A Memorial Honoring God

 By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Joshua 22:10-34

 

Joshua 22:24-25

 No, but we did it from fear that in time to come your children might say to our children, ‘What have you to do with the Lord, the God of Israel? ²⁵ For the Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you, you people of Reuben and people of Gad.  You have no portion in the Lord.’ So your children might make our children cease to worship the Lord.

(ESV)

 

We can now add Philadelphia to the list of U.S. cities rocked by rioting.  Thankfully, while three days late, the governor of Pennsylvania has authorized the deployment of the National Guard into the city to support the police.  (1)  In addition to supporting police in Philadelphia, the city of Philadelphia also contains many memorials reminding people of the history of the United States.  Among those memorials is Constitution hall where the founding documents of the United States were drafted.  (2) (3) (4)  Independence hall also contains the Liberty Bell, a symbol of liberty bearing the timeless message of “Proclaim Liberty Throughout All the Land unto All the Inhabitants thereof.”  (5)  Memorials are important reminders of history but can have their significance misunderstood when taken out of the context of the history they represent.   

 

This removal of historical context is behind the misunderstanding of the altar built by the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh that almost led to a civil war among the Israelites who have just inhabited the Promised Land (Joshua 22:10-34).  These tribes, referred to as the two and one-half tribes, have fulfilled the promise made to God, Moses, and Joshua (Numbers 32:16-19; Joshua 1:12-18; 22:1-9).  As these men return to their families in the land allotted to them, they decide to build a memorial altar resembling the one in the Tabernacle (Joshua 22:10).  However, instead of viewing the actions of the men of the two and one-half tribes in the context of their historical faithfulness to God and their fellow Israelites, they believe these men are abandoning God (Joshua 22:11).  This prompts the people of Israel to gather at Shiloh to make war against the two and one-half tribes (Joshua 22:12).  Thankfully, instead of immediately going to war, the people of Israel send a delegation of Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and a representative from each of the 10 tribes settling west of the Jordan (Joshua 22:13-14). 

These representatives of the people of Israel present their case to the two and one-half tribes, reminding them of the consequences of rebellion against the Lord Israel has experienced in its history (Joshua 22:15-20).  The two and one-half tribes respond to their accusers by stating that the purpose of the altar was not to offer burnt, grain, or peace offerings to God for that can only occur at the altar in the tabernacle (Joshua 21:22-29; Leviticus 1-3).  After the presentation of these two cases, Israel must decide if the two and one-half tribes are telling the truth or covering their intentions to abandon God once arriving in the land allotted to them.  To determine the answer to this question we must consider the context of what has occurred.  If it was the intention of the two and one-half tribes to rebel against God, why would they cross the Jordan with their brothers and risk their lives instead of just remaining in the land allotted to them with their families?  Thankfully, the representatives of the people of Israel considered the testimony of the two and one-half tribes in this context, averting civil war in Israel (Joshua 22:30-34). 

 

The Philadelphia memorials of Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell represent reminders of the founding of the United States based upon liberty as found in the nation’s founding documents.  (2) (3)  However, the United States is not perfect and failed to abolish slavery in its Constitution, an error later corrected through the 13^th and 14^th amendments, ratified after a bloody Civil War.  (3)  Unfortunately, attempts to rewrite history like the 1619 project (6) provide an erroneous context that could lead to justification for the destruction of memorials like Independence Hall and the Liberty Bell, viewing them as part of a nation founded on slavery and not liberty. 

 

Please join me in praying for an end to the rioting in Philadelphia and other U.S. cities and the protection of innocent citizens of these cities as well as law enforcement in these cities.  Pray we also resist any attempt to change the historical context upon which the U.S. was founded.  Although not perfect, the founding documents of the U.S. (2) (3) indicate the nation was founded on Godly principles and must return to these founding principles to remain strong.  May God bless the United States and everyone reading this post. 

 

1. Peter Aitken, Leland Vittert. National Guard arrives in Philadelphia after nights of unrest following Walter Wallace Jr.'s death. www.foxnews.com. [Online] Fox News, October 30, 2020. [Cited: October 31, 2020.] https://www.foxnews.com/us/pennsylvania-national-guard-philadelphia-protests-rioting-walter-wallace-jr.

 

2. ushistory.org. The Declaration of Independence. www.ushistory.org. [Online] [Cited: October 30, 2016.] http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/.

 

3. constitutioncenter.org. The Constitution of the United States. constitutioncenter.org. [Online] [Cited: September 15, 2020.] https://constitutioncenter.org/media/files/constitution.pdf.

 

4. National Park Service. Independence Hall. www.nps.gov. [Online] National Park Service. [Cited: October 31, 2020.] https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/places-independencehall.htm.

 

5. —. The Liberty Bell. www.nps.gov. [Online] The National Park Service. [Cited: October 31, 2020.] https://www.nps.gov/inde/learn/historyculture/stories-libertybell.htm.

 

6. The New York Times Magazene. The 1619 Project. nytimes.com. [Online] The New York Times Magazene, August 2019. [Cited: July 3, 2020.] https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/08/14/magazine/1619-america-slavery.html.