The grass is NEVER greener on THIS side

Numbers 32:1-42

Why do we sometimes think we know better than God what is best for us?

The tribes of Gad and Ruben were on the same journey as everyone else, saw what they considered ideal land where they were, and asked to stop there and build for their people. Initially, Moses asks them, “Do you expect to stay here while your brothers cross the Jordan and fight on the other side? You ancestor did this and then discouraged the people from entering the land the Lord was giving them” He goes on to tell them that the Lord was very angry with them and punished all those 20 years and older by not allowing them to enter the land God swore to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.

After (1) the Lord leading them all this way with the sole purpose of leading them into the promise land and (2) Moses’ warning about this being done in the past, the tribes continued to ask for this opportunity to stay where they were. Did they think there would not be “ideal” land where the Lord was leading them? They must have thought the land they were occupying was better suited for them than what the Lord would have given them on the other side…they also thought to protect their wives, children and livestock by keeping them on that side of the Jordan while others traveled and fought with their families. We don’t want to go to the other side, we want to fortify this land and protect our wives and livestock from attacks by the local people-we don’t want what the Lord has offered, by our estimation we will be safer here. Regardless of the fact that the Lord brought them through this far w/o blemish nor scar, they still felt that they would be better off on this side of the Jordan.

What is amazing, at least by the end of this chapter, is that Moses allows them this with the promise that they will fight and not leave everyone else to fight and after they have fought and “cleared” the land, they could return to the cities they fortified. However, if they didn’t stick with that promise, they would be destroyed.

The Lord will not fight for us to accept His Will and not our own. This is the danger of free will. We think we know better based on our experiences and what we see, not trusting that the Lord has seen well far into our futures and knows what is best regardless of what has happened in the past. Lord, help me to ALWAYS accept your Will for me, regardless of what I see, regardless of what I feel. THY WILL be done in Me. Only.

He "sees around the bend"...