Read Numbers 32:1-42
What a great exchange between a family and God! As future plans are being made for Israel, two of the family tribes come forward with a request or suggestion at least. They want to have their share be the land just conquered on the east side of the Jordan River. The Promised Land awaits on the opposite shore, and yet these two tribes want to establish themselves here without going across the river. After all, they have a lot of livestock. That makes sense to me to want to stay put.
But red flags go up as Moses assumes they are trying to get out of supporting the rest of the family on their conquests to come across the river. I agree that if those tribes were trying to get out of helping by hiding here on the east side, that would be unacceptable. Thankfully that wasn’t the case!
When you think of it, the tribes of Reuben and Gad, and a few families from Manasseh were making fantastic use of the resources made available to them by taking over fortified cities already in existence and available, thanks to the hand of God in battle. There would less brothers to distribute between as well, which probably made for good relations with the other tribes.
The family respect was great in that these two East-side tribes would leave behind everything in a new land to go fight with their brothers. They realized that God would expect nothing less from them, and they would want to be respectful and honor God’s desires. The whole family would come together in battle so that the land could be distributed. It was promised, now they had to make the next move.
Unity had been Moses’ focus, and he initially saw the request as causing disunity. Would the tribes’ action be considered selfish and would jealousies result? The initial plan was revised to the point where it seemed unity would not suffer. In reality, the tribes would bond because they would all be fighting in God’s victories. If only these strong family ties had remained strong and unaffected by the pagan influences that we learn about as God’s biblical story is written.
That’s why reading the Bible is so great because it’s all connected. Sometimes you don’t even realize how the stories intertwine until you really start reflecting and have heard the whole story at least once. Up close and personal interaction with God’s word is probably the best gift we have all been given the opportunity to have.
The Eastern tribes were all part of the same family with just a body of water separating them. Would they remain close after the Promised Land was secured? That’s part of God’s story to come as told in other parts of the Bible. Feel free to explore that story using the Devotions on the Go! book series. I’ll walk you by the hand through each part of God’s story, book or series of books at a time. Check out other volumes here.
Family unity is another great theme of this reading for me. If your family is perfect in every way, then I am so happy for you. Most families I know have some broken parts, and what’s broken looks different in each case. The idea of unity is a beautiful thing we can all aspire to. Fighting together, for each other, is a great way to connect as we see in this text. Pray for unity as a community, too!
Let’s pray. Lord, I lift this prayer up to communities all around the world, particularly faith communities. We are under attack in this world. There is so much oblivion as people seek attention and success more than you. LORD, this world is broken. Strengthen each family with your love. Help us all to rely on you and trust you with our lives. We need to stay brave in this world as believing sisters and brothers. May we always be pleasing to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
