28 So Moses gave command concerning them to Eleazar 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. 29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the Lord, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. 30 However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” 31 And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the Lord has said to your servants, we will do. 32 We will pass over armed before the Lord into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”
33 And Moses gave to them, to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben and to the half-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 and its cities with their territories, the cities of the land throughout the country. 34 And the people of Gad built Dibon, Ataroth, Aroer, 35 Atroth-shophan, Jazer, Jogbehah, 36 Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran, fortified cities, and folds for sheep. 37 And the people of Reuben built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kiriathaim, 38 Nebo, and Baal-meon (their names were changed), and Sibmah. And they gave other names to the cities that they built. 39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and captured it, and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40 And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he settled in it. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and captured their villages, and called them Havvoth-jair. 42 And Nobah went and captured Kenath and its villages, and called it Nobah, after his own name. – Numbers 32:28-42 ESV
After listening to the proposal from the tribes of Gad and Reuben, Moses agreed to allow them to settle in land on the eastern side of the Jordan River, just outside the borders of Canaan. But he required them to swear an oath of fealty to the ten remaining tribes, agreeing to assist them in their conquest of the land of Canaan.
Moses then communicated the terms of the agreement to all the tribes of Israel, ensuring that everyone understood what was expected and what was to be done if those terms were not met. He wanted there to be no confusion or disagreement as to what this concession entailed for both parties.
“The men of Gad and Reuben who are armed for battle must cross the Jordan with you to fight for the Lord. If they do, give them the land of Gilead as their property when the land is conquered. But if they refuse to arm themselves and cross over with you, then they must accept land with the rest of you in the land of Canaan.” – Numbers 32:29-30 NLT
Notice that the terms of the agreement included the full participation of the Gadites and Reubenites until the land of Canaan was fully conquered. This would not be a short-term commitment that entailed a single battle or a few short weeks of military service; the two tribes were obligated to fight alongside their brothers for the foreseeable future. These two tribes were committing a sizeable number of their male population to fight for land that they would never occupy. In fact, the census Moses had taken revealed that between the tribes of Gad and Reuben, they fielded 84,230 soldiers. That comprised 14 percent of the entire Israelite force. So, their involvement in the conquest of Canaan would be vitally necessary to Israel’s success.
The two tribes committed themselves to the terms of the agreement, assuring Moses and the rest of the leaders that they would follow through on their part of the agreement.
“We are your servants, and we will do as the Lord has commanded! We will cross the Jordan into Canaan fully armed to fight for the Lord, but our property will be here on this side of the Jordan.” – Numbers 32:31-32 NLT
For however long it took, the Gadites and Reubenites would fight alongside their brothers and help ensure that every one of the ten tribes had successfully conquered and occupied their portion of the inheritance. That was a huge commitment on their part.
At this point in the narrative, it becomes clear that there was a third tribe that decided to get in on the action. This was the tribe of Manasseh, one of the two sons of Joseph.
So Moses assigned land to the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh son of Joseph. He gave them the territory of King Sihon of the Amorites and the land of King Og of Bashan—the whole land with its cities and surrounding lands. – Numbers 32:33 NLT
Half of this tribe also decided to take advantage of the prime real estate on the eastern side of the Jordan River, and Moses gave them his approval.
The rest of the chapter outlines how the three tribes began their conquest of the area known as the Transjordan. Long before the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and began to do battle with the Canaanites, the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh were gaining invaluable fighting experience against the enemies of Israel. The battles they undertook east of the Jordan would provide them with much-needed expertise in warfare strategy. It seems likely that their fellow Israelites assisted in many of these battles, assuring that the three tribes were able to capture and occupy enough land to meet the needs of their people.
God was sovereignly preparing the entire nation to enter the land of promise and carry out His divine plan. By the time came for them to cross the Jordan and conduct their first military campaign, they would have the confidence and experience they needed to succeed.
However, it is important to note that the plan of these three tribes to occupy the Transjordan was not what God had intended. Interestingly enough, Got had promised Abraham that this very region would one day belong to his descendants.
On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites, the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.” – Genesis 15:18-21 ESV
God had given His word that the future territory of His chosen people would be vast and encompass land all the way to the Euphrates River. But God’s instructions to Moses were to conquer the land west of the Jordan River. That was to be the initial portion of the inheritance God would give to His people. By demanding a share of the land east of the Jordan, the three tribes were demanding that God act according to their terms and timeline. While Yahweh had demanded that all 12 tribes conquer and occupy the land of the Canaanites, these three tribes decided that they knew better. It is impossible to say what would have happened had the tribes of Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh never made their request. How would the outcome have differed if they had been willing to accept God’s original terms and trusted His gracious gift of land in Canaan?
This episode in the long history of Israel’s tenure in the land of Canaan is just one more example of God’s patience with His people’s stubbornness and ongoing resistance to His will. Their decision to occupy the land east of the Jordan was not against His revealed will but it was in conflict with His timing. Had they waited and willingly obeyed God’s directive, the entire region promised to Abraham would have eventually come under the possession of Israel. But as the story continues and the roller-coaster history of the Israelites unfolds, it will become increasingly clear that disobedience and unfaithfulness will darken any hopes of God’s people enjoying all that He had planned for them. Even the battle for the land of Canaan would be hard-fought, and their attempts to expel the land’s occupants would be unsuccessful and incomplete.
The land deal east of Jordan would prove to be just one more sign of Israel’s unwillingness to trust God and walk according to His will.
English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001
New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
