The Israelites have come a long way from Egypt, but they're not there yet. The promised land is still on the other side of the River Jordan and at some point they're going to have to cross it. However, not everybody wants to do that. The Reubenites and the Gadites have large herds and flocks, and they've noticed that the land on the eastern side of the river (the side on which they are currently camping) is good for livestock, so they approach Moses and ask to be allowed to stay and claim that land for themselves. It doesn't seem like an unreasonable request, but Moses is not happy.
He calls them a brood of sinners and accuses them of disobeying God and refusing to go to war, just as their fathers did a generation before. Either he got the wrong end of the stick entirely or the Reubenites and Gadites are good at thinking on their feet, because they tell him that they are willing to cross the Jordan and fight with the other tribe, it's just that once the other tribes are settled, they want to return to the eastern side of the river and settle there instead. Moses agrees to this proposal, promising that they will receive their inheritance on the eastern side of the river, as long as they keep to their word and fight with the other tribes. And so the Reubenites and the Gadites, now joined by the half-tribe of Manesseh, build cities for their women and children and pens for their flocks, knowing that they will have a home to return to.
And now for another brief interlude. Here we have a recap of the Israelites travels since they left Egypt around eighty years earlier. It's been a long journey, and it's not been easy. They've been through deserts and mountains, they've camped by springs and in places with no water, and they've lost family and friends and leaders along the way. But they've come through it because at every step, God has been with them. It's important that we remember where we've come from and where we've been, and it's really important that we see that God's been there too. And when we see that, we need to give thanks.
But the Israelites haven't just been sightseeing. All of that travelling has been to bring them to this point, where they are ready to claim their inheritance, and so God has some instructions for them. He tells Moses to tell the Israelites to drive the people out from the land, destroy their idols, demolish their high places and take possession of the land. He also warns him that any people they do not drive out will become a thorn in their side. But at no point does He tell them to kill anybody. Making refugees of an entire nation is still a big deal, and I'm not dismissing or excusing it, but it's a world away from genocide. When God speaks, it's worth paying attention to the details. Pushing something too far is just as bad as not doing enough. And sometimes it can be far worse.
God tells Moses that the land is to be divided between the nine and a half tribes who are to settle across the Jordan, and assigns men to help him with that task. He also makes provision for the Levites, commanding the Israelites to give them towns and pasture lands. The Levites are to be given forty-eight towns in total, six of which are to be refuge towns for all the people. Anybody who kills a person accidentally may seek refuge in one of these towns where they will be protected from the vengeance of the dead person's family. God knows that sometimes we make genuine mistakes, and in His great love and understanding, He makes allowances and provisions for that. An honest mistake shouldn't cost us everything. But this provision is only to protect the innocent, and He's quick to remind the people that bloodshed defiles the land. As we have seen time and time again, our actions have lasting and far-reaching consequences.
Numbers ends now with the return of Zelophehad's daughters. A number of family clan leaders approach Moses because they are concerned that if the daughters marry outside of their tribe, the land they have inherited will then pass to that tribe. God tells Moses that the leaders are right. Land must not pass from tribe to tribe and so any women who inherit land may only marry within their own tribe. This would only be a problem if when a woman married, her property passed to her husband, so we have to presume that's the case. That means women can inherit, but only if there are no brothers, and they can't keep their property. It feels like one step forward and two steps back. Sadly that's the way these things seem to go. Fighting any cause can feel like an uphill struggle, but that doesn't mean we should lose heart. It just means we should keep pushing forward.
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