22 The ùGod of gods, Jehovah, the ùGod of gods, Jehovah, he knoweth, and Israel he shall know [it]; if it is in rebellion, or if in trespass against Jehovah, -- save us not this day!
then hear thou in the heavens, the settled place of thy dwelling, and forgive, and do, and render unto every man according to all his ways, whose heart thou knowest (for thou, thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men),
For Jehovah your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of lords, the great ùGod, the mighty and the terrible, who regardeth not persons, nor taketh reward;
Since thou knowest that I am not wicked, and that there is none that delivereth out of thy hand?
I Jehovah search the heart, I try the reins, even to give each one according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
He says to him the third time, Simon, [son] of Jonas, art thou attached to me? Peter was grieved because he said to him the third time, Art thou attached to me? and said to him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I am attached to thee. Jesus says to him, Feed my sheep.
But Jesus himself did not trust himself to them, because he knew all [men], and that he had not need that any should testify of man, for himself knew what was in man.
And they prayed, and said, Thou Lord, knower of the hearts of all, shew which one of these two thou hast chosen,
and when Peter went up to Jerusalem, they of the circumcision contended with him, saying, Thou wentest in to men uncircumcised and hast eaten with them. But Peter began and set forth [the matter] to them in order, saying, I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in an ecstasy I saw a vision, a certain vessel descending like a great sheet, let down by four corners out of heaven, and it came even to me: on which having fixed mine eyes, I considered, and saw the quadrupeds of the earth, and the wild beasts, and the creeping things, and the fowls of the heaven. And I heard also a voice saying to me, Rise up, Peter, slay and eat. And I said, In no wise, Lord, for common or unclean has never entered into my mouth. And a voice answered the second time out of heaven, What God has cleansed, do not *thou* make common. And this took place thrice, and again all was drawn up into heaven; and lo, immediately three men were at the house in which I was, sent to me from Caesarea. And the Spirit said to me to go with them, nothing doubting. And there went with me these six brethren also, and we entered into the house of the man, and he related to us how he had seen the angel in his house, standing and saying [to him], Send [men] to Joppa and fetch Simon, who is surnamed Peter, who shall speak words to thee whereby *thou* shalt be saved, thou and all thy house. And as I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them even as upon us also at the beginning. And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, John baptised with water, but *ye* shall be baptised with [the] Holy Spirit. If then God has given them the same gift as also to us when we had believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who indeed was *I* to be able to forbid God? And when they heard these things they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then indeed God has to the nations also granted repentance to life.
If then I have done any wrong and committed anything worthy of death, I do not deprecate dying; but if there is nothing of those things of which they accuse me, no man can give me up to them. I appeal to Caesar.
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord we persuade men, but have been manifested to God, and I hope also that we have been manifested in your consciences.
The God and Father of the Lord Jesus knows -- he who is blessed for ever -- that I do not lie.
who only has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light; whom no man has seen, nor is able to see; to whom [be] honour and eternal might. Amen.
and her children will I kill with death; and all the assemblies shall know that *I* am he that searches [the] reins and [the] hearts; and I will give to you each according to your works.
And he has upon his garment, and upon his thigh, a name written, King of kings, and Lord of lords.
For rebellion is [as] the sin of divination, And selfwill is [as] iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of Jehovah, He hath also rejected thee from being king.
But he knoweth the way that I take; he trieth me, I shall come forth as gold.
If I have walked with falsehood, and my foot hath hasted to deceit, (Let me be weighed in an even balance, and +God will take knowledge of my blamelessness;) If my step have turned out of the way, and my heart followed mine eyes, and if any blot cleaveth to my hands; Let me sow, and another eat; and let mine offspring be rooted out.
If my land cry out against me, and its furrows weep together; If I have eaten the fruits thereof without money, and have tormented to death the souls of its owners: Let thistles grow instead of wheat, and tares instead of barley. The words of Job are ended.
Jehovah my God, if I have done this, if there be iniquity in my hands; If I have rewarded evil to him that was at peace with me; (indeed I have freed him that without cause oppressed me;) Let the enemy pursue after my soul, and take [it], and let him tread down my life to the earth, and lay my glory in the dust. Selah.
{A Psalm of Asaph.} God standeth in the assembly of ùGod, he judgeth among the gods.
For Jehovah is a great ùGod, and a great king above all gods.
Give thanks unto the God of gods, for his loving-kindness [endureth] for ever;
{To the chief Musician. A Psalm of David.} Jehovah, thou hast searched me, and known [me]. *Thou* knowest my down-sitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off; Thou searchest out my path and my lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways; For there is not yet a word on my tongue, [but] lo, O Jehovah, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thy hand upon me. O knowledge too wonderful for me! it is high, I cannot [attain] unto it. Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? and whither flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into the heavens thou art there; or if I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou [art there]; [If] I take the wings of the dawn [and] dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, Even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me. And if I say, Surely darkness shall cover me, and the light about me be night; Even darkness hideth not from thee, and the night shineth as the day: the darkness is as the light.
The king answered Daniel and said, Of a truth it is that your God is the God of gods, and the Lord of kings, and a revealer of secrets, because thou wast able to reveal this secret.
And the king shall do according to his will; and he shall exalt himself, and magnify himself above every ùgod, and speak monstrous things against the ùGod of ùgods; and he shall prosper until the indignation be accomplished: for that which is determined shall be done.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Joshua 22
Commentary on Joshua 22 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 22
Many particular things we have read concerning the two tribes and a half, though nothing separated them from the rest of the tribes except the river Jordan, and this chapter is wholly concerning them.
Jos 22:1-9
The war being ended, and ended gloriously, Joshua, as a prudent general, disbands his army, who never designed to make war their trade, and sends them home, to enjoy what they had conquered, and to beat their swords into plough-shares and their spears into pruning-hooks; and particularly the forces of these separate tribes, who had received their inheritance on the other side Jordan from Moses upon this condition, that their men of war should assist the other tribes in the conquest of Canaan, which they promised to do (Num. 32:32), and renewed the promise to Joshua at the opening of the campaign, Jos. 1:16. And, now that they had performed their bargain, Joshua publicly and solemnly in Shiloh gives them their discharge. Whether this was done, as it was placed, not till after the land was divided, as some think, or whether after the war was ended, and before the division was made, as others think (because there was no need of their assistance in dividing the land, but only in conquering it, nor were there any of their tribes employed as commissioners in that affair, but only of the other ten, Num. 34:18, etc.), this is certain, it was not done till after Shiloh was made the head-quarters (v. 2), and the land was begun to be divided before they removed from Gilgal, ch. 14:6.
It is probable that this army of Reubenites and Gadites, which had led the van in all the wars of Canaan, had sometimes, in the intervals of action, and when the rest of the army retired into winter-quarters, some of them at least, made a step over Jordan, for it was not far, to visit their families, and to look after their private affairs, and perhaps tarried at home, and sent others in their room more serviceable; but still these two tribes and a half had their quota of troops ready, 40,000 in all, which, whenever there was occasion, presented themselves at their respective posts, and now attended in a body to receive their discharge. Though their affection to their families, and concern for their affairs, could not but make them, after so long an absence, very desirous to return, yet, like good soldiers, they would not move till they had orders from their general. So, though our heavenly Father's house above be ever so desirable (it is bishop Hall's allusion), yet must we stay on earth till our warfare be accomplished, wait for a due discharge, and not anticipate the time of our removal.
Jos 22:10-20
Here is,
Jos 22:21-29
We may suppose there was a general convention called of the princes and great men of the separate tribes, to give audience to these ambassadors; or perhaps the army, as it came home, was still encamped in a body, and not yet dispersed; however it was, there were enough to represent the two tribes and a half, and to give their sense. Their reply to the warm remonstrance of the ten tribes is very fair and ingenuous. They do not retort their charge, upbraid them with the injustice and unkindness of their threatenings, nor reproach them for their rash and hasty censures, but give them a soft answer which turns away wrath, avoiding all those grievous words which stir up anger; they demur not to their jurisdiction, nor plead that they were not accountable to them for what they had done, nor bid them mind their own business, but, by a free and open declaration of their sincere intention in what they did, free themselves from the imputation they were under, and set themselves right in the opinion of their brethren, to do which they only needed to state the case and put the matter in a true light.
Jos 22:30-34
We have here the good issue of this controversy, which, if there had not been on both sides a disposition to peace, as there was on both sides a zeal for God, might have been of ill consequence; for quarrels about religion, for want of wisdom and love, often prove the most fierce and most difficult to be accommodated. But these contending parties, when the matter was fairly stated and argued, were so happy as to understand one another very well, and so the difference was presently compromised.