The Pulpit Commentary — Joshua — Section 380

Yer. 21-34: Th~ Reubenites and Gad!tes easily vindicate their conduct. They Im. Ye had no mtent10n of settmg up a nvo,l o,ltar, for they do not mean to offer auy sncrifices except in the place appointed by God. Their altar is to be simply a memo1fal. They hoxe built it under a sort of apprehension that possibly in times to come, their children might be led, in ungrateful forgetfulness of th~ pnst. to forsake the Lord and His service. The Reubenites and Ga.elites teach us a wholesome lesson. It is incumbent on us to strive, as they did, to keep alive the memory of the great things which God has done for us, that we may not fo.ll under the reproach addressed by Christ to His disciples : "How is it that ye do not remember? " (Mark viii. 18). Christ knows how prone we are to forgetfulness. He has therefore given ns two great aids to memory-Holy Scripture and the sacra-. ments. Nothing can ever take the place of the Scriptures. These alone give us the full Ftory of redemption. But it was needful that that story should be brought before us also in a symbolic form, which should appeal vividly to the heart. Bap- tism and the Lord's Supper supply this necessity for the Church. "As often as ye eat this bread and drink this wine, ye do show the Lord's death till he come," says the Master (1 Cor. xi 26). The bread which we break is the communion of the body of Christ, broken for our sins. The cup which we bless is the communion of His blood, shed for our offences. Thus does the Lord's Supper recall to us the sacrifice of Calvary, as the altar of the Reubenites and Gadites brought to their remembrance the tabernacle sacrifices. But they had not, and we have not, to offer for ourseh-es upon this altar of remembrance, for there can be no other sacri- fice than that offered once for all upon the cross. The Mass, by its pretension to be a real sacrifice, belies the true meaning of the Eucharist. The church which cele- brates it commits exactly the error into which the tribes beyond Jordan would hav~ fallen, if they had presumed to offer upon their altar sacrifices which could be legitimately presented only upon the one altar of the nation. Let us be on our guard against materialising the sacraments, and so offering to God a worship which must be abhorrent to Him, since it seeks acceptance in virtue of another than the one efficient and perfect sacrifice.-E. DE P. Yers. 10-34. Misunderstandings wmong good people. Bitter contention often arises from simple misunderstanding. The Israelites were on the verge of a civil war as 11 result of a simple mistake of judgment. Much unhappiness might be avoided if the lessons of this incident were well considered by Christian people. l. CONSIDER THE lNCIDENT IN RELATION TO THE TRANS-J ORDANIC TRIBES, They erected an altar of witness which was supposed by their brethren to be an altar of sacrifice, a rival to the altar at Shiloh, a mark of national secession and religious schism. (1) We should be careful to avoid the appea1·ance of evil. These tribes had voluntarily chosen a. position of isolation. They were now acting in a way which expo6ed their conduct to suspicion. It is our duty to prevent the misinter- pretation of our conduct when possible (a) lest quarrels be engendered; (b) lest the name of God be dishonoured; (cj lest the weak be hindered. (2) We must expect sometimea to be m.isunderstood. There are persona who are always ready to give an eYil interpretatic;n to ambiguous actions. We must not refrain from doing right for feat' of Leing misjudged. False judgment is a trial to be endured with patience !!II. XXTI. 1-34.) '1'1-m 1:Ool{ Ol-' .JO8HUA.