When Phinehas the priest and the leaders of the community—the heads of the clans of the Israelites—heard what Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had to say, they were pleased.
Joshua 22:30

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READ: Joshua 22:10–34

One of the most captivating literary tropes a novelist can employ is that of the misunderstood protagonist. Early on, the novelist convinces us that the questionable character is bad, only to discover many chapters later that they are in fact good, though misunderstood.

In Fredrik Backman’s A Man Called Ove (A Man Called Otto in the Tom Hanks movie adaptation), the grumpy widower, Ove, turns out to be a hero, standing up for marginalized people. To Kill a Mockingbird’s Boo Radley, the reclusive man feared by all the neighborhood kids, ends up saving young Scout from a murder attempt by an ignorant racist; and Severus Snape, the much-hated Hogwarts professor from the Harry Potter series, is presumed to be a Death Eater (on the side of the evil Voldemort), when in fact (spoiler alert!) he’s a double agent for the Order of the Phoenix (the good guys) and has dedicated his life to protecting Harry.

In fiction, we love a misunderstood character. But in real life, it feels awful to be misunderstood or wrongly accused. We may wonder, How could they think that of me? Imagine how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh must have felt when Joshua sent leaders from the other tribes to confront them about an altar they’d built next to the Jordan River. Joshua’s entourage didn’t ask questions; they launched in with accusations of breaking faith with God by building an altar to false gods. No curiosity, no questions—just instant judgment based on assumptions.

Thankfully, once the lesser tribes explained that the altar was built in testimony to their faithfulness to the God of Israel, their accusers were relieved, and everyone parted happily. But the accusers evidently showed no ownership for having jumped to conclusions. No apologies. Not even a “my bad!” They didn’t truly listen to the underlying motive for the building of that altar: “We did it for fear that someday your descendants might say to ours, ‘What do you have to do with the Lord, the God of Israel?’” (22:24). The immediate conflict was resolved, but we see no evidence that the accusers understood their brothers’ fear of being forgotten or cast aside.

The closing sentence in this story captures the well-intended hearts of those wrongly accused: “And the sons of Reuben and the sons of Gad called the altar Witness; ‘For,’ they said, ‘it is a witness between us that the Lord is God’” (22:34). Listening matters—not just with our ears, but with our hearts.

A STORY OF THEN & NOW

Listen Up! | Kendra A. | Willow South Barrington

In first grade, I had a homework assignment to use letters from a single word to make other words, and that assignment introduced me to the word “din.” The next day, our class took turns sharing our answers. When the teacher called on me, I proudly proclaimed my word, excited by my discovery. My teacher looked at me and said, “That isn’t a word.” I was dumbstruck. I protested, repeated the word, and said the definition. Again, my teacher insisted it was not real. I was fuming. Why would my teacher not listen to me?

God has a most delightful sense of humor because a few days later, my classroom was being loud and chaotic, and a teacher from another class walked in. She loudly proclaimed for everyone—including my teacher—to hear, “My, there’s quite a din in here.” It was my word! Another teacher, one with more seniority than mine, and clearly well-educated, used the very word I was told wasn’t real.

While validation was sweet to my little six-year-old self, what I learned that day was that my teacher missed an opportunity to learn from someone. I didn’t know as much as she did, but I knew something she didn’t—and that was something she didn’t expect. It taught me the importance of listening to learn from everyone, because you never know what you might learn, not only from unlikely sources, but also from God Himself. Listening involves making sure our ears, minds, and hearts are open and receptive to see how God is moving, especially in ways that are new or unusual to us.

DID YOU KNOW?

Repetition is a literary device used throughout Scripture to signal, “This is significant. Pay attention.” We see this repetition in Joshua 22:22: “The Mighty One, God, the Lord! The Mighty One, God, the Lord! He knows! And let Israel know! If this has been in rebellion or disobedience to the Lord, do not spare us this day.” By repeating the sacred name of God, the men are almost swearing an oath that they are telling the truth. Jesus uses repetition in the Gospel of John when he begins 24 different statements with “Very truly, I tell you.” It was John’s way of noting that Jesus was emphasizing the utter truth of what he was about to say. Whenever we see repetition in Scripture, it’s a reminder to take note and pay attention.

A PRAYER

God, at times I make assumptions about others without taking the time to listen. Help me be attuned to others, listening to them—not just with my ears, but with my heart. Amen.

FOR REFLECTION

Share a time when you felt wrongly accused or misunderstood. How did you respond or resolve the misunderstanding?

Who in your life have you made assumptions about without taking the time to listen? What steps could you take to correct those assumptions and really hear them?