Two Sides to Every Story
I often hear the
debate both among Christian circles and even within my own head as to whether
or not it was right for some of the Hebrew people to request land outside of
Canaan. Does it show laziness in simply
taking what is available rather than going through the work to get what God has
promised? Does it show fear in being
afraid to conquer Canaan? Does it show
faithlessness in God in God’s ability to provide a better land than they found
here across the Jordan? Does it show a
materialistic bent on behalf of these tribes to take what they can get their
hands on?
All of these
questions are legitimate, but they only present one side of the story. I used to think shamefully upon Reuben, Gad,
and Manasseh for settling for land outside the Promised Land. But today I think differently. Here’s when my thought process began to
change, and I’ll hint that it begins with Calvin.
Calvin argues at the
very least that in giving the trans-Jordan land to the tribes, the scope of the
land is increased. At the very least, by
the Hebrew people claiming this land in addition to Canaan they actually set up
a demonstration on how gracious God is.
When it is all said and done, God has in fact delivered Canaan and the trans-Jordan
lands into the hands of the Hebrew people.
God even exceeds His own promises.
So here with the help of Calvin we can see a different side to the
question of the morality of Reuben, Gad, and Manasseh.
Moving beyond Calvin’s
point, let’s look at the promise that these tribes make. If we look closely at 32:17 we can see that
while most Bibles translate this passage as “we are ready to go before the
people of Israel.” But that’s not really
what the Hebrew indicates. The verb that
many English translations have as “ready” actually means to make haste or to
hurry. These people who are receiving
their inheritance across the Jordan are rushing to prepare their cities and
sheepfolds so that they can lead the battle in Canaan!
In many respects,
what I hear them saying is something like this. “Since we have our inheritance, we want to put
ourselves at the front of the battle so that we will make quick work of what
the Lord has for us so we may return home.”
While there is the possibility of some kind of selfishness in that
thought, the reality is that they put themselves first in the line of battle. They would take the highest casualties in
that position. That does not sound like
the lazy and unfaithful attitude of a people who want to claim their inheritance
rather than fight. That sounds like a
people who are excited about claiming the inheritance and going ahead with God’s
promise.
Now, to be fair I
think we do have to acknowledge that the intentions of the people of Reuben,
Gad, and Manasseh may not have been genuine at first. If they were genuine at first, I don’t think
Moses would have had to give them the lecture about how if they don’t go into
Canaan to fight they will sin against God.
The fact that Moses had to give the lecture tells me that in Moses’ mind
he had a little doubt as to the true purity of these trans-Jordan tribes.
But the reality is
that once they hear Moses’ argument they are chastened and convicted of the
right thing to do. They do the right
thing. I really give these tribes some
serious credit for the personal growth we can see developing in this
story. Their desire to possess the land
demonstrated an overabundance of God’s promise.
Their ability to listen to Moses’ argument shows rational thought. Their ability to be inspired by Moses’
thought shows a desire to contemplate and a willingness to be chastened. Their assertion to go before the Israelites
and be at the front of the battle shows commitment to the plan.
Sure, these trans-Jordan
tribes may have caused us to question their work ethic, their loyalty to their
kin, and their faithfulness to God in the beginning. But in the end they demonstrate true
character by rising to the challenge.
They give us a good role model to follow. Sometimes we ourselves might have a hint of
laziness about us. Or sometimes people
might question our motives. But those
times are opportunities to step forward and embrace the challenge of actually
following God with purpose and see what God can do with us.
<><
No comments:
Post a Comment