Today’s
Scripture Reading (January 18, 2019): Joshua 22
What happens when a river, which forms a border between two nations,
moves? The question was tested on the southern border of the United States when
the Rio Grande at a point between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua,
moved during the 19th century. For a hundred years, the question
over the placement of the border between the U.S. and Mexico was an open
question and the cause of a serious conflict between the two nations. The Rio
Grande moved between 1852 and 1868, with the biggest shift in the river taking
place in 1864. But the issue was not settled with a redrawing of the border
between the United States and Mexico until 1963. In the agreement, the boundary
of between the United States and Mexico was changed to reflect the change in
the Rio Grande, ceding 366 acres of land from the United States to Mexico, and
71 acres changed from Mexico to the United States. And, as part of the
solution, changes were made to the Rio Grande itself to make sure that the
river did not move again in the future, renewing the conflict. Today, in El
Paso, Texas, the Chamizal National Memorial stands to mark both the conflict and the solution to the
problem. The memorial is a reminder of what has caused conflict in the past,
and a reminder that, even if it took a hundred years, a solution was found and
applied to the conflict.
Israel seems to have originally been intended to exist on just the west
side of the Jordan River. But as Israel began to move into Canaan, the tribes
of Reuben and Gad, as well as half of the tribe Manasseh, decided to take their
inheritance on the east side of the Jordan River. But in spite of building
their homes on the east side of the Jordan, they also made the promise that
their men would still cross over the river to fight in Canaan.
Eventually, the men were sent home.
And, after they had returned, they built an altar on the east side, their side,
of the Jordan River. It was not intended to be an altar where sacrifices would be made to God. Those sacrifices would take
place at Shiloh, where the Tabernacle currently resided, on the west side of
the Jordan River. But the altar was set up as a memorial and a reminder. Unlike
the Chamizal National Memorial, which marks a dispute between two nations over
a boundary based on the course of a river,
this altar on the east side of the Jordan River was intended to be a reminder
that this river did not form a boundary between two nations. At least on this
spot, Israel existed on both sides of the Jordan River.
The truth is that rivers make easy boundaries. But in this case, the nation
existed on both sides of the river, and a “Witness Between Us” was erected to
remind the people that Israel existed on both sides of the river; that they
were united, and together formed the nation of Israel.
Tomorrow’s
Scripture Reading: Joshua 23
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