May 1, 2008
“The LORD alone is God! The LORD alone is God! We have not built the altar in rebellion against the LORD. If we have done so, do not spare our lives this day.
But the LORD knows, and let all Israel know, too, that we have not built an altar for ourselves to turn away from the LORD. Nor will we use it for our burnt offerings or grain offerings or peace offerings. If we have built it for this purpose, may the LORD himself punish us. ”We have built this altar because we fear that in the future your descendants will say to ours, ‘What right do you have to worship the LORD, the God of Israel? Joshua 22:22-24 New Living
Can you imagine building an altar to let the whole world know that you are serving God, only to see an army of angry warriors coming over the hill to crash the party?
That’s what happened to the people of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manassah. Talk about misunderstood! But did you know this is still going on today?
Let’s look at the story in Joshua. The tribes of Israel were descendents of twelve brothers. They became massive nations of people.
They were split up into two different regions. But there was a problem. According to Law (a series of instructions from God), there could only be one Holy place.
So, when they saw that the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manassah had built a massive altar, that made them seriously angry and they put on their gear for war and confronted them.
But their brothers had a good explanation. It wasn’t a Holy place. It was a witness, like a massive monument. They didn’t plan to do sacred things at the altar; they just wanted the whole world to know that they loved God, and to connect the two different tribes with a sign of their faith. They wanted future generations to know that this was a people who served and honored God.
War ended. Peace begins. Brothers unite.
But get this. There is a modern-day revolution going on and some people are struggling to understand. And it all started with a set of brothers–twins.
Alex and Brett Harris started a Google blog with a powerful message of Rebelution!
They weren’t trying to start a cultural war, but they were rebelling against a image of teens as materialistic, shallow, driven by sex and media and addiction. It was their “monument”, saying to everyone who saw it, “we love and serve God and we rebel against the image you try to put on us”.
They wanted the generations after them to know that they DID believe in and serve God with all their heart.
They didn’t know what to expect.
What happened? People started to see the “monument” and they asked questions. More people dropped by to check it out. Curious people, like MSNBC, CNN, NPR, and The New York Times, tuned in. Lot of people didn’t understand. Some criticized. Others mocked these brothers. But a whole lot of people got the message.
Today, the 19-year-old brothers are speaking around the nation, just finished a book titled “Do Hard Things: A Teenage Rebellion Against Low Expectations“, and are hosting Rebelution conferences. The look of the “monument” has changed, but the reason they started it has not.
Real Link: Rebelution
Debbie says:
Cool post!
Deb