RETURNING HOME AND MISUNDERSTOOD

PROCLAMATION

“And now The Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as He promised them; therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of The Lord gave you on the other side of Jordan.”  Joshua 22:4 (KJV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the words of God which were revealed to and written by Joshua under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Now that all of the battles had been won and all of the promised land allocated to the various tribes, Joshua called together the tribes which had been given land on the other side of the Jordan River. (Joshua 22:1)  He told them that they had been faithful, that they had done all that was asked of them, and the could not return home to the land which had been given to them. (Joshua 22:2-4)  Joshua blessed each clan, told them to remain faithful, and sent them on their way. (Joshua 22:5-9)  After they had crossed the Jordan River, they built an altar on their side of the Jordan similar to the one that was built when they all first crossed the Jordan. (Joshua 22:10)  When the children of Israel heard about the altar they were upset and wanted to go to war with them.  They thought that the altar was for idle worship and they sent a priest and ten men as a convoy to find out why they had done such a thing.  (Joshua 22:11-20)  The children of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh answered them saying that it was built as a reminder for their children and future generations of what The Lord had done for them. (Joshua 22:21-29)  When the priest and the princes heard this they were pleased and returned home.  The children were also pleased when they heard this and there was peace in the land for the altar was for a witness between us that The Lord is God. (Joshua 22:30-34)

 

APPLICATION

Soldiers returning home after having been at war can be misunderstood.  Some behave strangely suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD.  Some were greeted as heroes, the World War II veterans, while others were vilified because the war in which they fought was unpopular, the Viet Nam veterans.  Years later, after some meeting of the minds, we now have memorials to all of the veterans.  We should thank The Lord God, and thank veterans, for the freedoms that we enjoy today in our land.