Joshua 22 tells an interesting story of how civil war almost struck the nation of Israel at the time of its very founding. The tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh had chosen land east of the Jordan for their inheritance; however, they agreed to cross the Jordan and help the other tribes secure their land. Once the conquest was “finished” (although it really wasn’t), Joshua dismissed these tribes and allowed them to go back to their lands. Joshua sternly warned them to keep the Lord’s commandments.

After they crossed the Jordan river, these “easterners” erected an altar. The other tribes were scandalized to see that their kinsmen had fallen into idolatry so quickly. They determined to erase this blight once and for all, so the Bible says “the whole assembly of Israel gathered at Shiloh to go to war against them.” These men were battle-hardened veterans; they knew what war was, and they were ready to fight.

Fortunately they saw fit to send a delegation ahead of the troops. This delegation learned that the altar had been erected not for the purpose of sacrifice, but as a sign of unity, reminding the people on the east side of the river of their connection to those on the west and reminding their occidental brothers that they too were part of the people of God. (They said that they would be able to say “Behold, the pattern” to any who doubted their connection to God’s people, meaning that their unauthorized altar was a replica of the authorized one. Ironically, that saying became the title of a book against “unauthorized” things in the church.)

The visitors were satisfied with the explanation. The delegation returned to the waiting troops and told them it had all been a misunderstanding. A civil war was averted.

I see a powerful lesson here. We can’t judge by appearances alone. When we see something that looks wrong to us, we should investigate, not accuse. We should always be ready to think the best of our brothers in Christ.

Do we give our brothers the benefit of the doubt, or do we prepare for war? How many Christians fall due to “friendly fire”?

*****

 The Cookie Thief
by Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops.
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, “If I wasn’t so nice, I would blacken his eye.”

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought… oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he’s also rude,
Why he didn’t even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,
Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
The others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.