Altar'ed States

July 13, 2014

Joshua:  Turning Obedience Into Blessing

Joshua 22:  Altar’ed States                                Notes Not Edited

SIS—True worship transforms your life.

The whole text of Joshua 22 revolves around the building of an altar.  Let’s read that section of our text together.  READ Joshua 22:9-10.

An “altered state” is defined as “a state of mind that differs from the normal state of consciousness, typically one induced by drugs, hypnosis, or mental disorder.”  It is also the title of a 1980 horror film classic starring Drew Barrymore in her film debut.  The movie was based upon the research of John C. Lilly exploring the effects of psychoactive drugs like LSD combined with isolation.  I think we can all imagine the “altered states” this combination might bring about.  What about the “altar’ed state” the Bible speaks about.  Just as surely as LSD alters one’s perceptions, attitudes, and actions, spending time at the “altar” of God in worship and devotion will alter your life also—and even more so.   This is more than a play on words.  This is a powerful, prophetic pronouncement of the affect and effects of from worshipping the God of the Bible.  Worship, symbolized by the altar in our text, will transform your life completely.  Worship will increase your faith in God, strengthen your fellowship with the people of God, and multiply your fruitfulness as a child of God.

1.  God’s Altar should alter our FAITHFULNESS (1-8).

Chapter 22 begins by describing the faithfulness of the tribes who settled on the Eastern side of Jordan but fought with the tribes on the Western side.

¹Joshua summoned the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh ² and told them, “You have done everything Moses the Lord’s servant commanded you  and have obeyed me in everything I commanded you.

Note the words, “You have done everything!”  This causes me to recall the words of Jesus in describing the “faithful disciple” in the gospels (Matthew 25:21):

‘Well done, good and faithful slave! You were faithful over a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Share your master’s joy!’

Nothing blesses God more than the increasing faithfulness of His children.  This is a consistent theme in these last three chapters of Joshua.  The last three chapters of Joshua form a unit.  Taken together these three chapters teach God’s people how to “retain” the blessings we have and continue to receive from God.  Each one of these last three chapters begins with a “summons,” from the Hebrew root word, gara.  This word means “to summon, call, or proclaim.”  It can also mean “read” as in the reading of a proclamation.  When we see such a repetition in the literary structure of a Biblical text it should heighten our awareness to what is being proclaimed.

In addition to repeating the fact that Joshua regularly summoned the people together for a proclamation (which we will examine later), these last three chapters repeat the common theme of, “faithfulness to Yahweh.”  At least seven times in chapter 22 we see the emphasis on “fidelity, or faithfulness.”  Following are just a few examples.

v5:  “carefully obey;” v16: “treachery . . . by turning away;” v18: “you rebel;” v19: “don’t rebel;” v29: “we would never rebel.”

These verses and about 10 more or so throughout chapters 23 through 24 emphasize the theme of remaining “faithful” to Yahweh, either by commanding it or warning against violating it.  Fidelity to the Lord of the work and the work of the Lord is the essential characteristic of a believer, and the primary means through which a believer is blessed. 

If I were pressed to give an overarching theme for Joshua (and perhaps the entire Bible) it might sound like this:  Obedience, or faithfulness, brings blessing.  The entire Bible can be read as an instruction manual for how to turn obedience into blessing.  Perhaps that may be a bit over simplistic, but I think it captures the essence of the Bible’s message, especially the Book of Joshua.

One of the most popular fish for a salt-water aquarium is a shark.  I’m sure you have seen a small six inch to a foot long shark swimming in an aquarium at someone’s house or on T.V.  A shark adapts to the size of the aquarium.  A six inch shark can be fully mature if kept in a relatively small aquarium.  That same shark, if allowed to swim free in the ocean can grow up to their normal length of up to eight feet.  I see a parallel here in regard to most Christians.  The church is like an aquarium where Christians get older, but never grow to full size. 

Worship should alter (change) our level of faithfulness to God.  Each time we gather for worship we should leave with a greater resolve to be more and do more for our Lord.  There is still much territory in our world—most of it—that has never been conquered for Christ.  Worship of God should fuel our passion for God and His work—or what we have participated in is simply an empty, useless exercise in religion.  Six inch sharks swimming in an aquarium may be cute, but it is the Great White sharks swimming in the wild that get the respect!

2.  Worship should alter our FELLOWSHIP (9-34).

Now, notice that these chapters link the theme of faithfulness or fidelity to the idea of gathering together to hear a proclamation from God through His chosen leader.  I have learned much in my near forty years of ministry but the most impactful lessons I’ve learned is this:  if a person cannot be faithful to gather once a week with God’s people, they won’t accomplish much the other six days in God’s world.  Meeting regularly together with God’s people on God’s day, to sing God’s songs, and hear a word from God’s Book is absolutely essential to becoming a faithful follower of God through Jesus Christ. Transformation is the key to godliness and spiritual worship is the key to transformation.  A person who does not hunger and thirst for communion with God and His people does not demonstrate a saving faith.  PERIOD!  Regular worship alters our fidelity to God. The first thing the Eastern tribes did upon their return was build an altar, a central symbol in the worship of Yahweh (verses 11-12).

¹¹ Then the Israelites heard it said, “Look, the Reubenites, Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh have built an altar on the frontier of the land of Canaan at the region of  the Jordan, on the Israelite side.” ¹² When the Israelites heard this, the entire Israelite community assembled at Shiloh to go to war against them.

The bulk of our text is given to describing the conflict between the Western tribes and the Eastern tribes.  This conflict carried with it the potential to destroy the young nation of Israel before they were even established in the Promised Land.  The strongest weapon any church has against the evils of the world is “unity,” or what the Bible refers to as “fellowship.”

This conflict arose over the altar that the Eastern three tribes had built upon returning eastward across the Jordan after aiding the Western tribes in securing the Promised Land.  This altar, a symbol of worship and devotion to Yahweh, would bring the nation to a point of war. Skeptics are quick to point out how often “religion breeds war.”  It cannot be denied that religion has been and continues to be a point of contention in the world.  Our text shows us that it is really not “religion” so much as it is “misunderstanding” that brought the Israelites to the brink of civil war.

We are not told exactly what motivated the actions of the Western tribes.  Some scholars have suggested the motivation was jealousy on the part of the Western tribes who wanted sole claim to the place of worship, which was Shiloh at that time (Jos. 18:1).  Certainly, jealously fueled by pridefulness has led to religious conflicts in faith communities throughout history.  Other scholars suggest, however, the motivation of the Western tribes was a genuine sense of devotion to Yahweh that generated a fear that an altar on pagan soil East of the Jordan would bring compromise that would lead to God’s wrath and judgment. Look at the latter half of verse 19 through 20:

But don’t rebel against the Lord or against us by building for yourselves an altar other than the altar of the Lord our God. ²⁰ Wasn’t Achan son of Zerah unfaithful regarding what was set apart for destruction, bringing wrath on the entire community of Israel? He was not the only one who perished because of his sin.’

Doctrinal purity was at stake.  Doctrinal purity matters, though it would be hard to tell this by looking at the hodge-podge of pagan doctrines posing as Christianity in America today.  The Western delegation had a very legitimate concern when they heard that the Eastern tribes were building another altar.  The nation had been commanded in Deuteronomy 12 to pick one central location for offering sacrifices to Yahweh: 

¹“Be careful to follow these statutes and ordinances in the land that Yahweh, the God of your fathers,  has given you to possess all the days you live on the earth. ² Destroy completely all the places where the nations that you are driving out worship their gods —on the high mountains, on the hills, and under every green tree.  ³ Tear down their altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn up their Asherah poles, cut down the carved images of their gods, and wipe out their names from every  place.  ⁴ Don’t worship the Lord your God this way. ⁵ Instead, you must turn to the place Yahweh your God chooses  from all your tribes to put His name for His dwelling and go there.

One scholar points out the reason for this injunction of only one place for the Tabernacle:  “The restriction of sacrifice to one sanctuary was a preventive theology, intended to preserve the purity of worship. To oversimplify, it meant: one altar, one faith, one people”(Davis).

The issue at hand is “unity in fellowship.”  To be unified is to be strong. God had already established the city for the tabernacle which was Shiloh, on the Eastern side (see verse 9, 12; also 18:1).  Unity in fellowship requires two important ingredients:  purity of doctrine and proximity of persons.  Recall that these latter three chapters teaching us how to retain the Hand of God’s blessing on our lives are welded together by the common word, “gará.”  We have already learned that this word means, “to summon, call, or proclaim.”  It can also mean “read” as in the reading of a proclamation. Proximity, or gathering, is a key issue in unity. The N.T. uses a parallel word to describe the “gathering of God’s people.”  The New Testament description of the Church is ekklesia (ἐκκλησία). Literally it means “called (summoned) out of, or together.”  Israel offers a pattern for the church—though they are always separate entities in the Scriptures.  Fundamental to the health and blessing of the church are regular convocations—a summoning together for proclamation. This gives us the doctrine of “fellowship.” Acts 2:42-47 describes this “gathering, summons, or fellowship”:

⁴² And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching,  to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.

⁴³ Then fear came over everyone, and many wonders and signs were being performed through the apostles.  ⁴⁴ Now all the believers were together and held all things in common. 

Three times in three chapters, Joshua “calls for a gathering” of the people for the purpose of proclaiming God’s instruction.  These convocations were not optional but essential to blessing. Gathering together as the church is not optional, but essential.  This becomes the pattern for the New Testament church.  Gathering for worship strengthens our bond with God and man.  It also maintains the purity of our doctrine by regular proclamation of God’s Word. 

Worship, the altar, should alter our fellowship.  It should make it purer and stronger.  Yet, so many people—who consider themselves members of a local church—take the matter of “gathering for worship” all too lightly.  For example:  the Southern Baptist Convention has about 46,000 churches and boasts of a total membership of over 16 million.  However, on any given Sunday the total attendance at worship services will be somewhere between 5 to 6 million—less than half the total membership.

This statistic holds true for our church as well.  We have about 150 members.  On average, we have about 75 to 80 in worship each week—and it isn’t the same 75 or 80 every week!  About half of our members only attend church about half the time—or less!  Now, I know it may not be pleasant to hear this—especially if you are one of the “half-timers”—but the truth is the truth.

When a person truly worships at the altar of God it will alter the person’s participation in the total fellowship of the church.  Time at the altar alters fellowship.  In verses 21 through 29 the Eastern three tribes explained why they were building an altar on the Eastern side.  It was not to “compete” with the altar of the Lord in the tabernacle at Shiloh, but it was to “be a witness” that the Eastern tribes were remaining faithful participants in the nation of Israel.  Look at verse 26-28:

²⁶ “Therefore we said: Let us take action and build an altar for ourselves, but not for burnt offering or sacrifice. ²⁷ Instead, it is to be a witness between us and you, and between the generations after us, so that we may carry out the worship of the Lord in His presence with our burnt offerings, sacrifices, and fellowship offerings.  Then in the future, your descendants will not be able to say to our descendants, ‘You have no share in the Lord!’ ²⁸ We thought that if they said this to us or to our generations in the future, we would reply: Look at the replica of the Lord’s altar that our fathers made, not for burnt offering or sacrifice, but as a witness between us and you.

Worship is the glue that holds a community of faith together:  “one Lord, one faith, one baptism” as Paul describes it (Eph. 4:5).  People who are focused on the same thing—Almighty God—come closer together as the grow closer to God in worship.  It is like a triangle with God at the top. 

The altar should alter your relationship to others in the fellowship.

3.  The Altar will alter our FRUITFULNESS (v 8, et. al.).

This point is not stated explicitly from our text but can be derived legitimately from points one and two.  Fidelity to God and a strong fellowship among His people will lead to great fruitfulness among those outside of our community of faith.

This lesson is reinforced strongly in the N.T., especially the Book of Acts if we continue in the passage from chapter two:

⁴⁵ They sold their possessions and property and distributed the proceeds to all, as anyone had a need.  ⁴⁶ Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple complex, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with a joyful and humble attitude,  ⁴⁷ praising God and having favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to them  those who were being saved.

A steadfast faithfulness and a strong fellowship will lead to an effective ministry.  This is why worship is so important.  Worship increases faithfulness and strengthens fellowship as we have seen in this text.  The natural result, then, is fruitfulness.  By fruitfulness I mean both personal blessings and practical successes in ministry.  Look back at verse 8:

He [Joshua] said, “Return to your homes with great wealth: a huge number of cattle, and silver, gold, bronze, iron, and a large quantity of clothing. Share the spoil of your enemies with your brothers.”

True, Spirit-led worship leads to faithfulness and faithfulness to Yahweh always leads to blessing: and some of that is “here and now.” 

Listen carefully:  worship will make your life better . . . guaranteed!  If you don’t believe that, then you are wasting your time coming to church.  In whatever way God defines “prosperity” for you, you will experience that prosperity with increasing measure as you learn to worship Him.  The altar will truly alter your life.

Now, I don’t define prosperity in the narrow sense of getting more stuff.  I define it in the broader sense of getting the stuff God wants you to have.  I define prosperity as living a “fruitful life” as evidenced by the impact you have on this life for the Kingdom of God.

My mind keeps getting stuck on that word, “witness,” used several times in this passage as a description of the altar.  The word translated, “witness,” comes from a root word meaning “to repeat.” Worship is something that of necessity must be “repeated” to be effective.  A person who regularly neglects worship gatherings will NEVER be fruitful, either personally or in regard to building the Kingdom of God.

The faithfulness of the Eastern tribes (and also the Western ones) resulted in fruitfulness in their personal lives.  Yet, if you read the O.T. carefully, and connect it properly to the N.T. you will see that regular worship not only extends God’s blessings to us, but also extends God’s blessings through us to others. Through our devout and passionate worship of God we are not only blessed, but we become a channel of blessing to others.  We not only have more fruit in our lives but more importantly more fruit from our lives.  Look at what Jesus said in this regard:

¹⁶ You did not choose Me, but I chose you.  I appointed you that you should go out and produce fruit and that your fruit should remain, so that whatever you ask  the Father in My name,  He will give you.

The key to everything in matters of faith is “getting into the Presence of God through worship.”  Worship lights the fuse of the rocket of faith that launches us into service in the Kingdom of God.  Without worship, the rocket of religion will never leave the launching pad.  The church will become a quaint little aquarium and we will be cute little sharks with no bite.

The altar will alter your life.  It will increase your faith, strengthen your fellowship, and multiply your fruitfulness in life.  Worship of Almighty God is the most transforming experience in life.

In 1988 three gray whales were discovered trapped in the pack ice near Point Barrows, Alaska, by a hunter.  The media got hold of the story and a rescue effort costing over a million dollars was launched to help the whales get five miles to the open sea before they were permanently trapped under the pack ice.  Rescuers, including a five ton hammer suspended from a helicopter, punched a series of breathing holes along the ice leading to the sea.  For eight days the rescuers coaxed the three whales from hole to hole.  One whale disappeared and was presumed dead.  Finally, a Russian icebreaker was able to split the ice enough to allow the whales to return to the open sea.  This rescue effort, though criticized by scientists, eventually became a major motion picture titled, “Big Miracle.”

In a way, worship is like a string of breathing holes along our way from here to heaven.  Without connecting to God in worship we will be trapped in a wasteland of greed, selfishness, and all manner of worldliness.  Worship provides us breathing holes where we can renew our relationship with God and experience afresh His providential blessings.

True worship transforms our lives as surely as metamorphosis changed an ugly caterpillar into a beautiful butterfly.  Time at the altar will alter your life by increasing your faith, strengthening your fellowship with God’s people and multiplying your fruitfulness.

Long for true worship like a life-giving breath of air.

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