Today, I am reading and commenting on  Numbers 32-33.

Some times when I read this, I think that there is miscommunication between Moses and the tribes which wanted to stay east of the Jordan River.  Today, I read this as the tribes of Reuben and Gad not fully understanding the implications of what they were asking.  The two tribes just saw that the land the Israelites had conquered east of the Jordan was perfect for their lifestyle and wanted to settle there.  Moses pointed out that  unwillingness to enter the Promised Land led the Israelites to wander in the wilderness for forty years.  If these two tribes were unwilling to enter the Promised Land alongside the other tribes, they would be guilty of the same sin.  So, as I read it today, the tribes of Reuben and Gad did not want to cross over the Jordan and fight because the land they wanted was already conquered.  However, when Moses put it this way, they realized that the other tribes had helped conquer this land, so they needed to help the other tribes conquer their land.  They had not asked to be excused from joining the others in crossing the Jordan because they did not want to fight beside them.  Instead, they had asked to be excused from crossing the Jordan because they thought if they did so they would have to choose land to settle on the other side, when the land they wanted to settle was here.  When Moses pointed out to them what their request looked like to others, they quickly amended it to reflect what they truly wanted.  They did not get defensive like so many of us do and argue that they shouldn’t have to risk themselves to help the other tribes.

I use the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.