The fact recorded in this chapter has given rise to considerable
discussion. Various have been the opinions advanced in reference to the
conduct of the two tribes and a half. Were they right, or were they wrong
in choosing their inheritance on the wilderness side of Jordan? This is
the question. Was their acting in this matter the expression of power, or
of weakness? How are we to form a sound judgment in this case?
In the first place, where was Israel’s proper portion—their divinely
destined inheritance? Most surely on the other side of Jordan, in the
land of Canaan. Well, then, ought not this fact to have sufficed? Would
or could a really true heart—a heart that thought and felt and judged
with God—have entertained the idea of selecting a portion other than that
which God had allotted and bestowed? Impossible. Hence, then, we need
not to go further in order to have a divine judgment on this subject. It
was a mistake, a failure, a stopping short of the divine mark, on the
part of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, to choose any
boundary-line short of the river Jordan. They were governed, in their
conduct, by worldly and selfish considerations—by the sight of their
eyes—by carnal motives. They surveyed “the land of Jazer and the land of
Gilead,” and they estimated it entirely according to their own interests,
and without any reference to the judgment and will of God. Had they been
simply looking to God, the question of settling down short of the river
Jordan would never have been raised at all.
But when people are not simple, not true-hearted, they get into
circumstances which give rise to all sorts of questions. It is a great
matter to be enabled, by divine grace, to pursue a line of action, and to
tread a path so unequivocal, as that no question can be raised. It is our
holy and happy privilege so to carry ourselves as that no complication
may ever arise. The secret of so doing is to walk with God, and thus to
have our conduct wholly governed by His Word.
But that Reuben and Gad were not thus governed is manifest from the
entire history. They were half-and-half men; men of mixed principles;
mere borderers; men that sought their own things, and not the things of
God. Had these latter engrossed their hearts, nothing would have induced
them to take up their position short of the true boundary-line.
It is very evident that Moses had no sympathy with their proposal. It
was a judgment upon his conduct that he was not allowed to go over. His
heart was in the promised land, and he longed to go thither in person.
How could he, then, approve of the conduct of men who were not only
prepared, but actually desirous, to take up their abode somewhere else?
Faith can never be satisfied with any thing short of the true position
and portion of God’s people. A single eye can only see, a faithful heart
only desire, the inheritance given of God.
Hence, therefore, Moses at once condemned the proposition of Reuben and
Gad. True, he afterwards relaxed his judgment and gave his consent. Their
promise to cross the Jordan, ready-armed, before their brethren, drew
from Moses a kind of assent. It seemed an extraordinary manifestation of
unselfishness and energy to leave all their loved ones behind, and cross
the Jordan, only to fight for their brethren. But where had they left
those loved ones? They had left them short of the divine mark. They had
deprived them of a place and portion in the true land of promise—that
inheritance of which God had spoken to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And for
what? Just to get good pasture for their cattle. For an object like this
did the two tribes and a half abandon their place within the true limits
of the Israel of God.
And now let us look at the consequences of this line of action. Let the
reader turn to Joshua xxii. Here we have the first sorrowful effect
of the equivocal conduct of Reuben and Gad. They must needs build an
altar—“a great altar to see to,” lest in time to come their brethren
might disown them. What does all this prove? It proves that they were all
wrong in taking up their position on this side of Jordan. And only mark
the effect upon the whole assembly—the disturbing, alarming effect of
this altar. At the first blush, it wore the aspect of actual rebellion.
“And when the children of Israel heard it, _the whole congregation of
the children of Israel_ gathered themselves together at Shiloh, to go
up to war against them. And _the children of Israel_ sent unto _the
children of Reuben_, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of
Manasseh,[22] into the land of Gilead, Phinehas the son of Eleazar the
priest, and with him ten princes, of each chief house a prince throughout
all the tribes of Israel; and each one was a head of the house of their
fathers among the thousands of Israel. And they came unto the children of
Reuben, and to the children of Gad, and to the half tribe of Manasseh,
unto the land of Gilead, and they spake with them, saying, ‘Thus saith
_the whole congregation of the Lord_, [Did not the two and a half belong
to it?] What trespass is this that ye have committed against the God of
Israel, to turn away this day from following the Lord, in that ye have
builded you an altar, that ye might rebel this day against the Lord? Is
the iniquity of Peor too little for us, from which we are not cleansed
until this day, although there was a plague in the congregation of the
Lord, but that ye must turn away this day from following the Lord? and it
will be, seeing ye rebel to-day against the Lord, that to-morrow He will
be wroth with the whole congregation of Israel. Notwithstanding, if the
land of _your possession_ be unclean, then pass ye over unto _the land
of the possession of the Lord_, wherein the Lord’s tabernacle dwelleth,
[what burning words!] and take possession among us; but rebel not against
the Lord, nor rebel against us, in building you an altar beside the altar
of the Lord our God.’” (Joshua xxii. 12-19.)
Now all this serious misunderstanding, all this trouble and alarm, was
the result of failure on the part of Reuben and Gad. True, they were able
to explain themselves and satisfy their brethren in reference to the
altar; but then there would have been no need of the altar, no demand
for explanation, no cause of alarm, had they not taken up an equivocal
position.
Here was the source of all the mischief; and it is important for the
Christian reader to seize this point with clearness, and to deduce from
it the great practical lesson which it is designed to teach. It can
hardly be questioned by any thoughtful, spiritually minded person who
fully weighs all the evidence in the case, that the two tribes and a half
were wrong in stopping short of the Jordan, in taking up their position.
This seems to us unquestionable, even on the ground of what has already
come before us; and if further proof were needed, it is furnished by the
fact that they were the very first to fall into the enemy’s hands. (See 1
Kings xxii. 3.)
But it may be that the reader is disposed to ask, What has all this to
say to us? has this piece of history any voice—any instruction for us?
Unquestionably. It sounds in our ears, with accents of deep solemnity,
Beware of falling short of your proper position—your proper portion—of
being content with the things which belong to this world—of taking any
stand short of death and resurrection—the true, the spiritual Jordan.[23]
Such, we conceive, is the teaching of this portion of our book. It is
a grand point to be whole-hearted, decided, and unequivocal in taking
our stand for Christ. Serious damage is done to the cause of God and
the testimony of Christ by those who profess to be Christians denying
their heavenly calling and character, and acting as though they were
citizens of this world. This is a powerful engine in the hands of Satan.
An undecided, half-and-half Christian is more inconsistent than an
open, out-and-out worldling or infidel. The unreality of professors is
more injurious by far to the cause of God than all the forms of moral
pravity put together. This may seem a strong statement, but it is too
true. Christian professors who are only mere borderers—men of mixed
principles—persons of doubtful deportment—these are the men who most
seriously damage the blessed cause, and promote the designs of the
enemy of Christ. What we want, just now, is a band of whole-hearted,
thoroughgoing, unmistakable witnesses for Jesus Christ—men who shall
declare plainly that they seek a country—earnest, unworldly men.
These are the men for the present crisis. What can be more deplorable,
more saddening and discouraging, than to find those who make a lofty
profession, who talk loudly of death and resurrection, who boast of their
high doctrines and heavenly privileges, but whose walk and ways give the
lie to their words? They love the world and the things of the world; they
love money, and are eager to grasp and hoard as much as possible.
Beloved Christian reader, let us see to these things; let us honestly
judge ourselves as in the very presence of God, and put away from us
every thing, no matter what, that tends to hinder the complete devotion
of ourselves, in spirit and soul and body, to Him who loved us and gave
Himself for us. May we, to use the language of Joshua xxii, so carry
ourselves as not to need any altar to see to, nor any thing to declare
where we belong to, where we worship, whose we are, and whom we serve.
Thus shall every thing about us be transparent and unquestionable, our
testimony shall be distinct, and the sound of our trumpet certain; our
peace, too, shall flow like an even river, and the entire bent of our
course and character shall be to the praise of Him whose name is called
upon us. May the good Lord stir up the hearts of His people, in this day
of hateful indifferentism, lukewarmness, and easy-going profession, to
more genuine self-surrender, true consecration to the cause of Christ,
and unshaken faith in the living God. Will the reader join us in pleading
for all this?
CHAPTERS XXXIII. & XXXIV.
The first of these sections gives us a wonderfully minute description of
the desert wanderings of the people of God. It is impossible to read it
without being deeply moved by the tender love and care of God so signally
displayed throughout the whole. To think of His deigning to keep such
a record of the journeyings of His poor people, from the moment they
marched out of Egypt until they crossed the Jordan—from the land of death
and darkness to the land flowing with milk and honey. “He knoweth thy
walking through this great wilderness: these forty years the Lord thy God
hath been with thee; thou hast lacked nothing.” He went before them every
step of the way; He traveled over every stage of the wilderness; in all
their afflictions He was afflicted. He took care of them like a tender
nurse. He suffered not their garments to wax old, or their feet to swell,
for these forty years; and here He retraces the entire way by which His
hand had led them, carefully noting down each successive stage of that
marvelous pilgrimage, and every spot in the desert at which they had
halted. What a journey! What a Traveling-Companion!
It is very consolatory to the heart of the poor weary pilgrim to be
assured that every stage of his wilderness journey is marked out by the
infinite love and unerring wisdom of God. He is leading His people by a
right way, home to Himself; and there is not a single circumstance in
their lot, or a single ingredient in their cup, which is not carefully
ordered by Himself, with direct reference to their present profit and
their everlasting felicity. Let it only be our care to walk with Him, day
by day, in simple confidence, casting all our care upon Him, and leaving
ourselves and all our belongings absolutely in His hands. This is the
true source of peace and blessedness all the journey through; and then,
when our desert wanderings are over—when the last stage of the wilderness
has been trodden, He will take us home to be with Himself forever.
“There with what joy reviewing
Past conflicts, dangers, fears—
Thy hand our foes subduing,
And drying all our tears—
Our hearts with rapture burning,
The path we shall retrace,
Where now our souls are learning
The riches of Thy grace.”
Chapter xxxiv. gives the boundaries of the inheritance, as drawn by the
hand of Jehovah. The self-same hand which had guided their wanderings,
here fixes the bounds of their habitation. Alas! they never took
possession of the land as given of God. He gave them the whole land, and
gave it forever: they took but a part, and that for a time. But blessed
be God, the moment is approaching when the seed of Abraham shall enter
upon the full and everlasting possession of that fair inheritance,
from which they are for the present excluded. Jehovah will assuredly
accomplish all His promises, and lead His people into all the blessings
secured to them in the everlasting covenant—that covenant which has been
ratified by the blood of the Lamb. Not one jot or tittle shall fail of
all that He has spoken. His promises are all yea and Amen in Christ
Jesus, who is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. All praise to the
Father, and unto the Son, and to the Holy Spirit!