And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Naphish, and Nodab;
A long list of names pauses here for a border war fought by Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh, the tribes settled east of the Jordan. Why does God hand victory to people who were living outside the land He had chosen for them?
The enemies named here were not strangers to Israel's family tree. One writer traces where Ishmael's descendants settled, and how they mixed with their neighbours:
The wilderness of Paran was Ishmael's earliest home. But his descendants spread right across the northern parts of Arabia, from the district of Sinai in the west to the Euphrates. The sons of Keturah lived in this district too. So Ishmaelites, or Hagarites, became mixed up with Midianites, as we can see in Genesis 37:25-28, 36, Judges 8:22-26, 1 Chronicles 5:20.
The two and a half tribes lived where the raiders came from. Their location made fighting men a necessity:
Gad lay east of the Jordan, with Reuben and Manasseh, so this tribe had to bear the shock of the enemies that attacked Israel from the east (1 Chronicles 5:18-22). They were a warlike tribe, suited to such an exposed position.
The land they were defending was land they had chosen for themselves. One commentator weighs that choice, and what their cry to God lacked:
Reuben and Gad (Numbers 32) are the two tribes who seek an inheritance other than the one God had provided. No doubt their influence drew half of Manasseh with them. So two and a half tribes choose apart from God… Here in 1 Chronicles 5:25 the divine record says, "And they transgressed". These words point to their great sin: they chose for themselves when God had chosen for them… God did not forget them while He noted their sin. He helped them in their wars because they trusted in Him. They cried to Him in their need, a sort of faith in God; but where was their obedience? Where was His honour?
Everything about their position was wrong, and God helped them anyway. The reason lies in His character, and in His own purpose in the war:
God granted their prayers just as He had answered the prayer of a single man, Jabez. "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 these books of Chronicles. God condemns the flesh, and the captivity is the result of its independence, but He answers faith. For He is not only a God of government who repays each person according to his responsibility, but 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 so as to exercise the faith and confidence of His people, so that He could then answer them.
(The ESV renders verse 20: "he granted their urgent plea because they trusted in him.")
Being heard while in the wrong is not approval. A writer turns that kindness into a question for the reader:
God always hears those who put their trust in Him and call on Him in time of danger, even though they may be in a wrong position and in practice forget Him when things around them seem prosperous. And is this not one of His gracious ways of rebuking our unfaithfulness?
Long name-lists are easy to skip. Yet these few verses sit among them on purpose, beside other small portraits of faith:
It is sweet and strengthening to the soul to trace out these brief notices of what divine grace had worked in one person and another as they walked their often lowly paths, with faith in exercise and conscience active. If this were only a human book, such notices would seem out of place in the middle of long lists of names… The sons of Reuben, too, with their allies who overcame the Hagarites, are recorded as another instance of the power of faith (chapter 5:18-20).
- Wrong place. Reuben, Gad and half Manasseh settled east of the Jordan by their own choice. Scripture's verdict is blunt: "And they transgressed."
- Real danger. That self-chosen ground left them facing the full shock of raiders from the east — the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish and Nodab, peoples of Ishmael's line. Yet the war itself was of God, stirred up to exercise their faith.
- One cry. In the fighting they cried to God. The record singles out not their skill but their trust in Him.
- Grace answers. God governs and repays each person. Yet He cannot deny His own character, so He answers faith even in guilty people.
- Kindness that corrects. Being heard in the wrong place is no approval. It is one of God's gracious ways of rebuking unfaithfulness. He keeps the whole story among the name-lists as an instance of the power of faith.
and they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into their hand, and all that were with them; for they cried to God in the battle, and he was intreated of them, because they put their trust in him.
The men who won this battle lived east of the Jordan, outside the land God promised Israel. So why did He answer their cry in the middle of the fight, when their own position was a compromise?
Most of Chronicles is lists of names. Now and then the record stops to mark where God worked in a life. Older translations of this verse say God "was entreated of them," where the ESV says "he granted their urgent plea."
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.
Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh settled east of the Jordan because the grazing suited their herds. One writer is blunt about what that cost.
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.
God answered these men, and the reason given is their trust.
"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.
The wording points to something about God, not only about them: prayer moves Him. One writer recalls a time when God's people fasted and begged for His protection, then turns the phrase on us.
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 cried out during the fight, not before it only. One writer sees God's purpose in that, and an answer for Christians who keep losing the same struggle.
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.
- The cry. They called on God while the fight was still going on. That dependence in the middle of the battle was the turning point.
- The criers. They were men who had settled short of the land for the sake of pasture, and had left their families outside the true inheritance.
- The ground. God answered because they trusted Him. Grace responds to faith even when a person's position is compromised, because God cannot deny His own character.
- The two hands. He governs, repaying people for what they do; the captivity later proved it. He also gives grace. Both are true of Him at once.
- The invitation. He answered prayer then, and He has not changed. Our side is to ask; His side is to answer. He will not disappoint faith that tests Him.