Be Sure Your Sin Will Find You Out (Numbers 32) [2025-8-17]

All right, good morning, church family.

As you guys find your seat, if you would open your Bibles to

the Book of Numbers, chapter 32. We are going to be in the entire

Numbers 32 · chapter mention

chapter this morning. It's quite a long chapter.

It's 42 verses, so I won't be reading it up front.

We'll read it as we go through it.

There's quite a bit of information here.

The title of the sermon this morning is this comes directly

from the text, one of the verses what Moses says in this chapter.

Be sure your sin will find you out.

And so as we jump to the sermon this morning, you'll see where

that phrase comes from. So if you will pray with me as

we prepare our hearts to hear from the the word of the Lord

Father, I pray this morning as we continue our study, the book

of Numbers that you would teach us what you want us to learn and

what you want us to put into practice.

Got to pray that you would give us wisdom this morning as we see

a story that you know upon first reading probably seems like it

has nothing to do with our lives.

But upon further reflection, upon further meditation, Lord,

we recognize that there are lessons here for us to learn

and, and so God, I pray that you would help us to see them.

You would help me to bring them out, and that you would sanctify

us, God, through this text this morning.

I pray this all in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.

Be sure your sin will find you out.

I read a story the other day. You may have read it.

A woman has her digital scale to thank for revealing her

husband's cheating. A skeptical wife shared the wild

way she learned of her husband's ways and a viral Reddit post

detailing how she found two late night weigh insurance on her

digital scale taken while she was away and her husband was

home alone. She quotes.

I checked the digital scales memory out of curiosity and it

showed 2 unassigned weigh insurance at exactly 120 lbs

Logged in at 12:15 AM and 12:26 AM back-to-back.

For context, I do not weigh 120 lbs and I was not there on on

that date, just my husband. Be sure your sin will find you

out. Those are the words that Moses

says to the tribes of Reuben and Gad.

And this morning we're going to look at the context of those

words. So let's jump into our text this

morning. I'll be giving an exposition and

application of the text. I'll be weaving them together.

We'll look at it section by section.

So let's start looking at numbers 32 versus 1 to 5.

Now the people of Reuben and the people of Gad had a very great

number of livestock, and they saw the land, the land of Jazzer

and the land of Gilead, and behold, the place was a place

for livestock. So the people of Gad and the

people of Reuben came and said to Moses and Eliezer the priest,

and to the chiefs of the congregation, Ataroth, D Bond,

Jazer, Nimrah, Heshban, Eliath, Sabam Nebo, and beyond.

The land that the Lord struck down before the congregation of

Israel is a land for livestock. And your servants have

livestock. And they said, if we have found

favour in your sight, let this land be given to your servants

for a possession. Do not take us across the

Jordan. So the story this morning opens

with discussing 2 of Israel's tribes, the tribe of Reuben and

the tribe of Gad. Now both tribes have a problem,

but it is a good problem. They have an abundance of

livestock. That's a good problem.

In those days, they see the land of Jazzer and the land of

Gilead, which are both on the east side of the Jordan River.

So if Israel, you're looking at it from your vantage point, but

Israel is here, the Jordan River comes here, and on the east side

of the Jordan River is where this land of Jazzer and Gilead

is. Jazzer is just North East of the

Dead Sea and then Gilead is just north of Jazzer.

They notice they when they they're there, they look around

and they notice they're like this land is a perfect land for

livestock. Now we know geographically there

are rivers there such as the Yarmouk, the Jabbish and the

Jabbic and these rivers have tributaries as well.

There are numerous springs in the region.

And so this would be a provide ample water supply.

Livestock need a lot of water and this would provide a lot of

feeding grounds, so this is perfect for them.

So they approach Moses. They approach Eliezer, the

priest and the chiefs of the congregations whose names are

listed, and they have a proposal to them.

Now I want you to notice how they begin the proposal.

They say the land that the Lord struck down before the

congregation of Israel. Don't miss that.

I want to focus on that statement for just a minute.

Reuben and Gad acknowledge that Israel didn't win this battle,

the Lord did. We looked at this battle last

week. Proverbs 2131 reminds us that

the horse is made ready for the day of battle, but the victory

belongs to the Lord. How tempting it is to attribute

our victories, our successes to ourselves.

Anytime we take credit for something in this life, you know

what it's like. Anytime that we attribute credit

to us for our own victories, our own successes, you know what

that's like. It would be like a cross maker

in 30 AD, boasting in how good of a cross he designed for the

Roman army. Imagine if he boasted of the

hours that he had spent carving out this cross from this tree,

boasting in the finish of the wood, boasting in his own

personal touches of design, maybe even sketched his initials

in it. And afterwards he finishes it,

he takes a selfie of himself next to this creation.

It's what it's like every time we take credit for what God has

done. We may be the ones who fight the

battle, but the victory belongs to the Lord.

Israel did not win this battle because they were strong or they

were numerous or they were very well trained.

They won the battle because the Lord struck down their enemies.

And Reuben Gadd acknowledged this.

They say this land, we recognize God gave it to us.

God did it. He gave us the victory.

And so they go to the leaders and they say, listen, this land,

it's ideal for livestock. We have a large amount of

livestock. So they asked the leaders.

They say, if we have found favor in your sight, can you give us

this land as a possession? Do not take us across the

Jordan. Now, here's why this matters.

The consistent biblical definition of Canaan, the

Promised land, was limited to the territory West of the

Jordan. When you realize the land that

God promised Abraham, it is only the land West of the Jordan, but

they desire the land east of the Jordan.

How should we take this request? Is it selfish?

Is it shrewd? Is it just them calling shotgun?

Some commentators take it as 2 tribes who preferred material

prosperity over living in the promised land.

John Calvin took it as the enlargement of the Israelite

territory that resulted from their action as an example of

God's Providence bringing good out of human sin.

So some see it as just, purely just, you just want to be

wealthy and prosperous. And John Calvin says, no, this

is God's Providence. He's bringing something good out

of sin. In Deuteronomy 3321, Moses says

of Gad, before he dies, he says he chose the best of the land

for himself, but he gives no, no condemnation of Gad in saying

it. So how do we take this?

I want to be clear that the Bible is not clear if Reuben and

Gad's request was righteous or unrighteous or neutral.

It's just not clear. But here's what I think that we

can take away from this. Here's what I think we can take

away from this. Something can be technically not

wrong, but maybe unwise. Something could be technically

not wrong, but maybe unwise. Remember the story of Abraham

and Lot. Both men had grown wealthy,

especially in livestock. The land could not support all

of their land, their livestock. It was too much livestock in one

area. And their herdsmen were fighting

with each other, You know, like, hey, your sheep are eating all

my grass. And no.

And they're, they're just fighting.

Abraham sees this and he, he, he, he, he has the wisdom to

code a lot and say, listen, we should separate.

And Abraham tells Lot he's like, you can pick first.

You pick which land you want first.

So Lot looks around and he sees the fertile Jordan Valley looks

good to me. He chooses that.

It was a good land, except it was near the cities of Sodom and

Gomorrah. Abraham stayed in Canaan.

Now here's the question. Was it wrong for Lot to choose

that land? Technically, no.

Technically no, Abraham said. You choose, But was it wise?

Probably not. It ended up costing his wife her

life. There was nothing technically

wrong about Reuben and Gad requesting this land, but it

probably was unwise because the decision to be on the east side

of the Jordan it caused several problems in their history.

Later there was a relational strain with the other 10 tribes

that happens in Joshua 22. Being on the east side meant

they were farther away from the temple, they were the first to

be conquered by the Assyrian army, and just like Lot, they

bordered Pagan nations like Amman, Moab and Iran.

And therefore the threat to spiritual apostasy.

What's much greater? See, brothers and sisters, in

the Christian life, we never simply want to ask the question,

is this wrong? Rather, we are to ask ourselves

a series of questions. Is this wise?

Is this godly? Is this in line with counsel?

Is this healthy? Is this holy?

Because there are many things that are technically not wrong,

they're probably unwise. Look at verse 6 and 9.

Moses said to the people of God and the people of Reuben, Shall

your brothers go to war while you sit here?

Why would you discourage the heart of the people of Israel

from going over into the land that the Lord has given them?

Your father's did this when I sent them from Kadesh Barnia to

see the land. For when they went up to the

valley of Escole and saw the land, they discouraged the heart

of the people of Israel from going to the land that the Lord

had given them. So Moses comes to the people of

Gad and Reuben and he says to them, listen, how is it fair

that your brothers, the other 10 tribes of Israel go to war while

you just sit here and play Stardew Valley and FarmVille?

If you remember, God was taking his people across the Jordan to

go to war against the Canaanites.

The whole reason they're going to cross the Jordan is to go to

war and to dispossess the Canaanites and inherit this

land. They would destroy them as God's

judgment upon the land and the people.

But if two of the 12 tribes just sit back and enjoy their lives,

it's going to discourage everybody else.

I mean, nobody wants to go to war.

If you see your fellow soldiers sitting on their front porch

drinking sweet tea, Moses reminds them, it doesn't take

much to discourage the hearts of these people.

Remember when your father's did this?

I sent them to spy out the land and they came back from the

reconnaissance mission and they said the land is great.

It flows with milk and honey and it flows with figs and

pomegranates and grapes. It is a a fertile land.

There's only one problem, though.

There are giants there and they discourage the people from going

into the land. Moses is telling Reuben and Gad.

He says, listen, if you stay here on the east side, your

actions are going to have the exact same effect.

Everybody else is going to be like, what?

Well, wait a minute, If we could have land and have farms and

have lives and build houses without going to war, let's just

stay here. This looks pretty good.

Why would we want to go over across the Jordan and fight?

Moses realized. This is going to discourage

them. Moses wants them to consider

that none of us live in a vacuum.

Our actions affect one another. Now we see this in the New

Testament, don't we? Paul says.

We have every right to eat food offered to an idol, but we need

to be mindful of how this action might affect our brothers.

He says if anyone sees you eating food and has a weak

conscience, won't he be emboldened to eat himself, thus

to file his conscience? Peter's actions in the early

church. Remember, Peter was eating with

the Gentiles, eating at their lunch table, but when the Jews

came in, he withdrew from the Gentile lunch table.

And what happened? It affected Barnabas.

Barnabas followed his feed, and Barnabas was led into hypocrisy.

We must always be mindful of how our actions and our words might

affect the body. Right now, we're going through a

process of forming 2 churches. Anytime a church is going

through something as significant as this, it is an opportunity

for the enemy to work. Anytime a church goes through

any major decision, it is an opportunity for the enemy to

work. And any time that a church makes

a major decision, there are always going to be people who

disagree with it. There are always going to be

people who disagree with how it's being done.

Always. And one of the greatest

temptations in the church when you have these kind of decisions

is to speak our minds without considering how it might affect

the body. Sometimes people will leave a

church and they will take every grenade that they have saved up

over the years, and they will just toss them into the church

as they walk out. I'm going to blow up as much as

I can. Brothers and sisters, we must

always be mindful that our actions and our words have an

impact. That was true for Reuben.

It was true for Gad, and it's true for us today.

And if I didn't write this, but I just want to make sure.

And if any of you are thinking that that's a plea for just

close your mouth, don't say a word.

That's not what that is. That's not what that is.

It is consider before you do say something how it might impact

others. Look at verse 10 to 15.

And the Lord's anger was kindled on that day.

And he swore, saying, Surely none of the men who came up out

of Egypt from 20 years old and upward shall see the land that I

swore to get to Abraham and to Isaac and to Jacob, because they

have not wholly followed me. None except Caleb the son of

Jefuna, and the Kinzenite, and Joshua the son of Nun.

For they have wholly followed the Lord.

And the Lord's anger was kindled against Israel, and He made them

wander in the wilderness 40 years, until all that generation

that had done on the side of the Lord was gone.

And behold, you have risen in your Father's place, a brood of

sinful men, to increase still more the fierce anger of the

Lord against Israel. For if you turn away from

following Him, He will again abandoned them and the

wilderness, and you will destroy all this people.

Moses is now going to take the time to remind them of the

people's discouragement. In the previous generation.

The people had doubted the Lord, and as a result of them doubting

the Lord, the Lord's anger was kindled that day.

And God said that none of the people who came up out of the

land of Egypt 20 years and older would enter the Promised Land.

Nobody except for two, Joshua and Caleb.

In addition, God made them wander in the wilderness for 40

years until that entire generation.

Died off. And Moses accuses them of being

just like their fathers. He calls them a brood of sinful

men. Wow.

Imagine like telling somebody that.

Like imagine if I told you you brood of sinful men like it's

bold. You have risen in your Father's

place, meaning you are about to make the same mistake that your

father's did. Now, why is Moses doing this?

Why is Moses taking the time to remind them of their history?

Because past discipline should serve as a present motivation

for obedience. Past discipline should serve as

a present motivation for obedience.

The people make a simple request, right?

I mean, they just make a simple request and Moses delves into a

history lesson. You ever had someone that like

that in your life? Every time you ask a question or

make a request, they give you a history lesson.

As frustrating as that might be, history is important.

History is important. Paul writes in First Corinthians

10/6 and 11. Now these things took place as

examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did.

These things happen to them as an example, but they were

written down for our instruction.

Moses is saying to them essentially, Reuben Gad, didn't

your father's tell you bedtime stories about wandering in the

wilderness for 40 years? Didn't they tell you stories

over breakfast about the earth opening its mouth and swallowing

people and snakes coming out and biting people and the fire of

the Lord consuming people and plagues, consuming entire

families? Didn't they tell you about this?

Do you want to repeat this all over again?

If you do this, the next book of the Bible will not be Joshua.

It'll be Numbers Part 2. Brothers and sisters, God has

given us a very good history book.

It's the best history book that exists.

And before we make any decisions or any request, we should read

it and we should ask ourselves, does history have anything to

say about this? I would like to do this.

I would like to request that. Does history have anything to

say about that? Moses says if you stay here, you

are going to increase the fierce anger of the Lord.

If you stay on the east side and just build your lives, you are

going to increase the fierce and of the Lord.

If you turn away from following him, he will once again

abandoned them. And look what he says.

And you, you see that that last verse 15 and you not God will

destroy all this people. Wow.

Wow, Moses is pretty worked up. You know what I love about this

rebuke of Moses? He's about to die.

He is about to die and he has not lost a step.

He has not grown soft in his old age.

Moses is warning them without mincing words.

He pulls no punches. He tells it to him just like it

is. Why?

Why is Moses so worked up? Why does Moses give them such a

harsh rebuke? Because although it is true that

God will never leave us or forsake us, friends, we can

leave God and forsake God. One of the greatest disservices

that modern Christianity has told the church is this Once

saved, always saved. What that phrase actually means

is this, Once you make a profession of faith, always

saved. That's what it really means.

Once you say I'm a Christian, I believe in Jesus.

Once you make a profession of faith, I got my green card into

heaven can never be revoked. Moses says if you turn away from

following him, he will again abandoned them in the

wilderness. Listen to what David says to his

son Solomon. If you seek him, he will be

found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off

forever. Listen to what Azariah says to

King ASA. If you seek him, he will be

found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you.

Brothers and sisters, God will never.

God will never leave us or forsake us, but we can leave

God. We can forsake God.

Don't take that phrase. God will never leave us or

forsake us. Meaning to mean I can do

whatever I want, He will never leave me.

You can forsake God. You can leave God.

He'll let you leave unless you're elect.

You're like, see me after. Look at verse 16 to 19.

Then they came near to him and said, we will build sheepfolds

here for our livestock and cities for our little ones, But

we will take up arms ready to go before the people of Israel

until we have brought them to their place.

And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because

of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes

until each of the people of Israel has gained his

inheritance. For we will not inherit with

them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our

inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the

east. So the men of Reuben and Gad,

they, they actually listen to Moses's rebuke.

They take it to heart. They realize you're like, Oh,

yeah. OK, Huddle, guys, let's change

our request. OK.

All right. We have a new request.

They say, here's our request. We will build sheepfolds for our

livestock. Let us build areas to protect

our livestock. Let us build cities.

Now it says cities. You got to think like this is

like a makeshift city. Like, like, you know, it's not

like a fortified city. Let's build cities for our

little ones. Little ones here includes wives

and children. In other words, they're saying

can we please make sure that our livestock, our wives and our

children are taken care of. We'll do that.

And then after we make sure that's done, we will go with our

brothers. We'll cross the Jordan and we'll

take up arms and we will fight with them.

And notice how they said they're going to fight.

They say we will be ready to go before the people of Israel,

meaning we will even take a position of leadership in the

battle. We'll go before them.

We'll lead the battle. And they tell Moses we will not

abandon our brothers in battle. In other words, we will not

return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has

gained his inheritance. They further acknowledge that by

living on the east side, they will not receive any of the land

on the West side. In other words, they say, look,

if we take the east side, we acknowledge we have no right to

any of this land on the West side.

It will all be the other 10 tribes.

They agree to keep fighting until every last tribe has

received their inhibits. Now here's what I want to say.

Imagine if Reuben and Gad had agreed to crossover and fight

once they got over the river. They fought for maybe a week,

maybe a few months, maybe even a year.

And after that, they just said, let's call it a day, let's go

back home. I miss my wives, my wife or

wives miss my kids. I'll make sure my animals taken

care of. Let's call it a day, let's go

back home. The conquest of the Promised

Land would take a full seven years.

They were not to stop fighting till every last brother had

received their inheritance. Christian, we are called to

continue fighting until all our brothers and sisters have made

it home. I am not fighting simply for my

perseverance and my eternal inheritance.

I am fighting for yours as well. And by God's grace, there will

never come a day where I say, you know what?

I put in my time. I've been fighting this war for

40 years now. It is time to fight a new war on

Royal Caribbean. There is a great temptation to

go and settle in the plains, the fertile plains of this world, to

settle and lake houses and beach houses and Airbnbs, traveling

the world enjoying a peacetime mentality.

Everybody wants a peacetime mentality.

Church. God has called us to take up a

sword and to fight for our brothers and sisters until every

last one has made it home. We don't stop fighting until

everybody's made it home. 20 to 23.

So Moses said to them, if you will do this, if you will take

up arms to go before the Lord for the war, and every armed man

of you will pass over the Jordan before the Lord until he has

driven out his enemies from before him, and the land is

subdued before the Lord. Then after that, then you shall

return and be free of obligation to the Lord and Israel, and this

land shall be your possession before the Lord.

But if you do not do this, do so.

Behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and here it is.

Be sure your sin will find you out.

In response to the terms of this new request, Moses says, very

well, if you will do as you say, if every man, if every armed man

will cross over the door and will fight the battle, if you

will fight until he has driven out all his enemies from before

him and the land is subdued before the Lord.

Once all of that's completed, if you do what you say, then you

can be, you can return, you can go back to the east side.

You'll be free of obligation to the Lord, free of obligation to

Israel, meaning your, your service will be complete.

I want you to notice this phrase before the Lord.

It occurs 7 times in this chapter.

It occurs in verse 20/20/21 twice and 22/27/29 and 32 seven

times. If it's reminding us that this

war that they're going to be fighting, it's not their war,

it's God's war. The reason that Reuben and Gad

have to go is because it's not their war, it's God's war.

Now Moses agrees to the request. Moses says if you do all this,

the land of Jazzer and the land of Gilead, it'll be yours.

You can have it. We don't have to cast lots.

You can have it. It's all yours.

But Moses gives them a warning. He says if you don't keep your

word, behold, you have sinned against the Lord and be sure

your sin will find you out. Now that phrase has become a

that's lasted till today. Even the world uses that phrase

today sometimes. What does that mean?

Be sure your sin will find you out.

Essentially it means this. You can't run from your sin, you

can't hide from it, you can't tame it, you can't negotiate

with it, you can't ignore it. Sin will find us out.

Remember in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve disobey God by

eating the forbidden fruit they hid in the bushes, God found

them. Remember when Cain killed his

brother and when the Lord asked him, where is your brother?

Cain tried to pretend like he had no idea where he was, but

his sin found him out. Remember when Judah learned that

Tamar was pregnant? He demanded that she be burned,

But when Tamar revealed his signet, his cord, and his staff,

he was exposed as being the father.

Remember Aiken, who stole the harem, the forbidden items from

Jericho? He buried them in his tent, but

he was exposed by the casting of lots.

Remember when David committed adultery and then he tried to

cover it up by killing Uriah? He was exposed by the prophet

Nathan. Remember Jonah, who tried to run

away from God, but God found him with a storm and a fish?

Remember Ananias and Sapphira, who gave the impression that

they had given the apostles all the proceeds from the sale of

their land, but Peter exposed their deception?

Brothers and sisters, you can't run from your sin.

You can't hide from it. You can't pretend it doesn't

exist. Sin will always find us out and

therefore we need a refuge. There is only one refuge where

sin can't find us, where the Grim Reaper does not have a key,

and that is the cross of Jesus Christ.

Be sure your sin will find you out, and be sure that for those

in Christ Jesus, He will hide you in the shadow of His wings.

Look at verse 24 to 27. Build cities for your little

ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised.

And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben said to Moses,

your servants will do as my Lord commands.

Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle

shall remain there in the cities of Gilead, But your servants

will Passover every man who was armed for war before the Lord to

battle as my Lord orders. So Moses gives them permission.

He says you may do as you as you asked.

You can build sheepfolds for your livestock.

You can build cities for your wives and your children.

And then he charges them. He says be sure you keep your

word. Do as you promised.

Reuben and Gad give Moses their word.

They say we will commit to do as you command our women and our

children, our livestock and our cattle.

They'll stay on Gilead on the east side while we go off to

war. Now I just want to point out

something. What would it take for Reuben

and Gad to send in this story to do nothing?

Moses makes it clear that doing nothing would be sin.

You see, it is not just the idolatry and the immorality that

we saw in Numbers 25 that is evil on the side of the Lord.

It is also doing nothing when we should be doing something that

is evil on the side of the Lord too.

Let this be a reminder to all of us that God is not merely

grieved by sins of Commission. He is also grieved by sins of

omission. It was not just the robbers who

beat up the Samaritan and stole his money who were in sin.

So were the Levite and the priest who did nothing.

It was not just the invading army who attacked God's people

who were in sin, but so was the Watchmen who failed to warn

God's people of the invading army.

We need to repent of our sins of omission just as much as our

sins of Commission. Look at verse 2832.

So Moses gave command concerning them to Eliezer the priest, and

to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers houses

of the tribes of the people of Israel.

Moses said to them, If the people of Gad and the people of

Reuben, every man who was armed to battle before the Lord, will

pass with you over to the Jordan, and the land shall be

just subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of

Gilead for a possession. However, if they will not

Passover with you armed, they shall have possessions among you

in the land of Canaan. And the people of Gad and the

people of Reuben answered, What the Lord has said to your

servants we will do. We will Passover arm before the

Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our

inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.

So Moses takes his covenant. So he has formed a covenant with

them. This is very much a covenant.

He's formed a covenant with Reuben and Gad, and he

communicates it with them. He communicates it in front of

Eliezer, Joshua, and the heads of the Father's houses.

Why? Because remember, Moses is not

going to cross the Jordan. Moses is not going to be there

to enforce this. Joshua's going to be taking

over. Joshua's going to cross the

Jordan with them. So the new leadership now knows

the terms of the covenant. The new leadership is going to

hold them accountable. He tells them if you uphold your

word, Joshua, you want to give them this land.

Don't cast law, don't have an argument over it.

Don't take a vote in a business meeting over it.

They are to take this land. However, if they don't uphold

their word, if they don't pass over arms, then they are to have

possessions among you in the land of Canaan.

What does that mean? It means if they don't keep

their word, they forfeit the whole Transjordan, which is the

east side. They get none of it.

And Ruben and Gad once again promised, they say we will do

it. We will do as the Lord

commanded. So there is now a public

accountability. This is there are witnesses to

this covenant, which means it's been ratified.

It's now binding. All right, I like it.

Let's look at 33 to 42 last section.

And Moses gave to them the people of Gad, to the people of

Reuben, to the half tribe of Manasseh, the son of Joseph, the

Kingdom of Sion, king of the Amorites, the king of Odd, king

of Bashan. The land and its cities with

their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country.

The people of Gad built D Bond, Ataroth, Aurora at Atro, Chopan,

Jazer, Jagbaha, Bait, Nimra Bait, Tehran, fortified cities

and folds for sheep. And the people of Reuben built

Hespan, Eliela, Kira, Athium, Nebo, Bail Mian, Their names

were changed. And Simba, just if you want to

know why his names were changed, those are Pagan deities.

Nebo and Bail Mian. They want you to know we changed

the names on those Simba. They gave other names to the

cities they built. And the sons of Mahir, the sons

of Manasseh, went to Gilead and captured it, dispossessed the

Amorites who were who were in it.

And Moses gave Gilead to Mahir the son of Manasseh, and he

settled in it. And Jair the son of Manasseh

went and captured their villages and called them Haboth Jair.

And Noba when captured Kenneth and its villages and called it

Noba, Noba after his own name. All right, that's a lot there.

Looking forward-looking for Moses gives the land to them.

However, we are surprised to find out in this text that the

land was given not only to Reuben and Gad, but also to the

half tribe of Manasseh. If you remember, Levi did not

get any land. So in place of Levi, Manasseh

was considered a half tribe, son of Joseph and Ephraim was

considered a half tribe, and that they made-up the tribe of

Levi. They took their place.

So the half tribe of Manasseh is also given land on the east

side. And you may be wondering why is

this mentioned? Why is that peace mentioned?

We will learn down in verses 39 to 42 that Gad and Reuben were

not the only ones on the east side.

Manasseh was. So it's included here to

explain. If you look at a map of Israel

these days, you'll see 3 tribes on the east side and you're

like, well how did Manasseh get over there?

Well, because Manasseh fought people.

They claimed some of the land. I want you to notice how the

land is described. It's described as the Kingdom of

Sion, the king of the Amorites, and the Kingdom of Odd, the king

of Bashan. Why is it described this way?

It reminds the reader of how the Lord had defeated these two

powerful kingdoms. The people of Gad built 8

cities, which are listed in your text.

The people of Reuben built 6 cities which are listed in your

text. As I mentioned earlier, some of

the city names are changed because Nebo and Bale are Pagan

deity. So they would want to change

those names. The sons of Mahir, the sons of

Manasseh, they actually went to Gilead and they capture part of

it. They dispossessed the Amorite.

So part of the land on the east side of the very north of it

still had Amorites living there. Manasseh had conquered them and

so it was only right for them to be given that land as well since

they were the one who had done the hard work of capturing it.

So you, you have Reuben Gad and then part of Manasseh.

Manasseh will be split, part of Manassas on the east side and

part of Manassas on the West side.

So part is given to them. And this explains how Manasseh

too came to the east side. Now as we close, I want to close

with this thought. We're getting really close to

the end of Book of Numbers. We only have 4 chapters left.

Moses is about to depart. His time is is almost up.

He's 120 years old. He's about to depart and be with

the Lord. Despite 40 years of rebellion,

we see in this chapter that God is faithful to keep His promise.

We even see that God went above and beyond his promise because

he enlarged the territory of Israel.

He gave them more land than what He promised to Abraham.

These two and a half tribes, they possess a large portion of

the land on the east side of the Jordan.

How many times have we seen in the book of numbers We've been

going through for a year now. How many times in the book of

numbers have we seen such wickedness and and when you read

it, God should have said, you know what I'm done with you

guys. Many of the times he wanted to

he said let me start over. Let me choose a new people.

And yet over and over again, we see the never failing, never

ending patience of our God. He endured their 40 years of

rebellion and now with this new generation, they are finally

ready to inherit His promise. God was faithful to keep it.

Let's pray.