Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Do You Love Your Christian Neighbor? | Historical Books | Joshua 22:21-34

Episode Date: February 4, 2025

Do you ever assume the worst about Christians who are different than you? How do we live humbly with our Christian neighbors? In today's episode, Tanya shares how Joshua 22:21-34 encourages Christians to put their love for Jesus above their worldly differences. Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: Joshua 22:21-34

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmeth. Have you ever assumed that someone isn't a Christian because they do something differently than you? Maybe it's the way they dress, the way they vote, where they send their kids to school, or whether they drink or not. Perhaps it's their stance on the environment or social justice issues. If I'm honest, this is something I have struggled with. I can take one piece of knowledge and turn it into a whole stereotype.

It's easier to make assumptions than ask questions and listen. It's a humbling thought. But isn't this all a bit ridiculous? It's like using a classification system to separate people who love Jesus. Shouldn't our love for him be our primary identify or not these other things? Apparently this isn't a new issue. God's people have faced this temptation for a very long time, which brings us to today's passage, Joshua 22.

Throughout the book of Joshua, there's been an underlying question about the Eastern tribes and their true identity. Are they included in God's people? Absolutely. But there seems to be a question about it that resonates throughout the whole book. So the Jordan River served as both a turning point and a dividing line. On one hand, crossing the Jordan symbolized all of Israel leaving the wilderness behind and into rebellion and idol worship and entering God's promise.

But on the other hand, it became a physical and a spiritual barrier. See, even though Moses had granted two and a half tribes, the tribes of Gad, Rubin, and half of Manasse, permission to settle on the east side of the Jordan, the river still created a divide. To some, it marked the line between those fully receiving God's promise and those who didn't. Now, Joshua addresses this situation directly in Joshua, chapter 22, verses 3 through 4. He says, and now the Lord your God has given the other tribes rest as he promised them. So go back home to the land. that Moses, the servant of the Lord, gave you as your possession on the east side of the Jordan River.

But be very careful to obey all the commands and the instructions that Moses gave to you. Love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him, and serve him with all your heart and all your soul. Joshua made it clear. All 12 tribes were included in God's people. The defining qualities weren't geographical but spiritual, wholehearted devotion, worship, and a obedience to God. And yet, a lack of belief in God's promises led to a disastrous problem of assumptions. See, when we fear that God might abandon us, we often overcompensate. We might go above and beyond what he asks, striving to prove we're worthy of his love. Did Joshua tell the Eastern tribes to build an altar when they went back to the other side of the Jordan? No, but they did it

anyway. Verse 10 says they stopped to build a large and imposing altar at the Jordan. Now on the flip side, when we doubt God's promises, we might focus on finding fault with others. And that's what the other tribes did when they heard about the altar. They immediately likened it to past sins, like the Israelites' rebellion with the Moabite women at Pure. Back then, false worship brought God's judgment, and Phenius, the son of Eliezer, intervened to stop a plague. This history drove their response. Now, Phineas, along with a delegation of tribal leaders, confronted the Eastern tribes. And here's what they said. The whole community of the Lord demands to know why you're betraying the God of Israel. How could you turn away from the Lord and build an altar for yourselves and

rebellion against him? Was our sin it pure, not enough? The delegation assumed the worst. Instead of consulting God, they jumped to conclusions. What if they had paused, prayed, and sought to understand, they might have discovered that everyone involved wanted to honor God. The Eastern tribes explained, The truth is we have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, what right do you have to worship the Lord, the God of Israel? The Lord has placed the Jordan River as a barrier between our people and you people. So we decided to build the altar, not for burnt offerings or sacrifices, but as a memorial.

It will remind our descendants and your descendants that we too have the right to worship the Lord at his sanctuary. Now, the moment at the altar reveals something universal. We all wrestle with fears and unbelief. Our desire is to worship God, but we get caught up in horizontal comparisons. Think about a recent example during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some Christians saw masks and social distancing as a way to love and protect their neighbors. Others saw these same things as government overreach and a threat to religious freedom. The polarization became so intense that it often felt like more than just a choice. It felt like a dividing line, because that's what people made it out to be. Now, much like the tribes of Israel, we're tempted to divide ourselves.

But this reveals more about our spiritual condition than anything else. It shows that we struggle to feel safe and secure with God. It reminds us that we need a rescuer. Well, the good news is that God promises to be with us and bless us. Even now he's at work, helping us, helping us, turn from unbelief and rest in him, claiming more of the territory of our hearts for him. How do we participate in this? While Joshua's words to Israel still resonate, love the Lord your God, walk in his ways, obey his commands, hold firmly to him,

serve him with all your heart and soul. When we do these things, we'll be united together. These will be the things that identify us and set us apart. Let's hold on to these truths and Remember that our love for Jesus is our true identity, not our differences.