and eastward he dwelt as far as the entrance to the wilderness from the river Euphrates; for their cattle were multiplied in the land of Gilead.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.
And in the days of Saul they made war with the Hagarites, who fell by their hand; and they dwelt in their tents throughout the east side of Gilead.
This verse sits inside the family record of the tribes east of the Jordan. It reads like a success story — yet commentators ask what drove the expansion, and why a tribe that could win land like this lost it all.
Verse 10 follows the loss recorded at the start of the chapter, where Reuben loses the rights of the firstborn.
In 1 Chronicles 5 we read how Reuben, the firstborn, lost the first place, which sovereign grace gave to Judah, though the birthright passed to Joseph. We also read of Reuben's war with the Hagarites, which leads into a short note on his neighbours, the Gadites and Manassites.
Little is known about the people Reuben defeated. (The ESV spells the name "Hagrites.")
People in Arabia on whom the two and a half tribes made war. The great spoil captured shows that they were a wealthy tribe. 1 Chronicles 5:10, 19-22; Psalm 83:6. The origin of the name, and where they lived, is not known. In the above Psalm they are distinguished from the Ishmaelites.
Reuben's position explains the raiding — and the same summary of the tribe traces where that exposed frontier life finally led.
The Reubenites do not seem to have played any leading part in the struggles under the Judges. They had "great thoughts of heart," but remained with their flocks. Judges 5:15-16. They raided the Bedouin tribes. Living on the edge of the wilderness, this was surely unavoidable if they were to live in peace and safety. 1 Chronicles 5:9-10, 18; etc. The Reubenites, with the others on the east of the Jordan, went after the gods of the nations, and the LORD cut them short through Hazael of Syria. 2 Kings 10:32-33. Later Pul and Tiglath-pileser carried them away captive.
The chapter does credit Reuben with drive. But commentators point to the reason given a verse earlier — growing herds — and set Reuben beside Caleb.
It is true that the chapter stresses Reuben's energy to enlarge his borders (v. 10). But this is no longer the virtue we saw in Caleb, which sprang from faith alone. Reuben's activity has a wholly human and earthly motive: "their livestock had multiplied in the land of Gilead" (v. 9).
Moses had never named the ground they spread into as their portion.
When Moses led the people out of Egypt, he had said nothing about Gilead and Bashan. They were not part of "the mountain of the inheritance" that he and the people had sung about in their song. Nor were they in that "place" he had told the Midianite that he and Israel were travelling to. But Reuben, Gad and Manasseh had cattle, and the plains on the east side of the river were good grazing. They had no thought of revolting or giving up their interest in the God of Israel; but they had cattle, and Gilead and Bashan suited them.
Earlier in these lists a man prays for the very thing Reuben went out and took. The difference is who does the enlarging.
His second request is this: "... and enlarge my border." Here and there these genealogies highlight people whose borders God extended in the promised land, at a time when most of the people had failed to conquer all of their inheritance... Caleb, Achsah, and Othniel are further examples of this individual energy of faith. It relies on God, and so finds its borders enlarged. So it is with us: our spiritual borders expand in the heavenly sphere while we are upon earth. To reach this we must admit our ruin, which we cannot mend, and how unable we have shown ourselves to be to extend our own borders. We must show a humble dependence that relies on the grace of God alone to have them.
The chapter comes back to these wars later and adds something verse 10 leaves out: in the fighting, they called on God.
"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 answers faith. This is one of the marks of these books of Chronicles throughout. The flesh is condemned, and the captivity is the result of its independence. But God answers faith. He is not only a God of government, who deals with each man according to his responsibility, but also a God of grace, who cannot deny His own character.
- Border lost. Reuben's story in this chapter starts with the birthright taken from him and given to Joseph, with the leading place going to Judah.
- Border chosen. The land east of the Jordan was never named as his portion; good pasture for cattle, not a word from God, put him there.
- Border enlarged. Verse 10 shows real energy. But commentators trace its motive to growing herds — unlike Caleb, whose borders grew by relying on God.
- Border held. The same war reappears later in the chapter with the detail that they cried to God and trusted Him — and grace answered, despite the ruin.
- Border surrendered. The tribe that took tents from the Hagarites later followed the gods of the nations, and Pul and Tiglath-pileser carried them away captive.