Joshua 22:17
Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD, Is the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the LORD,
The verse belongs to the settlement of Gad and Reuben with half of Manasseh on the east of the Jordan, in the upland plains and forests of Gilead and Bashan, which had been chosen as grazing country for their flocks and herds. Those tribes had pledged armed men to cross the Jordan and share the battles until their brethren had entered their inheritance, and forty thousand passed over to the plains of Jericho and fought for years beside their brethren. They then returned with much riches, with very much cattle and with silver and gold and brass and iron and very much raiment, to be shared with those who had remained with the families and flocks. They were then to dwell at a distance from the sanctuary, and their isolated and wandering life beside heathen tribes brought strong temptation to fall into heathen customs, causing anxious foreboding about their faithfulness.
The verse was spoken when Israel was alarmed that the altar built by Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh signaled defection from true worship, so Phinehas the high priest with ten princes confronted the eastern tribes with sharp rebuke as if their guilt were already proved, charging them with rebellion against the Lord for erecting an altar. It recalls joining to Baal-Peor as a grave offense showing the serious danger of apostasy, when the wrath of God visited Israel with terrible judgments on the guilty and a plague in the congregation of the Lord. To say Israel was not cleansed from that iniquity until this day means its effects still troubled Israel because many were still cherishing the same sins, and the plague showed the danger of failing to guard against sin.
The verse warns that the eastern tribes, dwelling far from the tabernacle and surrounded by worshipers of the idol, might again partake of that iniquity and bring the wrath of God upon the whole nation. The memory of such judgments made the Israelites eager to act against suspected wrongdoing, but the wider incident shows that zeal to guard God's honor can itself lead to grave harm when suspicion is mistaken. That zeal must be balanced with careful inquiry rather than harsh, groundless suspicion, for the tribes should have sought the facts before condemning their brethren, and meekness and forbearance with a courteous explanation prevent division and conflict.