Joshua 22:34, “And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad called the altar Ed: For it shall be a witness between us that the Lord is God.”

Joshua 22 opens with Joshua’s summons of the tribes Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh to an assembly. Those two-and-a-half tribes had fulfilled their promise to aid in the defeat of the Canaanites on the western side of the Jordan, and now they were set for a return to their possessions on the eastern side of that river. At that assembly, Joshua encouraged the eastern tribes to remain faithful to their Lord and connected to their people, despite the geographical factors which isolated them (22:1-9).

The two-and-a-half tribes were deeply moved by the entire experience. They had received a blessing and been encouraged to make commitments to their Lord and people. This was a stirring spiritual moment. An event comparable to the effects of a revival meeting. In response to this even, and upon arriving at the Jordan River, they built an altar to the Lord as a memorial to their commitment to Israel and Israel’s God (v. 10). But this memorial did not sit well with the rest of Israel, and the western tribes immediately prepared to go to war against their brethren (vv. 11-12).

Their response was based on their assumption that the constructed altar symbolized a break of worship with the one, true God, and that their eastern dwelling brethren had erected an idol. Since altars are built to offer sacrifices, the eastern tribes were on the verge of doing that which was strictly forbidden by God (Deuteronomy 12:5, 13-14). They assumed.

Thankfully, before the arrows started to fly, a delegation was dispatched (vv. 13-20), and the two-and-a-half tribes assured their brethren that the altar was only a copy of the real thing meant to serve as a witness so that future generations on both sides of the Jordan would remember their kinship (vv. 21-29). The delegation realized that things were not as they had assumed, and the threat of civil war was happily averted (vv. 30-34).

The word “witness” is found three times in chapter 22. Every time it is the translation of the Hebrew word “ed.” So, what lessons may be learned from Ed? First, be careful with your assumptions, and do not assume the worst. Second, do not jump to conclusions. This is not a healthy sport, and not one to be played by Christians. Finally, we learn that God’s Word works! Obey God and trust Him with the consequences.

Our Christian lives must not be lived in isolation from others. We need the power of the church community to help us in our obedience to God. Israel did what God had commanded, and it worked. The story ends with acceptance, not rejection, with worship not war. Would to God that all conflicts among His people would end with such clear evidence of His presence and His blessing!