Numbers 32:25-30: a reflection

25The children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do as my lord commands. 26Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our livestock shall be there in the cities of Gilead; 27but your servants will pass over, every man who is armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord says.” 28So Moses commanded concerning them to Eleazar the priest, and to Joshua the son of Nun, and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the children of Israel. 29Moses said to them, “If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over the Jordan, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession; 30but if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”

The tribes of Gad and Reuben, having asked to settle east of the Jordan, now make a solemn promise. Their little ones and flocks will stay behind in the towns of Gilead, but the fighting men will cross over, armed, ahead of their brothers, and will not return to their own inheritance until the whole land is won. They will not enjoy their rest while the rest of Israel still has a battle to fight.

This is what real solidarity looks like. It would have been easy for these tribes to take their allotted land and stay home; they had, in a sense, already gotten what they wanted. Instead they commit to share the burden of the common task, to put their own comfort on hold until their brothers are settled too. Moses holds them to it, but the pledge itself is honorable. Their inheritance can wait; their brothers cannot be left to fight alone.

There is a challenge here for anyone tempted to secure their own comfort and then disengage from the shared work that remains. When you have received your portion, a stable job, a settled home, a measure of peace, the temptation is to sit down and leave the ongoing struggle to others. These tribes model something better: enjoy your rest only after you have helped your brothers reach theirs. Ask where you are being called to cross over and fight alongside others before settling into your own ease.

Lord, keep me from securing my own comfort and then leaving the shared work to others. Give me the heart of Gad and Reuben, willing to cross over and stand with my brothers and sisters until they too have found their rest. Let me hold my own ease loosely, and count the good of the whole worth more than my private comfort. Amen.