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Texts -- Numbers 32:1-17 (NET)

Context
The Petition of the Reubenites and Gadites
32:1 Now the Reubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle . When they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideal for cattle , 32:2 the Gadites and the Reubenites came and addressed Moses , Eleazar the priest , and the leaders of the community . They said , 32:3 “Ataroth , Dibon , Jazer , Nimrah , Heshbon , Elealeh , Sebam , Nebo , and Beon , 32:4 the land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel , is ideal for cattle , and your servants have cattle .” 32:5 So they said , “If we have found favor in your sight , let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance . Do not have us cross the Jordan River .”
Moses’ Response
32:6 Moses said to the Gadites and the Reubenites , “Must your brothers go to war while you remain here ? 32:7 Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land which the Lord has given them? 32:8 Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to see the land . 32:9 When they went up to the Eshcol Valley and saw the land , they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them. 32:10 So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day , and he swore , 32:11 ‘Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly , not one of the men twenty years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , 32:12 except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite , and Joshua son of Nun , for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly .’ 32:13 So the Lord’s anger was kindled against the Israelites , and he made them wander in the wilderness for forty years , until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished . 32:14 Now look , you are standing in your fathers ’ place , a brood of sinners , to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites . 32:15 For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness , and you will be the reason for their destruction .”
The Offer of the Reubenites and Gadites
32:16 Then they came very close to him and said , “We will build sheep folds here for our flocks and cities for our families , 32:17 but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place . Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land .

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Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

  • To formulate a statement that summarizes the teaching of this book it will be helpful to identify some of the major revelations in Numbers. These constitute the unique values of the book.The first major value of Numbers is th...
  • I. Experiences of the older generation in the wilderness chs. 1-25A. Preparations for entering the Promised Land from the south chs. 1-101. The first census and the organization of the people chs. 1-42. Commands and rituals t...
  • Another instance of incomplete obedience followed the great victory God gave His people and the military commanders' sacrificial, voluntary worship of Yahweh.32:1-19 Maybe the leaders of Reuben and Gad concluded that their br...
  • The division of the land of these two Amorite kings among two and one-half Israelite tribes (cf. Num. 32) further fulfilled God's promise to give the land to His people. This extensive portion of real estate was part of the l...
  • This portion of the Promised Land went to the two and one-half tribes that had requested it previously (Num. 32).13:8-14 This pericope of verses records the boundaries of Israel's whole transjordanian territory. The peoples t...
  • Succoth and Penuel (a variant of Peniel, cf. Gen. 32:30) were towns that stood on the east side of the Jordan beside the Jabbok River. The residents of these villages lived closer to the Midianites than most of the Israelites...
  • Eli's sons were not only evil in their personal lives, but they flagrantly disregarded the will of God even as they served as leaders of Israel's worship of Yahweh. They neither knew the Lord (in the sense of paying attention...
  • 22:12-13 The psalmist felt he was at the mercy of his enemies as a person is in the presence of a dangerous bull or lion. Cattle grew large and strong in Bashan, the territory east of the Sea of Chinnereth (Galilee; cf. Num. ...
  • This oracle is similar to the one in Isaiah 15 and 16.555Other oracles against Moab appear in Ezekiel 25:8-11, Amos 2:1-3, and Zephaniah 2:9, but this is the longest one. It is very difficult to say when Jeremiah gave this or...
  • Jesus' genealogy and virgin birth prove His legal human qualification as Israel's King. His baptism was the occasion of His divine approval. His temptation demonstrated His moral fitness to reign. The natural question a thoug...
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