Numbers 32:16-24—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 we 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 We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has fallen to us on this eastern side of the Jordan." 20 Then Moses 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 the land is subdued before the LORD, then afterward you may return and be blameless before the LORD and before Israel; and this 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 your sin will find you out. 24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth."
It was simple: if the tribes of Gad and Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh wanted to remain in Gilead, they had to cross the Jordan River and fight alongside their brethren. It was only fair. Why should they live in ease while Dan and Issachar and Judah and the rest are fighting for the land that was promised them? But such is the thought of many today: “I will believe in Christ, and take my rest in leisure. I will argue with no one, I will debate no one lest they ask a question I do not know the answer to. That is too hard for me! I will rather stay in my home and never bring up the name of Christ.” Such is the design of the monks, who squirrel themselves away in the cloisters, some even taking a vow of silence. But that is not the pattern for the Christian to follow. We are to stand up for the gospel, and proclaim it to all, whether they will hear us or not, even if they kill us. Matthew 11:12—“And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” [literally, “the kingdom of the heavens is being forced and forceful ones are snatching her”]. There is a sister verse to this, Luke 16:16 (Revised Version)—“The law and the prophets were until John: from that time the gospel of the kingdom of God is preached, and every man entereth violently into it.” The Kingdom of God is not a place we enter into in a laissez-faire manner. The Christian life is not easy. We are beset daily by sin, and must fight against it daily. Will we stumble and fall? Yes, of course we will. We are human and as such we were born with a nature that wants what it wants, and sometimes that flesh will win some battles. So when it comes to facing those sins that seek to ensnare us, we must become violent against them and enter the Kingdom of God with a red hot hatred of sin, and be the violent men and women we should be. Jude said as much, Jude 1:3 (God’s Word Version)—Dear friends, I had intended to write to you about the salvation we share. But something has come up. It demands that I write to you and encourage you to continue your fight for the Christian faith that was entrusted to God's holy people once for all time. Other translations say “contend earnestly for the faith”. Peter tells us to always be ready to give a defense for the hope we have (1st Peter 3:15). Fight for the faith! Don’t be content to live your days in ease in Gilead. Your Father has promised you a better home, and you do not want to fall short of entering it! The old hymn does not say “Onward Christian Daffodils”. Another old hymn is not entitled “A Mighty Beach Chair Is Our God”. No! We are soldiers, and our God is a fortress! And if our adversary, who prowls about like a roaring lion, wants to ensnare us, we must fight against him, and take our position in the Kingdom of God by force if necessary, always fighting for the faith and letting our enemy know that it is by the Word of God that we have our faith, for it tells us of the mighty love and assurance we have in our risen Savior of our eternal life with God! We have been given the victory in Jesus. If we have a victory, there must have been a battle.
Am I a soldier of the cross/a foll'wer of the Lamb,
And shall I fear to own His cause/or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies/on flow'ry beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize/and sailed thro' bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?/Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace/to help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign/increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain/supported by Thy word.
The saints in all this glorious war/shall conquer, though they die;
They see the triumph from afar/by faith's discerning eye.
When that illustrious day shall rise/and all Thine armies shine
In robes of vict'ry thro' the skies/the glory shall be Thine.
(“Am I a Soldier of the Cross?” by Isaac Watts)
Numbers 32:25-33—25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: "Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock will be there in the cities of Gilead; 27 but 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 concerning 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 Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the 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.
The attitude of these two-and-a-half tribes could also be described as worry. They worried that there would not be in the land of Canaan any land to graze their flocks and herds. They were worried that God’s promises would not be enough to fulfill their perceived needs. They worried and, in a way, complained against God once again. But do we ever need to worry when it comes to God? If your answer is anything other than “no”, then you do not know God. He provides for all His children. He even cares for the birds and the flowers (Matthew 6:25-30; Luke 12:22-28). David knew this as well. Psalm 37:22-26—22 For those blessed by Him shall inherit the earth, but those cursed by Him shall be cut off. 23 The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way. 24 Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down; for the LORD upholds him with His hand. 25 I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread. 26 He is ever merciful, and lends; and his descendants are blessed. When he was in the city of Nob, and he and his men were hungry, did they not receive the Showbread from the hand of Ahimelech the High Priest? In the Magnificat, how does Mary describe God? Luke 1:50-55—50 “And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. 51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, and exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, 55 as He spoke to our fathers, ‘To Abraham and to his seed forever.’” There is no need to fear when it comes to the things God has promised. His promises are “Yes” and “Amen” (2nd Corinthians 1:20). He may not give us the biggest and shiniest of everything. But He will provide what we need. May not be what we want, but it will be what we need.
Now, if these tribes wanted to live in the lush land of Gilead, they had to fight for it. And if they didn’t fight? “But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” Again, the choice is simple: Fight alongside your brethren and return to Gilead. Or don’t fight and you will be removed from Gilead and join your brethren in Canaan. If they wanted their life of leisure, they had to earn it. If they did not put forth the effort to earn it, they would go to Canaan. But, to their credit, they did go forth with their brethren. They crossed the Jordan River, they fought to capture the land of Canaan, and upholding the word that Moses spoke to them, Joshua released the Reubenite and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh to go to the land of Gilead in Joshua 22:1-6—1 Then Joshua called the Reubenites, the Gadites, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 2 and said to them: "You have kept all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, and have obeyed my voice in all that I commanded you. 3 You have not left your brethren these many days, up to this day, but have kept the charge of the commandment of the LORD your God. 4 And now the LORD your God has given rest to your brethren, as He promised them; now therefore, return and go to your tents and to the land of your possession, which Moses the servant of the LORD gave you on the other side of the Jordan. 5 But take careful heed to do the commandment and the law which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, to love the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to keep His commandments, to hold fast to Him, and to serve Him with all your heart and with all your soul." 6 So Joshua blessed them and sent them away, and they went to their tents. God gave them what they wanted, even though it was not what God intended them to have.
But He will often do that: when we want something so bad, and we don’t want to trust in the goodness of God, He will sometimes let us have our wants, just to show us that what He had in store for us was much better. This principle is summed up in the Ten Commandments. “You shall have no other gods before Me.” What can statues do for you? “You shall not steal…you shall no covet”. What God has given is sufficient; you do not need to swindle from your neighbor his possessions. “You shall not commit adultery.” Is not the wife God has given you good enough? “You shall not murder.” The life of someone who was made in the similitude of God should not be ended by someone for any mundane reason. And how do we sum up the Ten Commandments? Matthew 22:37-40—37 Jesus said to him, "'You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." The Ten Commandments—even all the Law and all the Prophets—are summed up in the phrases “You shall love the Lord your God” and “You shall love your neighbor as yourself”. Did the tribe of Gad and the tribe of Reuben and the half-tribe of Manasseh love the LORD with all their heart, soul, mind and strength? That is questionable. At the very least, they seem to have not trusted Him as well as they should have. They wanted to do things their own way; they wanted to have what was right in front of them instead of waiting on Him to fulfill His promise. But let us never do as they did. May we always remember that what God has promised, He will bring to pass. May we cry out “Onward Christian Soldiers”, and shout “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”! May we not be content to rest in Gilead, but fight in Canaan, for we have been given the victory already by our glorious Lord! I leave you with these words of the inimitable Mr. Spurgeon:
An idler is a great waster and makes others, wasters, too—his example is likely to make all around him as indolent as himself. I notice in our Churches that a few earnest men and women lead the way and others are sweetly drawn to follow them. How precious are the earnest few in a Christian community! David knew the value of the first three in his band. But if the leading spirits are dead, cold, indifferent—what happens? Why, lethargy spreads over the whole! I am sorry to say that I hear of instances in which a minister laments, "I labor with all my might, but I am persuaded that nothing will ever be done while Mr. So-and-So is here." He is often a cold-blooded deacon, or a purse-proud member. When you come to know him, you feel, "While there is such a great big iceberg floating close to the shore, the garden by the sea must be frostbitten—nothing can grow."
Jesus Christ is Lord.
Amen.
