It was an awkward situation. The Gadites had discovered a choice piece of land for their huge herds and flocks and wanted to settle there rather than head west over the Jordan River and into battle in Canaan, Numbers 32:1. But when they asked Moses if it was all right for them to stay, he did not react well.
He was hopping mad. He accused them of sitting idly by while their fellow Israelites did all the fighting, which might discourage them from fighting too, and that would risk God getting angry at the Israelites not following his instructions and consigning them to another 40 years of wandering round the desert, and it would all be the Gadites’ fault (6-15). Moses even called them “a brood of sinners” (14).
Moses was treading on rather dangerous ground, though, having predicted in Deuteronomy 33:20 that Gad would be “like a lion, tearing at arm or head.” He was very fortunate, then, that the Gadites chose not to tear his arm or head off, and they turned to diplomacy instead.
They did not back down from what they believed was best for their families and their livestock, Numbers 32:16, but they also took into account the tough position Moses was in. Moses had strict instructions from God to take the land God had in mind for them. To ease Moses’ mind, then, the Gadites told him in verse 17, “we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place.” They’d be willing to lead Israel into battle and stay in the fight until the job was done.
“So here’s what we’re offering: we’d like to go ahead and build pens for our livestock and fortified cities for our women and children on this side of the river (16), but we won’t return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance (17-18). And, what’s more, we don’t expect any part of that inheritance ourselves since we’ve chosen to settle here instead (19).That’s our promise to you, so do we have a deal?”
“Agreed on all counts,” Moses replied (20-22), his anger totally diffused, “but you’d better not break your promise because your sin will find you out” (23). Your diplomacy had better be backed up by action, in other words. And happily the Gadites pulled through as promised (Joshua 22:1-9), but that wasn’t the end of the story. The Gadites faced another awkward situation, this time the wrath of all their fellow Israelites because of “Judging motives wrongly”….(next blog)
Buck To Basics 