tonight joshua chapter number twenty two where uh... uh... we're nearing the end of the uh... the book of joshua and uh... our series has been victory ahead and so uh... uh... will be uh... seeking lord's direction about where to go next and so you uh... you pray for us as we seek the lord's face on that but uh... joshua chapter number twenty two we're gonna read uh... the first fourteen verses in the last three verses of joshua twenty-two if you found your place and are able please stand for the reverence of the reading of the word of god as we read joshua chapter twenty-two verses one through fourteen and verses thirty-two through thirty-four Joshua twenty-two, verse one, Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and said unto them, Ye have kept all that Moses, the servant of the Lord, commanded you, and have obeyed my voice, and all that I commanded you. You have not left your brethren these many days, and to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God. And now the Lord your God hath given rest unto your brethren, as he promised them. Therefore now return ye, and get you unto your tents, and unto the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you on the other side of Jordan. But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law, which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in all of his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went unto their tents. Now to the one half of the tribe of Manasseh Moses had given possession and bation, but unto the other half thereof gave Joshua among their brethren on this side Jordan westward. And when Joshua sent them away also unto their tents, then he blessed them. And he spake unto them, saying, Return with much riches unto your tents, and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment. Divide the spoil of your enemies with your brethren. And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh returned and departed from the children of Israel. out of Shiloh, which is in the land of Canaan, to go into the country of Gilead, to the land of their possession, whereof they were possessed, according to the word of the Lord by the hand of Moses, when they had come into the borders of Jordan that are in the land of Canaan, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, built there an altar by Jordan, a great altar to see to. And the children of Israel heard say, Behold, the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have built an altar over against the land of Canaan in the border of Jordan at the passage of the children of Israel. And when the children of Israel heard of it, the whole congregation of the children of Israel gathered themselves together at Shiloh to go up to war against them. And the children of Israel sent unto the children of Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half-tribe of Manasseh, and to the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the priest, and with him ten princes of each chief house of a prince throughout all the tribes of Israel. And each one was the head of the house of their fathers among the thousands of Israel. Now turn to verse number 32 through verse number 34. And Phinehas the son of Eliezer the priest and the princes returned from the children of Reuben and from the children of Gad and the land of Gilead and to the land of Canaan to the children of Israel and brought them word again. And the thing pleased the children of Israel and the children of Israel blessed God and did not intend to go up against them in battle to destroy the land wherein the children of Reuben and Gad dwelt. and the children of reuben in the children of dad called the alter aid for it shall be a witness between us that the lord is god may be seated tonight we've already prayed so we'll uh... get started i guess tonight and uh... what's uh... chapter number twenty two which this is the twenty second sermon on uh... are our title of any series on victory ahead and uh... and last week we looked at the course joshua twenty one and and the title last week was the promise keeper not not the organization but the the promise keeper the main promise keeper up uh... one by one from chapter thirteen through chapter number twenty one the lord had been faithfully and giving the children of Israel their inheritance. Just like he said, he told them he would do it. Some of them, he told them the exact portion that they were going to get, and he was faithful to do exactly what he had said several years earlier. Now the Levites, as we said, had no inheritance, for their inheritance was the Lord, as it said in Joshua 13. But he did give them 48 cities that we looked at last week, and six of which of those cities were what they call cities of refuge. These cities, as we looked at, were divinely placed by the Lord. And it wasn't by chance. It wasn't by just a luck of the rolling of the dice or whatever you want. It was divinely placed by God. Now they might have done it by the Urim and the Thummim, or they might have done it by Pebbles, or however how they did it, but it was all divinely orchestrated by God, so He put the cities exactly where He wanted it. And we've looked at that because He did it because by the grace and the mercy of God, He wanted to make sure that everyone that needed a city of refuge had one near. Now had it been by some other circumstance, they might have all ended up in one area. But the Lord wouldn't have it that way. He wanted it all to be spread out. And if you look at it on the map, you can see the hand of God and how that they're strategically placed so that no matter where you're at, whether you're on the wrong side of Jordan or whether you're on the right side of Jordan. He still made a way for everybody to have a city of refuge. That's mercy and that's grace. He did that for them. So we looked at last week the Lord is the promise keeper. He keeps his word. He always keeps his word. That's who he is. And so last week we looked a lot at the Levites. We looked at the first of all the privilege of the Levites. And we looked last week at how it was a privilege to be a Levite. And it's a privilege today to serve the Lord. I didn't look at it today as being a drudgery to have to come tonight. I've been looking forward to it. I've been looking forward to it. I got to wear it on Wednesdays. I come home at about lunch and I get ready for tonight, but I do it because I look forward to coming. It's not a drudgery. When you look back and you think about all the things that the Lord's done for you all these years, how can it be a drudgery? I mean he's done so much and just all he asked of you is to be faithful and it's not a drudgery, it's a privilege to be able to serve him and to do as he asks. And the Levites, we looked at them last week, they weren't perfect. We looked at Simeon and Levi and how their anger and their cruelty and the prophecy of of Jacob and how that he told them, he said, y'all aren't good men. But he don't use perfect people. There's none of us that are perfect. We've all made mistakes. But it's not where you begin, it's where you end. And that's what we looked at last week. We've all had a troubled beginning. May we all not have a troubled end. May our end be victory ahead. And so the Levites weren't perfect, but it was a privilege. And in Numbers 8, verse number 19, it says this, it says, And I have given the Levites as a gift to Aaron and to his sons from among the children of Israel. It was looked upon as a gift to be a Levite. And it was a privilege. And so we looked at the privilege of the Levites and then we also looked at the provisions of the Levites. They didn't have any land. They were landless, but they weren't homeless. The Lord made a way for them, and He made it to where when the people brought offerings that they were able to take a portion of that for the oil and the meat and all that kind of stuff, and that was how they supported their families. He made a way for them, and it wasn't a plan B. That's the way He always had it planned. He always takes care of His own, and He did it for the Levites. They might not have had what the tribe of Judah had. They might not have had what the tribe of Simeon had. All the tribes, some of them were higher, some of them were lower, some of them were more magnified, some of them were more exhorted. they had what the Lord give them and that was a privilege to them they didn't ever look down and say I wish that I had what Judah got no it said it was a gift it was a gift to Aaron the Levites was and so we looked at the privilege we looked at the provisions and then last week we looked at the placement of the Levites He not only made cities of refuge, but he had those 42 other cities that he spread out. And he strategically placed his Levites that were supposed to teach the people the law, the statutes, and the commandments. He made sure that everybody had one. everybody that wanted one ever there was always one near and that's the best the grace of god he he's done that for us i mentioned last week that we've had uh... through the years i can look back in a i wish i had the number of meetings but i don't even know how many there were but there's been meetings after meetings after meetings here in thirty six years and and you've had some of the of the lord's choice choices service come through here And it's not nothing with this area. It's just the grace of God sending them by here. And not only did He send them by here, He sent one here to be here for thirty-six years. placement of the levi's it was the lord's duty to place the levi's where he wanted them the levi's didn't say well i think i would like to go to simeon i think i'd like to go to hebrew no the lord did the sending and they were they would say yes sir i i captain if that's where you want me to go i'll go and i'll park there till you say to go somewhere else and that's exactly what he did he he He placed the Levites. We looked at 2 Timothy 2 last week where it talks about the same commit thou to faithful men who shall be able to teach others also. That's what the Levites were to do. They were to teach the people the commandments and the statutes and everything just like they were supposed to. We looked at John 17 Verse number 20 where he said this, the Lord said, "...neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word." The Levites, the preachers. The witnesses that he sent our way, divinely placed by the Lord, he sent them by. Luke 10.3, we looked at that last week as well, or 10.2, where it says, therefore said he unto them, the harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few. Pray ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest. He didn't say, pray the Lord that he'd send in more money. he didn't say pray the lord that he would send in more good tithers he said pray the lord that he would send forth laborers into the harvest and so that's what his key was so we looked at the privilege we looked at the provisions We looked at the placement of the Levites. But then lastly, last week, we looked at the promises of the Lord. He is the promise keeper. And we looked at the last three verses of chapter number 21 of Joshua, where it says, And the Lord gave unto Israel all the land which he swore to give unto their fathers, and they possessed it, and dwelt therein. And the Lord gave them rest, Round about, according to all that he sware unto their fathers, and there stood not a man of all their enemies before them, the Lord delivered all their enemies into their hand. There failed not ought of any good thing which the Lord had spoken unto the house of Israel. All came to pass." Now I told you last week, or at least I hope I did, I meant to if I didn't, but that word ought There in the Hebrew means, the smallest detail. and basically what it's saying is this is their failed not even the smallest detail that he did not bring the past that he had told me and he was going to do not even the smallest detail he he kept every one of them everything that he told him he would do he's the promise keeper and if he's told you anything if he's told you anything you can put it in the bank it'll come to pass because he's the promise keeper so uh... we we said that abraham abraham there there might be many times where abraham out his promise that but abraham at all after after he was saying they were happy to look back it's a he's he's faithful david would say the same thing maybe when david was with five delight there are five in the line the barrier and he might have had he might have had a second uh... he might had second chances are second he might look back and say who is this But after he looked back and he said he was faithful, everything he told me come to pass. And he'll do it to you. One of these days, one of these days, you'll look back and you'll say, boy, I was going through a hard time. I didn't think there was a way, but I looked back and he was faithful the whole way. You'll do that one of these days. And whenever you do, look me up and tell me about it. But anyway, Joshua 22, we looked at tonight. We're gonna entitle it One True Altar. there's only one true alter and we're gonna look at it here in in Joshua chapter number twenty-two now my bible i've got a cambridge mine don't have it but when i had a scoffield and i've got several at home above this chapter here it says the schismatic alter and yours may have that too but basically the schismatic paul said in first corinthians twelve i think he's talking about the body of christ and he said let there be no schism in the body. Now a schism is a split. It's a separation. It's a division. And Paul said there shouldn't be one in the body of Christ. But now this altar here, what they call the schismatic altar, it made a division there for a while. We're going to look at it here in a minute, but you saw where I read it that they almost went to war over it. They were ready to go to war over it. It was a big deal. Because there's only one altar. And the Western tribes, they said, hey, there's only one altar. And it ain't for sale. And we're ready to go to war over it. And so we're going to look at it. But it says, but one true altar. Now an altar is in the Old Testament the place where the sacrifices were made. And it's a place where the priests met with God. It was the holy place. It was a place where their sins were atoned for for another year. And it was a very important place. Very important. And there was only one. It was in Shiloh. They was the only one. And so, John 14, 6 says this, Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Basically, what he's saying is, he said, you want to come to the Father, you got to come through me. You can try to do church membership, you can try baptism, you can try believing, you can try whatever you want to. There's only one altar. There's only one way, and that's through me. And that's what he was saying. You may think you've found another way, a loophole or something like that, and it may feel good for a while, but it won't work. When the times come, there'll be a time when it'll wear off. Time will tell. So today, we see the same thing. There's only one true altar. But we see people trying to go different ways. We've seen in recent days the truth being diluted, if you will. The truth, it ain't fast enough for them and it ain't getting them the numbers that they want. So they're trying to modify the altar and make another way and another method and it ain't going to work. but but they're trying it and so we see churches on all sides of other they're coming together ecumenical movement or whatever they have uh... ecumenical i think what they call it but anyway you got that the bad news in the church of christ in the present arians in the apis capellians and uh... i don't know what all they are coming together and they'll have you know big times they'll have these camp meetings and stuff together and they'll say well it don't matter we're all trying to the same place and and and and and and that's what they all say they say well it's a it's ok because we're all we're all trying for the same point uh... but but it don't work that way uh... they think it's ok i read it sunday morning in matthew seven twenty-two it says many will say to me in that day lord lord have we not prophesied in nineteen and we not passed out devils in nineteen have we not done all these mighty works and then the next verse says he'll say to them depart from me you the workers of iniquity I never I never knew you I never even I never was intimate with you I never knew you at any time So what he's gonna say to them? You say, well, that's pretty narrow. You must think that only the Baptists are going to heaven. I'm worse than that. I don't think 99% of them are gonna make it. Maybe more than 99%. You say, why? Because I just, I look at the fruit. I look at the fruit and I look at the... I can tell by looking at the fruit that the root ain't ever been changed. And so that's the only thing I've got to go on. And just because you're a Baptist on the outside of the steeple out there don't mean that you're going to heaven. What have you done with Christ? That's the only thing that's going to matter. John 14, 6, "...I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh to the Father but by me." So as we look at this, I want to look at one true altar. And there are four things here that I want to look at. I want to look at, first of all, the commendation of the Eastern tribes. And then I want to look at the construction of the altar. And then I want to look at the consternation of the Western tribes. But like I said, they were pretty upset. They were ready to go to war. And then lastly, I want to see the consideration of the altar. Those four things I want to look at here and looking at that there's only one true altar. you might think you found another one but there's only one true jesus said i am not i am the way uh... there there's no other self uh... the commendation first of all of the eastern trial now verses 2 through 4 of Joshua 22 here talks about them and unless you forget where the eastern tribes came from the eastern tribes when they were coming across they had cattle and it when they came to it in numbers uh... numbers thirty who i think they like uh... that that he should not try it's up rubin dad and i have tried but that's a big they got moses and i said hey moses we've got much cattle in this land is good for cattle can we inherit this land and moses and he was kindly uh... he he he's locked uh... me sometimes he he don't understand why some people do what they do but he and god said that's fine but he told him he said here's what's gonna happen buddy he said you're gonna go and you're gonna you're able-bodied me and your warriors they're gonna go and they're gonna fight with their brethren and then after they have to do the land and after they've got their inheritance then you can go back and you can have your your area where the cattle can graze And that's exactly what they did. They left their children and they left their wives and the elderly that weren't battle-hardened. They left them and they went. And like we said a couple of weeks ago, this was over about a seven to an eight-year period of time here. They left their family for some seven, eight years to make sure that their brethren had their inheritance and their land. But now they've come to the point to where everybody has gotten their land. and in these eastern tribes here joshua tells them he basically says to him in verse number two he says and he said unto them ye have kept all that moses the servant of the lord commanded you and you have obeyed my voice and all that i've commanded you he's basically tell them he said hey i i appreciate y'all he's like y'all made a commitment to god that you would go over and you would help your brethren you would fight their battles in the end whenever they came into their land the and and not until the end you would go back to your land he said y'all y'all kept your commitment and y'all stayed with the stuff and y'all fought just like it was your land in joshua said i i commend y'all y'all did the right thing and I commend y'all for that and basically what Joshua was saying here is he said y'all been faithful y'all might have made wrong decisions and hey I got news for you we've all made wrong decisions but you can't always keep looking back at those wrong decisions and it almost seems like joshua saying hey y'all y'all may y'all made a commitment that day to follow the lord and to do it up uh... honor that commitment and he said y'all did it y'all were faithful joshua said i appreciate it he commended them and he told them thanks for basically honoring their word and like i said we've all made bad decisions but instead of focusing on the past may we start today and say hey by the grace of god i ain't gonna look back i'm not gonna dwell on those past mistakes i'm gonna do what the lord wants me to from here on out And by the grace of God, I'm going to follow Him, and I'm going to do what I can to stay in the Word, and I'm going to do all I can to stay in that road of life. Move from the broad way to the narrow way, and I'm going to let Him teach me in the way, and I'm not going to buck, I'm not going to fight, and I'm just going to stay with God. And that's almost like Joshua said, I appreciate it. Y'all might have made a bad decision, but you've been faithful, and I commend you for that. Not only Did he tell them that they were faithful? But he also, in verse number five, he said that they need to follow. Now verse number five, he said this, he said, Joshua told him, he said, but take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses, the servant of the Lord, charged you, to love the Lord your God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his commandments, and to cleave unto him, and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul. He said, he said, boys, I commend you, y'all were faithful. But he said, as you go back, I want you to stay. I want you to follow. I want you to keep on following God. Even when you go back to your home on the wrong side of Jordan, you still need to follow the Lord no matter what. He went through these things. He said, take diligent heed. That diligent heed means to make a hedge about you. Make a hedge about yourself and just say, hey, I'm not going to let anything get inside this circle that ain't a God and I'm going to stay after it. It means to fortify yourself. Take diligent heed. And he said, take diligent heed to love your God. He said, take heed to walk in His ways. Not those people there in Jeremiah. They didn't say, we will not walk therein. Joshua said, hey, you better walk in his ways. When you go back over there, you tell them they need to walk in his ways. I love the Lord, walk in his ways. Keep his commandments. That word keep there is another word for fortify. Keep them. Don't let the devil get in there and steal it. Fortify it. Fortify. Keep his commandments. He said, cleave unto him. That word cleave means to clean. That means to stick. It basically, without saying it, it means to stick like glue. Joshua said, cleave to him. Constrain him. Don't let him go. If you ever get a hold of him, you hang on. You don't let him go. You cling to him. Stick like glue. And then he said, serving with all your heart, serving with all your soul. He said, when y'all go back over there, he said, I'm not always going to be here to tell you. But when you go back there, that's what you need to do. You've been faithful, but I urge you to keep following on. Keep on following. Don't ever quit following, is what Joshua said to him. So we see the commendation of the Eastern tribes. but then we see the construction of this altar in verse number ten it says this it says that when they had come into the borders of jordan that are in the land of canyon the children of reuben in the children of gad in the half tribe of manasseh built there an altar by jordan a great altar to see to now at this point in time nobody knows why they built the altar It just says they built an altar. And we don't know the purpose of the altar. And I think that the writer and the Holy Ghost put it this way because, hey, if not, people would have said, oh, the Western tribes, they overreacted. But, hey, they didn't know. All they know is that they see a big altar over there and they don't know what it's for. And they're talking about the Eastern tribes that, frankly, hadn't had a very good track record of following God. And so they didn't know what it was for. All they know is that it's a great altar to see to. Basically what it means is that it was a big ol' altar and you could see it from a pretty good far away. and they didn't know what it was for. It was constructed there and now we see later in the chapter that it seems as though it was built, and I don't understand it all, but it seems as though that the altar was built because they were afraid that their children might, I guess, be cut off from the other tribes. because it's a we'll get into it in a little bit but but but basically what happened is is that they said uh... hey we we're not we're not close enough to the author in shallow we're we're over here on the other side of jordan and they they make mention about the lord put in a boundary but the lord didn't do that They made their own choice. It's that old saying, you make your bed, you're going to have to lie in it. And that's exactly what happened. And now they're trying to say, well, the Lord did this and the Lord did that. It's just like hardening your heart. That's exactly what them people wanted. So the Lord just give them what they wanted. They wanted that land on that side. And so that's what happened. Basically in Numbers chapter 32 verse number 1 through 5, Numbers 32 verse number 1 through 5, it says this, it says, This is what I was talking about a while ago, the two-and-a-half tribes, they made their decision, they're going to have to deal with it. But Numbers 32, verses 1 through 5, it says, Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle. And when they saw the land of Jazar and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle. The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses and to Eliezer the priest, and said unto the princes of the congregation, saying, Adaroth, and Dibon, and Jazar, and Nimrod, and Heshbon, and Eliele, and Sheban, and Nebo, and Beyon, even the country which the Lord smote before the congregation of Israel, it's a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle. and say, Moses, let's strike a deal here. That's a good place for cattle. And hey, we got cattle. We'll just stay over here if that'd be okay with you. They were all for it back then. But now, now they're all trying to blame the Lord and say, the Lord put a boundary between us and we can't get over there. But hey, you made your decision, you made your bed and you're gonna have to lie in it. And so, we see the commendation of the Eastern tribes, and we see the construction of the altar. But thirdly, we see the consternation of the Western tribes. Now, keep in mind, the Eastern tribes, as I said, they had already decided once that they wanted to stay on the wrong side of Jordan. They had a track record of not making very good decisions. So when it came to them and the Western tribes heard that, hey, there's a great altar over there, they were they were they were upset about it because there's only one alter the lord only only only said there'd be one alter that was in shiloh and so they were they were pretty upset about it now in verse number eleven it says this is this and the children of israel heard say by the way they heard they heard they heard somebody say something about this all through Now in Deuteronomy 13 it talks about what we would call hearsay, if you want to call it that, but in Deuteronomy 13 it says this, it says, verse number uh... thirteen verses uh... twelve uh... uh... the army thirteen twelve three fifteen it says if al shall hearsay in one of my cities which the lord by god has given me to dwell there saying certain me and the children of a lot of our gone out from among you and have withdrawn the inhabitants of their city saying, Let us go and serve other gods which ye have not known. Then shalt thou inquire, and make search, and ask diligently, and behold, if it be truth and the thing certain that such abomination is wrought among you, then shalt thou surely smite the inhabitants of that city with the edge of the sword. now basically it's the same situation here the western tribes have heard that hey there's there's another author over there that's not sanctioned by god god said there was only going to be one author and it's here in shiloh and so we we've heard it said we don't know for sure so they said we need to get a party together and we need to go over there and we need to investigate and if it be true we're ready to go to war over it It was that important to them. There was only going to be one author, and it was important to them. They were ready to go to war. And so, when they heard about it, it caused consternation. There was only one true author, and we see that in Deuteronomy 12, verse number 1 through 5, which it says, These are the statutes and judgments which ye shall observe to do in the land which the Lord thy God of thy fathers giveth thee to possess it. all the days that ye live upon the earth. Ye shall utterly destroy all the places wherein the nations which ye shall possess serve their gods upon the high mountains, and upon the hills, and under every green tree. And ye shall overthrow their altars, and break their pillars, and burn their groves with fire. And ye shall hew down the graven images of their gods, and destroy the names of them out of that place. Ye shall not do so unto the Lord your God." Basically, what he's saying is, when you get into the land, I want you to destroy every one of them altars over there. I want you to burn them. I want you to destroy the groves, all of it. You do it when you get over there. And then verse number 5, he says, unto the place which the Lord your God shall choose out of all your tribes to put his name there even unto his habitation shall you seek and fither thou shalt come basically he says when you get over there boys I want you to I want you to knock down and burn every one of them altars over there every one of them pillars every one of them groves and I'll set up one place over there that you're gonna come to and they did exactly what the lord said and they put it in the shallow that's where the lord told me put it and and it was such a big consternation and such concern because now there's a second one who told them to put that second one over there that that's what they're thinking that they're thinking that uh... that they were they were concerned about it now you say why were they were concerned the first of all they were concerned because as a nation they've already learned that one tribe or one person could stand and the whole nation would be affected it mentions it here in verse number seventeen uh... it mentions the iniquity of the or now now the iniquity of p or a the the the the israelite the the me and they were committing whoredoms with the the the women of moab and the lord told moses he said i want you to get every one of them that was involved in that i want you to hang on and it must have been pretty harsh because it says that they were all in the congregation there they were weeping And while they were weeping, it says that a man and a woman ran through. And they knew that it was not one of theirs. It was, I think, a Midianitish woman, it said. And Phinehas, this man right here that was going over there to look at that altar, he saw it. The Bible said he took a javelin in his hand, and he followed them to wherever they were going. And he just drove the javelin through both of them. Killed the man and the woman both at the same time. And it says because of that the Lord turned away his anger and all those people didn't have to be hung and die like that. But Phinehas was there. So he knew whenever he told the eastern tribes there, he said, is it not enough that the iniquity of Peor, don't you remember that? When the Lord told Moses to hang everybody that was involved in that? Don't you remember that even though it wasn't everybody that it was going to affect the whole nation? And then he went down to the next one in verse number 20, and he said, well, if you don't remember Peor, what about Achan? Boys, don't y'all remember Achan? Achan wasn't the only one that was affected in his sin. There was 36 men that did not come home that night after the battle of Ai, all because of one man's sin. And then not only did it just cost Akin his life, it called Miss Akin, and Son Akin, and Daughter Akin, and Donkey Akin, and Camel, all of them. And basically, Phinehas is saying here is, y'all gotta be careful because one sin, it could affect the whole nation here. And they were ready for war. They said it shouldn't be this way, that there's only one altar, and if you're going to be that way, I'll go back and we'll gather up our army and we'll come back and we'll take care of it. They didn't want to do that. They wanted unity is what they wanted. and i don't know about you but but i i i like having friends and i like having you know preachers come into the church and stuff but but but just to have unity i ain't gonna sacrifice truth and basically that's what the the the the western tribes they said hey we love you y'all are our kinfolk we'd love to have unity with you but if it comes down to you having another altar we're going to war And that's the way, I'm serious, I'd love to have unity. I'd love to have all these preachers come in, but if they don't preach right, what have you got? You might get somebody and pluck them green, and then they think they're okay, and 20 years down the road, then they have to shuck that and get right again. Well, I say it's not for sale. And these people said, hey, it's war, because one sin could cost the whole nation. Not only that, they were concerned because they had children. They thought, hey, we know the difference. We know that the Lord only sanctioned one altar, and it's here in Shiloh. But when we're passed off the scene, our children might say, hey, that one over there is bigger and better than the one in Shiloh. We want to go serve that one. it ain't right. And we're going to war over it because we're going to settle it right now. That's what they were thinking. They were taking the long look. The book of Peter says that some people don't take the long look. They just serve on the altar of today. They don't think about what's coming 20 years from now. But these people here, they did. They took the long look. And they said, if we sacrifice it now on the altar of today, our children may go to a false altar, and we ain't going to have it. We're going to war. And so they were concerned because of the sins of the nation. They were concerned because they had sons and daughters. They didn't want They didn't want their kids to offer strange fire. That's what Nadab and Abihu did. They offered strange fire in Leviticus 10. The Bible says that they offered strange fire which the Lord commanded them not. Basically, another altar or doing it a new way. The Lord didn't sanction it and so Nadab and Abihu died. And so, to them, we may think, oh, you know, it was another author. It ain't that big of a deal. No, it was a big deal to them. They were ready to go to war. It was a big deal. And so, many are offering strange fire today. Like I said earlier, the old way ain't working. It ain't quick enough. we got a big we got to figure something out what was we got we got a we got we got to do something uh... we we got to just tell them to believe or or we got a bomb big actor we got to do something boys can get a working and it's offering strange fire is what it is and so so so whenever whenever preacher don't come back here uh... you may think well that wouldn't fair you got to take a long look You might know the difference and you might know what's right and what's wrong, but we got people here that may not. And they might get taken down the wrong road. And then 20 years from now, they're offering at a strange altar. So it's serious. It's more serious than what you think. When you read this here, you might be thinking, well, those people there, they just jumped to conclusions. It wasn't really that big of a deal. Yeah, it was. It was a big deal. And some of you probably think, well, it ain't that big of a deal. He just said this or he just said that. But it is a big deal. It is a big deal. And so people are trying to come up with new methods. They're trying to come up with new translations. Hey, the King James ain't working. Let's try another one. And then if that ain't working, we'll put something into modern language so maybe they can understand it better. uh... they're they're trying all kinds of new things up you've heard it's been said that if it's not it's not true if it's all it's been told and i've had a song the old old story will be my theme in glory just to tell the old old story of jesus and his love the old old story There is another song, Oh no, the old story will never grow old. How Jesus died to save my soul. Oh no, the old story will never grow old. That story will never grow old. The old story. It was important to Israel and it should be important to us. They were ready to break fellowship. They were ready to go to war over doctrine. They were ready because there is only one true author. Only one true altar. The truth, as I said, is more important than the outward show of unity. I love unity, but we can't sacrifice it if it becomes the truth. And so we see the commendation of the Eastern tribe. We see the construction of the altar. We see the consternation of the West tribe. And then lastly, we see the consideration of the altar. Now, as I said, when it comes to hearsay, the Bible said that you were to go over there and you were to investigate it and figure out if those things were true. And if they were, you'd come back and you'd go over there and you'd slay them with a sword. so just like the bible said they chose phinehas the son of eliezer the priest and he took ten princes with him and they went over there and they analyzed it and they investigated and they talked to those men and and phinehas goes over there and and i'll be honest with you i don't i don't understand a lot about why they did this Why would they build that altar there? But in verse number 26, the men said this, they said, Therefore we said, let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, and not for sacrifice. So, in verse number 28, it says, Therefore said we that it should be when they should say so to us and to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold, the pattern of the altar of the Lord, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, not for sacrifices, but it is a witness between us and you. and then later on in the chapter it says that Phinehas was pleased. I don't know why they would do something like that. I mean you made your bed and you've got a lie in it. You've got the altar of God over there in Shiloh and now you come over here and you make another altar just to be a witness to that other altar. that you're not burning sacrifices on and then you're not doing nothing we have it's just a memorial or a witness in and so it's not to be honest i don't know if they were being up front with it within a hands-on but but it but it seems as though that they just wanted they didn't have one on their side and they wanted something that their children can look to and say this is all through of the lord not all for sacrifices not all not to offer anything the real ones over in shia law and like i said why they would do that i don't i don't know it seems as though once finna has uh... inquired about it that he come back to the congregation and he said i'm pleased them with with what you know i'm pleased i don't i don't see nothing wrong with it there's no sense in going to war And they said that they called the name of the altar Ed, which means witness, and they said that the Lord God is witness, or we're witnesses with you that the Lord, He is God. Now, like I said, I don't know a lot about that situation there. But when I think about that, it makes me want to go back to the ultimate altar. the altar. When I consider this altar, I think about Calvary where there's only one true altar. There's only one. I am the way. the truth, the lie, no man cometh to the Father but by me." When I was looking at this, talking about these altars, I automatically went back to Calvary and how that the Lamb of God was sacrificed on that altar of wood for us, for you, for me, for our sins. That also should be a witness. Like this altar here, they called it Ed, which means a witness. What he did on Calvary is a witness to us about his love to us. And he wouldn't have done that if he hadn't have loved you. I thought about this afternoon that crown of thorns. I thought about the beating and all that that he took. And that was before he even got to the cross. He got to the cross and then God the Father poured all the iniquity and all the wrath on him. He was the sacrifice on the altar that was totally consumed. They talked about those sacrifices in the Old Testament that was an oblation that was totally consumed. He bore it all. all of it for me for you uh... in in in if it would have just been for you he'd be he'd done it if you know i had only been for the one person he would have done it but it was a witness uh... of his love toward us and like i said i i thought this whole time that that They were trying to do something underhanded about doing this other altar, but when I got to studying it, it seems like Eliezer's son, Phinehas, come back and he was pleased with it. and so i don't know but what what i got out of the s was is that even though they built an alter for no sacrifices no burn offerings there was only one alter one true alter that was instituted by by the lord he told me to put it in the shallow in for anybody else to do anything else other than what the lord said it meant war because it was it was it was that that big of a deal it was serious and so that they were they if it had been if they would've went over there and they said yeah we're gonna offer we're gonna offer sacrifices on it we're gonna do everything on that altar then the heads would've come back and he said boys let's let's let's horse up now we're gonna go we're gonna go to war I'd love to be they're my brethren and I'd love to be to have fellowship and have unity with them but if they're gonna go against God and they're gonna go against truth like that boys let's go over there and take care of them and so i there there again i one true walter i don't know the whole story behind it other than what's what's here uh... in but i do know that there is just one true author jesus said i am the way i am the truth and i'm alive no man come up to the father but by me but because of that ultimate sacrifice on the cross of calvary all those that are in him there will be victory here and that there will be victory and maybe not today maybe not tomorrow uh... but ultimately because of that sacrifice and those that are in him there will be victory and there is only one Lord, I thank you for the day. Lord, I thank you for the blessings of the day. I thank you for being so good to me. And Lord, I thank you for this picture that lets us know that, Lord, there's some things worth fighting for. And Lord, I believe if he'd have come back and he'd have said, boys they're over there they're they're they're offering strange fire and they're doing this and that i that they were ready to fight in a drop of a hat because it was that important to them and lord i i hope uh... i i i can only hope that we would do the same thing i hope that we've got convictions that are deep enough that that if you come down to it lord we'd be willing to fight for them and uh... it's going to come a time lord when I believe it's going to get so bad with the way the country is going, and this and that, that Lord, for those that they don't have those deep convictions, Lord, I'm afraid they ain't going to make it. They ain't going to get in. And so, Lord, help us, Lord, to get deep convictions. And like we preached on Sunday night, help us to get those convictions before it even becomes an issue. May we get them down deep in there now and say, Lord, by the grace of God, I'm going to follow this right here as it's conviction for me. lord of the the children of israel those those nine-and-a-half tribes lord they they had a conviction that that there was only one true alter and or help us to get those same convictions out i pray that you'll help us in the days to come lord our meeting is only a week and a half away and lord i i know that you can work anytime anyway in anyhow and the lord a lot of times we put focus on the meaning and lord that that's rightly so that i pray that you help for the justice economy Lord, just load him up. Lord, may he be ready both barrels when he comes and have the things that we're most in need of. And then, Lord, may we be prepared, Lord, to answer the call as the old saying goes. And then, Lord, on top of all that, may your spirit just fall on this place like it's never had before. And then, Lord, all is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes down. Lord, we need you. I pray that you'll move on us. speak to us this week lord i pray that you help me as i prepare for sunday and lord i just uh you you know my heart i i just want to do what you'd have me to do i want to be a help i i i get help out of putting the the the messages together i i guess you could say i preach it to myself first and then lord they've been a great help to me and And so Lord, I pray that you'd help me and give me something that I need also. I need help, and I pray that you'd give me something for the people as well. But go with us now, help us, keep us safe in your love, and bring us back safely Sunday, and just do an amazing work here Sunday, if it be your will. Just go with us now, in Jesus' name, amen.