“A Witness Between Us and You” The Principles of Fellowship and Brotherly Dealings in the time period of Joshua

A brief Health and Welfare report of the 12 ecclesias in the time of Joshua with corresponding lessons for us today.A brief Health and Welfare report of the 12 ecclesias in the time of Joshua with corresponding lessons for us today. The events surrounding a controversy that arose between the tribes of Israel, and to see how it was resolved and the lessons of fellowship and brotherly dealings that are found therein.The events surrounding a controversy that arose between the tribes of Israel, and to see how it was resolved and the lessons of fellowship and brotherly dealings that are found therein.

TribeNum. 1Num. 26Fluctuation Reuben Simeon Gad Judah Issachar Zebulun Ephraim Manasseh Benjamin Dan Asher Naphtali 46,500 59,300 45,650 74,600 54,400 57,400 40,500 32,200 35,400 62,700 41,500 53,400 43,730 22,200 40,500 76,500 64,300 60,500 32,500 52,700 45,600 64,400 53,400 45,500 -2, ,100 -5,150 +1,900 +9,900 +3,100 -8, , ,200 +1, ,900 -8,000

Ecclesias Flourish, and Ecclesias Shrivel “Do not take your ecclesia for granted. Labour constantly for its health and welfare. The Truth itself is eternal and indestructible. But in these days of the flesh and of weakness, the ecclesia is a fragile thing, needing constant tending and care. Ecclesias flourish, and ecclesias shrivel. The health of the ecclesia depends on the spirit of the ecclesia: the oneness, unity, closeness, mutual affection and care of the members one for another. A body is not healthy unless all parts are alive, active and working. The ecclesia is a body with many members: all are necessary: all have full time work to do to make the ecclesia a true, living, spiritual, divine entity – well-pleasing to God, steadily moving forward and upwards to eventual perfect eternal oneness with God”.

4 Key Words in the Speech of the Western Delegation: 1. “Trespass” – vs. 16, 20; 2. “Turn away” – vs. 16, 18; 3. “Rebel” – vs. 16, 18, 19 (2); 4. “Iniquity” – vs. 17, 20

The Christadelphian, 1927 “The Epistles are full of the subject of this association one with another in the bonds of the gospel; they have very much less to say on the breaking of that association. But nowadays if the subject of fellowship be dealt with, the relative importance of these two aspects is often reversed. But it is a contradiction of terms to suppose that the object of fellowship is to break down. The object of fellowship is to build up a community prepared to meet the Lord, and to be for ever associated with him… We turn to one or two instances in the Old Testament where alleged offences occurred to see what they teach for us to-day. The first is in Joshua… All this reads naturally in the case of a community who for five years had realized the presence of the Lord in their midst in the conquest of the land, and who suddenly heard of a horrible crime committed by those who had been fighting side by side with them…

“…But are the first impulses, even of a zealous people, the surest guide for conduct to-day? Let us analyse, not their zeal, but their method. They heard a rumour; they put their own construction upon it; they all gathered to war against their brethren, this is evident for they all came to one place, Shiloh; they sent and charged their brethren with trespass and rebellion, piling up examples from past history to emphasise still more the wickedness of their brethren—only to receive the reply, “There are no such things done as thou sayest.” Certainly it reads like a type of modern methods; but it varies from New Testament precept, and is a method rather to be avoided.”