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7/15 Reading Portions: Joshua 22; Acts 2; Jeremiah 11; Matthew 25
“For,” they said, “it is a witness between us that the LORD is God.” Joshua 22:34
WITNESS
Rueben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, wanted the lands east of the Jordan River as their possession. This was permitted as long as the fighting men of their tribes crossed the river to fight alongside their brethren in the Promised Land (Num 32:18-33, et al). They did just as they were commanded (Josh 22:2).
When the 2-1/2 tribes returned to their cities and families east of Jordan, they built a stone altar on the border of their lands. When the tribes to the west of Jordan heard this, they believed the eastern Ruebenites, Gadites and Manassehites had forsaken YHVH God in order to bring sacrifices to idols (Josh 22:7-14, 18). The western princes rebuked them and were ready to go to war against them. They reminded them of the previous judgments suffered by those who had rebelled against the LORD in the wilderness (Josh 22:15-20). The eastern tribes explained that they feared in years to come the western tribes might forsake the tribes of the east since the Jordan separated them (Josh 22:21-29). The altar was the witness of their kinship and worship of the one true God.
Today, there are many local churches across the globe. Although we are separated by time, distance, and even our cultural and language differences, yet the altar of Christ’s cross and the witness of the gospel of Jesus Messiah according to Scripture is the memorial raised between us; and this alone bears witness of our kinship in Christ. The witness of Christ’s gospel, the Hebrew עד (ād), is not only the testimony of our kinship as believers, but also ever and always the memorial of our Lord Jesus Messiah, who alone has provided us our inheritance in God’s promise of salvation:
“This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.” Acts 2:32
Hallelujah! What a Savior!
May we ever raise a witness
Of gospel truth in Christ;
His sacrifice has saved us
By Love’s most precious price.
