Sunday, August 9, 2026
Scripture Readings
- Primary Reading: Joshua 22-23
Key Verse
Joshua 22:26 — “Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice:”
Devotional Thought
Before you judge a brother, ask what he meant by what he did. That is the lesson of Joshua 22, and it is as timely in August as it was on the banks of the Jordan. The Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh had fought faithfully alongside their brethren for years, never leaving them until the land was won. Joshua blessed them, sent them home with riches and spoil, and charged them to love the LORD and cleave to Him with all their heart and soul. Then, at the border of Jordan, they built a great altar to see to — and the rest of Israel, hearing of it, gathered at Shiloh ready for war. They remembered Peor, and Achan, and how one man’s trespass had brought wrath on the whole congregation. Their zeal for God’s honor was real. But so was their misreading of their brothers’ hearts. The altar was never for burnt offering or sacrifice; it was a witness, named Ed, a testimony to generations to come that these tribes had a part in the LORD.
How easily we arm ourselves for a war that never needed to be fought. A decision made by a friend, a change in a church, a choice we do not understand — and we gather our evidence at Shiloh, prepared to contend. Sometimes confrontation is right; Phinehas was right to go and ask. But notice that he went to inquire, not merely to accuse. He crossed the river and spoke with them face to face, and the answer changed everything. The altar that looked like rebellion was actually a monument of devotion. This season of long days and warm evenings is a good time to examine the quarrels we carry. How many of them rest on an assumption we have never tested by simply asking? How many brothers and sisters have we wounded in our hearts because we never crossed the Jordan to hear their side?
There is also a warning here for the ones who built the altar. Their motive was pure, but they acted without explaining themselves, and it nearly cost the nation a war. Good intentions do not excuse careless communication. If we love the LORD, we will not only mean well; we will make our meaning plain to those who watch us. And when the misunderstanding is cleared, notice what happens: Israel blessed God and did not go up to battle. Phinehas said, “This day we perceive that the LORD is among us.” Reconciliation became evidence of God’s presence. That is still true. When we choose to ask instead of assume, to listen instead of accuse, the peace we preserve is itself a witness — a great altar to see to, telling the next generation that the LORD is God.
Reflection
- Is there someone whose actions you have already judged without ever crossing the river to ask what they meant?
- Where might your own good intentions be misunderstood because you have not made your heart plain to those who love you?
Prayer
Father, You are the God who knows the heart, and You know ours — both the wound we carry and the wound we have given. Give us the humility of Phinehas to inquire before we accuse, and the honesty of the eastern tribes to make our intentions clear. Guard us from the pride that gathers for war over a matter that only needed a conversation. Let our reconciliation be a witness to the generations after us, a great altar declaring that the LORD is God. Keep us cleaving to You with all our heart and soul, and let Your peace be seen among us. In the name of Christ, Amen.