And they said, “If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants for a possession. Do not take us across the Jordan.” But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here?”
(Numbers 32:5-6, ESV)
As Israel looked forward to the occupation of Canaan, the tribes of Reuben and Gad sought to occupy the land east of the Jordan River rather than occupy the land of Canaan. The fact that these tribes would choose a land other than that which the Lord promised to Abraham alarmed Moses. There are two causes for alarm here.
The first cause for alarm is that these tribes chose a departure from the revealed purpose of the Lord. The Lord intended to fulfill the promise given to Abraham by having his descendants take possession of the land of Canaan. From the rest of the text, it seems that Moses felt they were choosing this option to avoid the perils of war.
The second cause of alarm for Moses was the potential influence of their decision on the rest of the tribes of Israel. He was concerned that Reuben and Gad’s settling on the east of the Jordan might lead to a departure of the entire nation from fulfilling the plan of God to take Canaan. Moses feared that the actions of Reuben and Gad might lead to a rebellion like that of Israel in the first attempt when the entire nation, less Joshua and Caleb, refused to enter.
Moses’ fears regarding the desires of Reuben and Gad bring to light the potential struggles of God’s people today. First, many believers move merrily along on the Lord’s program until they engage a struggle. For example, young pastors graduate from seminary and enter the ministry only to leave when they encounter opposition from a member of the congregation. Some Christian executives will hold to high moral and ethical standards until their businesses struggle financially. Then they compromise their standards. Unmarried believers who have held to high moral values throughout their lives will sometimes violate their moral convictions when seeking a marital relationship.
The is a potential problem when an individual Christian compromises. The Christian’s compromise may influence others to do the same. Moses’ fear was well founded. Reuben and Gad’s actions could have influenced the other tribes as well. This can particularly affect church congregations. Often vibrant churches that have joined the Lord in His great mission can somehow get off track. This can often result when a person or a handful of parishioners decide to depart from the church’s program. This departure of a few, while even seemingly insignificant, has the potential to spread and cause the entire assembly to miss the mark.
How do we prevent such departures? Individually, every believer must ensure that his or her decisions are not a compromise from the Lord’s purposes and plans. Believers must decide to keep in step with the Lord in every area of life. Moreover, when believers feel that they need to depart from the church’s program, there is a right way and a wrong way to proceed. We will discuss more about this in the next devotion. Finally, leaders need to respond biblically and promptly as Moses did to deal with the issues that can adversely influence the entire church.
Renewing the Heart 