Which two and a half tribes did Joshua speak to?

What words of praise did he have for them?

What instruction did he give them then?

Where was the land of their possession?

What was Joshua’s parting command to them?

Were they to return empty handed? What were they to do with the riches they had acquired?

What did the people of these two and a half tribes build by the Jordan River?

Who heard about this building project? What was their response?

Who did the Israelites send as the leader of the delegation to speak to the eastern tribes? Who comprised the delegation with him?

What was the treachery that Phineas’ delegation accused the two and a half tribes of committing? 

What episode in their history did he refer to in comparison? How did they feel about the results of that episode even to that time?

What were they afraid that God would do as a result of those tribes rebelling?

What did the accusing party suggest that the two and a half tribes should do to solve the problem if they felt that the land was unclean?

What other example did Phineas give as a comparison to the rebellious sin they accused the two and a half tribes of?

What was the first response of the accused tribes?

Explain the reason that the people of Manasseh, Reuben, and Gad gave for their actions.

What was the altar intended for? What was it not intended for?

What was the reaction of Phineas and his delegation to the defense made by the two and a half tribes? What did the delegation do after that?

What name did the tribes who had set up the altar give it?

Thought Questions

What encouraging words did Joshua have for these eastern tribes at the beginning of the chapter?  Would you like to hear such words in your life? Was there a commandment attached to it? Would you be discouraged to hear that there was a “catch”? What were the reasons why they were told to continue to obey?

Read Numbers 32. Have you ever felt that you were accused of false motives? What lessons can we learn from how the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half of the tribe of Manasseh had to face this situation—before an entire nation—not once, but twice?

What were some of the positive ways that the other Israelite tribes from the west approached the situation? What were some of the negatives?

Think about how the eastern tribes responded to the accusations of their brothers, not only in this situation, but in the previous one recorded in Numbers 32. Don’t you think it would have been discouraging to be accused of such things? What was their response? Did they display defensiveness? How were they able to handle the accusations with such grace? What was the result?

When people have a different way of doing things, contrary to the established methods or conventions, are they always being rebellious? Are they always to be commended? How can you tell whether they are moving along with the truth or not, and what standard can you use to tell?

What “altars of witness” or remembrance have you built in your life to remind others and succeeding generations what the Lord has done for you?

My prayer is:

That my conscience would be clean from continually obeying the Lord, so that any accusations or misrepresentations against me would be unfounded;

That, if accused, I would be able to respond with clarity and grace, always in love and never in angry defensiveness;

And that I would have an “altar of witness” to always remind me and others of the amazing things God has done in my life.