1.
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle;
Num 32:1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place [was] a place for cattle;
Ver. 1. A place for cattle. ] Fat, and fit for the purpose; like those pastures in Ireland, so fertile and abounding with sweet grass, that the people are forced to drive their cattle to some other more barren grounds, at some time of the day, lest they should over eat. See Mic 7:14 Jeremiah 50:19 .
2.
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying,
3.
Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon,
4.
Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle:
5.
Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan.
Num 32:5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, [and] bring us not over Jordan.
Ver. 5. Let this land be given unto thy servants. ] An unsavoury and unseasonable motion this might seem at first, and did, even to Moses himself, as appears in the next verse. And surely it is probable that they were too much set upon that portion of earth, as Lot was upon the plain of Sodom, Gen 13:10 and was therefore soon after carried captive by the four kings, as these in the text are noted to be the first that were carried captives out of their land. 1Ch 5:25-26 Strong affections cause strong afflictions; when God seeth people set upon it to have this or that, have it they may, but with an after-clap that shall dissweeten it. How was David crossed in his Absalom, Absalom in his kingdom, Amnon in his Tamar, Elkanah in his Hannah! 1Sa 1:5 He loved her, and the Lord made her barren.
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 unto 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:
Num 32:11 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:
Ver. 11. They have not. ] See Trapp on " Num 14:24 "
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.
Num 32:14 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.
Ver. 14. An increase of sinful men. ] A race of rebels; neither good egg nor bird; sin runs in a blood many times; ye seed of serpents, "ye generation of vipers, ye fill up the measure of your fathers’ sins" Mat 23:32 Domitius, the father of Nero, foretold the wickedness of his son; for it cannot be, said he, that of me and my wife, Agrippina, any good man should be born. a When one complained that never father had so undutiful a child, Yes, said his son, with less grace than truth, my grandfather had.
a Dio, in Vita Neron.
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.
16.
And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
Num 32:16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones:
Ver. 16. We will build sheep folds. ] This was their intent at first, though Moses mistook them. There may be gross mistakes, and thereupon grievous unkindnesses, betwixt dearest friends. Cyril, and John, bishop of Antioch, objected heresy one to another, and proceeded as far as excommunication; postea comperti idem sentire: so did Cyril and Theodoret.
17.
But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land.
18.
We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance.
19.
For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.
20.
And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
21.
And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22.
And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
23.
But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Num 32:23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
Ver. 23. Be sure your sin will find you out. ] The guilt will haunt you at heels, as a bloodhound, and the punishment will overtake you, as it did that Popish priest in Lancashire, who being followed by one that found his glove, with a desire to restore it him, but pursued inwardly with a guilty conscience, leapt over a hedge, plunged into a mirey pit behind it, unseen and unthought of, wherein he was drowned. Or as it did that other priest, who, having escaped the fall of Blackfriars, A.D. 1623, where two of his fellow shavelings, a with about a hundred more, perished, and taking water, with purpose to sail into Flanders, was cast away, with some others, under London Bridge, the boat being overturned. b
a A contemptuous epithet for a tonsured ecclesiastic.
b Jac. Rev., De Vit. Pontific., 312.
24.
Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
25.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26.
Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
27.
But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
28.
So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel:
29.
And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession:
30.
But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.
31.
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
32.
We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours.
33.
And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about.
34.
And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer,
35.
And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah,
36.
And Beth-nimrah, and Beth-haran, fenced cities: and folds for sheep.
37.
And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim,
38.
And Nebo, and Baal-meon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
Num 32:38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.
Ver. 38. Their names being changed. ] Out of detestation of those idols, Baal, Nebo, &c. see Exo 23:13 Psa 16:4 Isa 46:1 Absit ut de ore Christiano sonet Iupiter omnipotens, et Mehercule, et Mecastor, et caetera, magis portenta quam nuraina, saith Jerome. Heathenish gods should not be so far honoured as to be heard of out of Christian mouths, nor Popish idols neither. I myself, saith Latimer, a have used in mine earnest matters, to say, Yea, by the rood, by the mass, by St Mary, which indeed is naught. Some simple folk say, they may swear by the mass, because there is no such thing; and by our lady, because she is gone out of the country.
a Sermon in Third Sunday in Advent.
39.
And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it.
40.
And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein.
41.
And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havoth-jair.
42.
And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.