This program of daily devotions is designed to take you through the Bible in three years. It is our desire to help you gain a better general understanding of God's Word.
Please understand that in a study this brief, we will be concerned with only the major emphases and context of the Scriptures.
Each day a devotion for one or two chapters is posted, beginning with chapter one of Genesis and going through chapter twenty-two of Revelation. You are free to print each page as it appears. If you miss a day, you may contact us and request that devotion. Please send your request, along with $.50 (p&h) for each page to:
Bruce McGee,Pastor
205 Adams
Columbia, LA 71418
HERE
Bro. Bruce's commentaries for the
books of Genesis, Exodus, and Leviticus are
now available in hard copy for $7.50. Just mail your request for
COMMENTARY ON GENESIS to the address above.
NUMBERS
1 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;
2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,
3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
4 Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:
5 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.
The tribes of Reuben and Gad evidently are herdsmen, and the land they just
6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?
8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land.
9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
10 And the LORD's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying,
11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me:
12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.
13 And the LORD's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed.
14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel.
15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
Moses gives great insight to the answer of Cain's question in Genesis 4:9.
16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
Realizing this is truth, the leaders promise that they will go to war with
20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
Moses agrees, and offers them time to prepare "cities" - or dwelling places for
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:
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:
30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.
These leaders reiterate their promise. And then they even are willing to make that vow
Two other points here. One-half the tribe of Manasseh also received an inheritance on
33 And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto 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 the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,
36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.
37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,
38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.
40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair.
42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
Time is given for these tribes to settle certain areas. Of course all
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CHAPTER 32
conquered shows to be good for that purpose. So they come to Moses with this
request: "Let us settle HERE." And they named cities which mapped out the
land they desired.
These should not take a place ALL warred for without being helpers in
the war. Moses said this was the same thing their forefathers had done when they
approached the Promised Land the FIRST time. They had "discouraged" the
congregation (verse 9).
And Moses reminds them that there is an awful PRICE for that behavior (verses 10-13).
their "brethren." And they won't return HERE until all is conquered THERE!
Now this requires great faith! For they must be prepared to leave old men, women and
children unprotected! That shows how ready they are to be totally dependent
upon God as their Protector!
their families.
There is one admonishment of which we should take note in verse 23. We must help
others in their Christian life. To NOT do so is a sin! New Christians NEED the
older ones to teach and to encourage them.
Man reaps what he sows (Galatians 6:7)
In thought of God's teaching on "keeping your word" (Chapter 30), Moses is saying,
"You MUST keep your promise to God."
public before the whole nation (verses 28-32).
We should understand at this point that God was pleased with their promise and
did not require that ALL able-bodied men go to war.
In Joshuah 4:13, out of Reuben, Gad and 1/2 of Manasseh, only 40,000 men went to war.
However, if we go back to Numbers 26, we see that the able-bodied men of those tribes
numbered more than 100,000.
God was indeed pleased, and He gave them GRACE.
God knows the sincerity of our hearts.
the East side of Jordan. Though it is not mentioned that they joined in this request here,
it is mentioned that they received 1/2 their inheritance on the West side of Jordan.
And these (Reuben, Gad, & Manasseh), some 800 years later, were the FIRST ones carried
away into captivity because of their bent toward idolatry.
There is support for the fact that the farther we are from church,
the easier it is to be led astray!
they had to do was repair what had been destroyed by war. And that didn't
take very long. But we should notice that the WHOLE congregation waited
while they prepared!
Jesus has already won the war for Christians today. Ours is "repair work."
We should be about the business of showing the Lord's great grace so that
otherse can be "prepared." All Christians need support, and God has
determined that some of that support comes through the "body of Christ."