Growing up in the Nelson household, we learned very quickly that when Paul Harvey came on the radio, it was time to be quiet. The radio was the center of attention until we heard Paul Harvey say “Good day” in the way only he could. Once those words were spoken, other conversations could continue. But what I remember the most about Paul Harvey was not his news and commentary, but his other broadcast, “The Rest of the Story.”
The “Rest of the Story” broadcasts ran from May of 1976 until the time of Paul Harvey’s death in 2009. These programs featured the telling of stories about some person, some moment in history, or some item that most people thought they knew all about. However, the “Rest of the Story” broadcast always found the untold story that few people knew. In fact, the way the stories were told, the listener tended to jump to conclusions and make assumptions that generally were incorrect. The beauty of “The Rest of the Story” was that of being reminded there is so much we don’t know about people and even moments in time, that is until we start asking questions and being open to new information.
There’s a wonderful story in the Bible that reflects this same truth and reveals the power of and the need for people to ask questions. The story is found in the Old Testament, in Joshua 22. Joshua has led the Hebrew people into the Promised Land. They’ve fought many battles and the time has come for the tribes to each settle into the territories that have been assigned to them to live. Most of the tribes received an allotment of land on the west side of the Jordan River. However, there were several tribes that asked for and received land on the east side of the Jordan River.
What the story tells us is that the tribes that were heading to the east side of the Jordan River stopped, just before crossing the river, and they built a huge altar. The tribes and leaders on the west side of the Jordan River noticed the large altar and made an assumption, that those tribes going to live on the east side of the Jordan River had already abandoned God and were worshipping another god. The tribes on the west side of the Jordan River gathered together, formed an army, and as the story says, “Prepared to go to war” against their relatives who built the towering altar.
However, before any attack and battle took place, the leaders of the East Jordan tribes went to the leaders of the West Jordan tribes and said, “How could you break faith with God? How could you turn away from God and build an altar in rebellion?” Joshua 22:16. The response from the West Jordan tribes was (I’m paraphrasing here…) “What are you talking about??” They go on to explain they built the large altar as a reminder for the West River Tribes that they are connected with the East River Tribes. The intended message was “We are connected” and “God is our God together.”
Rather than this altar being about separation and differences, it was really about connection and togetherness. But this meaning was only discovered by asking questions and listening carefully. And now you know the rest of the story about the large altar built by the Jordan River.
This story from the Old Testament is really a great story for our world today. It seems that nowadays people are so quick to jump to conclusions without asking any questions or getting more information. I’m guilty of that from time to time. May this story from God’s word be a reminder to us all that asking questions and getting the rest of the story is really a good thing. In fact, just like in this story, asking good questions just might be a God-honoring thing.
If you find yourself questioning a persons beliefs or motives, rather than starting a fight (like almost happened in Joshua’s story) instead, ask a question. “Tell me more? How did you come to believe or feel this way?” Then listen carefully. If we all take the time to do that, we too just might learn “The rest of the story.”
Pastor Keith