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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Joshua 22:1 - 22:9
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The Dismissal
v. 1. Then, namely, at some time after the conquest of Canaan, probably after the division of the land was completed, Joshua called the Reubenites and the Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh, the soldiers out of these tribes, who had served in the army of Israel during these years of conquest, Jos_1:12-15,
v. 2. and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, Num_32:20; Deu_3:18, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you, to which they had agreed before the people passed over Jordan.
v. 3. Ye have not left your brethren these many days unto this day, having been thoroughly loyal to the obligations of relationship, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord, your God. All this the praise of Joshua duly acknowledges, as an encouragement to further efforts in unselfish assistance.
v. 4. 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, a standing expression for returning home, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you on the other side Jordan, Num_32:33; Deu_29:8.
v. 5. But take diligent heed, watch with the greatest carefulness, to do the commandment and the Law, both that of the general Moral Law and that of the special precepts given to Israel, which Moses, the servant of the Lord, charged you, to love the Lord, your God, and to walk in all His ways, and to keep His commandments, and to cleave unto Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul. This parting admonition of Joshua shows his understanding of the human heart with its changeableness, deceitfulness, and wickedness. Cf Deu_4:2-29; Deu_6:5; Deu_8:6.
v. 6. So Joshua blessed them, and sent them away, dismissed them honorably; and they went unto their tents, they started for their homes on the east side of Jordan.
v. 7. Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh, to the children of Machir, Moses had given possession in Bashan; but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. This is here repeated in order to make the situation perfectly clear, according to the ancient style of Hebrew narrative. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them,
v. 8. and he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches, their share of the booty of the wars, unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment, for the cities of the Canaanites which they had captured, beginning with Ai, had contained great treasures, all of which fell into the hands of the invaders. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren, namely, the sixty to seventy thousand who had remained to garrison the cities east of Jordan and to protect the homes and the herds of the two and one half tribes while the conquest of Canaan proper was going on.
v. 9. And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh returned, and departed from the children of Israel out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go unto the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses, Num_32:20-22. That is the important thing, not only to come to the Lord, but to continue in His Word, to love Him with all one's heart, and with all one's soul, and with all one's mind, and to show this love in one's entire life.