Numbers 32 is about the tribes of Reuben and Gad asking Moses to settle on the east side of the Jordan River because they had large amounts of livestock and saw that the land there was good for their animals. Half of the tribe of Manasseh eventually joined them. Reuben and Gad saw that the land of Jazer and Gilead was suitable for livestock, so they asked Moses to let them settle there rather than cross the Jordan. Their request wasn’t necessarily sinful by itself, but Moses was concerned about what their decision would do to the rest of Israel. Moses reminded them that the other Israelites still had to fight for the Promised Land. Moses says, “Will your brothers go to war while you stay here?” This exposes an important issue. God’s people weren’t supposed to pursue their own comfort while their brothers were still fighting. Moses then reminds them of all the Israelites that would not enter the Promised Land because of fear. Moses brings up what happened at Kadesh-barnea when the Israelites refused to enter the Promised Land because they were afraid. The difference is that the Reubenites and the Gadites chose to fight with their brothers and the Israelites that couldn’t enter the Promised Land chose to embrace their fear. What does that mean for us? Truth is all of us have fear of following what God has led us to do sometimes. Do we embrace that fear and stay in our bubble or do we step out in faith and trust what God is leading us to do? If we turn away from God it could affect more than just ourselves. It could affect our families and everyone else around us. Ignoring God has consequences and the truth is we may not ever see what those consequences are. The definition of faith is defined by the actions we take. It is easy to say “Lord let your will be done.” It is a whole other thing entirely to take action on what God is calling us to do. For example, I can tell anyone that I believe i’ll go to the moon someday. It means another thing entirely if I actually start taking the steps to do it. If I actually believed that I would go to the moon I would start to taking action. I would start working on the schooling required, staying in shape, and applying for any astronaut program I could find. The same is true when I say I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sins and that believing in him is the only way to heaven. If I honestly believed that then I would start taking action. That means that I would start reading my Bible. That means I would start looking to him through prayer for my decisions instead of doing what feels right. That means that I would start telling everyone around me about him because I want everyone to go to the same heaven that I’m going to because I believe it. If I actually believe in Jesus I would start to take action. True faith will never be just words we say they will be the actions we take. We must say what we mean and mean what we say so that our words matter and they make a difference. Love y’all! Have a great day!
Numbers 32:1-42
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“The Reubenites and Gadites had a very large number of livestock. When they surveyed the lands of Jazer and Gilead, they saw that the region was a good one for livestock. So the Gadites and Reubenites came to Moses, the priest Eleazar, and the leaders of the community and said, “The territory of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo, and Beon, which the Lord struck down before the community of Israel, is good land for livestock, and your servants own livestock.” They said, “If we have found favor with you, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Don’t make us cross the Jordan.” But Moses asked the Gadites and Reubenites, “Should your brothers go to war while you stay here? Why are you discouraging the Israelites from crossing into the land the Lord has given them? That’s what your ancestors did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. After they went up as far as Eshcol Valley and saw the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the Lord had given them. So the Lord’s anger burned that day, and he swore an oath: ‘Because they did not remain loyal to me, none of the men twenty years old or more who came up from Egypt will see the land I swore to give Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob — none except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, because they did remain loyal to the Lord.’ The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the whole generation that had done what was evil in the Lord’s sight was gone. And here you, a brood of sinners, stand in your ancestors’ place adding even more to the Lord’s burning anger against Israel. If you turn back from following him, he will once again leave this people in the wilderness, and you will destroy all of them.” Then they approached him and said, “We want to build sheep pens here for our livestock and cities for our dependents. But we will arm ourselves and be ready to go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them into their place. Meanwhile, our dependents will remain in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the Israelites has taken possession of his inheritance. Yet we will not have an inheritance with them across the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance will be across the Jordan to the east.” Moses replied to them, “If you do this — if you arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and every one of your armed men crosses the Jordan before the Lord until he has driven his enemies from his presence, and the land is subdued before the Lord — afterward you may return and be free from obligation to the Lord and to Israel. And this land will belong to you as a possession before the Lord. But if you don’t do this, you will certainly sin against the Lord; be sure your sin will catch up with you. Build cities for your dependents and pens for your flocks, but do what you have promised.” The Gadites and Reubenites answered Moses, “Your servants will do just as my Lord commands. Our dependents, wives, livestock, and all our animals will remain here in the cities of Gilead, but your servants are equipped for war before the Lord and will go across to the battle as my Lord orders.” So Moses gave orders about them to the priest Eleazar, Joshua son of Nun, and the family heads of the Israelite tribes. Moses told them, “If the Gadites and Reubenites cross the Jordan with you, every man in battle formation before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, you are to give them the land of Gilead as a possession. But if they don’t go across with you in battle formation, they must accept land in Canaan with you.” The Gadites and Reubenites replied, “What the Lord has spoken to your servants is what we will do. We will cross over in battle formation before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but we will keep our hereditary possession across the Jordan.” So Moses gave them — the Gadites, Reubenites, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph — the kingdom of King Sihon of the Amorites and the kingdom of King Og of Bashan, the land including its cities with the territories surrounding them. The Gadites rebuilt Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and built sheep pens. The Reubenites rebuilt Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, as well as Nebo and Baal-meon (whose names were changed), and Sibmah. They gave names to the cities they rebuilt. The descendants of Machir son of Manasseh went to Gilead, captured it, and drove out the Amorites who were there. So Moses gave Gilead to the clan of Machir son of Manasseh, and they settled in it. Jair, a descendant of Manasseh, went and captured their villages, which he renamed Jair’s Villages. , Nobah went and captured Kenath with its surrounding villages and called it Nobah after his own name.”
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