Joshua 22:11–12, 15–18, 26–27, 33–34

Bible Studies for Life
Adjunct Professor of Biblical Perspectives, Samford University

Work Through Conflict

Joshua 22:11–12, 15–18, 26–27, 33–34

The day my eyeglasses broke also was ironically the same day I decided my particular way of viewing the world no longer made sense.

“How do you read?” (Luke 10:26). Jesus posed this question to a man seeking to understand eternal life and the nature of his own faith. Jesus’ question is a profoundly portable one, adaptable not only to how we read a text, but also to how we read particular situations in our own lives. The question acknowledges that I do read and that it matters how I read. 

We all have a lens through which we view the world. Some of us wear rose-colored glasses and some of us don’t. However we read, it’s very difficult to take off the lenses we’ve worn our whole lives and view the world differently. Yet sometimes it’s entirely necessary. Sometimes our eyeglasses need to break in order to see what God wants us to see. This is especially true when faced with interpersonal conflict.

Confront the issue directly and express your concern with love. (11–12, 15–18)

The book of Joshua is comprised of two primary sections — the invasion and conquering of the land of Canaan and the allotment of that land to the tribes of Israel. For a brief moment the Israelites enjoyed relative peace and cooperation with one another. The inter-tribal strife that would characterize the book of Judges was largely absent in Joshua. A minor conflict did arise, however, over the intentions of three tribes: Reuben, Gad and Manasseh. 

These three tribes built an altar, which was viewed with suspicion by the Israelites. Previous generations, particularly the patriarchs, were allowed to build altars and make sacrifices anywhere they chose (Gen. 12:7; 13:18; 28:16–22). The building of an altar was viewed as commemoration of some covenant made with God, or of some remarkable event that was to be memorialized. The building of an altar was an act of worship. 

By the time of the writing of Deuteronomy, however, God had commanded centralized worship (Deut. 12:1–13; 2 Kings 22–23). Therefore the actions of the three tribes were deemed a betrayal of God. The Israelites misread the situation, yet they confronted the issue directly and expressed their concern by sending the priest Phinehas.

Listen to the other side. (26–27)

In listening to the other side the Israelites discovered they had misread the tribes’ intentions. Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had not betrayed God, nor had they betrayed the Israelites. They built the altar as a witness to future generations, an ideal prized by the Israelites and commanded in the Torah (Deut. 6:1–25, Deut. 8). When Phinehas brought back word that these tribes’ intentions were honorable, war-making efforts ceased and peace was restored.

Embrace a solution that honors God. (33–34) 

When faced with conflict it is easy to assume a fight, flight or freeze posture. We can charge ahead of the situation, armed with a false narrative and become combative. We can use our words or actions in ways that fail to promote peace and instead escalate the situation. We can run away from the situation, fearful of the conflict. We then internalize whatever false narrative we have crafted in our own minds and the relationship is never repaired. The situation never changes. Or we can freeze, unsure of what to do or say, and allow anger, frustration or our wounds to fester. We then, perhaps unknowingly, wound others in the same way we have been wounded. 

Yet God offers a different way. Jesus’ sermon on the Church in Matthew offers a perspective that is neither overly combative nor overly passive. Healthy confrontation, the perspective of more than one person and the offer of forgiveness all provide a grace-filled way of reading a conflictual situation (Matt. 18:15–22).