Numbers 32:6-15

F. REBUKE BY MOSES vv. 6-15
TEXT

Numbers 32:6. And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 7. And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them? 8. Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9. For when they went up into 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. 10. And the Lord's anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 11. Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12. Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have wholly followed the Lord. 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. 14. And behold, ye are risen up in your fathers-' stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. 15. For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

PARAPHRASE

Numbers 32:6. But Moses said to the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, Shall your brothers go to war while you yourselves sit here? 7. And why do you now discourage the children of Israel from crossing into the land which the Lord has given them? 8. This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land. 9. For when they went up to the wady of Eshcol and saw the land, they discouraged 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 burned in that day, and He swore, saying, 11. -Indeed, none of the men who came up from Egypt, twenty years old and up, shall see the land which I pledged to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob because they have not fully followed me. 12. excepting Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have fully followed the Lord.-' 13. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel, and he made them wander forty years in the wilderness, until the entire generation of those who had sinned in the sight of the Lord were destroyed. 14. And behold, you are risen up in your fathers-' place, a brood of sinful men, to add still more to the fierce anger of the Lord toward Israel. 15. For if you turn away from following Him, He will once more abandon them in the wilderness; and you will destroy all these people.

COMMENTARY

The anxieties and fears shown by Moses are readily understandable. Above all other things, he most wanted to prevent another fiasco like that at Kadesh-Barnea. There the disobedient people incurred the righteous wrath of God, and their stubbornness had cost the lives of virtually the entire group, besides the forty years of time lost in the wilderness. The suggestion from Gad and Reuben at this juncture conceivably could produce a rift among God's people again, and who could predict the possible consequences? Moses-' conclusion that the two tribes hoped to avoid having to participate in the military campaign in the west is logical. He further, concluded that such action would disturb the essential unity of the tribes. Almost exactly the same charge would later be leveled against the two tribes by Deborah (Judges 5:16-17), and with sound reason. For one-sixth of the group to stand back now and disengage themselves arbitrarily from Israel's advance into the Promised Land would have dulled the glory of the moment of triumph to say the least; at most, it could have served as a disquieting and discouraging element of such magnitude as to cause the remainder of the people to refuse to advance any farther. Thus the situation of Kadesh-Barnea could easily have been repeated.

Are the words of Moses unnecessarily harsh? His response to the circumstantial request is immediate; he has not asked for an explanation: and he does not consult the Lord first before voicing his own objections: this hardly seemed necessary. But he was not omniscient, and regardless of the manner in which the issue came to its settlement, his forthright zeal to protect God's people had been evidenced. Moses was not being stubborn or inconsiderate or illogical; he was taking a positive stand for right as he understood it. That he later qualified his stand is irrelevant, excepting to show the great stature of the man who, when all the facts are introduced into the picture, was willing to modify his position when he was satisfied that the principle for which he contended would not fall. Beyond doubt those who made the suggestion among the two tribes were young men whose minds had little or no recollection of the analogous circumstance to which Moses compared this one. He speaks from wisdom and experience. Nothing in the incident can be understood as a reflection upon his integrity, his character, or his intelligence. He simply does not want disastrous history to repeat itself if he can prevent it.

QUESTIONS AND RESEARCH ITEMS

583.

What did Moses fear as possible results if Gad and Reuben were permitted to settle east of the Jordan?

584.

What possible motives might they have had?

585.

To what historical situation and incident did he compare the choice before them?

586.

Defend the propriety of Moses-' words.

587.

What is there in the incident which makes you think more highly of Moses?

588.

What later historical events seem to suggest that Moses-' fears were not entirely ungrounded?