1 Chronicles 5:18–22

It is true that the text stresses Reuben's energy to enlarge his borders (v. 10). But this is no longer the virtue we have seen in Caleb, which sprang from faith alone. Reuben's activity has a motive that is merely human and earthly: "Their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead" (v. 9).

Being on the east of Jordan, Gad, with Reuben and Manasseh, would have to bear the shock of the enemies that attacked Israel on the east (1 Chr. 5:18-22). They were a warlike tribe, suited to such an exposed position.

The Jordan may also be seen as the boundary of the promised land. So the two and a half tribes who stayed on the east of it stopped short of their privileges. They are a picture of many Christians who do not accept by faith the heavenly portion God intends for them, a portion reached through death and resurrection. Such Christians are more open to the attacks of the enemy, as the two and a half tribes were — they were the first to be carried into captivity.

These two and a half tribes waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab... "for they cried out to God in the battle, and He granted their urgent plea because they trusted in Him" (vv. 19-20). God granted their prayers just as He had answered the prayer of a single man, Jabez. "They trusted in Him." The God of grace owed it to His own character to answer them, however guilty they were when it came to the unity of the people of God. So, despite the ruin, grace always responds to faith.

The flesh is condemned. The captivity is the consequence of its independence, but faith is answered. God is not only a God of government, who gives to each person according to his responsibility; He is also a God of grace, who cannot deny His character. In verse 22 we read, "The war was of God." He had stirred up the trouble to exercise the faith and confidence of His people, so that He could then answer them.

The sons of Reuben, too, with their allies who overcame the Hagrites, are cited as another instance of the power of faith (chap. 5:18-20). Nor does God forget Zelophehad, the man who had no sons to inherit after him. He claimed a portion for his daughters, and learned that the strength of the Lord is made perfect in weakness.

In His grace God had prospered the men of Manasseh: "They were many" (v. 23). But God's favour had won them blessings, and those blessings turned them away from Him instead of drawing them closer: "And they transgressed against the God of their fathers" (v. 25).

Settling down in the world, allowing selfish interests to dictate our path and testimony, is to open the gates for the enemy's assail.

It is sweet and strengthening to the soul to trace out the brief notes of what divine grace had done in one person and another, as they walked their often lowly ways with faith at work and conscience active. If this were only a human book, those notes would seem out of place among long lists of names… The sons of Reuben, too, with their allies, overcame the Hagarites when "they cried to God in the battle, and He was entreated of them, because they put their trust in Him." That stands as another instance of the power of faith.

Their promise to cross the Jordan, ready armed, ahead of their brothers, drew a kind of consent from Moses. It seemed an extraordinary display of unselfishness and energy to leave all their loved ones behind and cross the Jordan only to fight for their brothers. But where had they left those loved ones? They had left them short of the divine mark. They had robbed them of a place and a portion in the true land of promise. That was the inheritance God had spoken of to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And for what? Just to get good pasture for their cattle.

"They put their trust in Him"; the God of grace owed it to His own character to answer them, however guilty they might be about the unity of the people of God. So, despite the ruin, grace always responds to faith. This is one of the distinctive marks of the whole of these books of Chronicles. The flesh is condemned, and the captivity is the result of its independence. But God answers faith. He is a God of government, who repays man according to his responsibility. He is also a God of grace, who cannot deny His character. In verse 22 we read, "The war was of God." He had stirred up the trouble to exercise the faith and confidence of His people, so that He could then answer them.

May we not remind ourselves that the God of Israel is our God too, that He is unchanged in His power and in His interest in His own? Their side was to fast and beg God for His help and protection. God's side is expressed in the words, "He was entreated of us." Will not our God be entreated by us? Have we not a marvellous opportunity in these days of weakness? We talk about weakness and say too little about God's almighty power and lasting interest in His own.

They were never equal to their enemies by their own strength. God made them like that, so that in every time of stress they would depend on Him. He was their refuge and resource and strength… And God always responded to their appeal. And will He disappoint us if we take up this stand in faith? Let us test Him and see. How fierce are the struggles some Christians face! They want to do right and to overcome when strong temptations press on them. They long for a victorious life, but they seem to long in vain. They find the enemy too strong for them, so they are discouraged and ready to give up the fight.

In verse 22 we read, "The war was of God." He had stirred up the difficulty to exercise the faith and confidence of His people, so that He could then answer them.

Living east of the Jordan, this tribe, with Reuben and Manasseh, had to take the full force of the enemies who attacked Israel from the east. They were a warlike tribe, suited to such an exposed position.

"They put their trust in Him." The God of grace owed it to His own character to answer them, however guilty they were when it came to the unity of the people of God. So, despite the ruin, grace always responds to faith. This is one of the marks of the whole of these books of Chronicles. The flesh is condemned. The captivity is the result of its independence. But faith is answered. God is not only a God of government, who repays each man according to his responsibility. He is also a God of grace, who cannot deny His character.

God always hears those who put their trust in Him and call on Him in time of danger. He hears them even when they are in a wrong position, and forget Him in practice while things around them seem prosperous. And is not this one of His gracious ways of rebuking our unfaithfulness?

The fertility of the land east of the Jordan attracted them, and they paid no regard to the promise. This was not falling in the wilderness, but it was coming short of the grace of God. To their eyes the land of their choice might have every advantage. It was fertile and suitable for "much cattle". But it was not the promised land.

Because they were outside the promised land, they lost the special privileges of the temple. They also lost the awareness, which the other tribes might have had, that the power Jehovah displayed in the battles with the Canaanites was for them… They became mere onlookers of the triumphs of Israel. The helpful lessons connected with Ai, with Gibeon, and so on, were only second-hand to them… But God's purpose was — and is — to establish all the people of Israel in that land. Humanly speaking, these tribes frustrated that purpose. God's grace rises above man's failure. He will fulfil His purpose, and prove that where sin abounded, grace abounds even more.

Their beginning seemed fair; there were brave men among them. They were well known, but there was this fatal charge against them: "And they transgressed." They were shut out from the special blessing of the land. How great their loss! The consequences were both moral and judicial. They went after the gods of the people of the land — they became idol worshippers. That was the moral consequence of their position. The judicial consequence is that the "God of Israel" brought the king of Assyria upon them. He carried them into captivity, far from the land that they valued above God's land.