Numbers 32

the Promised Land. On the first day of the fifth month of that fortieth year (33:38), Moses, Aaron, and Eleazar went somewhere on Mount Hor because it was now time for Aaron to die. Moses would say good-bye to a beloved brother and Eleazar to a revered father. Aaron was 123 years old (33:38–39).

However, Aaron’s death didn’t interrupt the ministry of the priesthood, for Eleazar took his place. As John Wesley used to say, “God buries His workmen but His work goes on.” In fulfillment of the law (Ex. 29:29–30), Moses took the holy garments from his brother, Aaron, and put them on Eleazar. He probably anointed him as well for the new office. When Moses and Eleazar returned to the camp without Aaron, and the people saw Eleazar dressed in the robes of the high priest, they knew that Aaron’s life had ended. They mourned for Aaron for thirty days, which takes us now into the sixth month.

Eleazar was the third son of Aaron (Num. 3:2); the first two, Nadab and Abihu, were slain by the Lord for defiling the tabernacle with false fire (Lev. 10). Before becoming high priest, he was the chief leader of the Levites for caring for the tabernacle (Num. 3:32; 4:16). He would assist Moses in taking the census of the new generation (26:1–3) as well as in commissioning Joshua to succeed Moses (27:18–23). When Israel had conquered the land, Eleazar helped Joshua assign each tribe its inheritance (34:17; Josh. 14:1; 19:15).

Moses has experienced two family funerals, two confrontations with critics in the camp, and a personal failure at Kadesh, yet he picks up his rod and goes right back to work. Victorious Christian service, like the victorious Christian life, is a series of new beginnings. No matter what mistakes we’ve made, it’s always too soon to quit.

For forty years, Israel had been moving from place to place, a nomadic people traveling to their

Promised Land. Soon they would enter and conquer that land and establish their own nation, and for this responsibility they had to be prepared. The final chapters of Numbers, along with the book of Deuteronomy, record the Lord’s instructions through Moses, given to prepare the people for this challenging new experience. For Israel to become a holy nation to the glory of God, they had to accept and apply the basic principles Moses enunciated, and these principles still work in communities and nations today.

A successful community or nation depends not only on keeping our word and trusting God for victory; it also depends on the loyalty of people to each other. Perhaps our word “patriotism” best describes this attitude, as long as we don’t turn love of country into idolatry.

The request (vv. 1–5). The tribes of Reuben and Gad were herdsmen and requested permission to settle east of the Jordan where the land was especially suited to pasturing flocks and herds. Half of the tribe of Manasseh would later join them (v. 33; Josh. 13:8ff.). The Lord had given all that land into the hands of His people (Num. 21), so there was nothing to do but fortify it and occupy it. True, these tribes would be separated from the rest of the nation by the Jordan River, but they saw this as a minor concern.

Moses’ reaction (vv. 6–15). The great lawgiver may have reacted too quickly (Prov. 18:13), because his first thought was that these tribes were deserting the cause. Of course, their statement, “Do not make us cross the Jordan” (Num. 32: niv) would give Moses the impression that they were getting ready to settle down.

Moses always had the entire nation at heart as well as the great challenge of conquering and claiming the Promised Land. To Moses, it was a terrible sin for any of the tribes to retreat from conflict and fail to do their part in conquering the land. Just as the ten spies had discouraged the whole nation at Kadesh-Barnea, and led the people into thirty-eight wasted years, so these two tribes could discourage Israel by quitting at the very borders of their inheritance. More than that, their selfish attitude could arouse the anger of the Lord, and He might send judgment as He had done before when the people sinned. Even worse, He might just abandon the nation and let them die in the wilderness.

The tribes’ defense (vv. 16–19). No doubt Reuben and Gad weren’t too happy about being called “a brood of sinners” (v. 14 niv), but it was their own fault for presenting their appeal in such a careless manner. Now they carefully explained to Moses that they were willing and prepared to enter the land and fight alongside their brothers until Canaan had been conquered. Only after the other tribes had received their inheritance would the two tribes (and later half of Manasseh) return to the Transjordan territory to settle down. However, first they would like to build fortified cities, to protect their wives and children, and pens for their cattle. Then they would join the other tribes in crossing the river and confronting the enemy.

The agreement (vv. 20–42). Moses repeated their promise to the Gadites and Reubenites and added a word of warning: If they didn’t keep their promise, they would be sinning against the Lord, and their sin would catch up with them! The phrase “Be sure your sin will find you out” (v. 23) is often used in evangelistic appeals, and it can have that application, but the original intent was to admonish God’s people. Their sin would be failure to keep their vow and unwillingness to assist their brothers and sisters in the task God had called them to do.

Moses wouldn’t be alive when the nation crossed the river, so he called Eleazar, Joshua, and the leaders of the tribes and told them of the agreement. It would be their responsibility to see to it that the Transjordanic tribes kept their promise and crossed over the river to battle the nations in Canaan. The land they requested was theirs, but they would lose it if they didn’t keep their promise.

The nation lingered long enough for the two and a half tribes to move into their land, defeat the enemies that remained, and get their families and flocks settled safely. But we can’t help wondering if these Transjordanic tribes made a wise choice. They were outside the land of promise and separated from the rest of the nation. They made their choice only on the basis of personal gain: the land was good for their flocks and herds. Like Lot, they were walking by sight and not by faith (Gen. 13:10–11). The tribes did keep their promise, but in spite of that, their location across the Jordan created some problems (Josh. 22).

According to Hebrews 4, claiming the inheritance in the Promised Land is an illustration of the different ways believers today relate to the will of God and the inheritance He has for us now in Jesus Christ. Some people are like the older generation of Jews that perished in their wandering and never entered the land. Others are like the ten spies who visited the land and saw its wealth but failed to enter in. The Transjordanic tribes entered the land but didn’t stay there. They preferred to live on the border and raise their cattle. God wants His people to be like the new generation that trusted God, entered the land, claimed the victory, and enjoyed the blessings.