John Gill Commentary Joshua 22

Then Joshua called the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the
half tribe of Manasseh .
] The promise of God to Israel being fulfilled, the land of Canaan being for the most part subdued, the war at an end, and rest had on all sides from their enemies, and the land divided among the nine tribes and an half, and they settled in the quiet possession of their lots.

Joshua sent for the two tribes of Reuben and Gad, and the half tribe of Manasseh, who had, at their own request, their portion allotted them on the other side Jordan, and who came over that river with him to assist their brethren in their wars with the Canaanites, and addressed them in the following respectable manner.

And said to them, you have kept all that Moses the servant of
the Lord commanded you
Which was, that they should leave their wives and children, and flocks, and herds, behind them in the land of Gilead, and pass over Jordan, with their brethren the children of Israel armed, and fight with them, and for them, until the Canaanites were subdued, and not return until their brethren were peaceably settled in the possession of their inheritances;

all which they had punctually observed, and inviolably kept, as they agreed to, (Numbers 32:1–42) ;

and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you ;
as the generalissimo and commander in chief of the Israelitish forces; as what rank and position to be in, what part to take in an engagement, what attack to make, when and where, or on what expedition to go; wherever he ordered them to go, they went; and upon whatsoever and wherever he sent them, they readily and cheerfully obeyed,

as they promised, (Joshua 1:16Joshua 1:17) ; and approved themselves as good soldiers under him; for all which he commends them, and gives them military honour.

You have not left your brethren these many days to this day ,
&c.] For the space of fourteen years, which is the commonly received notion of the Jews ^F6 ; seven years according to them the land was subduing, and seven more spent in dividing it, and then these tribes were sent for and dismissed; all this time they stayed close by their brethren, and assisted them in their wars, and never offered to return to their wives and children, until they had an order from their general:

but have kept the charge of the commandment of the Lord your God ;
for what both Moses and Joshua commanded them was from the mouth of the Lord; so that, in obeying them, they obeyed him.

FOOTNOTES:

• F6: Seder Olam Rabba, c. 11. p. 32.

And now the Lord your God has given rest to your brethren ,
as he promised them
As in (Joshua 21:44); see (Deuteronomy 12:9Deuteronomy 12:10);

therefore now return you, and get you to your tents ;
not their military tents in the army, from which they now came to Joshua, but their houses, as the Greek version, and their cities, as the Targum; they having been so long used to tents in the wilderness, and during the wars in Canaan, this was a familiar word for their dwellings:

[and] to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the
Lord gave you, on the other side Jordan ;
before his death, on condition of doing what they now had done; even the land of Gilead and Bashan, beyond Jordan.

But take diligent heed to do the commandment and the law
The ten commandments, and all other laws, both ceremonial and civil:

which Moses the servant of the Lord charged you ;
in the name of the Lord, to keep and observe:

to love the Lord your God ;
of which keeping the commands of God is an evidence, and which is the true principle and motive of hearty, sincere, and cheerful obedience to them:

and to walk in all his ways ;
which he has prescribed, all his ways of worship, paths of duty, faith, truth, holiness, and righteousness:

and to keep his commandments ;
whether moral, ceremonial, or judicial: whether of natural and moral obligation, or of positive institution:

and to cleave unto him ;
and not depart from his ways, worship, word, and ordinances:

and to serve him with all your heart, and with all your soul :
in the most strict and affectionate manner. This advice Joshua thought proper to give them, and inculcate into them, now they were about to leave their brethren, and go on the other side Jordan; where they would be at a distance from the tabernacle, altar, and service of God, and might be under temptation to relinquish it, and set up another form of worship elsewhere.