Joshua 22:21

Joshua 22:21 says, Then the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh answered, and said unto the heads of the thousands of Israel,  Then verse twenty-two adds, The LORD God of gods, the LORD God of gods, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know; if it be in rebellion, or if in transgression against the LORD, (save us not this day,)  The people of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh who were there answered the charges against them.  We should always be ready to answer anyone who accuses us of being unfaithful to God, if we are followers of Christ and are truly faithful to Him.  They first called on the LORD to be their witness, and only He can be the ultimate witness to our faithfulness or lack there of.  They said if they were guilty of rebellion then they should not be saved that day.  We need that same kind of faith.  Verse twenty-three declares, That we have built us an altar to turn from following the LORD, or if to offer thereon burnt offering or meat offering, or if to offer peace offerings thereon, let the LORD himself require it;  They had called on God as their witness that they had not built the altar for any purpose but to worship Him, but they were still willing to allow Him, and those accusing them, to be the judge.  Their faith was in God and their relationship to Him.  As long as we know that what we are doing is in accordance with God's will and we put our faith in Him, we do not have to worry about what others may do to or say about us.  We have the ultimate victory through our faith in Christ.  Verse twenty-four states, And if we have not rather done it for fear of this thing, saying, In time to come your children might speak unto our children, saying, What have ye to do with the LORD God of Israel?  They then said that they had built the altar to honor and worship God, and so that their children would know of God.  Our worship today should honor God, but it should also lead our children to know about Him.  We really cannot get our children to know God, because that is a personal decision, but we can lead them to know about Him.  Verse twenty-five proclaims, For the LORD hath made Jordan a border between us and you, ye children of Reuben and children of Gad; ye have no part in the LORD: so shall your children make our children cease from fearing the LORD.  They then said that God had put the border of the Jordan between them and the rest of the people of Israel.  They were not there simply because they chose to be, but were there by the leadership of God.  Verse twenty-six adds, Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice to a false god.  They then stated the purpose for the altar.  They were not building it for burnt offerings or sacrifices to a false God.  Verse twenty-seven continues, But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD.  They said that they were building the altar for a witness between themselves and the rest of the nation on the other side of the Jordan, so that they might do service to the LORD to identify with the rest of the nation.  The altar would also be a witness to their children.  We do not all worship at the same place as Christians, but we must be certain that all we do when we worship brings honor and glory to God and is a witness to the world, and especially to our children, that we are being faithful to Him.  Verse twenty-eight continues, Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.  Again, they stated that the purpose of the altar was as a witness to God between themselves and the rest of the nation.  When we gather together today as followers of Christ, it should be to honor and worship God and to identify ourselves as a part of the family of God.  Verse twenty-nine concludes, God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD, and turn this day from following the LORD, to build an altar for burnt offerings, for meat offerings, or for sacrifices, beside the altar of the LORD our God that is before his tabernacle.  They said they were not attempting to turn away from following God, but were simply building an altar to identify with His people.  When we worship today, we must do so to bring honor and glory to God, wherever we worship Him.