Behold The Pattern…
“Therefore we said, Let us now prepare to build us an altar, not for burnt offering, nor for sacrifice: But that it may be a witness between us, and you, and our generations after us, that we might do the service of the LORD before him with our burnt offerings, and with our sacrifices, and with our peace offerings; that your children may not say to our children in time to come, Ye have no part in the LORD. Therefore said we, that it shall be, when they should so say to us or to our generations in time to come, that we may say again, Behold the pattern of the altar of the LORD, which our fathers made, not for burnt offerings, nor for sacrifices; but it is a witness between us and you.” Joshua 22:26-28
When the Israelites were ready to cross the Jordan River and enter Canaan, 2 1/2 tribes decided to stay behind and make their home in Gilead. In Joshua 22, we read of these 2 1/2 tribes being falsely accused of rebelling against God. The reason? They had built an altar and because of this, the other tribes had quickly assumed that they were turning from God to worship their own gods. The above verses are these 2 1/2 tribes giving their reason for building an altar – for the sake of their children. As they looked ahead to the time when they would all be dead and gone, the parents thought of what may happen to their children. With such a distance as well as the Jordan River separating them from the other tribes, they feared that one day their children…their grandchildren, etc would be told, “Ye have no part in the LORD.” Therefore, the altar (which was patterned after the original one) had been built as a witness for future generations to remind them that, although there was indeed some distance between them, those 2 1/2 tribes had the same interest as well as privilege to worship at the original altar.
As I read the above verses yesterday, the phrase “behold the pattern” really stood out to me. I went back to it today and have spent a lot of time thinking about it.
We would not build an altar today to exemplify our loyalty to God, but it is still vitally important that we have a pattern for others to see. Titus 2 speaks of a “pattern of good works” and although directed to young men, it certainly applies to all believers. A mouth that says, “I am a Christian” means little to nothing to a lost and dying world if that same mouth cannot say, “behold the pattern”…while living a life that testifies of the changes that have taken place since salvation. Yes, just as the 2 1/2 tribes built an altar that looked like the original, so should we desire to build a life that, according to Scripture, looks like a Christian. Just as the pattern of the altar testified of their relationship to the other tribes and privilege in the original altar, so should the pattern of our lives testify of our relationship to Christ.
But then, not only is it important to be able to say, “behold the pattern” for the sake of those unsaved, there may be times, as in the case of the Children of Israel, that we will need to point to a pattern for the sake of our children. I am reminded of one incident in particular where our family had to make a very serious decision. Although several discussions took place in our home, because of the complexity as well as the sensitivity of it, my husband and I finally had to look at our girls and remind them of the past 32 years. In essence, we were saying – “behold the pattern” as we pointed back to a pattern of faithfulness…a pattern of striving to obey God…a pattern of serving in our local church, etc. A perfect life? NO! But, by God’s grace, a consistent life…and by pointing back to that pattern, we were saying,
“I know you may not fully understand right now, but you are at a point where God is asking you to trust the authority He has placed you under. And, to help you trust now, look back and ‘behold the pattern’ that God has allowed your parents to build. Just as we have strived to follow God these past 32 years, so are we now and by God’s grace so will we continue to do.”
Building a pattern requires a life of consistency. There is no pattern to a Christian life of ups and downs, ins and outs, hot and cold, on fire for God one minute and no time for God the next. If you are a saved person who has struggled in this area of the consistent Christian life, won’t you ask the Lord to help you TODAY? Right now, there is a lost world that needs to see a pattern in you. Or, one day, you may need a pattern that, as in the case of the 2 1/2 tribes, bears witness against false accusations being hurled your way. But then, one day, you may need a pattern…a life…to point your children, grandchildren to that testifies of your faithfulness to Christ. Will you have one?