Communication Breakdown

Joshua 22:10-34

Introduction

As some of you may know, one of my interests is blogging. A blog is a shortened form of web log and it is like a public diary or opinion column posted in the internet. I have been doing this for about fifteen years.

Most of the time when I publish a new post, I get about ten to thirty people reading it that first day. But one time, I actually had 30,000 people read the post. That is not for me to boast but to highlight something that happens all too often.

One day I was scrolling through my Facebook and I saw people sharing links to a number of different websites, all making the same claim. The claim was that the CEO of Starbucks had made a statement that he didn’t want anyone who supported traditional marriage, as opposed to same-sex marriage, as his customers. A lot of conservative Christians were up in arms and calling for boycotts of Starbucks in retaliation.

I knew that the the CEO of Starbucks was an advocate of LGBTQ rights. That was no secret. But it seemed to me rather odd that a CEO would publicly demand that less people purchase his products. It made no business sense.

So I began to do the research to see what he actually said. The quote came from a shareholder’s meeting. One shareholder expressed some financial concern about their support of same-sex marriage. All the CEO said was that if the shareholder was concerned about the financially viability of Starbucks, there were other companies that he could invest in.

The CEO said nothing about customers, he was only speaking to a shareholder. And even to the shareholder, he didn’t demand that he sell his shares, he just pointed out the obvious that people were free to invest in whatever company they thought was the best bet.

Some conservative opinion leaders took this and warped it for their own purposes of fighting the culture war against the liberals. I wrote a post exposing this deception, not seeking to defend Starbucks, but to state the facts truthfully and let people decide on their own. It went viral.

I share this to say that not everything we hear is accurate. This is sometimes referred today as “fake news.” Whether the falsehood is accidental or purposeful, it usually leads to an increase in conflict.

We are going to look at a miscommunication in the Bible that almost led, not to a boycott of a coffee chain, but the death of thousands of people.   

You Built What?!

This story takes place in the time of Joshua, who was the successor to Moses. This was a momentous time for Israel, as after forty years of wondering in the wilderness, they were finally taking the Promised Land. When we speak of Israel, we are speaking of twelve tribes. They had their own identities but they worked together to take the land. The invasion began on one side of the Jordan river and then moved across the water to take the main area of the Promised Land. They did a pretty good job against the Canaanites, in that they were able to settle the land. They were not completely successful, as we see in the book of Judges and there would be ongoing conflict in the years to come.

During this whole process, two and a half of the tribes really liked the one side of the Jordan. This was some of the first territory taken. They agreed to continue the fight with their fellow tribes but when it cam to allot the land, that was the area that they wanted. Everyone was agreed that this was a good idea. So when most of the fighting was done, each tribe went to their own territory.

But then trouble came. There were reports that the two and a half tribes had built an altar on their side of the Jordan. So what’s the problem with this? The Hebrews, in addition to strongly believing in only one God, also believed in only worshiping, in terms of sacrifices, in one place. During the time of King David, that would become Jerusalem but that hadn’t happened yet. At the time of Joshua, the only requirement was that it would be at the tabernacle, that mobile tent that preceded the temple. The tabernacle had the ark of the covenant and only there could sacrifices be made. 

There was always a danger that being on the other side of the Jordan, that the two and half tribes would separate and go their own way. Setting up their own illegitimate altar looked like the first step for these tribes to become unrecognizable as fellow Hebrews. The nine and a half tribes mobilized their troops and prepared for war. This time not against Canaanites but their fellow Israelites, They saw themselves as doing the work of God in this.

The problem is that this was a big misunderstanding. The altar that they built was never meant for sacrifices. They still affirmed the centrality of the tabernacle. They realized that being separated from the rest of the tribes was a danger, especially for the generations to come. So they built this altar to remind people that they serve the same God as those on the other side of the Jordan. The God who gave the land to the nine and a half tribes was the same God who gave the land to the two and half tribes.

But can you see what almost happened? Instead of sending messengers to inquire about the purpose of the altar, they gathered their armies and prepared to fight. Thousands of people on both sides almost died over a miscommunication.

You Said What?!

Some people think the Old Testament is completely irrelevant to our experience today. I believe that this passage is one of the most helpful stories for us as a church today. When we hear something we don’t like, we may not gather our armies, but we do come out fighting.

While this can happen to anyone, I have seen it particularly among Christians. Some thing is said. A look is given. A rumour is spread. We could look into the truth of the matter. But it would save time if we just assumed the worst and sought revenge. I have seen this over and over. On committees, among pastors, and within congregations. 

Jesus gives some very clear guidance about how to deal with conflict. When something happens between you and another person, you always confront the person directly, just the two of us. You don’t start the rumour mill. You don’t gossip in an attempt to destroy their reputation. You talk to them. It may be that you will need to take things farther and involve leadership. It may be that the person will realize what they have done and repent. Or it may be that it is just a big understanding. This has happened to me a number of times. I have confronted the person who seemed to have a problem with me. Once we talked it over, we discovered it was just a misunderstanding. The problem is that it is always easier to come out fighting. Seeking better communication requires work.

Conclusion

Stephen Covey, in his book Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, tells a story of being on a subway. Covey was trying to concentrate on something but this father with two young children came aboard. The children began to misbehave and the father just sat there, seemingly oblivious to what was happening. Covey began to quickly lose patience. He had seen all that he needed to know. Here was a father not motivated to make his children behave properly in public. Covey confronted the man to correct him in his lack of parenting skill. The father seemed to awake as from a daze, apologized, and explained that they were just coming from the hospital where his wife and the children’s mother had just died. Covey didn’t have all the information he needed to judge.

The Israelites almost made a mistake by attacking their own out of zeal for the religious purity of their worship. It could have ended badly because of bad communication.

Look around. Someone here is going to say something or do something that is going to bother you. You will think that you have all the information but you won’t. Instead of coming out fighting, consider talking to the person and finding out what really is happening. It is the harder way but it is also the right way.