The tribes on the other side of Jordan

Background: Israel had finally come to the land on the other side of Jordon after their forty year wandering in the wilderness.

The kings of that land had come out and made war with them….even though Israel had asked to quietly go through their land, paying for water.

But instead they came out with their armies to fight with Israel.

Israel had won the battles against them….

Numbers 32:1-5 “Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses…

Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.”

I have given a definition of temptation before…..but simply, it is something presented to us that holds sway…..whether in heart or mind….and makes us take our eyes off of God’s Will.

This land, on the wrong side of Jordan…..(for Canaan was across the Jordan River….and that was the land promised )….

….was a temptation.

It was a grand place for raising cattle…..and the tribes of Rueben and Gad had cattle.

These men were not of the rebellious generation which wanted to go back to Egypt…..but of the generation which wanted to go into the land promised Abraham….

….at least, until they saw this good cattle raising land.

But now, they were willing to settle for less than God’s best.

Notice, they were not rebellious, demanding this land.

No, they were just tempted to settle for second best.

Numbers 32:6 “And Moses said unto the children of Gad and….of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?”

This was Moses concern. All Israel had helped fight for the land they were now requesting be given them…..

…so…if they would sit down here….

….. and let the other tribes go over and fight for their inheritance….while they stayed here…….they would discourage Israel.

Numbers 32:16-18 “And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:

But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place:….

We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.”

Well, this sounds pretty good!

Everything that Moses was concerned about….seemed to be taken care of!

So Moses agreed:

Numbers 32:29 “And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the Lord, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:”

And they did exactly what they said they would do! They fought for Israel, till the land was being divided….

…then they went back across Jordan to the land they wanted.

Years pass…..and the Ruebenites, Gadites and the half tribe of Manasseh across Jordon, think of themselves as too far away from the place of worship….

……although they were not really any further, for Shiloh….and then Jerusalem was close enough.

Also the River Jordan was a larger barrier then they thought it would be…..they came to think of themselves as separate from Israel.

(The only time they were joined unto the other tribes was under Joshua and under king David.)

They “forgot” that they had a duty to stand with the rest of Israel.

And these tribes on the wrong side of Jordan, were always a snare.

They would be the first attacked,….and the last to come and help Israel.

Finally,….

1 Chronicles 5:25-26 “And they transgressed against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the people of the land, whom God destroyed before them.

And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,….”

We often think God puts certain circumstances in front of us…..for our good….but we need to discern whether this set of circumstances is a blessing or a temptation.

It’s a blessing if it leads us closer to God.

Or,

It’s a temptation when it leads our hearts away from the Lord’s Will.

We are called to have all that God has purposed for us:

To inherit, if you will, the “good land” of joy and peace, of gentleness and patience.

All the graces and promises that God, by His Spirit, prepares for us…..we are to obtain.

This is to be like Caleb, when he came for his inheritance…which was one of the hardest:

“I am as strong this day as I was in the day that Moses sent me: as my strength was then even so is my strength now, for war, both to go out, and to come in.

Now therefore give me this mountain, whereof the Lord spake in that day…if so be the Lord will be with me, than I shall be able to drive them out, as the Lord said.” (Joshua 14:11-12)

This is God’s best, Christian…….to use the faith we have, to get all that God has promised us.

2 Peter 1:5 “And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;”.

Peter goes on to list….temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, love.

All beginning with our diligence and faith.

2 Peter. 1:8 “For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

To settle for less than that…… is to lose God’s best.

2 Peter 1:9 “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.”

The “forgotten” here is “let be taken away”.

Though diligent at first to stand with the rest of Israel….these tribes on the other side of Jordan…….let time and circumstances draw them away from the worship of God, in His place…..

….and then with less diligence, came forgetfulness to the duty they said they would do.

Then their love of God was “forgotten”….let to be taken away….and later, they were taken away.

Let us see what hinders our diligence for the Will of God in our lives,…..let us have God’s best…..for ourselves.