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Numbers 32:1
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The Tribes Settling East of the Jordan

1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of aJazer and the land of bGilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,  
2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,
3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, aNimrah, bHeshbon, Elealeh, cShebam, Nebo, and dBeon,  
4 the country awhich the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”  
5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.”
6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?
7 Now why will you adiscourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord has given them?  
8 Thus your fathers did awhen I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea bto see the land.  
9 For awhen they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, so that they did not go into the land which the Lord had given them.  
10 aSo the Lord’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying,  
11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, afrom twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because bthey have not wholly followed Me,  
12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, afor they have wholly followed the Lord.’  
13 So the Lord’s anger was aroused against Israel, and He made them awander in the wilderness forty years, until ball the generation that had done evil in the sight of the Lord was gone.  
14 And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the afierce anger of the Lord against Israel.  
15 For if you aturn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”  
16 Then they came near to him and said: “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,
17 but awe ourselves will be armed, ready to go before the children of Israel until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.  
18 aWe will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has1 received his inheritance.  
19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, abecause our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.”  
20 Then aMoses said to them: “If you do this thing, if you arm yourselves before the Lord for the war,  
21 and all your armed men cross over the Jordan before the Lord until He has driven out His enemies from before Him,
22 and athe land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward byou may return and be blameless before the Lord and before Israel; and cthis land shall be your possession before the Lord.  
23 But if you do not do so, then take note, you have sinned against the Lord; and be sure ayour sin will find you out.  
24 aBuild cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do1 what has proceeded out of your mouth.”  
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
26 aOur little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead;  
27 abut your servants will cross over, every man armed for war, before the Lord to battle, just as my lord says.”  
28 So Moses gave command aconcerning them to Eleazar the priest, to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel.  
29 And Moses said to them: “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben cross over the Jordan with you, every man armed for battle before the Lord, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead as a possession.
30 But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”
31 Then the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying: “As the Lord has said to your servants, so we will do.
32 We will cross over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, but the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us on this side of the Jordan.”
33 So aMoses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, bthe kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country.  
34 And the children of Gad built aDibon and Ataroth and bAroer,  
35 Atroth and Shophan and aJazer and Jogbehah,  
Commentaries:
Matthew Henry
<< Numbers 31:54   Numbers 32:2 >>


Numbers 32:1-42

The tribes of Reuben and Gad request an inheritance on the east of Jordan. (1-5) Moses reproves the Reubenites and Gadites. (6-15) They explain their views, Moses consents. (16-27) They take possession of the land to the east of Jordan. (28-42)

Verses 1-5 Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land lately conquered might be allotted to them. Two things common in the world might lead these tribes to make this choice; the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. There was much amiss in the principle they went upon; they consulted their own private convenience more than the public good. Thus to the present time, many seek their own things more than the things of Jesus Christ; and are led by worldly interests and advantages to take up short of the heavenly Canaan.

Verses 6-15 The proposal showed disregard to the land of Canaan, distrust of the Lord's promise, and unwillingness to encounter the difficulties and dangers of conquering and driving out the inhabitants of that land. Moses is wroth with them. It will becomes any of God's Israel to sit down unconcerned about the difficult and perilous concerns of their brethren, whether public or personal. He reminds them of the fatal consequences of the unbelief and faint-heartedness of their fathers, when they were, as themselves, just ready to enter Canaan. If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it.

Verses 16-27 Here is the good effect of plain dealing. Moses, by showing their sin, and the danger of it, brought them to their duty, without murmuring or disputing. All men ought to consider the interests of others as well as their own; the law of love requires us to labour, venture, or suffer for each other as there may be occasion. They propose that their men of war should go ready armed before the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and that they should not return till the conquest of Canaan was ended. Moses grants their request, but he warns them of the danger of breaking their word. If you fail, you sin against the Lord, and not against your brethren only; God will certainly reckon with you for it. Be sure your sin will find you out. Sin will surely find out the sinner sooner or later. It concerns us now to find our sins out, that we may repent of them, and forsake them, lest they find us out to our ruin.

Verses 28-42 Concerning the settlement of these tribes, observe, that they built the cities, that is, repaired them. They changed the names of them; probably they were idolatrous, therefore they should be forgotten. A spirit of selfishness, of seeking our own, not the things of Christ, when each one ought to assist others, is as dangerous as it is common. It is impossible to be sincere in the faith, sensible of the goodness of God, constrained by the love of Christ, sanctified by the power of the Holy Ghost, and yet be indifferent to the progress of religion, and the spiritual success of others, through love of ease, or fear of conflict. Let then your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.


 
<< Numbers 31:54   Numbers 32:2 >>

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