The last three chapters of Joshua turn to the subject of the people of Israel retaining the land they've gained through God's power. It was one thing to obey God and believe in Him in battle. Israel would need fresh determination not to slip away from God during peaceful times and lose God's approval and blessing and ultimately lose their land.

In Joshua 22 the focus is on what at first looked like a spiritual catastrophe among some of the tribes of Israel. What they did, how the rest of Israel reacted, and what those tribes intended reinforced Israel's determination to remain faithful to God. Today we see an application on refusing to tolerate sin in our own lives in order to retain the spiritual gains we're already enjoying.