Numbers 32: 1 – 42
Why settle for 2nd best
32 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.” 6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here? 7 Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them? 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, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 So the LORD’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’ 13 So the LORD’s anger was aroused 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 gone. 14 And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel. 15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.” 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.” 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. 34 And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35 Atroth and Shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim, 38 Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 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 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it. 41 Also Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair. 42 Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.
Many people accept Mark Twain’s reasoning "Let us not be too particular; it is better to have old secondhand diamonds than none at all."
People do not want to be second best; everyone wants to be the first, even if being second means improving their objective situation then what is so bad in being second?
"Second best" implies being next in quality or importance to the best."Second hand" implies being previously owned or used; it is not new or original, as it has been received from another.
Basically the idea that many people, most in fact, are going through life just accepting whatever comes their way.
It’s just a case of picking low hanging fruit.
Taking the easy option, remaining in your comfort zone, lowering your standards in the belief that you’re happy when in reality you know you can do so much better.
Read through and try and answer the following questions – If you answer ‘yes’ to any of them then that is a sign that you are allowing your standards to slip.
Relationships
Do you end up dating the first person that shows interest in you?
Are you willing to put up with a toxic relationship because you’re afraid of being alone?
Do you shy away from asking someone out because you think they are out of your league?
Work
Is your job paying you the wage that you feel you deserve or are you constantly struggling financially?
Do you dread going into work each day and wish you could do something else instead?
Do you ever feel like you wasted your degree by going straight into an unrelated career?
Have you ever turned down a great opportunity or promotion because you were worried about leaving your comfort zone?
Social circle
Do you feel tied to your old school friends just because you grew up with them?
Do you only hang out with certain people because it’s too much effort to find new friends?
Are you turning down social invites because it’s easier to say no than to say yes?
Health
Do you try to convince yourself that you are happy with your shape when inside you feel the exact opposite?
Do you end up working out at home because you lack the confidence to join a gym or a class?
Would you rather get a new hairstyle or buy new clothes as a quick fix for a boost in self-esteem?
Lifestyle
Have you given up all hope of travelling because you think you are too old?
Do you always allow other people to choose your holiday destination?
Are you doing what is expected of you rather than what you expect of yourself?
We all need to stop doing this as soon as possible. If something is easy then there is a good chance it is the wrong option but it’s also a very difficult habit to break out of.
The brain doesn’t like change – It will do almost anything to convince you to take the path of least resistance. Our comfort zones are safe places where we can’t get hurt or embarrassed – Where we are good at what we do and the ego can keep its status as an untouchable entity – impervious to failure.
It’s why we start replacing our dreams with more realistic ventures.
It’s why you leave college or university and immediately grab the first job that you see because you don’t want the stigma of being an unemployed graduate.
Small constant ‘victories’ like this convince our ego that we are being successful when in reality it’s just covering up how fearful we really are.
So what if we fail? Don’t just reach up and grab the first piece of fruit that you see, climb the tree and see what else is up there.
You might fall and hurt yourself, you might not find anything better after all, but it’s far better to at least make the attempt than to always wonder – ‘what if?’
You might believe that taking a risk is scary, but you know what?
A life of mediocrity… that’s truly terrifying.
This is the reasoning I want you to consider as we go over this chapter. Our Holy, Gracious, Loving, Generous, and Protective God Yahweh has promised that the Promised Land is abundant with milk and honey. In other words the land is abundant with lush fields of grain and grass for the livestock to feed and reproduce in. If God has said it is so, then it is so. You can take what He says to the bank.
Three tribes took a look at the land that the Israelites conquered and determined that they would be very happy settling in this new area. In truth they do not know what they are talking about. You see our Holy God Is going to lead the people into the Promised Land. It has a natural border that will initially protect the people and that is the Jordan River. If any foreign nation happens to come against the Israelites they will have to negotiate over this natural defense. These three tribes which remain on the other side of the Jordan will have no natural defense. So, guess which tribes will be conquered first?
The defeat of Sihon having taken place (22.21-25) and the country having been possessed and given to Israel by Yahweh (Deuteronomy 3.31), it would need to be permanently occupied, and Reuben and Gad, recognizing that it suited their way of life, approached Moses for permission to settle there.
This settlement of the land finalized its cleansing. Those who through idolatry had been sentenced to death had been dealt with and now possession was taken of it in the name of Yahweh.
Once the details had been sorted out this possession would be a huge encouragement to all Israel. Here were the actual first fruits of the invasion and what Yahweh had done here, He could continue to do.
32 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying,
While the Reubenites and Gadites were in process of possessing the land they recognized its huge potential for their large numbers of cattle, and approached the leading body of Israel, made up of Moses, Eleazar and the tribal chieftains.
3 “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.”
They began by outlining the area that they had in mind. It was probably gone into in some detail, but was here described in terms of the chief cities, most of which can be identified with some degree of probability. It was a fertile and well watered area very suitable for herds and flocks.
5 Therefore they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession. Do not take us over the Jordan.”
Knowing that Yahweh had declared that He was giving this land to Israel they staked their claim to it. They asked that they might possess it rather than the Promised Land over the Jordan. But it was not part of the original ‘promised land’ and Israel would always look on it as not quite the same as being in the Promised Land (Joshua 22.19).
6 And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?
Moses took their words as an indication that they were trying to find an easy way out and was unwilling to enter Canaan and confront the nations there. He had cause to remember how Yahweh had punished their fathers for backing down from a conquest of the land. He asked them whether it was really their intention to leave their fellow Israelites to invade Canaan on their own.
7 Now why will you discourage the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?
Did they not recognise that this would discourage the others from going forward into the land which Yahweh had given them? Why then were they doing it?
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, so that they did not go into the land which the LORD had given them.
By discouraging the people in this way they were no different from the scouts who went to the valley of Eshcol and saw the land, and also discouraged the hearts of the people (13.21-33), thus preventing them from going into the land which Yahweh had given them, thus rejecting His gift.
10 So the LORD’s anger was aroused on that day, and He swore an oath, saying, 11 ‘Surely none of the men who came up from Egypt, from twenty years old and above, shall see the land of which I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, because they have not wholly followed Me, 12 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.’
The result was that Yahweh’s anger was kindled against them, so that He swore what He would do to them for He had declared that none of them would be allowed to see the land that they had rejected, the land that He had sworn to give to their forefathers. None of the males from twenty years old and upwards would be allowed to enter it, apart from Caleb and Joshua. They would be the exceptions because they had wholly followed Yahweh.
13 So the LORD’s anger was aroused 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 gone.
Thus was Yahweh’s anger kindled against them, and He made them wander to and fro in the wilderness for forty years until the whole of that generation was consumed, because they had done evil in His sight.
14 And look! You have risen in your fathers’ place, a brood of sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the LORD against Israel.
Moses points out that now here they were doing exactly the same thing. They were rising up in their father’s place, adding to those who had been sinful men by being equally sinful, stoking up the fierce anger of Yahweh against Israel.
15 For if you turn away from following Him, He will once again leave them in the wilderness, and you will destroy all these people.”
Moses wanted them to consider that did they not realize what the result would be? If they turned away from following Yahweh, and refused to enter the land which God had promised their forefathers to give them? He would again leave them in the wilderness, along with all their fellow-tribesmen, and all of them would be destroyed, and it would all be the fault of the Reubenites and the Gadites.
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.
But the Reubenites and Gadites assured him that they were not trying to avoid entering the land which God had given them. They pointed out that they would establish their families where they were, erecting sheepfolds for their animals, and repairing the fortified cities for them to find protection in, because of the belligerence of the inhabitants of nearby lands, and then they would go forward with the children of Israel, ready armed for battle, until they had brought them into the place that God had for them.
18 We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance.
They promised Moses and the other leaders that they would not return to their houses until every man of the children of Israel had inherited 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.”
They took up this position because they themselves would not inherit in Canaan because they believed that God was showing them that their inheritance lay on this 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,
At these words Moses was satisfied that they were not avoiding entering the land. And he declared that if they would do what they had promised, and would arm themselves to go to war ‘before Yahweh’, and every one of them would pass over the Jordan ‘before Yahweh’, until He had driven out all His enemies from before Him, then all would be well.
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.
And once the land was subdued in Yahweh’s sight, then they would be able to return to their families, and be guiltless towards Yahweh, and towards Israel. None would be able to lay any charge against them. And then this land in which they now we’re could be to them their own possession before Yahweh.
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.
If they did not do so, then let them be sure of this, that their sin would find them out, and they would find themselves enduring the same punishment as their fathers had done, dying in the wilderness.
24 Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what has proceeded out of your mouth.”
So he gave them permission to make the necessary safeguards for the future of their families, to repair and reinforce the fenced cities that had been captured, and to erect folds for their animals, on the condition that they would then go forward with the children of Israel over the Jordan.
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying: “Your servants will do as my lord commands.
So the Gaddites and Reubenites said that they would do all that Moss commanded.
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.”
They covenanted that their little ones, and their wives, and their flocks and their cattle would remain in the cities of Gilead (lower Gilead), but they would cross the Jordan with Israel, every man armed for war. They would go forward ‘before Yahweh’ to battle, as Moses, their lord had said.
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.
On the condition of their promises Moses now gave a charge to Eleazar the Priest and to Joshua, and to the chieftains of the tribes.
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.”
The charge was this. That if the fighting men of Gad and Reuben passed over Jordan with them and the land of Canaan was subdued before Israel, then they should be given the land of Gilead for a permanent possession rather than just a temporary one, But if they would not pass over armed then they would not be granted the land but would have their possessions in the land of Canaan (thus ensuring that they had to cross over).
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.”
The Gaddites and the Reubenites then publicly confirmed their position. They would do what Yahweh had said. Their fighting men would pass over the Jordan with the tribes of Israel armed ready for battle, and they would accept their inheritance as being in the land east of Jordan.
It will be noted that nowhere at this stage is there a hint of the Manassites being given land east of Jordan. Thus this agreement was clearly made prior to the full conquest of Bashan, which will in fact now be brought into account.
The fulfillment of the treaty was now confirmed with the additional information that Upper Gilead and Bashan were given to the half tribe of Manasseh. We are given no indication as to when this activity took place, but it was clearly before they crossed the Jordan for it is mentioned that ‘Moses gave’. The essential first moves were therefore made before his death.
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.
As a result of the above treaty, and no doubt as a result of one made with the half-tribe of Manasseh the kingdoms of Sihon and Og, with the land and the cities, was given to the Gaddites, the Reubenites and the half tribe of Manasseh.
34 And the children of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35 Atroth and Shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36 Beth Nimrah and Beth Haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep.
The Gaddites immediately set about making the cities that the Israelites had sacked ready for occupation again. They repaired and fortified a number of cities in their allotment. These included Dibon, Ataroth, Nimrah (Beth-nimrah) and Jazer of those mentioned in verse 3, together with Aroer, Atrothshophan, Jogbehah, and Beth-haran, cities north of the Reubenite territory. They also erected the essential folds for the sheep.
37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kirjathaim, 38 Nebo and Baal Meon (their names being changed) and Shibmah; and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
The Reubenites also set about repairing and fortifying the cities in their area. These included Heshbon, Elealeh, and Nebo, and possibly Beon (as Baal-meon), all as mentioned in verse 3. And they no doubt built up other structures which would act as temporary fortresses. Meanwhile the conquest of the north was going on, and Israel as a whole were preparing for the invasion.
You need to notice that some of their names were altered because they contained names of gods. Thus we should not be surprised to find them under other names. However, Moab would still call them by their old names, and when centuries later they retook them the old names would once again become prominent. The initial repairing and fortification would make them habitable and reasonably strong so as to afford a safe haven for those left behind by the fighting men in case of trouble.
39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.
Meanwhile in the war against Upper Gilead and Bashan in which Og was first defeated, the children of Machir (sub-tribe of Manasseh) took Upper Gilead and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. It was what they found there that made them subsequently decide to follow in the steps of Gad and Reuben.
40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he dwelt in it.
On the same principles as had applied to the Gadites and the Reubenites Moses gave Upper Gilead to Machir, no doubt also with a similar treaty.
41 Also Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its small towns, and called them Havoth Jair.
The Manassite general, Jair, captured many ‘towns’ (encampments?) in Upper Gilead and named them ‘the tent-villages of Jair’.
42 Then Nobah went and took Kenath and its villages, and he called it Nobah, after his own name.
Another Manassite general called Nobah, took other towns and villages, including Kenath which he called Nobah after himself. So the land of Sihon was extensively settled by the Gadites and Reubenites, while Upper Gilead and Bashan were settled by the Manassites.
This firm establishment of a part of Israel in land given to them by Yahweh must have come as a huge boost to the remainder of the tribes. Here they saw before their very eyes the new prosperity that was going to be theirs. Here was what they were crossing the Jordan to obtain. And having defeated Amorites here, including the fearsome Og, there was no reason why it should be any different across the river.
There are many lessons that we can learn from this passage. It reveals how God was able to deal with the enemies of His people and so expand their blessings. It stresses how all who serve God should be faithful to each other and fight each other’s cause. It stresses honor and integrity. It was a lesson against letting others down. It reminds us that we should not just be concerned about our own things, but seek the blessing and expansion of others, as others once did the same in order to bring the Gospel to our lives. Its emphasis is on sharing both activity and benefits.
