So today I will dig back into the desert topical study. We have arrived at Numbers 32, and Moses gives us our next reference to 'desert':
'The LORD's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone....If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction.' (Num. 32:13,15)
Once again, we have found ourselves in the middle of a story. This one began in verse 1 of chapter 32, with the leaders of the tribes of Reuben and Gad, who had very large herds and flocks, asking Moses and the elders if they could just take their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan river, where there was good pasture land.
There was just one problem: That was not the land that God had promised the Israelites and if the Gadites and the Reubenites stayed on the east side of the river, then the Israeli army would be short a goodly percentage of the warriors they needed in order to claim the land that WAS promised to them.
Moses was ticked off. I didn't quote verse 14 earlier, because it didn't reference the desert, but it will give you a fair idea of his thoughts on the issue:
'And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the LORD even more angry with Israel.'
Yup. Not a happy camper.
But the folks in those tribes really, really liked that area. So they came up with a compromise...They offered to send all the fighting men across the river with the rest of the tribes, to help conquer the enemies on the other side, while the women and children stayed behind with the herds and the flocks, in fortified cities.
Moses and the elders heard them out, and rather reluctantly agreed to the compromise. In the end, the tribes of Gad, Reuben and half the tribe of Manassseh had their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan, and all their fighting men promised to not return to their specified lands until the other tribes had been settled into their inheritance in the land God promised to give them.
Sounds like a win-win, eh?
Well, maybe.
See, those two-and-a-half tribes took a fancy to that area...but they didn't know what God had intended for them on the other side of the river. There may have been even BETTER pasture there. But they were happy with the first good pasture they saw, and they wrangled a deal to keep it. They settled for what seemed good to them instead of pushing through to get the inheritance God had intended for them.
And here's something to consider...in settling for something that looked good, they did not only NOT get the inheritance God had intended for them but they could not hand God's preferred inheritance to their kids. The kids inherited the land on the east side.
And, do you know what happened over the years? Those tribes on the east side felt like they were not fully invested or represented in the nation as a whole. It was the start of a faction. And, with a river between them and their country men, it was difficult for them to come to the defense of one another. The Trans-Jordan tribes were more vulnerable to enemies.
Years ago when I studied this passage a thought came to me, regarding the inheritance that we pass down to our children...If we only do not pursue the promises of God then our children cannot inherit them. Doing the bare minimum, compromising to make life easier...that only secures a mediocre inheritance at best. And if we only offer our kids a mediocre inheritance in the kingdom, why should we be surprised if they go looking for something of a higher quality...elsewhere?
Learn from the mistakes of the forefathers in the desert...
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