The text today contains the charge that Joshua gave to Reuben, Gad, and half of the children of Manasseh who got their own inheritance before the whole nation crossed Jordan. Here, Joshua charged them not to rest, but be armed and help their brethren in the other tribes to lay hold of their own inheritance as well. That was exactly what they did; they fought as if their own inheritance was at stake. After years of conflict that saw the rest of the tribes possess their possession, Joshua blessed them and gave them leave to go and enjoy their inheritance with their families. A robust community spirit was built among the people of God in the Old Testament, and it was meant to be for our example. Their society was structured in such a way that everybody served as their brother’s keeper.

The world will look in our direction once more when they see unfeigned love among brethren. They may argue against our doctrine, but our love will be irresistible.

The community spirit we see among the children of Israel is a foreshadow of the apostolic spirit seen among the early believers. The Bible says that they had all things in common, and no one laid claim to anything he had as his own. That apostolic spirit was the way they radiated the love of God and won their world to Christ. The bane of Christianity today is individualism. The individualistic tendency among believers has also gendered to competition and unhealthy jealousy. If we still want the world to see the beauty that is in Christianity, we must collapse our individual agenda and raise the banner of Christ alone. The world will look in our direction once more when they see unfeigned love among brethren. They may argue against our doctrine, but our love will be irresistible.