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Thursday, March 15, 2012

The Imposing Altar

Joshua 22:10-29 is the account of the eastern tribes of Israel--the Reubenites, Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh--returning home, and as they do, setting up a monument, a replica of the tabernacle altar. This causes such a stir that the western tribes ready for war against their brothers and sisters. What was the problem? God had commanded centralized worship at the tabernacle, which ended up being located in Shiloh in Ephraim, so the western tribes saw this as rebellion against God.

If you are like me, you might have missed the verse where Shiloh was chosen to be the location of the tabernacle. It is Joshua 18:1. The People's Bible says this location was chosen because it was centralized in Israel and in a peaceful area with good acoustics where a large number of people could gather. Shiloh would remain the location of the tabernacle until the time of Samuel.

It does seem like bad judgment on the part of the eastern tribes to set up a monument as a witness between them and the other tribes without telling the other tribes, but that's good old human miscommunication for you. Fortunately dialog resolved the situation and actually revealed that all the people were very much united in their sincere reverence for the Lord.

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