321 And the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had much cattle, a very great multitude; and they saw the land of Jaazer, and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place for cattle. 2 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and to the princes of the assembly, saying, 3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jaazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elaleh, and Sebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country that Jehovah smote before the assembly of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle; 5 and they said, If we have found favour in thine eyes, let this land be given to thy servants for a possession: bring us not over the Jordan. 6 And Moses said to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye abide here? 7 And why do ye discourage the children of Israel from going over into the land that Jehovah has given them? 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land: 9 they went up to the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, and discouraged the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land that Jehovah had given them. 10 And Jehovah's anger was kindled the same time, and he swore, saying, 11 If the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land that I swore to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob! for they have not wholly followed me; 12 save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun; for they have wholly followed Jehovah. 13 And Jehovah's anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until the whole generation was consumed that had done evil in the eyes of Jehovah. 14 And behold, ye are risen up in your fathers' stead, a progeny of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of Jehovah toward Israel. 15 If ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.
16 And they drew near to him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones; 17 but we ourselves will go with diligence armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them to their place; and our little ones shall dwell in the strong cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return to our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited each one his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side the Jordan, and further, because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side the Jordan eastward. 20 And Moses said to them, If ye do this thing, if ye arm yourselves before Jehovah for war, 21 and all of you that are armed go over the Jordan before Jehovah, until he have dispossessed his enemies from before him, 22 and the land is subdued before Jehovah, and afterwards ye return, ye shall be guiltless toward Jehovah and toward Israel, and this land shall be your possession before Jehovah. 23 But if ye do not do so, behold, ye have sinned against Jehovah, and be sure your sin will find you out.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Numbers 32:1-23
Commentary on Numbers 32:1-5
(Read Numbers 32:1-5)
Here is a proposal made by the Reubenites and Gadites, that the land lately conquered might be allotted to them. Two things common in the world might lead these tribes to make this choice; the lust of the eye, and the pride of life. There was much amiss in the principle they went upon; they consulted their own private convenience more than the public good. Thus to the present time, many seek their own things more than the things of Jesus Christ; and are led by worldly interests and advantages to take up short of the heavenly Canaan.
Commentary on Numbers 32:6-15
(Read Numbers 32:6-15)
The proposal showed disregard to the land of Canaan, distrust of the Lord's promise, and unwillingness to encounter the difficulties and dangers of conquering and driving out the inhabitants of that land. Moses is wroth with them. It will becomes any of God's Israel to sit down unconcerned about the difficult and perilous concerns of their brethren, whether public or personal. He reminds them of the fatal consequences of the unbelief and faint-heartedness of their fathers, when they were, as themselves, just ready to enter Canaan. If men considered as they ought what would be the end of sin, they would be afraid of the beginning of it.
Commentary on Numbers 32:16-27
(Read Numbers 32:16-27)
Here is the good effect of plain dealing. Moses, by showing their sin, and the danger of it, brought them to their duty, without murmuring or disputing. All men ought to consider the interests of others as well as their own; the law of love requires us to labour, venture, or suffer for each other as there may be occasion. They propose that their men of war should go ready armed before the children of Israel into the land of Canaan, and that they should not return till the conquest of Canaan was ended. Moses grants their request, but he warns them of the danger of breaking their word. If you fail, you sin against the Lord, and not against your brethren only; God will certainly reckon with you for it. Be sure your sin will find you out. Sin will surely find out the sinner sooner or later. It concerns us now to find our sins out, that we may repent of them, and forsake them, lest they find us out to our ruin.