Audio Download

Numbers 32:1-42  The Request by Reuben and Gad for an Inheritance in Gilead

[Study Aired December 18, 2023]

Introduction

Today’s study focuses on the request by the tribes of Reuben and Gad for an inheritance on the other side of the river Jordan, in Gilead. Specifically, it deals with the desire by the tribes of Reuben and Gad for an inheritance outside of the land of Canaan, Moses’ anger as a result of the request, their proposal for their men to join the rest of the Israelites in their conquest of the land of Canaan and the granting of their request. 

Right from the very onset when the Lord called Abraham, he made His intentions clear regarding the land that He expected his descendants to inherit – the land of Canaan. 

Gen 12:1  Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: 
Gen 12:2  And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 
Gen 12:3  And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 
Gen 12:4  So Abram departed, as the LORD had spoken unto him; and Lot went with him: and Abram was seventy and five years old when he departed out of Haran. 
Gen 12:5  And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother’s son, and all their substance that they had gathered, and the souls that they had gotten in Haran; and they went forth to go into the land of Canaan; and into the land of Canaan they came.
Gen 12:6  And Abram passed through the land unto the place of Sichem, unto the plain of Moreh. And the Canaanite was then in the land. 
Gen 12:7  And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him.

Again, when the Lord called Moses, He reiterated His desire for the people of Israel to inherit the land of Canaan where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and the Jebusites were living. 

Exo 3:8  And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.

The request by the tribes of Reuben and Gad to have an inheritance short of the land of Canaan therefore does not measure up to the standard set by the Lord; and whenever we are not able to measure up to the standard of the Lord, we have failed. The Reubenites and the Gadites were duly represented in the army that defeated the Midianites. They were therefore running well, the race marked out for them until a little leaven leavened the whole lump.  

Gal 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth? 
Gal 5:8  This persuasion cometh not of him that calleth you. 
Gal 5:9  A little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. 

As we go through the chapter, we shall unveil the “little leaven” that destroyed the whole lump. This story is for our admonition as we are the generation of whom the end of the world is come. What happened to the tribes of Reuben and Gad is summarized as follows for our admonition:

1Co 10:1  Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
1Co 10:2  And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; 
1Co 10:3  And did all eat the same spiritual meat; 
1Co 10:4  And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. 
1Co 10:5  But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
1Co 10:6  Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. 
1Co 10:7  Neither be ye idolaters, as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. 
1Co 10:8  Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
1Co 10:9  Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
1Co 10:10  Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
1Co 10:11  Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. 
1Co 10:12  Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.

The Request to Settle in Gilead

Num 32:1  Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; 
Num 32:2  The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spake unto Moses, and to Eleazar the priest, and unto the princes of the congregation, saying, 
Num 32:3  Ataroth, and Dibon, and Jazer, and Nimrah, and Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Shebam, and Nebo, and Beon, 
Num 32:4  Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 
Num 32:5  Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. 

Here in these verses, we are given the reason why they opted to have their inheritance on the other side of the river Jordan. It was when they saw that the land of Jazor and that of Gilead were places for rearing cattle, and since they possessed a significant number of cattle, they decided to have those places for inheritance. The Bible has made mention of Gilead and Bashan being places to rear cattle and therefore as far as the eye is concerned, it is a good place to be. However, we do not walk by sight but by faith in what the Lord has said. 

Mic 7:14  Feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwell solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel: let them feed in Bashan and Gilead, as in the days of old.

2Co 5:7  For we walk by faith, not by sight: 

One of the flesh’s potent entrapments is the lust of the eyes. This is what caused the tribes of Reuben and Gad to be derailed from the pursuit of the promised land. Many people in the word of the Lord derailed in their walk with the Lord because of the lust of the eyes. For example, Lot was entrapped by what he saw when Abraham gave him the opportunity to choose where he wanted to go. He chose the well-watered plain of Jordan, and in the final analysis, he lost all that he had labored for. The lust of the eyes only gives us temporal fulfillment, but in the long run we end up worse off. The lust of the eyes is a present danger that we all face. However, through the mercies of the Lord as He judges us, its influence is waning.  

Gen 13:10  And Lot lifted up his eyes, and beheld all the plain of Jordan, that it was well watered everywhere, before the LORD destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, even as the garden of the LORD, like the land of Egypt, as thou comest unto Zoar. 
Gen 13:11  Then Lot chose him all the plain of Jordan; and Lot journeyed east: and they separated themselves the one from the other. 
Gen 13:12  Abram dwelled in the land of Canaan, and Lot dwelled in the cities of the plain, and pitched his tent toward Sodom. 
Gen 13:13  But the men of Sodom were wicked and sinners before the LORD exceedingly. 
Gen 13:14  And the LORD said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward, and westward:

This is what David said about this present danger:

Psa 73:1  A Psalm of Asaph. Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart.
Psa 73:2  But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well-nigh slipped. 
Psa 73:3  For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. 

Psa 73:17  Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.

Moses Getting Angry with the Request

Num 32:6  And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? 
Num 32:7  And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? 
Num 32:8  Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. 
Num 32:9  For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. 
Num 32:10  And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, 
Num 32:11  Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: 
Num 32:12  Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD.
Num 32:13  And the LORD’S anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. 
Num 32:14  And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. 
Num 32:15  For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people.

Moses was very apprehensive when he heard about the request for inheritance by the tribes of Reuben and Gad. As a leader, he carefully outlined the consequences of the decision that these tribes had taken. In the first place, the decision by the tribes of Reuben and Gad serves as a disincentive to the other tribes to press on to possess the land of Canaan. Whenever our brothers’ and sisters’ actions are not in line with the truth of the word of the Lord, it creates a disincentive for others to continue in the narrow way marked out for us. For example, in the Bible, Peter’s action to stop eating with the Gentiles in Antioch because of those of the circumcision affected the rest of the brethren with Paul. We therefore have a responsibility to walk circumspectly in the truth of the word of the Lord for our brothers’ and sisters’ sake. That is what the tribes of Reuben and Gad refused to consider.

Gal 2:11  But when Cephas came to Antioch, I made a protest against him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 
Gal 2:12  For before certain men came from James, he did take food with the Gentiles: but when they came, he went back and made himself separate, fearing those who were of the circumcision. 
Gal 2:13  And the rest of the Jews went after him, so that even Barnabas was overcome by their false ways. 
Gal 2:14  But when I saw that they were not living uprightly in agreement with the true words of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, are living like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how will you make the Gentiles do the same as the Jews? 

Moses also pointed out to the Reubenites and the Gadites that their actions were just like their fathers who came with a bad report of the land of Canaan and therefore discouraged the people of Israel from possessing the land. As a result, they ended up dying in the wilderness except for Caleb and Joshua. The actions of Reuben and Gad therefore had the potential to destroy the people of Israel in the wilderness. Moses’ reference to the actions of the tribes of Reuben and Gad being like that of their fathers implies that the tribes of Reuben and Gad had become Babylon that discourages the Lord’s people from leaving to possess the land which is their bodies. Babylon causes us to settle for less, thinking we have attained our inheritance just like the Reubenites and Gadites. When we were in Babylon, we thought we had a lot of cattle (physical riches) just like the tribes of Reuben and Gad to offer to God, and therefore, we were confident that it was a sign that the Lord was with us. We did not know that we had become a stumbling block to many keeping them from knowing Christ and possessing their bodies (land). This is what the Lord has to say about this:  

Isa 1:11  To what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices unto me? saith the LORD: I am full of the burnt offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts; and I delight not in the blood of bullocks, or of lambs, or of he goats. 
Isa 1:12  When ye come to appear before me, who hath required this at your hand, to tread my courts? 
Isa 1:13  Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. 

Isa 1:23  Thy princes are rebellious, and companions of thieves: every one loveth gifts, and followeth after rewards: they judge not the fatherless, neither doth the cause of the widow come unto them. 

The Proposal to Join Israel in their Conquest

Num 32:16  And they came near unto him, and said, We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle, and cities for our little ones: 
Num 32:17  But we ourselves will go ready armed before the children of Israel, until we have brought them unto their place: and our little ones shall dwell in the fenced cities because of the inhabitants of the land. 
Num 32:18  We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 
Num 32:19  For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward. 

As indicated in the previous verses, the decision by the tribes of Reuben and Gad to receive their inheritance apart from the land of Canaan is an indication of their status as being Babylon. In this case, the rest of the people of Israel who were to cross the Jordan to possess their inheritance represents the elect. Telling Moses that they intend to accompany the people of Israel to war against the inhabitants of Canaan signifies that we, His elect, are assisted by the work of brothers and sisters in Babylon, although they do not share in our inheritance. They have received their reward already!! Their works help us to wage war effectively with our old man as we possess our bodies (land).

Mat 6:5  And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

In verse 16, the fact that the Reubenites and the Gadites intended to build sheepfold for their cattle and cities for their little ones is another way of saying that they had become entrenched in their position in Babylon, and nothing can penetrate their hearts and minds for them to repent. This was what happened to us when we were in Babylon. We had breastplates of iron covering our hearts and minds and therefore preventing the truth of the word of the Lord from penetrating into our hearts and minds.

Rev 9:3  And there came out of the smoke locusts upon the earth: and unto them was given power, as the scorpions of the earth have power. 

Rev 9:7  And the shapes of the locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men.

Rev 9:9  And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iron; and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battle.

The false doctrines we imbibe in Babylon had become idols of our hearts and  minds (breastplate of iron) which prevent the truth of the word of the Lord. 

Verse 18 emphasizes the point that the Lord has given them the task of being our helper by being joined to us until we have inherited the promise. 

Num 8:19  And I have given the Levites (our brothers and sisters in Babylon) as a gift to Aaron and to his sons (the elect) from among the children of Israel, to do the service of the children of Israel in the tabernacle of the congregation, and to make an atonement for the children of Israel: that there be no plague among the children of Israel, when the children of Israel come nigh unto the sanctuary. 

Verse 19 assures us that our brothers and sisters represented by the tribes of Reuben and Gad will not inherit the promise with us just as Ishmael was never going to inherit Abraham’s possession. 

Gen 21:9  And Sarah saw the son of Hagar the Egyptian, which she had born unto Abraham, mocking. 
Gen 21:10  Wherefore she said unto Abraham, Cast out this bondwoman and her son: for the son of this bondwoman shall not be heir with my son, even with Isaac.

Num 32:20  And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 
Num 32:21  And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 
Num 32:22  And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 
Num 32:23  But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 
Num 32:24  Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

It is when the Israelites have subdued the land of Canaan before the Lord that the Reubenites and the Gadites shall return and be guiltless before the Lord. This implies that it is after the Lord’s elect have won the victory over the flesh and have settled in their inheritance that Babylon shall return and be guiltless before the Lord. That will happen during the lake of fire age when the elect have won the victory and settled in their inheritance as they sit on thrones and judgment being given to them. That is when our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall be guiltless before the Lord. 

Eze 16:55  When thy sisters, Sodom and her daughters, shall return to their former estate, and Samaria and her daughters shall return to their former estate, then thou and thy daughters shall return to your former estate. 

Rev 20:4  And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.

Num 32:25  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth. 
Num 32:26  Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead: 
Num 32:27  But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith. 

As we are aware, all things are going according to the counsel of the Lord’s will. Thus, what the Lord has destined for us and our brothers and sisters in Babylon shall be executed to the letter. 

Eph 1:11  In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: 

Num 32:28  So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest, and Joshua the son of Nun, and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel: 
Num 32:29  And Moses said unto them, If the children of Gad and the children of Reuben will pass with you over Jordan, every man armed to battle, before the LORD, and the land shall be subdued before you; then ye shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession: 
Num 32:30  But if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan. 
Num 32:31  And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered, saying, As the LORD hath said unto thy servants, so will we do.
Num 32:32  We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan may be ours. 

What the Lord has given to Babylon (the Reubenites and the Gadites) is what the eyes can see and their feet had trodden on – the land of Gilead. The rest of Israel, however, were yet to leave the land of Moab, cross the river Jordan to encounter the people of Jericho before they could start to possess the land. For the Lord’s elect, therefore, the land of Canaan can only be seen from afar, and we are yet to tread on the land of promise. Since we have not seen nor touched our inheritance, we can only exercise faith to possess it. 

1Co 2:9  But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 
1Co 2:10  But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

In the case of the Reubenites and the Gadites (Babylon), what they want is already in their possession. Who applies faith when we already are in possession of what we want? 

Rom 8:24  For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? 
Rom 8:25  But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.

Their eagerness to pass over the Jordan to assist the rest of the Israelites according to the Lord’s command in the verses above was therefore not borne out of faith or hope but their enthusiasm in receiving their reward here on earth which they have already seen. This is what characterizes the physical churches of this world. As the Lord’s elect, He wants us to walk by faith in our life here on earth. This is what the Lord told Thomas when He appeared to the disciples:

Joh 20:26  And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Joh 20:27  Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. 
Joh 20:28  And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. 
Joh 20:29  Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed.

Are you worried that you cannot see anything good on the horizon as you are bogged down with so many issues that you do not seem to find a way out? Then you are the right candidate to walk by faith. For what we see is only temporary, but what we cannot see is permanent.

2Co 4:16  For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
2Co 4:17  For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; 
2Co 4:18  While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. 

Num 32:33  And Moses gave unto them, even to the children of Gad, and to the children of Reuben, and unto half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites, and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land, with the cities thereof in the coasts, even the cities of the country round about. 

It was the two tribes, Reuben and Gad, which requested to inherit the land of Gilead. However, in verse 33, the half tribe of Manasseh joined them to have their inheritance apart from the land of Canaan. It is significant to note that Reuben, Gad and Manesseh were all first born of their mothers. Reuben was the firstborn of Jacob and his mother Leah. Gad was the firstborn of his mother Zilpah, the handmaid of Leah. Manessah was Joseph’s firstborn. They were all disqualified from the rights of firstborns just like Esau who sold his birthright as firstborn but was the first to be given an inheritance in Mount Seir. No wonder these tribes also wanted to be given their inheritance now in this life. As indicated, these tribes represent Babylon from which we all came. Because Babylon was there before us, we can say that it is the firstborn who has been denied her birthright because she has not pleased her Lord Jesus. Just like Esau, she is after her inheritance now in this life. 

Num 32:34  And the children of Gad built Dibon, and Ataroth, and Aroer, 
Num 32:35  And Atroth, Shophan, and Jaazer, and Jogbehah, 
Num 32:36  And Bethnimrah, and Bethharan, fenced cities: and folds for sheep. 
Num 32:37  And the children of Reuben built Heshbon, and Elealeh, and Kirjathaim, 
Num 32:38  And Nebo, and Baalmeon, (their names being changed,) and Shibmah: and gave other names unto the cities which they builded.

Let’s take a look at the cities they built. It gives us insight into what they represent – Babylon. In verse 34, the cities built by the children of Gad were Dibon, Ataroth and Aroer. Dibon means wasting away; Ataroth implies crowns and Aroer means naked. The names of these cities imply that because Babylon is naked, that is sinful (Aroer) before the Lord, she is wasting away (Dibon) in this age and therefore shall not receive a crown (Ataroth) when Christ comes with His reward. 

Rev 3:17  Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked:
Rev 3:18  I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.

The next set of cities built as shown in verse 35 were Atroth – Shophan means crowns of Shophan; Jaazer which signifies helpful and that of Jogbehah meaning lofty. Both Atroth and Shophan refer to the same town which was properly called Atroph – Shophan. The names of these cities suggest that when we came out of the world (Egypt) and started our walk with Christ, we looked to Babylon as helpful (Jaazer) in our walk with Christ and to be crowned (crowns of Sophan) with glory when Christ appears.  It was later that the Lord opened our eyes to see the loftiness or arrogance of Babylon which had led to her being denied a crown, that is, an inheritance with Christ.

Isa 3:16  Moreover the LORD saith, Because the daughters of Zion are haughty, and walk with stretched forth necks and wanton eyes, walking and mincing as they go, and making a tinkling with their feet: 
Isa 3:17  Therefore the Lord will smite with a scab the crown of the head of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will discover their secret parts. 
Isa 3:18  In that day the Lord will take away the bravery of their tinkling ornaments about their feet, and their cauls, and their round tires like the moon,

In verse 36, Bethnimrah means house of the leopard, and Bethharan signifies mountain house. In the Bible, one key reference to a leopard is that it cannot change its spots. With reference to Bethnimrah, which means house of leopards, we are being told that Babylon cannot change its ways to please the Lord just as the Gadites cannot reverse their decision to get an inheritance with the people of Israel in Canaan. Babylon being a mountain house (Bethharan), it cannot change its loftiness or arrogance. 

Jer 13:23  Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.

The Reubenites built Heshbon, Elealeh, Kirjathaim, Nebo, Baalmeon and Shibmah. They, however, changed the names of Nebo and Baalmeon as they relate to the god Baal. Heshbon means stronghold, Elealeh signifies God is ascending, that of Kirjathaim is double city and Shibmah means spice. When the false doctrines we imbibed in Babylon become our idols of our hearts, they become a stronghold as we continue to become entrenched in it (double city). We no longer become the Lord’s spices or flavor and therefore the Lord goes up (Elealeh) instead of coming to dwell with us.  

Num 32:40  And Moses gave Gilead unto Machir the son of Manasseh; and he dwelt therein. 
Num 32:41  And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof, and called them Havothjair. 
Num 32:42  And Nobah went and took Kenath, and the villages thereof, and called it Nobah, after his own name. 

When we become derailed from our goal of possessing our bodies for Christ in this life and we settle for earthly reward, we end up taking our focus from Christ to ourselves. In verses 41 and 42, the sons of Manasseh, instead of giving God the glory, named the towns and villages after themselves. Jair named the small towns Havothjair which means Hamlets or villages of Jair. Nobah also named the town he conquered after himself – Nobah. That is what Babylon does to us – it causes us to focus on ourselves and not on Christ.

May the Lord help us to walk by faith, driven by the joy that is set before us and not the temporal pleasures of this life. Amen!!