[Numbers 32] Don’t Settle for Second Best. In this chapter, we find two tribes of Israel who decide they don’t want to go into Canaan land. They want to settle on “this side of Jordan”. God had an inheritance for them, but circumstances and situations led them to believe they were better off just settling for second best. We often find ourselves in less than perfect situations – but because we are tired and frustrated, we settle for second best and want to quit trying. This is a deception. Life on any terms is filled with challenges regardless of our decisions. Go, first-class, all the way. Don’t settle. Don’t compromise. Don’t twist your doctrine to justify a theology of unbelief as though God didn’t offer us life and life more abundantly in Christ.
[Num 32:1-42 KJV] 1 Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place [was] a place for cattle; 2 The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, 3 Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 4 [Even] the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, [is] a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, [and] bring us not over Jordan. 6 And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 8 Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. 9 For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 10 And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 11 Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. 13 And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. 14 And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. 15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. 16 And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 17 But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. 20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth. 25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. 26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: 27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith. 28 So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: 29 And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: 30 But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 31 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do. 32 We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan [may be] ours. 33 And Moses gave unto them, [even] to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the 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, with the cities thereof in the coasts, [even] the cities of the country round about. 34 And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 35 And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 36 And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. 37 And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, 38 And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded. 39 And the children of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead, and took it, and dispossessed the Amorite which [was] in it. 40 And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein. 41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair. 42 And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name.
There will be in your life opportunities to settle for second best. In this chapter, the children of Israel have recently defeated all the kings of the Midianites. The tribe of Gad and Rueben decide that the land they conquered already was good to raise cattle on and want to settle there instead of going on to the possessions that God had for them in the Promised Land. Looking back to Genesis, we note that Rueben was the firstborn, and we see the same trait in Rueben then that now is manifesting in the generations after him. Listen to Jacob’s prophecy over him:
[Gen 49:3 KJV] 3 Reuben, thou [art] my firstborn, my might, and the beginning of my strength, the excellency of dignity, and the excellency of power: 4 Unstable as water, thou shalt not excel; because thou wentest up to thy father’s bed; then defiledst thou [it]: he went up to my couch.
It has been said about water that it seeks its own level. It settles at the lowest common denominator. Here we see this reflected in the choice of the tribe of Reuben to stay behind and not go on into Canaan. To the Reubenites, convenience and nearest opportunity are too much of a temptation. Typical of the eldest child, they don’t want to go it alone, so they influence the tribe of Gad to settle with them. What is wrong with this plan? We serve a God who is able to do exceedingly abundantly more than we ask or think. We need to be cautious about having an attitude in life like Reuben and Gad. Go for the highest and best. Go, first-class, all the way. Don’t compromise. Don’t rationalize away the blessing of God in your life or the destiny that God has planned for you.
In v. 6, we see that Moses sees the true motives of Reuben and Gad. It is the same thinking that caused their fathers to come back with the evil report. They aren’t only interested in settling outside the promised land; they also want to avoid fighting battles for the other tribes. Their outlook is inherently negative. I was raised with the thinking, “don’t ever expect anything good to happen, and you won’t be disappointed.” On the surface, this seems very pragmatic because, in life, there are many setbacks. There is a philosophy of life in Christianity that is not about overcoming, or highest and best first but about coping, settling, and getting by. I spent many years in my life where my goal was simply survival. In the new year, I would say that I just wanted to come out at the end of the year intact without any significant losses. God wants something more for you than this. Don’t settle. You wonder at times why faith doesn’t work. Faith will not work if you are using it only to cope and get by. Sometimes we focus our faith not on highest heart’s desire but upon how we think God will do the things we believe for. This is manipulation. God limits His sovereignty where the end result of our hopes is concerned, but He retains His sovereignty in how He gets things done. Don’t try to tell God in your prayers how your life is going to be different or by what means God is going to work change in your life. His thoughts are not your thoughts. You could never conceive in your wildest imagination the path God will take you on to highest heart’s desire and greatest dream fulfilled. Most people opt out right here. If they don’t understand and God doesn’t move in their life according to a logical, rational, conventional, non-controversial way, they would rather just settle in right where they are and not be challenged in their thinking.
Moses tries to dissuade Rueben and Gad, but they insist on having their own way and settling for less than God’s best. Notice even though they are abandoning what God had for them – there is a path of remediation. They were required to selflessly serve the needs of those around them. This speaks to us of the law of love. Job suffered greatly, but he was delivered when he got his mind off of his own troubled and made the love decision:
Job 42:10 And the LORD turned the captivity of Job, when he prayed for his friends: also the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.
God understands the suffering we go through, but as in Rueben and Gad, He still requires something of us. You suffer in your bodies and in your relationships. You struggle with poverty and lack and generational denial of the very things God has promised us in His word. There is a path of progress. There is a way out. It is not found in shaking your head and saying, “why is God doing this to me” or “When is God going to make things different.” While Job asked these questions, the struggle continued. When he finally gets his focus off of himself and his own sufferings, things begin to change. Things are the way they are because of what you are doing. If you want something different, you must do something different. What you make happen for others God will make happen for you, but you have to get out of your head knowledge, and sense ruled responses to life and simply obey the impetus of the Spirit of God who will lead you to breakthrough.
In v. 23, we see that these two tribes have agreed to Moses’ terms to go fight, but he follows up with a warning. In this verse, the plain judgment of God is revealed about their compromising choices. To refuse to settle in the land, God prepared for them is sin. God sent Jesus for you to have life and life more abundantly. There is nothing praiseworthy in settling for second best. The point that God is making through Moses is this – you are going to have battles in life. Better to reach for highest and best than to settle for second best. There is a saying I have heard in Christian circles – “don’t pray; you patience you will get tribulation…” Jesus made the statement in John 16:33 “in this world you will have tribulation…” whether you pray for patience or not. Jesus spoke of this in the gospel of Luke:
Luke 21:19 – in your patience possess ye your souls.
James wrote:
James 1:4 – But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.
We don’t like to live with imbalance in our lives. We don’t want to believe that we are works in process on our way to the fulfillment of the promises of God. We come up with coping strategies and doctrines of second best. We guild the suffering and denials in our lives with religious justifications as though it pleases God to deny us the very thing He has promised. We invent false assumptions about sickness and poverty and loss as though God engineered them for some higher purpose. These are all despicable lies originating in the pit of Hell. In John 10:10, Jesus said He came that we might have life and life more abundantly. Don’t settle. Don’t compromise. Go, first-class, all the way. God will bring you to highest heart’s desire if you will allow Him to work in your life even though you often don’t understand fully why He leads us in the direction we are going.
