Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land. We will not return to our homes until each of the people of Israel has gained his inheritance. For we will not inherit with them on the other side of the Jordan and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this side of the Jordan to the east.”
Numbers 32:16-19 ESV
Gad and Reuben asked for something that God had not offered them yet, and they would have incurred guilt through this if they had not responded to Moses’ rebuke with a promise to turn their own blessing into a blessing for the whole nation.
When James wrote that we don’t get what we ask for because we ask amiss, this is part of what he is getting at. When we ask God for one-sided blessings, we shouldn’t be surprised when he doesn’t grant our request. God’s blessings are always given for the sake of his kingdom, not simply to make us rich or comfortable.
This is one reason why Moses’ request to be allowed to enter the Promised Land was denied. It wasn’t the best thing for Israel. They were entering a new phase of existence, a new mode of interacting with the world and God’s presence, and Moses wasn’t the leader they needed anymore. Even if he had stepped down and allowed Joshua to take leadership, the people would still be looking to him. Their loyalties would be divided.
In the Wilderness, Israel needed Moshe to guide them, but in the Land, Israel needs Yehoshua, who’s shortened name is Yeshua.
Like Yeshua, Joshua directs the people to continue living according to God’s commandments given to them through Moses, but the “why” has changed. The Law led them to the place where they can recognize their need for Joshua, not in place of the Law, but as an exemplar of it. In the Wilderness, they kept the Law in order to learn it. In the Land, they keep it for the name of their God and for a better life.
In the end, Moses did enter the Promised Land, but on the periphery across the Jordan. This was within the full extent of territory that God had promised, but not the land they were to conquer in this initial phase of occupation. The Law is not supposed to be our ultimate focus. It’s just a tool to show us our need for Yeshua and to help us live in harmony with him. He is the our focus.
And now that we have submitted to Yeshua, we go on to re-incorporate Moses into our life, not for salvation, but because this is the plan that God has laid out for us to be transformed into the image of his Son.
Everything that Yeshua (aka Jesus) & the Apostles taught
Come with me as I draw out the connections that are so often missed |