Assignment of Conquered Lands to Reuben, Gad, and the Half Tribe of Manasseh

Continuing a chronological Bible study:

(Numbers 32:1) 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 spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the congregation, saying, (3) “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, (4) The country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and your servants have cattle." (5) Therefore they said, “If we have found grace in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession, and do not bring us over Jordan."

Israel was still camped in the plains of Moab.  In the last chapter and post, the Israelites had warred with the Midianites to avenge themselves and their Lord.  They had not even yet crossed over into their promised land, but had acquired land and more livestock as a result of their victorious wars thus far.  The tribes of Reuben and Gad apparently had herds of cattle that had grown very large, and they liked the place where they were, thinking it was a good place for their cattle.  They came to Moses, Eleazar, and the princes of the congregation, naming the places they had conquered, giving glory to God that He had been the conqueror.  They reasoned to them that these lands were great places for cattle, and since they had cattle, they asked that they be allowed to have these lands for their possession, and not have them go over the Jordan River to the promised land with the rest of the tribes.

Imagine that!  Forty years had been spent wandering the wilderness until the time when they finally reached their promised land flowing with milk and honey, that marvelous gift of God that had been anticipated since Abraham, and they were content to just stay where they were.  They did not have the proper respect and honor for Israel as a whole and for the promise of their Lord.  They seemed to have a more selfish regard for themselves and for what served their own purposes.  Cyrus Ingerson Scofield, in the Scofield Reference Notes, called them "world-borderers, carnal Christians".  The apostle Paul spoke in Philippians 2:21 of men seeking their own things and not the things of Jesus Christ.  These tribes were more interested in their own worldly interests than in the heavenly Canaan.  Is that not a perfect example for us today?  How often do we settle for what satisfies us immediately and miss out on the greater plan of God?

(6) And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, “Shall your brethren go to war, and shall you sit here?"

Moses was not at all happy with their request.  He asked them if they intended to sit there in peace and quiet in their fruitful land while their brothers went to war to dispossess their enemies of their land before they could settle in it.  It probably seemed to Moses that this was a selfish and cowardly request.  It showed disrespect for God's promised land and perhaps even a lack of faith in the power of God to displace the Canaanites.  It showed dishonor and neglect for their brethren, as well.

(7) "And therefore you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?"

Moses argued that this act of theirs might discourage the other tribes in that they would have less assistance in fighting to conquer the lands, and in the possibility that they might begin to question whether they too should take what was known rather than trusting in what they saw as unknown, encouraging a lack of faith.

(8) “Thus your fathers did when I sent them away from Kadesh Barnea to see the land. (9) For when they went up to 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."

Moses continued to rebuke these two tribes, saying this request of theirs would discourage the rest of the children of Israel just as their previous generation had discouraged the people with their spies' ill report, telling them that there were giants in the land, and that the people were strong, and their cities walled, and that the children of Israel were not able to go up against them and overcome them.

(10) "And the LORD'S anger was kindled the same time, and He swore, saying, (11) 'Surely none of the men who came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me.'"

Moses reminded them that the Lord's anger had been roused at the same time as the spies returned with their bad report.  At that time the Lord said that none of the men who came out of Egypt from twenty years and upward (except Caleb and Joshua) would see the promised land because they had not trusted and followed Him when He told them to go possess the land.

(12) "'Except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’"

The Lord had indeed made it a point to make an exception for Caleb and Joshua because they were men who had wholly followed Him, trusting that what He had told them to do, they would definitely be able to do.  That reminds me of Romans 4:20-22 that spoke of the great faith of Abraham, that he was "fully persuaded that, what He had promised, He was able also to perform."  What a wonderful reminder for us all!  No matter how things look, we must trust God!  Also in the same passage in Romans that spoke of Abraham's great faith, Romans 4:17 spoke of God as calling "things which be not as though they were."  Abraham didn't look at the way things appeared to be, but trusted in what God said they would be, and that's what Caleb and Joshua had done.  They didn't look at the "giants" and walled cities and decide they could not overcome them, but trusted God who had said "go up and possess it", and believed that if God told them to do it, He would make it happen.

(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."

Moses continued speaking about the time the spies had come back with the bad report, saying that the Lord's anger was so aroused by their lack of faith that He made them wander in the wilderness forty years until the generation of people who had not trusted Him were gone (except for Caleb and Joshua).

(14) "And, behold, you have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel."

Moses returned to the subject of the current situation, that he saw the request of the children of Gad and the children of Reuben as distrust of their Lord to bring them fully to their promised land.  They, the next generation of men that the Lord promised to bring into the promised land, were just as their fathers were, and would rouse the anger of the Lord even more against Israel.

(15) “For if you turn away from following Him, He will yet again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”

Moses reasoned that if they turned away from following the Lord into the promised land, they would discourage all the children of Israel from going forth into it, and the Lord would again leave them in the wilderness till that current generation of people was destroyed.

(16) And they came near to 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 to their place; and our little ones will dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land."

The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came near to Moses and told him they would build enclosures for their livestock and fortified cities for their families, but the men themselves would be ready and armed to go before the children of Israel to bring them into their promised land.  They wanted their families and livestock first protected from the inhabitants of the land, and then they would be happy to go forth with their brethren into the promised land, showing they had no cowardice nor lack of faith which might discourage the rest of the children of Israel.

(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.”

The tribes of Gad and Reuben vowed to not return to their homes until every one of the children of Israel had received his inheritance.  They themselves would not inherit land on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because they had accepted that eastern side of the Jordan as their inheritance.

(20) And Moses said to them, “If you do this thing, if you go armed before the LORD to war, (21) And will go all of you armed over 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 shall return and be guiltless before the LORD and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD."

Moses, apparently being more satisfied with the reasonableness of their request, then said to them if they would do what they said and go armed before the Lord over the Jordan until He drove out the enemies before Him, and the land was subdued before Him and the Israelites, then they could return to what they wished to be considered their homes, and they would be considered blameless before the Lord, and that land would indeed be their possession before the Lord.

(23) "But if you do not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out."

However, Moses told them, if they did not do as they said they would do, that would be considered a sin against the Lord, and their sin would surely catch up with them, implying that their sin would eventually bring punishment.

(24) “Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.”

Moses agreed and told them to go ahead and build their cities for their families and enclosures for their livestock, and do what they said they would do.

(25) And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do as my lord commands."

The tribes of Gad and Reuben told Moses they would do as he had agreed to have them do.  Showing respect for Moses, they proclaimed they would do according to his command regarding their march before the Lord to battle, and with respect to their provision for their families and livestock.

(26) "Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall 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.”

Indeed, they specified exactly what they intended to do.  Their wives and children, and all their livestock, would be there in the cities of Gilead, but the men themselves, all armed for war, would cross over the Jordan to go before the Lord to battle, just as Moses had agreed they do.

(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.

Moses then proceeded to command Eleazar the priest, Joshua, and the chief fathers of the rest of the tribes of Israel concerning what had been decided regarding the tribes of Gad and Reuben.

(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 for a possession."

He explained to them that it had been decided that if the children of Gad and the children of Reuben crossed over the Jordan River, armed for battle, and the land became subdued for them all, then they were to agree to give them the land of Gilead for their inheritance and possession.

(30) “But if they do not cross over armed with you, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

However, Moses continued, if they did not go with them across the Jordan armed for battle, then they must accept their inheritance in the land of Canaan, and would not be allowed to keep Gilead for themselves.

(31) And 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, that the possession of our inheritance on this side of Jordan may be ours."

The children of Gad and of Reuben answered Moses's statement with their own vow that what Moses had said, being as from the Lord, they would indeed do accordingly.  They would cross over the Jordan armed with their brethren so that the possession they desired on the current side of the Jordan would be declared theirs.

(33) And 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.

Therefore Moses gave to the children of Gad and the children of Reuben the lands with the cities within its borders, that had previously belonged to Sihon and Og, but had been conquered by Israel.  He also gave a portion of it to half of the tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph.  No mention was made of half of the tribe of Manasseh wanting to join the tribes of Gad and Reuben in possessing the land of Gilead.  Later in this chapter, and even later in Joshua, when the land was divided among the tribes, we learn that the Machirites, named for the firstborn son of Manasseh, had been key in dispossessing the Amorites from the region of Gilead, and were thus given part of it as an inheritance.

(34) And the children of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, and Aroer, (35) And Atroth-Shophan, Jaazer, and Jogbehah, (36) And Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fenced cities, and folds for sheep.

The children of Gad rebuilt the cities named above that had been demolished in the wars with Sihon and Og.  They restored them to fortified cities for their families and built enclosures for their livestock.

(37) And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, (38) And Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed), and Shibmah; and gave other names to the cities which they built.

The children of Reuben rebuilt the cities of Heshbon, Elealeh, and Kirjathaim.  They also rebuilt the cities of Nebo, Baal Meon, and Shibmah, but gave new names to some of the cities they rebuilt.  In the case of Nebo, that was the name of an idol; and Baal Meon literally meant "Baal's habitation".  They rebuilt existing cities but some were given different names, although we are not told here what they were called.

(39) And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. (40) And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.

It appears by this statement that the Reubenites and Gadites had been given the already conquered parts of Gilead that they desired; and that the Machirites, that half tribe of Manasseh, went and dispossessed the Amorites who were still in the remaining parts of Gilead.  Albert Barnes, in his Notes on the Bible, wrote that this was northern Gilead.  He also stated that the phrase "went to Gilead and took it" should have more properly read "had gone to Gilead and had taken it".  Thus they were given that part of Gilead as a reward for something they had done previously.  I'm not sure that has to be the case.  After all, up until this time, all the tribes were expected to have their inheritances across the Jordan.  It wasn't until the tribes of Reuben and Gad decided they were content with what had already been conquered, that there was any thought to giving lands on the current side of the Jordan.  I don't believe that would have been a reward.  It seems the better reward would be to be given the best God had to offer which was His promised land on the other side of the Jordan River.  I tend to believe the half tribe of Manasseh drove the Amorites out of the rest of Gilead after, or at the same time, that Moses had agreed to give Gad and Reuben their possessions and they were rebuilding.  Therefore, Moses then gave that region to the half tribe of Manasseh and they dwelt there.

(41) And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair.

Dr. John Gill, in his Exposition of the Entire Bible, wrote that Jair of the tribe of Manasseh, was actually the son of Segub, who was the son of Hezron of the tribe of Judah, but that Hezron had married a daughter of Machir, the son of Manasseh.  This is confirmed in 1 Chronicles 2:21.  Apparently Jair identified with his mother's tribe and took the smaller towns of that part of Gilead that was given to the Machirites and named them for himself.  Havoth Jair literally meant the "villages of Jair".

(42) And Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.

Nobah, evidently a descendant of Manasseh, took the town of Kenath and its surrounding villages, and called it Nobah after his own name.

Once again, I can't help but think about how these tribes settled for less than what God had planned for them.  Moses agreed to let them have what they desired, just as God does allow us to get what we want at times, although it is not what is His best plan for us.  Events will play out in future chapters that demonstrate how this indeed was not the best choice for their possessions, but for this time, they got what they desired.