Accountability

Passage: Joshua 22

When the Israelites first entered the Promised Land, a couple of the tribes (Reuben and Gad) decided they wanted to settle West of the Jordan. The people had not yet reached the destination God had mapped out for them, which lay East of the Jordan, so the Reubenites and Gadites were jumping the gun a little. When these two tribes appealed to Moses to allow them to bail out early, Moses was concerned. His primary objection was that if these two tribes settled West of the Jordan, they wouldn’t help the other ten tribes take the land God had promised. In return for permission to settle West of the Jordan, Reuben and Gad promised to participate in the conquest of the rest of the Promised Land.

Joshua 22 bears witness to the fact that the two “Transjordan Tribes” followed through on their commitment. After the land is conquered, the armies of Reuben and Gad travel West to settle the homesteads they claimed before the Israelites crossed the Jordan.

But trouble arises shortly thereafter when word gets back to the other ten tribes of an altar the Transjordan Tribes have erected in their territory. The ten tribes muster their fighting forces, and march to their fellow tribes’ doorstep. A heated confrontation occurs. In it the Israelites recount two occasions in which their whole nation suffered because of the sins of a few members. The first occasion was the time a group of Israelite men hooked up with some Moabite women, and sacrificed to their Baal at a place called Peor. In response God sent a plague that killed tens of thousands of the people. The second occasion was Achan’s sin following the conquest of Jericho. God had commanded his people to destroy everything from Jericho except articles made of precious metal, which were to be placed in the tabernacle treasury. Achan’s eye was drawn to a few treasures that he just couldn’t live without. He absconded with them, believing that no one had seen his indiscretion. But of course, God sees everything. To draw the people’s attention to Achan’s infraction, God allowed the Israelite army to suffer a crushing military defeat.

The Israelites are painfully aware that they are all intimately connected. God has shown them clearly that one person’s failure is a failure for them all. God has demonstrated that when one member of the nation suffers, they all suffer. They are like a body, in which the parts are inextricably linked and interdependent. The health of the body is contingent on the health of its parts.

Fearing another blow to their health as a nation, the ten tribes confront the two. A homegrown, private altar is against the rules. God has given strict instructions and parameters for worship. Sacrifices offered away from the tabernacle and away from the rest of God’s people are idolatrous – intended to manipulate God and serve the interests of the offerers. In a bid to save themselves as a whole, the ten tribes are prepared to go to war to hold the wayward tribes accountable. They don’t end up going to war. And the Transjordan tribes end up offering an explanation that is satisfactory to the other ten and, presumably, to God. But the ten eastern tribes have diligently followed up with the two western ones to ensure that they're all still functioning as one body.

The principle at play in Joshua 22 is a principle that should always be effective in the life of God’s people. Down to the individual member, the Israelites are trained to see that their actions have corporate (even national) consequences. In the New Testament, the church is given this message repeatedly, too. Accountability is an essential aspect of the life of faith. We are commanded to hold our fellow members of the Body of Christ to account. And we are commanded to submit ourselves to accountability, too. Our spiritual health depends on it. And the spiritual health of the rest of the Body is contingent on the spiritual health of each member. When one part’s broken, it’s all broken. When one part hurts, it all hurts. When it comes to the life of faith, accountability is life.

Promises

Passage: Joshua 21:43-45

So the LORD gave Israel all the land he had sworn to give their forefathers, and they took possession of it and settled there. The LORD gave them rest on every side, just as he had sworn to their forefathers. Not one of their enemies withstood them; the LORD handed all their enemies over to them. Not one of all the LORD's good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled.

Eight full chapters of the Book of Joshua are devoted to telling how the Land of Canaan gets divided amongst the tribes of Israel. If you’ve been reading through this book, you may have wondered, as I did, why the author of Joshua felt the need to go into so much detail. Does it really matter that Judah received the area bordered by the Salt Sea, the Scorpion Pass, Hezron, and the Wadi of Egypt? Should I really care that the territory of Benjamin included the towns of Beth Hoglah, Emek Keziz, and Beth Arabah? I can’t help glazing over when I read passages like these. And I can’t help wondering why they’re included in the Word of God.

Let’s return to one of our guiding assumptions: That every passage of Scripture is included for a reason. And then let’s jump ahead to Joshua 21.

It turns out that the author of Joshua is including all the detail of chapters 15-22 not because he thinks it’s interesting (although he very well might), but because he’s making a case. The author is presenting a case in defense of his God.

We don’t know when Joshua was recorded in the form we’ve received. But we know that following their settlement of the Promised Land, the life of the Israelites was punctuated by seasons of unfaithfulness – long periods in which they were estranged from God. It would have been easy, during these periods, for God’s people to conclude that God is somehow unfaithful. That God is somehow profligate when it comes to his promises. The Scriptures have served the purpose of testifying to God’s faithfulness – especially during these periods of estrangement. When their own experience suggests that God is no longer with them, God’s people can look back on the Scriptures and be reminded of God’s promises, and God’s relentless fulfillment thereof.

This is why it’s essential that the author include so much detail about the way God distributes the Promised Land to the tribes of Israel. The author doesn’t speak in generalities. He says, “Here! Look at the evidence. God promised to give an inheritance to each of the tribes. Here is the inheritance Judah got; here is the inheritance Ephraim and Manasseh got; here is the inheritance Benjamin got…” The author goes out of his way to make his case. The point of the Joshua chapters 15-22 is given in the passage above: Not one of all the LORD’s good promises to the house of Israel ever failed; every one was fulfilled. Here’s the proof.

What's Your Thing?

Luke 18:18-30

For whatever reason, Jesus attracted people who had questions about God’s Law. Jesus wasn’t affiliated with a particular Rabbinical school. He didn’t belong to a guild of religious professionals, or a recognized party like the Pharisees or Sadducees. But he spoke with confidence and authority, and seemed to know God’s Word intimately.

Some of the people who questioned Jesus did so because they really wanted to know. They really wanted to know what God thought; they really wanted to shape their lives in response to God’s will. Others questioned Jesus because they were pretty sure they had the right answer. They either wanted Jesus to pat them on the backs, or give them something with which to discredit him.

This is true of the rich young man who presents himself in Luke 18. He approaches Jesus with the age-old question: “What must I do to merit eternal life?”

Jesus doesn’t answer directly. He says, “You know the commandments, don’t you?”

“Of course,” responds the young man. “I have always kept each one.”

“Great,” says Jesus. “Now that you’ve got that covered, do one more thing: sell everything you have and give away all your money.” When the man doesn’t respond, Jesus says, “How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God…”

Now we assume that this is a warning against being rich. And since most of us don’t think of ourselves as rich, we figure we’re off the hook. "Doesn’t apply to me." Not so fast.

The principle at work in this vignette is further developed in Jesus’ concluding statement to his disciples:

"I tell you the truth," Jesus said to them, "no one who has left home or wife or brothers or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to receive many times as much in this age and, in the age to come, eternal life.”

What Jesus is trying to get his disciples, and anyone who will listen, to understand is that God will not tolerate divided loyalties. The rich young man walked away sad because he was hung up on his wealth. That was his thing. What Jesus says is, it doesn’t matter what your thing is. If there’s anything you’re unwilling to let go of, you won’t make it into the Kingdom. Jesus says, “The gateway to heaven is narrow. So narrow that there’s barely room for you to squeeze through.” Like Homer Simpson, whose hand stays stuck in the vending machine so long as he’s holding on to a contraband candy bar, we will not make it through if we’re holding on to anything.

Jesus’ question to the rich young man is his question to us: What’s your thing? What’s that one thing that you will not let go, even if God himself asks you to do so? Money? Home? Car? Relationships? A favorite vice or habit? It may not be something objectively wrong or evil. But if it has supplanted God in your heart, you’re not going to make it. What’s your thing?

The Gibeonite Exception

Passage: Joshua 9:1-10:15

As the Israelites pursue their God-mandated onslaught, nation after nation falls to their swords. The pagan nations of the Promised Land hear of the Israelite threat, and they arm themselves. The nations of the world adopt the only strategy they know: kill or be killed.

There’s one exception. Joshua 9 introduces us to the Gibeonites. As the Israelites approach, the Gibeonites assess the situation. The Israelites are undefeated. The Gibeonites are a small nation with an underequipped military. They know which side of the “kill or be killed” dichotomy they’ll fall down on. So they devise a new approach. They send emissaries to the Israelite camp. They present themselves as the impoverished ambassadors of a distant nation – no threat to the Israelites. They cast themselves on the mercy of Joshua and his people, and request a hail-Mary peace treaty.

The Israelites take the bait. They assume they’re dealing with representatives of some nation outside the Promised Land. They conclude that this nation is excluded from God’s kill order – after all, God has told them only to drive out the inhabitants of Canaan. It’s only until they arrive at Gibeon that Joshua and his army realize they’ve made a treaty with an enemy nation.

At first glance it seems that Joshua 9 and 10 are “the story of how Joshua and the Israelites get duped.” But there’s something else going on. The Gibeonites recognize that something big is happening with the Israelites. That they’ve been empowered by an irresistible force – a God who is greater than any other. All the other nations of the Promised Land are gathering their armies and joining forces to try to destroy the Israelites and defeat their God. The Gibeonites are the only nation to recognize the truth: the God of the Israelites cannot be defeated. So they devise another plan. They, essentially, cast themselves at the mercy of the Israelites and their God.

The end result is that the Gibeonites are humbled. They present themselves as pitiable in order to save their own lives. They subject themselves to a lifetime of subservience to the nation of Israel. In the balance, this is preferable to them. They’d rather be servants than be wiped off the face of the earth. Yes, the Gibeonites are deceptive. But they’re also realistic. They know that if they face off against the God of Israel, they will lose. They’re the only nation to do so. In a strange way, the Gibeonites' deceptive appeal is a statement of faith. They know without a doubt that the God of the Israelites is the real thing. They know there's only one way to respond: falling on their knees.

We recoil at the Israelites entering the Promised Land and committing genocide. This seems at odds with everything we believe about right and wrong. It seems at odds with everything we believe about God – the gracious and compassionate, abundant in mercy and steadfast in love.

What the story of the Gibeonites establishes is that God isn’t bent on bloodshed. That the rule for God is not eliminating all but his chosen people. The rule for God is convincing the world that he is God – almighty Creator and sovereign LORD. The nations that get eliminated are those that encounter God and position themselves as his enemies. These are nations that will never back down from a fight, and would rather die than be anyone’s servant. God says, “When it comes to me, there’s only one choice. You can be nothing but my servant.” Any person, and any nation, that refuses to bow before God is a lost cause. God can’t work with them. God can’t save them. Their destination is destruction – in the immediate, or in the long run.

This is what sets the Gibeonites apart. They don’t know much about God, but they know he’s the boss. They accept that the only way to encounter God is on your knees. So they become the exception. They become the nation that God spares. They are allowed to live in proximity, and relative harmony, with God’s chosen people.

This is still how it works. Those who encounter God and make him their enemy will go to their graves fighting. Ultimately they will be lost. Why? Because they’d rather die than be anyone’s servant. This may be your approach to anyone and everyone. But God is the exception. God is the boss. He is the Creator and the Ruler of all, and all things are subservient to him whether they acknowledge it or not. Make God your exception. Humble yourself and let him be the boss. Those who do so find that they are not reduced to humility or slavery, but embraced as lost loved ones. When it comes to rulers, God’s the exception.