Scripture Daily

Context No. 995 of 4322 · Deuteronomy

Context · Reflection

Deuteronomy 3:17-22: in context

17the Arabah also, and the Jordan and its border, from Chinnereth even to the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, under the slopes of Pisgah eastward. 18I commanded you at that time, saying, “The LORD your God has given you this land to possess it. All of you men of valor shall pass over armed before your brothers, the children of Israel. 19But your wives, and your little ones, and your livestock, (I know that you have much livestock), shall live in your cities which I have given you, 20until the LORD gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also possess the land which the LORD your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then you shall each return to his own possession, which I have given you.” 21I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, “Your eyes have seen all that the LORD your God has done to these two kings. So shall the LORD do to all the kingdoms where you go over. 22You shall not fear them; for the LORD your God himself fights for you.”

Moses is recounting how the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and half of Manasseh received their land east of the Jordan. But receiving it came with a condition. Their wives, children, and livestock could settle in the eastern towns, but the fighting men were commanded to cross the Jordan armed, ahead of their brothers, and fight alongside the other tribes until they too had their inheritance and rest. Only then could the eastern warriors return home. And Moses charges Joshua: your eyes have seen what the LORD did to these two kings; do not fear, for the LORD your God fights for you.

The arrangement is a lesson in not settling for your own security while your brothers are still in the fight. The eastern tribes already had their land; they could have stayed home, defended their own families, and let the rest of Israel conquer Canaan without them. Instead they were required to leave their settled inheritance, cross the river, and go to war for land they themselves would never live on, until every tribe had rest. Your inheritance is secure, the arrangement says, but you are not free to enjoy it while your brothers still lack theirs. And undergirding the whole campaign is Moses' charge to Joshua, the reason they need not fear: the LORD your God himself fights for you. The courage to go and fight for others' rest, not just your own, rests on the promise that the battle is finally God's. Having received grace, you do not sit down in it while others still need it; you take up the work alongside them, because the God who gave you rest fights for them too.

Have I settled comfortably into my own security while my brothers are still in the fight, or am I willing to cross over and labor for others' rest, trusting the God who fights for us?

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