The Power of Peacemaking (Joshua 22:21-34) (December 26, 2025)

The Power of Peacemaking (Joshua 22:21-34) Living Life 12/26/2025 Daily Devotional Bible Study

The Power of Peacemaking

Welcome and Introduction

Welcome to living life. I hope you celebrate your Christmas with your beloved family.
In today's passage the tribes of a Ruban God the half tribe of a Missa are wrongly accused of building an altar in rebellion against the Lord.
According to the Bible they built their own altar by the Jordan a large and imposing the altar.
The altar was a big, noticeable and public what initially appears to be betrayal merely led to the unencba war among the peoples.

And as we walk in our face have you ever experienced a time when an unexpected misunderstanding with fellow believers cause a relationship to become a strain Those to through today's in passage we want to explore how the people of Israel the Joshuas leadership navigated such a misunderstanding and pursued the peace.
Let us give our attentive ears to listen to today's passage

Scripture Reading: Joshua 22:21–34

Joshua Chapter 22 verses 21 to thirty four.

Then Ruben Gad and the half tribe of Massa replied to the heads of the cals of Israel The mighty one God the Lord the mighty one God the Lord he knows and let Israel know if this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord.
Do not spare us this day if we have built our own altar to turn away from the Lord and to offer burnt offerings and grain offerings or to sacrifice fellowship offerings on it may the Lord himself call us to account?

No we did it for fear that someday your descendants might say to ours What do you have to do with the Lord the God of Israel The Lord has made the Jordan a boundary between us and you you Rubenites and Gadites you have no share in the Lord so your descendants might cause ours to stop fearing the Lord.
That is why we said let us get ready and build an altar but not for burn offerings or sacrifices.
On the contrary it is to be a witness between us and you

and the generations that follow that we will worship the Lord at his sanctuary with our burnt offerings sacrifices and fellowship offerings.
Then in the future your descendants will not be able to say to ours you have no share in the Lord and we said if they ever say this to us or to our descendants we will answer.
Look at the replica of the Lord's altar which our ancestors built not for burnt offerings and sacrifices but as a witness between us and you.

Far be it from us to rebel against the Lord and turn away from him today by building an altar for burnt offerings grain offerings and sacrifices other than the altar of the Lord our God that stands before his tabernacle.
When Phineas the priest and the leader of the community the heads of the clans of the Israelite's heart what Ruben Gad and Massa had to say they were pleased.
An Phineas son of Elisar the priest said to Ruben Gad and Massa today we know that the Lord is with us

because you have not been unfaithful to the Lord in this matter.
Now you have rescued the Israelites from the Lord's hand.
Then Phineas son of Elisar the priest and the leaders returned to Cannon from their meeting with the Rubinites and Gaddites in Gilead and reported to the Israelites.
They were glad to hear the report and praised God and they talked no more about going to war against to devastate the country where the Rubinites and the Gadites lived.

And the Rubanites and the Gadites gave the altar this name a witness between us that the Lord is God.

Background and Context of Joshua 22

As we have spent the past few days meditating on the birth of Jesus it may be helpful to briefly review what happens in the Joshua's Chapter 22 After Joshua bless and Sense the tribes of a Ruban Gad and the half tribes of a Messa back to their land east of the Jordan they built an large altered by the river This is Mideli caused alarm among the other Israelites who feared rebellion against the Lord.

Remembering the past scenes that brought judgments upon the entire community Israel prepared for war however before any blood is shed they send a delegations by the Finetza the priests the heads of the tribe to confront the Eastern tribes and call them to faithfulness.
The western tribes assume the wars when they see the altar by the Jordan River.
Their reaction remains of how quickly fear incomplete information and assumptions can divide.
Even got people in the midst of a distense strration.

Explanation from the Eastern Tribes

The two and a half tribes responded to the accusations by calmly explaining the truth.
They do not react defensively but with a clearity and a reverence for God.
The altar was not built for the sacrifice but as a witness a reminder of the future generations that they too belongs to the covenant community of the Israel the leaving beyond the Jordan and the separation geographically from the unst of a congregation The Eastern tribes feared

that future the generations might forget their spiritual roots.

Shared Reverence for the Lord

Please note the common thread running through the boost parties in today's passage.
They it deeply feared the law.
Venahas and the leaders went to the investigate because they despised the idolatory and remembered how rebellions had once brought the devastating judgments upon Israel.
They could not ignore anything that might threaten the God's holiness among his people.
In the same way Ruban Gad and HV tribe of Misa responded with a

heartfelt urgency declaring far be it from us to rebel against the Lord.
Their defense was not rooted in the self preservation but in the reverence for the God a sincere desires to remain the faithful to God's Covenant.
What first appears to be conflict was in truth a shaped a passion to honor the Lord.

Resolution and Rejoicing

After hearing the eastern tribes clear and God glorifying the explanations Fenahas and the leaders responded with a relief

and enjoy the tension of impending.
The word turns into a mutual understanding and a commune rejoicing in the Lord.
Notice that even in an emotional charge that situations where both parties took the times to face one another to listen carefully and to communicate clearly verse in verse thirty three tells us they were glad to hear the report and praise the God and then they talk no more about the going to war against them.
Rumors and the suspicions you know come to

an end. Then in verse the thirty four we read The Ruven Night and Guena Nites and the name the Arter a witness between us that the Lord is God.
The Arter stands as a visual testimony of their faithfulness and an unity before God in this room fielded world let us not be quick to believe the words about the others to point the fingers but instead choose to act deliberately and is seeking the help of God's heavenly wisdom.

Application: Being Peacemakers

Because God's community is made up of people with different perspectives and background misunderstanding and different opinions are in a sense inevitable.
Yet when conflicts arise among the God's people, the way we respond matters deeply.
We are called to address misunderstandings without breaking relationships and then to pursue resolutions guided by the principles of the truth of the scripture as the Jesus taught Blessed are the peacemakers for they will be called the children of God.

What lacks do you find in yourself when you need to confront another believer?

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Closing Prayer

May we continually seek to promote peace and unity in the body of Christ reflecting the heart of our father let's bow down and pray there.
Father, thank you for sending your son as a prince of a peace.
Father, because of your son you know we made a peace with you.
It is true we are the community we are the body of Christ you know, abided by the many different people and perspectives and ethnic groups and background.
But father, we learned how we can be a piecemaker.
Before we put the fingers

ah, to others let us, you know, think about the Jesus Christ who came as a prince of a peace and then let us, you know, try to understand each other and come up to build up the kingdom of God together in Jesus name we prayed together Amen.

“Because careful thinking and meaningful reflection are Christian disciplines, any material thing that encourages uncareful thinking or shoddy reflection ought to be viewed with suspicion."~Samuel James