Joshua 22:31 And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.
Have you have ever observed photographs on your phone and realized to your surprise that someone was with you at a particular point in time that you had totally forgotten about? Sometimes my phone recommends photographs to think about from a year ago. It often helps me remember. We travel quite a bit, and I remember where I was by looking at photographs from a year ago. Sometimes I am shocked to realize, “Oh, my sister was there” or “I forgot that this particular friend was here on that occasion.” I am often reminded of my own history by the photographs that I see.
When I read Joshua 22, I was shocked to find a man named Phineas in the story. I forgot that Phinehas was in this story until I saw his “picture”! Who was Phinehas? He was the grandson of Aaron and the son of Eleazar the high priest. He eventually took the priesthood himself. In Numbers 25 Phinehas had stayed the hand of God’s judgment by taking action in a very bold, brave, decisive way. Later, in Joshua 22, Phinehas did almost the same thing a second time, taking brave, bold, decisive action in a similar case against other Israelites.
There were two and a half tribes of Israel who had taken up residence on the other side of Jordan from the rest of Israel. God had allowed this. However, the two and a half tribes worried that because they were separated from the rest of Israel by space and the river Jordan that over time their children might be cut off from the rest of Israel. They were afraid that their children might forget that they were part of Israel and God’s promise. So, they built an altar on their side of the Jordan as a memorial to help remind their children of their identity as part of God’s chosen people.
Well, the rest of Israel, because of the distance and time between them, thought that these two and a half tribes were building an altar in rebellion against God. They thought those tribes were either serving their own gods or serving Jehovah in their own way. They almost came to blows. Phineas, leading this group of Israelites who was going up against these two and a half tribes who had built on the other side of Jordan, took the time to ask these tribes what they were doing. He found out that contrary to being in rebellion against God, this altar they had built was a remembrance of God.
The Bible says in Joshua 22:31, “And Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest said unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the children of Manasseh, This day we perceive that the LORD is among us, because ye have not committed this trespass against the LORD: now ye have delivered the children of Israel out of the hand of the LORD.” I was reminded when I read this that you don’t take action when you should be asking, and you don’t ask when you should take action.
Phinehas was a man of zeal, but he was also a man of inquiry, patience, and obedience. Thought without action is impotent. Many times we say, “Let me think about it.” We know what we should do; we just need to have the courage to do it. There were times in Phineas’ life where he took action instead of sitting around twiddling his thumbs. But, sometime later in Joshua 22 we see that action without thought is ignorant and dangerous. Phineas could have rested on his laurels and said, “I am a man of action. Everyone knows that and God has blessed me for that.” But, there was a time for asking and there was a time for action.
We need to be people of action and people of asking. We should be people who take action when we know what the truth is and we should be people who take time to ask so we can obey God fully. A man of action who doesn’t ask is dangerous, and a man who asks without taking action is without courage and power.