“And the report was good in the eyes of the people of Israel. And the people of Israel blessed God and spoke no more of making war against them to destroy the land where the people of Reuben and the people of Gad were settled.” – Joshua 22:33
We live in an age of outrage where the slightest sense of offense or hint of disagreement or unorthodoxy can launch us into an attack on brothers and sisters. Many Christians increasingly demand absolute agreement on all matters, large and small, without the ability to appreciate differences of perspective, experience, or culture. As God’s people, we must learn to listen well and understand fully before deciding whether something or someone that offends our sensibilities is truly wrong.
This verse illustrates the necessity for God’s people to slow down our rage, seek to understand others, particularly those we think are problems or spiritual enemies within the faith. As several tribes of Israel prepared to go to their new home across the Jordan, they built an altar of remembrance to testify to their kinship with the other tribes. Unfortunately, all their fellow Israelites saw the altar and assumed they were building an illegal place to worship of God. Angry about their unorthodoxy and fearing God’s wrath upon the entire nation, they armed for battle. They chased after their brothers and prepared to kill them for their crime!
Fortunately, they paused to ask and understand before attacking. They gave those on “the other side” the opportunity to explain that this wasn’t a religious altar of disobedience, but a memorial to their participation in the nation of Israel. What had seemed obscene and profane to the majority was actually something that honored their God and their fellowship. Because they stopped to actually listen and understand, a tragic slaughter of believers was avoided.
This should be a model for God’s people today. There are absolutely standards of right and wrong and we should be zealous in living by and defending them. However, our first task in any potential dispute should be to engage, listen, and understand the perspective of the other parties. Then we can truly discern whether this is false teaching, ill-intent, error, or simply a different way of glorifying God. Don’t be too hasty to attack perceived enemies, especially when they’re fellow believers! First and foremost, be a peacemaker as Jesus commands you to be because you are a child of God. #FollowJesus