But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out. These words of Moses from Numbers 32:23 were spoken to the children of Gad and Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh. What did Moses really mean? Be sure your sin will find you out.
In order to understand, we must read and understand the rest of the chapter.
In Numbers 31, there was a very great victory over the five kings of Midian on the East Side of the Jordan River. The children of Israel are preparing to cross over Jordan to Canaan, The land of milk and honey, the land they had failed to conquer forty years before.
Numbers 32 begins with a request from the tribe of Reuben and the tribe of Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh for the land they had just conquered on the East side of Jordan. The request was that the land they had just conquered was good land. A land good for their cattle. They wanted this land for their inheritance. Why go over Jordan when we are satisfied here?
Moses’ response is a very strong rebuke. He reminds them of what transpired forty years before when the ten spies discouraged the people, and God punished them with forty years of wandering. He says that they are going to discourage the nine and a half other tribes again, and God will again bring judgment. He raises the question, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?
In spite of Moses’ strong rebuke, they entreat again. They said they would build a safe place for their children and cattle, then go and fight until their brethren gained their inheritance.
Moses agrees with them, but he lays out some regulations. If all of you will go armed over Jordan with your brethren. If you will continue with your brethren until all the enemies are driven out. But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out.
So, what was this sin and how would it find them out? Go back to Numbers twenty-six and review the census taken of the men of war. The tribe of Reuben contained 43,730 men and the tribe of Gad 40,500. The half tribe of Manasseh came to 26,350 giving a total of 110,580 men of war.
Next, read Joshua 4:10-13 and you will see these two and a half tribes clearly mentioned as going over Jordan with their brethren but only forty thousand men of war. Where were the seventy thousand? Perhaps Moses’ fears were right, But if ye will not do so…
Robert Frost said it this way: “The world is full of willing people, some willing to work, the rest willing to let them.”
Note 1 Chronicles 5:25-26. The two and a half tribes were the first to inherit their land and also the first to be carried away as captive. Was this what Moses meant when he said, Be sure your sin will find you out
What is the sin referred to in this text?
It is the sin of doing nothing. Shall ye sit here? It is the sin which leads any to forget their share in the Holy War, which is to be carried out for God and for His Church. Yes, spiritual wars are being fought today. Are you involved or are you satisfied to let others fight the battles?
It is the sin of spiritual self-indulgence. Thank God we are safe. We are born again, have passed from death unto life, and are heaven-bound. Praise God! Does the thought occur to us often enough that other things need to be done besides feeding our own souls? We love good sermons, Bible conferences, and spiritual meetings but what about the millions of lost souls headed for hell and destruction? What about the millions without a Bible? Is there nothing we can do for these needs? Will we just sit here? Will our sin of indifference find us out?
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