Numbers 32

The tribes of Reuben and Gad brought a surprising request to Moses. They wanted to settle to the east of the Jordan River in the area that God had recently given to Israel, an area that was not in the promised land itself.

Moses was alarmed. Was this the story of Israel's reluctance to enter the land all over again? Great trouble had come to God's people on account of that rebellion. Were Reuben and Gad going to bring more trouble upon Israel?

No, these tribes were committed to fight alongside their brothers in the conquest. They were not rejecting the Lord's mission. Only their families would remain on the east side of the Jordan.

Moses consented to this new plan. The people of Reuben and Gad, and also the people of Manasseh with them would settle in the eastern land known as Gilead. It was a good land for livestock, and they had much livestock. Their families would remain there. But the fighting men among them would go forth into battle across the Jordan river. They would be a part of the conquest together with all those who were numbered among the armies of Israel.

Moses would not have agreed to this unless He believed that it was in accord with the Lord's will. God had moved the hearts of the people of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh to put forward their intentions that might have seemed out of accord with His commands. Yet this new plan became agreeable to the mediator of the covenant, Moses.

God had used Moses to win most of this land that would now be the possession of these tribes. Moses would not be able to go into the promised land, but he had walked in this land of Gilead, and now the promised land seemed to grow larger through the impulse and proposal of some of the Lord's people.

God knows the thoughts and intentions of our hearts. The men of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh were not attempting to abandon their duty to be part of the fighting force of the Lord's conquest of Canaan. They were not abandoning the purposes of the Lord, but were being used by Him to further reveal His purposes.

Jesus has won for the people of God a land far beyond the borders of Israel. In the centuries following His decisive victory through the cross and the empty tomb, the church has moved forward with the gospel of Christ's love and justice to the ends of the earth.

As the message of reconciliation has come to new people groups, there have been countless times when the church was led to make decisions that might first have seemed to be outside of what was known to be the will of God up to that point. But God is with us, and He knows the heart. Is our new desire an expression of true faith or is it just ungodly fear? Are we pursuing the ways of the pride of man or the glory of the Lord? God surely knows. Meanwhile He has not left us without His wisdom. We have the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit, and the Lord working through His church. On countless occasions the Lord has provided His good direction through something that might seem very unexpected. Then the people of God testify, “It seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit,” and the Lord blesses His church with His providential “Amen.”