Securing Sympathy for Settling

I. A DESIRE PRESENTED (Numbers 32:1-5)

A. The Basis for the Desire (Numbers 32:1)

1. The people of the desire—“The children of Reuben and the children of Gad” (Numbers 32:1; see also Numbers 32:33)
2. The background of the desire—they “had a very great multitude of cattle”
3. The source of the desire
a. They saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead.
1.) This is land on the east of the Jordan River.
2.) Apparently, land on the east of Jordan was known for being good for cattle (see Numbers 32:33; Deuteronomy 32:14; Psalm 22:12; Amos 4:1).
b. They deemed it to be a place for cattle.

B. The Request for the Desire (Numbers 32:2-5)

1. Their approach to the leaders (Numbers 32:2-4)
a. They approached Moses, Eleazar, and the princes (Numbers 32:2).
b. They set forth cities and declared their value (Numbers 32:3-4).
2. Their appeal to the leaders (Numbers 32:5)
a. The plea for grace—“if we have found grace in thy sight”
b. The plea for allowance—“let this land be given”
c. The plea for dismissal—“bring us not”

II. SOME CONCERNS EXPRESSED (Numbers 32:6-15)

A. The Source of the Concern—“And Moses said” (Numbers 32:6)

B. The Nature of the Concern (Numbers 32:6-15)

1. The concern for others (Numbers 32:6-7)
a. War—“Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here” (Numbers 32:6)
b. Discouragement—“wherefore discourage ye the heart of…Israel” (Numbers 32:7)
2. The concern from history (Numbers 32:8-15)
a. The historical example (Numbers 32:8-13)
b. The present application (Numbers 32:14-15)

III. AN AGREEMENT REACHED (Numbers 32:16-33)

A. The Initial Offer of Compromise (Numbers 32:16-19)

1. The desire to build (Numbers 32:16)
2. The willingness to go (Numbers 32:17)
3. The promise to finish (Numbers 32:18)
4. The relinquish of inheritance (Numbers 32:19)

B. The Second of Compromise (Numbers 32:20-24)

1. The requirements stated (Numbers 32:20-22)
2. The failure warned (Numbers 32:23)
3. The allowance granted (Numbers 32:24)

C. The Agreement Accomplished (Numbers 32:25-33)

1. The agreement (Numbers 32:25-27)
2. The presentation (Numbers 32:28-33)

IV. A JUDGMENT RENDERED

A. The Appearance of the Decision

1. The association of God’s name
a. By the people (Numbers 32:4, 27, 31, 32)
b. By Moses (Numbers 32:21-22)
2. The presence of humility—“thy servants” (Numbers 32:4, 5, 25, 27, 31)
3. The building of an altar (Joshua 22:9-34)

B. The Betrayal of Motives

1. Where is the prayer?—The Lord’s name is mentioned, but there is no mention of prayer.
2. Why did they build an altar?
a. The tribes built an altar so their children would not be outcasts from the rest of Israel.
b. It was not an altar of sacrifice, but an empty form of what Israel had across Jordan.
3. What did their speech confirm (Matthew 26:73)?
a. The two-and-one-half tribes made no mention of going over Jordan to help until Moses brought it up (Numbers 32:5-6, 17).
b. They were willing to pass over Jordan to help because of what they got on this side Jordan (Numbers 32:32), but were then more than happy to separate from their brethren to return to their inheritance (Numbers 32:17-19).

C. The Knowledge of God’s Will

1. God’s permissive will
a. The two-and-one-half tribes made a decision based upon sight and understanding.
b. Despite initial hesitancy, they were able to convince Moses to accept their decision.
c. Moses gave them their wish, but it seems that God did not necessarily approve (see the wording of Joshua 1:14-15 and Joshua 22:4.
d. The pattern seems very much akin to the sending of spies into the land of Canaan, which was Moses’ example in the first place.
1.) The spies were not God’s idea (Deuteronomy 1:19-26).
2.) God allowed the spies to search the land (Numbers 13:1-2).
2. God’s perfect will—“I am the LORD your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, TO GIVE YOU THE LAND OF CANAAN, and to be your God.” (Leviticus 25:38) Note: It seems pretty clear that the two-and-one-half tribes lived on the outside of the land called Canaan (Joshua 22:9-11).