Joshua 22:11-34
The Israelites received this report:“ Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar at the entrance to the land of Canaan, at Geliloth near the Jordan on the Israelite side.”When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to launch an attack against them.The Israelites sent Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh.He was accompanied by ten leaders, one from each of the Israelite tribes, each one a family leader among the Israelite clans.They went to the land of Gilead to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said to them:“ The entire community of the LORD says,‘ Why have you disobeyed the God of Israel by turning back today from following the LORD? You built an altar for yourselves and have rebelled today against the LORD.The sin we committed at Peor was bad enough. To this very day we have not purified ourselves; it even brought a plague on the community of the LORD.Now today you dare to turn back from following the LORD! You are rebelling today against the LORD; tomorrow he may break out in anger against the entire community of Israel.But if your own land is impure, cross over to the LORD’s own land, where the LORD himself lives, and settle down among us. But don’t rebel against the LORD or us by building for yourselves an altar aside from the altar of the LORD our God.When Achan son of Zerah disobeyed the command about the city’s riches, the entire Israelite community was judged, though only one man had sinned. He most certainly died for his sin!’”The Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh answered the leaders of the Israelite clans:“ El, God, the LORD! El, God, the LORD! He knows the truth! Israel must also know! If we have rebelled or disobeyed the LORD, don’t spare us today!If we have built an altar for ourselves to turn back from following the LORD by making burnt sacrifices and grain offerings on it, or by offering tokens of peace on it, the LORD himself will punish us.We swear we have done this because we were worried that in the future your descendants would say to our descendants,‘ What relationship do you have with the LORD God of Israel?The LORD made the Jordan a boundary between us and you Reubenites and Gadites. You have no right to worship the LORD.’ In this way your descendants might cause our descendants to stop obeying the LORD.So we decided to build this altar, not for burnt offerings and sacrifices,but as a reminder to us and you, and to our descendants who follow us, that we will honor the LORD in his very presence with burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace. Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants,‘ You have no right to worship the LORD.’We said,‘ If in the future they say such a thing to us or to our descendants, we will reply,“ See the model of the LORD’s altar that our ancestors made, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a reminder to us and you.”’Far be it from us to rebel against the LORD by turning back today from following after the LORD by building an altar for burnt offerings, sacrifices, and tokens of peace aside from the altar of the LORD our God located in front of his dwelling place!”When Phinehas the priest and the community leaders and clan leaders who accompanied him heard the defense of the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites, they were satisfied.Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, said to the Reubenites, Gadites, and the Manassehites,“ Today we know that the LORD is among us, because you have not disobeyed the LORD in this. Now you have rescued the Israelites from the LORD’s judgment.”Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest, and the leaders left the Reubenites and Gadites in the land of Gilead and reported back to the Israelites in the land of Canaan.The Israelites were satisfied with their report and gave thanks to God. They said nothing more about launching an attack to destroy the land in which the Reubenites and Gadites lived.The Reubenites and Gadites named the altar,“ Surely it is a Reminder to us that the LORD is God.”
Judges 20:1-17
All the Israelites from Dan to Beer Sheba and from the land of Gilead left their homes and assembled together before the LORD at Mizpah.The leaders of all the people from all the tribes of Israel took their places in the assembly of God’s people, which numbered four hundred thousand sword-wielding foot soldiers.The Benjaminites heard that the Israelites had gone up to Mizpah. Then the Israelites said,“ Explain how this wicked thing happened!”The Levite, the husband of the murdered woman, spoke up,“ I and my concubine stopped in Gibeah in the territory of Benjamin to spend the night.The leaders of Gibeah attacked me and at night surrounded the house where I was staying. They wanted to kill me; instead they abused my concubine so badly that she died.I grabbed hold of my concubine and carved her up and sent the pieces throughout the territory occupied by Israel, because they committed such an unthinkable atrocity in Israel.All you Israelites, make a decision here!”All Israel rose up in unison and said,“ Not one of us will go home! Not one of us will return to his house!Now this is what we will do to Gibeah: We will attack the city as the lot dictates.We will take ten of every group of a hundred men from all the tribes of Israel( and a hundred of every group of a thousand, and a thousand of every group of ten thousand) to get supplies for the army. When they arrive in Gibeah of Benjamin they will punish them for the atrocity which they committed in Israel.”So all the men of Israel gathered together at the city as allies.The tribes of Israel sent men throughout the tribe of Benjamin, saying,“ How could such a wicked thing take place?Now, hand over the good-for-nothings in Gibeah so we can execute them and purge Israel of wickedness.” But the Benjaminites refused to listen to their Israelite brothers.The Benjaminites came from their cities and assembled at Gibeah to make war against the Israelites.That day the Benjaminites mustered from their cities twenty-six thousand sword-wielding soldiers, besides seven hundred well-trained soldiers from Gibeah.Among this army were seven hundred specially-trained left-handed soldiers. Each one could sling a stone and hit even the smallest target.The men of Israel( not counting Benjamin) had mustered four hundred thousand sword-wielding soldiers, every one an experienced warrior.
