we've been looking at, we're at the very end of Joshua 22, the Civil War threat. And then the conclusion of the final two chapters are kind of Joshua's parting words to the people after a very long military campaign that he's led since Egypt, really going through the wilderness and all of the promised land. Okay, so remember when the Lord was allotting the inheritance, you had these tribes that they were kind of sitting around. I remember Joshua's getting frustrated with them. Why don't you guys go out and take what God has given you while you're still here camping out and just hanging out in your tents and being lazy, you know, for a lack of better words. And he had to cast these. He's like, fine, okay, I'll cast these lots. And he did the lots. And so finally in chapter 19, the Lord started allotting their inheritance. And if you remember from our map that we've been looking at, Simeon had to take their inheritance in the middle of Judah because Judah was too weak to conquer everything that God had given them. And they didn't have enough faith to conquer all of that land. And so they gave up part of it to Simeon. Dan was along the coast. And then you can kind of see the Jordan. And if you turn the map, you know, 90 degrees in your notes there, the two and a half tribes east of the Jordan are the main concern today. Reuben, Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, that stopped short. And they made this agreement to compromise with what God had called them to. And if you remember, the cities of refuge, they are a typology of Christ. So if you committed second degree murder or manslaughter, you had a place to go for refuge until the high priest died. And we studied how that tied into Jesus, because he is our refuge. He attributes his death on the cross as manslaughter. When he says, from the cross, father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. So it's attributed to you and I as manslaughter. Thus we have, legally, we have right to a refuge, and that refuge being Christ, if we make it to the city of refuge, which is him, until the high priest dies. And from Hebrews 8, he's our high priest. So we have the freedom to go out and to live our lives and to follow the Command of Luke 19 to occupy until I come. So it's really an amazing thing. Okay, and then one last thing. Remember those 48 cities for the Levites? God spread them throughout the land to teach the people in the ways of the Lord as the officiators of the tabernacle, Remember, that's why he spread them out over the entire nation, was they were the personal representative for God in the priestly order to the people. And so it was kind of like. It's kind of similar to today throughout. You know, you drive around Oklahoma City. I mean, there's a church, there are three churches at every intersection, almost. So God's spreading his word kind of throughout the land, trying to teach people how to get into it. Now, I'm not saying every church is teaching the Bible, but I just mean that concept. You can kind of relate to what God was doing there. Okay, in chapter 22 here. Now, these two and a half tribes that stopped short of their inheritance, they wanted to dwell east of the Jordan. They were, if you remember, Reuben Gad, the half tribe of Manasseh. They were comfortable in the world. So remember when they got to that part of the land and they were camping it by the Jordan, they decided, hey, give us our inheritance here. There's plenty of room for our flocks and our herds to spread out. They were very comfortable. They didn't want to go war for something deeper. So they wanted to settle and stop short. They did not want to press onward to where God was calling them. So in Joshua 22, look at this in verse one. Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh and said unto them, ye have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you. Okay, there's a clue right there. Joshua didn't say, you kept all that the Lord commanded you, but that Moses commanded you. And there's a key here we'll look at in numbers. But and have obeyed my voice and all that I commanded you, ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. So in military terms, what Joshua is giving these two tribes right now you and I would call, like, an honorable discharge. So they served some time, they did some decent things, but now that it's time for them to move on, they're getting this honorable discharge from the military, so to speak. Okay, look at Colossians 3:22 through 25. Servants, obey in all things your masters according to the flesh. Not with eye service as men's pleasers, but in singleness of heart, fearing God in whatsoever ye do, do it heartily as to the Lord and not unto men, Knowing that the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance. Now, that's a deep statement. Okay, Everything that you and I do, you're either building on the foundation wood, hay, stubble that's going to burn up at the Day of judgment, the Bema, seat of Christ, or gold, silver, precious stones that remains, and that those are the rewards. So knowing that by the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance, for you serve the Lord Christ, but he that doth wrong, that doeth wrong, shall receive for the wrong which he hath done. And there is no respect of persons. Now, you will. You will reap what you sow in this life. And these two and a half tribes have sown something here that they will unfortunately have to reap later on. And we'll look at that in First Chronicles. But they're sowing something. They're sowing seeds of compromise right now by stopping short. And unfortunately, it will come to cost them later. Okay, so now what I'm going to do is I'm just going to read chapter 22, and then we'll break this down a little bit. It's not that long, but. And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren as he promised them. Therefore now return ye and get you unto your tents and unto the land of your possession, which Moses, the servant of the Lord and gave you on the other side of Jordan. Remember again what Moses gave you. Not what God was calling you to, what Moses allowed, but take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord, charged you to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart, with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them and sent them away. And they went unto their tents. And now to the one half tribe of Manasseh, Moses had given possession in Bashan. Remember, Og, king of Bashan, they defeated in the wilderness, but under the other half tribe thereof gave Joshua among Their brethren on this side of Jordan, westward, so where God was calling them. And when Joshua sent them away also under their tents, then he blessed them and he spake unto them saying, return with much riches unto your tents. And with Mary, very much cattle, with silver and with gold, and with brass and with iron, and with very much raiment. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh. So they took their, their bounty, so to speak, and take off, which is in the land of Canaan, to go into the country of Gilead to the land of possession whereof they were possessed according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses. And when they came unto the burden, the borders of Jordan that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and half tribe Manasseh built there an altar. Now this is the issue, a great altar to see to. So they build in their minds what they think is a memorial to God. In the rest of the tribes of Israel, the ones that are in the promised land west of the Jordan that obeyed God and set up the tabernacle there, they see this as an altar that is disgracing God because it's not at the tabernacle as God commanded. And so they're going to take umbrage with this and come to them in a little bit to figure out, hey, what are you guys doing over there? Why are you building this other, this other thing to God? Okay, it's kind of like, I mean, you see it in, in modern day churches today. What, what are you guys doing in that other denomination over there? You know, why are you doing this? And that's, and that starts creating all this division. And that's what is exactly what's happening here. And the children of Israel heard say, behold, the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of NASA have built an altar over against the land of Canaan in the borders of Jordan at the passage of the children of Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh to go up to war against them. So notice as soon as they hear it, the rest of the nation is just ready to take them out. Hey, we're going to go to war. Forget these guys. We don't want an explanation of what they're building. We're just gonna take him out and so they're ready to take up arms. It's very much like Peter, right? Like, ready, fire, aim. And they're just ready to go. And remember when he drew the sword, he cut the ear off of the guy in the Garden of Gethsemane. And he wasn't ready to. He wanted to fire now and ask a lot of questions later. And that's kind of what these people are ready to do. They're ready to go and just take him out. And the children of Israel heard of it. The whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh to go to war against them. And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and hat tribe Manasseh into the land of Gilead. Phinehas, the son of Eliezer, the priest. So now they're sending some. Somewhere along the line, cooler heads must have prevailed because they're at Shiloh ready to go to war, and they decide, hey, why don't we send Eliezer over? So remember, he's of the tribe of Levi from the house of Aaron, and he's a priest. And we're going to send him over with these 10 princes to try to go figure out what's going on. So somewhere cooler heads must have prevailed in the camp. Maybe they just decide, all right, maybe we don't have to go and slaughter our brothers quite yet. And with him, 10 princes of each chief house a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel. And each one was an head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. So phinehas and these 10 princes come, and they came unto the children of Reuben and to the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh unto the land of Gilead. And they spake with them, saying, thus saith the whole congregation of the Lord, what trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of Israel to turn away this day from following the Lord? And that ye have builded you an altar that you might rebel this day against the Lord? Look at all of the assumptions they make in. In those statements. To them, they don't even let them answer. They're just saying, hey, what is this abomination you've done? And why have you done this trespass, you horrible, dirty sinner? You know, is basically what they're saying is the. Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the Lord, but that you must turn away this day from following the Lord. And it will be seeing you rebel today against the Lord that tomorrow he will be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. So they're referencing in verse 17 peor, and that's talked about in Psalms, we'll look at in just a second. But that trespass where a plague started to spread, and Eliezer the priest was the one that had to stop it. He came in and made intercession with the Lord, and he stopped that from happening. And so they're referencing that moment to these two and a half tribes. Notwithstanding, if the land of your possession be unclean, then pass ye over unto the land of the possession of the Lord wherein the Lord's tabernacle dwells. So they're saying, hey, if the land you're in east of the Jordan is not good for you anymore, if it's causing you to sin, if it's unclean, come over here, we'll take you back in and dwell where the Lord is dwelling. It's actually wise, wise counsel wherein the Lord's tabernacle dwelleth and take possession among us, but rebel not against the Lord, nor rebel against us in building you an altar beside the altar of the Lord our God. Did not Achan the son of Zara. So remember all the way back to Joshua after Jericho, Joshua 6 and 7 and 8, kind of in that area. Remember Achan took that accursed thing from AI and so they're reminding him now of Achan. Did not Achan the son of Zarah commit a trespass in the accursed thing? And wrath fell on the whole congregation of Israel? And that man perished not alone in his iniquity. In other words, his sin took a lot of us out with him. So we can't allow that to happen again. Then the children of Reuben, the children of Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh answered and said unto the heads the thousands of Israel, the Lord God of gods, the Lord God of gods, he knoweth and Israel he shall know if it be in rebellion or if in transgression against the Lord, save us not this day that we have built us an altar to turn from following the Lord, or if to offer their own burnt offerings. So this is their response now, okay, these two and a half tribes, or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the Lord himself require it. And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing saying, in time to come, your children might speak unto our children, saying, what have ye to do with the Lord God of Israel? Okay, so notice their reasoning. Their reasoning here that they're giving them is, hey, we're building this altar to God as a memorial so that our children and grandchildren in the future don't fight against each other because we're separated by the Jordan. Hopefully, your children will say, what have you to do with the God of Abraham? And they'll say, oh, our fathers were Reuben, Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh. We were with you out of Egypt. And hopefully it would keep peace amongst those. Those different groups of people. That's the reasoning they're giving them. For the Lord hath made Jordan a border between us. Okay, he didn't. So verse 25, they're accusing God of keeping them east of the Jordan, and God never told them to do that. So their excuse right here is God did this. He made a border of the Jordan between us, and we're stuck. In other words, we can't cross over to where you are because God put this division between us, and God didn't do that. So the accusation is wrong right there. Ye children of Reuben and the children of Gad, ye have no part in the Lord. So shall your children make our children cease from fearing the Lord. Therefore we said, let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice. In other words, not what you're doing at the tabernacle, but that it may be a witness between us and you in our generations after us, that we might do the service of the Lord before him with our burnt offerings and with our sacrifices and with our peace offerings that your children may not say to our children in the time to come, ye have no part in the Lord. Therefore said we that it shall be when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come that we may say again. Behold the pattern of the altar of the Lord which our fathers made not for burnt offerings, not for sacrifices, but it is a witness between us and you. So they're trying to give them the reasoning. This is to build a bridge, so to speak, between our two nations. Now, God forbid that we should rebel against the Lord and turn this day from following the Lord to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices besides the altar of the Lord our God that is before his tabernacle. There's to be one altar outside the tabernacle, that altar for burnt sacrifices, offerings, right there next to the brazen laver where you wash with the water. That's how the Lord designed it. So they're trying to say, hey, we're not going against the word of God. We're just kind of doing our own thing over here a little bit as a memorial. And when Phinehas the priest and the princes of the congregation, the heads of the thousands of Israel which were with him, heard the words of the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh spake, it pleased them. Okay, I think these are the last verses. And Phinehas the son of Eliezer, the priest said unto the children of Reuben and to the children of Gad and the children of Manasseh, this day we perceive that the Lord is among us. Because ye have not committed this trespass against the Lord. Now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the Lord. And Phinehas the son of Eliezer, the priest and the princes returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad and out of the land of Gilead unto the land of Canaan, to the children of Israel, and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the children of Israel, and the children of Israel blessed God and did not intend to go up against them in battle to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar. And for it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God. Okay, and that's the end of chapter 22. So let's talk about this a little bit. These two enough tribes were called to more than warfare. They were called to victory and security by entering into God's rest. And we studied that a lot in Hebrews, which we did, you know, years ago after Revelation. But you and I, as Christians are called to enter into God's rest. Look at Exodus 35, verse 14. And he said, my presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest. He's speaking obviously to the children of Israel and Moses to come and enter into his rest in Deuteronomy 12, 9, 10. For ye are not as yet come into the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you. But when you go over Jordan and dwell in the land which the Lord your God giveth you to inherit. And when he giveth you, rest from all your enemies roundabout, so that you dwell in safety. See, he promised them. He was calling them over the Jordan to enter into what God calls constantly in the Bible. Entering into his rest. That's what he wanted in verse 19. Here, therefore it shall be. When the Lord thy God hath given thee rest. From all thine enemies round about in the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance and possess it that thou shall blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. Thou shall not forget it. So he's talking about entering across the Jordan, crossing into the promised land, entering God's rest. They were supposed to go over and inherit, but instead they compromised. And as a result they were called to more than just warfare. Okay, but what they committed to was only to go war and to help their brothers get the land, but for them to stop and never go with them to inherit it. And there's a big difference. When you go back to Joshua, chapter one, look at these couple of verses in 13 through 15, remember the word which Moses, the servant of the Lord commanded you, saying, the Lord your God hath given you rest and hath given you this land. Your wives, your little ones and your cattle shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side of Jordan. But you shall pass before your brethren, armed all the mighty men of valor, and help them until the Lord have given you your brethren rest as he hath given you. And they also have possessed the land which you which your possession, or which the Lord your God gave them. Then you shall return into the land of your possession and enjoy it which Moses, the Lord's servant, gave you. So again, notice what Joshua is saying. This is not the land that God gave you. This is the land that Moses allowed you to take, to stop short of what God was wanting to give you. On this side, Jordan, toward the sun rising, in other words, towards the east. Now, Hebrews, if you remember Back to Hebrews 3 and 4, Ephesians builds on this concept also spiritually, as a modern day Christian, Hebrews is all about how we are to enter into God's rest. And the whole book of Hebrews is structured around these five warnings to a believer. That it starts with drifting, where you barely just kind of get off maybe one degree, and you start to drift away from what God has for you and you blink. And a year or five years or 10 years down the road, you're so far off course that you're kind of dizzy. You can't remember what it's like to be back on track with what God had you doing. And that's really what. If the enemy wants to do anything in your life, it's to get you off just a little bit. The lie from Satan oftentimes isn't so outright and outlandish that you notice it right away. It's Typically something very subtle. And he just twists God, much like the temptation in the wilderness to Jesus, where he took the word of God out of context and twisted it just enough that if he can, he can trick you and get you off that course. So look at Hebrews 3, 7, 11 here. Wherefore, as the Holy Ghost saith today, if you will hear his voice, harden not your hearts as in the provocation in the day of temptation in the wilderness. Hebrews leans on this whole generation constantly looking back at the children of Israel, from Egypt, from the Exodus, through the wilderness into the promised land, and it modeling our walk as a believer. And when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works 40 years wherefore, I was grieved with that generation and said they do always err in their heart and they have not known my ways. Boy, those are sad words from the Lord. An entire group of people that always erred in their hearts and and did not know his ways. So I swear in my wrath, they shall not enter into my rest. See, the problem was that the people that had to die off in the wilderness, they hardened their heart to what God was calling them to. And he wanted to speak with them directly and give them his word. On Sinai, he came down in fire, he spoke to them directly and they hated it because it was holding them accountable and calling them deeper. And instead, all couple million of them, remember, there's 600 and some odd thousand men of fighting age. So if you figure a wife and two kids per one of them, you get 2 million people pretty quick. So remember, they all went to Moses then and said, don't ever let that happen again. You go talk to God and come tell us what he said. And from that point on, it was abysmal failure for that entire generation. Because faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Faith does not come by hearing what someone else hears God say. It comes by you personally speaking with the Lord and he speaks to you out of his word. That's the operative way. And you build your faith that way. And so thus you can go in and inherit what God has for you. You. But they did not enter into God's rest. And they're quote that. It's quoting Hebrews 3, right? There is quoting Psalms 95, 7 through 11 if you want to look that up. Okay. These tribes, they hardened their heart in some degree and thus were divided from the nation. So in numbers 32, when you go back and look at it, there's no record that Moses consulted the Lord about this decision to allow them to remain east of the Jordan. They made their decision on the basis of material gain, not spiritual values. And that's exactly what Lot did in Genesis 13:10 through 11. Remember, he saw the city that he wanted. Remember, God was calling him elsewhere, but he was looking at that city and going, please, can I go to Zorah? Come on, Lord. It's a little one. And that's why that name, Hebrew, zora in Hebrew means little. But it's just a little one. Remember, he tells God, and God's final like, okay, listen, I'm not gonna be able to change your heart, so just have at it. But you'll. You will fail. And he, you know, ultimately does in some degree. But it's the same with Balaam. Remember, Balaam was a true Gentile prophet that spoke to God. God told him constantly, don't go. Do not try to curse Israel. And finally, after the third time that Balaam tries to curse him, finally God goes, okay, I can't change your heart. You've got to go. And then Joshua and the children of Israel end up killing Balaam in the land later on because he sowed something there. He sowed dissension and rebellion against God and paid it, paid that price down the road. Okay, so these people, they separated themselves. They walked by sight, not by faith. And they separated and divided the nation at the Jordan, which was never meant to be. They could be compared to borderline believers today. If you think of, in our vernacular today in the Christian world, maybe carnal Christians, so to speak. So people that claim to love Jesus and love the Lord, but yet maybe on Friday nights, they're out at the bar getting drunk, or they're at the casino gambling away or whatever it is that they're doing, and they're living a life that does not glorify God. That's. That's kind of what these people are doing, these two and a half tribes, this altar they constructed, it's kind of like a bumper sticker today, or this religious jewelry or maybe decals that you see people wear to try to. To identify as Christians. But maybe they have the Jesus fish and then they give you the middle finger, you know, while they're on the road, if they get mad about something, maybe you just gave them a little honk at the stoplight, like, hey, could you get off your phone? It's green now, let's go. And they give you the bird out the back window, you know, who knows? But it's kind of like that. These people that they're identifying as Christian in some regard. But they're living in a way that says something otherwise. And they should have been living spirit led lives, conducting themselves according to God's word. That's what all of us are to do. They weren't. And so alarms spread throughout Israel from the misunderstanding. So there was to be one altar from Deuteronomy 12. One altar and one sanctuary. And so of course, everyone on the west side of the Jordan that is in the promised land and obeying God is going, now wait a minute, what are these guys doing? That is blasphemous. Let's go just actually chop their head off and we'll ask a lot of questions later. That's what they wanted to do. So look at Leviticus 17, 8 and 9. And thou shalt say unto them, whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offering or sacrifice, and bringeth it not unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation to offer it unto the Lord, even that man shall be cut off from among his people. And so that's. They were taking that serious. Hey, if they're offering burnt offerings over there, they're done. Let's just go cut them off, kill them, and we'll talk to the Lord about it later. So Proverbs 18:13, that's actually one of my favorite verses in the Bible for how to live your life. But Proverbs 18:13, he that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is a folly and a shame unto him. And that holds true in today's world. Most division within the church or within family units or, you know, small groups. Whatever it is, it's most of the time it starts from just simply a misunderstanding. And no one seeks to understand what really happened. And so one of the rules in your life you should definitely live by is Proverbs 18:13. So if there's dissension somewhere or you know, someone does something that to you is a trespass or that hurts you, go seek. Try to seek to understand. Just ask questions. You know, hey, why did you do that? What was going on in your. In your mind there? And just try to have open dialogue. It usually solves most of the problems. There were 10 princes led by Phinehas. He was the son of the high priest. And they went to go make an inquiry of the nature of this altar. And that's. You can find that in numbers 25. That references when Phinehas held or stopped the plague at Peor. Okay. That's in Numbers 25. It's referenced in Psalms 106, 30, 31. Then stood up Phinehas and executed judgment. And so the plague was stayed, and that was counted unto him for righteousness unto all generations forevermore. So they figured, hey, from Numbers, Phineas did this before. If God's going to judge us and enter a plague into our nation, let's go, let Phineas, Phineas take care of this and try to stop this thing. Phineas shares his appeal in Joshua 22, 15, 20, and he cited two previous rebellions. So Phinehas is using experience here. One with the moabites from numbers 25, where 24,000 people died, and secondly with the sin of Achan in Jericho in Joshua 7. And their rebuttal. So these two and a half tribes, remember their rebuttal was starting verse 21 and went to verse 29. They used the name of the Lord six times. Three fundamental names. They used El, which is the mighty one, Elohim, God, or Yahweh, the Lord, the unspeakable name of God. In modern terms, it would be like someone saying, responding. The rebuttal of these two and half tribes is like today in our language, when someone says, but you know my heart. You know, I'm sure all of you have heard that before. When someone does something that's like this, you can't believe how stupid it is what they did. But then their response is, well, you know my heart, and no, the answer is, you don't, actually. Jeremiah 17, 9, 10. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked. Who can know it? I, the Lord, search the heart, and I try the reins even to give every man according to his ways and according to the FR of his doings. Look at 1st Kings 8:39. Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive and do and give to every man according to his ways. Notice that all of these your heart motive is tied to what you sow and reap in your inheritance. I think that is so interesting. Whose heart thou knowest, for thou, even thou only. There's the operative word. Only knowest the hearts of all the children of men. God is the only one who knows your heart. No one else can know your heart. You and I. What Jesus called us to do is to be a fruit inspector, to look at the fruit in people's lives and try to use that to gauge something. You can't search someone's heart. You can't know their heart. And I know a lot of Christians use that phrase. Kind of. Maybe they don't mean literally, you know, my heart. But what they're saying is, you know, my motive behind it, behind what I did or what I was doing. And the truth is, you really don't. Only God knows someone's heart. David talks about that in the Holy Spirit through David and Psalms talks about that a lot. But these defectors, they accuse God, like I mentioned in verse 25 of the Lord making the Jordan a border. So they're their reasoning. So phineas and these 10 princes come make the inquiry. They have the excuse, come on, guys, you know our hearts in this matter. God did this. You know, he used the Jordan as this border between us. He set it there for us. And it's kind of like when you. If you've ever had a friend that does something that you're from the outside looking in going, man, there is no way this is good for you or your family. And their reasoning to you is, well, God told me to. And they use God as an excuse that way. And you're looking at the fruit of it going, I don't know. Because God doesn't call your family to destruction, you know, so I'm not sure about that. But people use that excuse a lot of, well, you know, God did this, and you have to be careful with that. That's what these defectors were doing. They're saying, God made this, and you, he never did. Their memorial was really a witness to expediency, trying to enjoy the best of both worlds. The stones were a witness, but the people were not. These two and a half tribes, Phineas and the delegation, they were pleased and satisfied with their response. But really, was God satisfied? You never see in Joshua 22, you never see the Lord say, you know, thus saith the Lord, I'm pleased with what they're doing. Phinehas and the delegation are pleased with it. And then they return. And the peace that God's people achieve at the price of purity and truth is only a dangerous truce. So these, These two and a half tribes, they. They settled. They gave up truth and purity for peace, when instead they should have pressed on and gotten over the Jordan. And. And even though it was difficult, even though there was warfare, even though they didn't know what God was calling them to, they were looking at east of the Jordan, looking at the land that looked really good for their cattle, really good for their kids. Hey, we could have a life here. This looks good. We don't know what's on the other side. And they settled for it, and they Never should have. So they were. These two have tribes. They ultimately east of the Jordan, they're surrounded by heathen nations and they were separated by their brothers and sisters across the river. And as a result they quickly fell into idolatry and were eventually taken by Assyria. And that's in 1st Chronicles 5:25, 26. And they transgressed against the God of their fathers and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land who God destroyed before them. And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pull, king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath Pilsner, the king of Assyria. And he carried them away. Even the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh. So there is your two and half tribes east of the Jordan and brought them unto Halah and Haber and Hara and to the river of Gozen. Unto this day. See the northern. Those northern tribes, they get carried off by Assyria. And the only peace. The lesson for us today is that the only peace that lasts is the peace that is based on truth and purity of God's word. That's the only peace that lasts. Everything else is a false peace. Nothing else will last. It's a peace that honestly it demands sacrifice and courage. It demands a willingness to stand up for God's word. And it's hard. It is hard. It's not an easy journey. It is hard, but it is worth it in the end. And peace. Look what Matthew Henry said. I really liked this quote. Peace is such a precious jewel that I would give anything for it but truth. And that's so operative in this story of these two and a half tribes. Now if you go to Africa and Morocco, there are monuments that still are in existence which prove these people from Assyria that fled at Joshua went down to Africa. These are eventually the people that take these two enough tribes captive. Okay, the in Morocco, there's these two pillars, the Phoenicians that fled before the Hebrews into Africa and spread themselves abroad. One ancient historian wrote as far as the pillars of Hercules or the Greek islands and these other places, places in the city, the city in Morocco, they've erected two columns that in Phoenician characters state the following. We are the Phoenicians who fled from the face of Jesus, the son of Nun. I thought that was fascinating. So these are the guys that Joshua went in and wiped out of this land and pushed out of the land. They fled and settled in Morocco and Africa. It's these same people that eventually capture the Two and a half tribes that remain east of the Jordan. And some of them are probably some of the people that Joshua let escape and that he shouldn't have. And so there's an interesting study with that, too. So to wrap up here, you know, my question for all of you as we start the new year, what are you sowing for the Lord in these days? Because you will ultimately reap what you sow. These two and a half tribes, they sowed compromise, and they reaped it. They reaped it. Instead, they lived in a place of compromise. They lived east of the Jordan. And honestly, God was giving them a chance. In that whole discourse that we read, he was giving them a chance to come back over, come back across the Jordan, settle where I called you, get with your brothers. It's not too late. But they chose not to. And their generations in the future paid for it. And think about this as we go into 2026. You know, have you entered into God's rest during this time and completely trusted him? After the book of Joshua, when you turn the page to Judges, chapter one, verses six and seven, you read this. Adonai Bezek, or Bezek not Adonai Zedek, that we studied him, the king of the false king of righteousness. But Adoni Bezek fled. So Joshua's dead, the children of Israel living without a general leader, so to speak. And judges and the children of Israel pursue this guy. And they caught him and cut off his thumbs and his great toes. And Adonai Bezek said threescore and ten kings, now he's the king of Jerusalem. At this time, having their son and their great toes cut off, gathered their meat under my table as I have done so God hath required me, requited me, required it of me, requited me. And they brought him to Jerusalem, and there he died. See, even that king knew he wasn't living a righteous life. He wasn't serving the Lord, but he knew that what he sowed, he ultimately had to reap. And how much more should we know that as Christians in today's world, that everything you do, you're sowing something for the kingdom. Seeds of life, seeds of prosperity, seeds of truth, seeds of love, joy. Remember what Jesus said, Give and it shall be given to you. He didn't just apply that to money. He applied. He said, give. Whatever you give, it shall be given back to. So if you want to, if you need friendship, give friendship. If you give love, if you give charity, if you give, serve people meals, you're gonna get Food showing up at your doorstep. You know, whatever it is, if you give, Jesus promised it will be given back to you. And that's my challenge for all of you in 2026, is just think about, what are you sowing for the kingdom you have you entered into God's rest? Are you allowing God to be the Lord of your life, not just your Savior? So having your salvation is great, praise God. But now what are you doing with it? So don't settle for a false truce and settle east of the Jordan. God wants something deeper for you in this year. So if you're here, if you don't know the Lord, Romans 10:9, that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath a race raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. It is that simple. To know the Lord, to confess his name. You thus are born again, never to be unborn. And that's the beauty of it. You can't be unborn. No matter what you want to do, you can't go back and choose to be unborn. And that's the surety of God's eternal salvation. Remember, Jesus said, I give them life and life eternally. Not life, just temporarily. If you can hold onto it, he gives you life eternally. So if you're listening, if you need the Lord, do that. This day, Father, we thank you so much for this time together. God, I pray that as we start 2026, that you would bless this year. God, let it be a year of great blessing for your people. Lord, we pray protection around this nation once again, Father, especially in light of what's going on in Venezuela and China and the saber rattling in Taiwan, in the Middle east, in Russia and Ukraine. God, with this conflict kind of spreading around the world, Lord, we just pray that you would settle the matter and that, God, you would let peace reign over this earth for a season until you call us home, so that your church can prosper and your people all over this world can serve you in the body of Christ. God, we thank you for this time together. We thank you for Joshua in this study. We just pray that as we finish these last two chapters, that God, you would teach us. You would teach us of what it means to truly enter into your rest, into the land that you're calling us to. And we thank you for that promise. God be with us in our week ahead. In Jesus's name, amen. Amen. You all have a great week. We'll see you Sunday.