Numb, xxxii. 6, 7. 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 ? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the Lord hath given them ?
ACTIONS are good or evil according to the motives from which they proceed : but, as these are known
only to God, it must often happen that our conduct is either viewed in too favourable a light, or subjected to unmerited censure. Our inability to dive into the hearts of men should certainly incline us at all times to lean rather to the side of charity, and to hope and believe all things of a favourable nature, as far as circumstances will admit. This consideration however is not to operate so far as to blind our eyes to what is manifestly evil, or to keep us from reproving those who act amiss. Magistrates in particular must pro- ceed with firmness in suppressing wickedness of every kind, and by timely interference must stop the con- tagion of bad example. Thus did Moses, when the Reubenites and Gadites presented a request to him, which he deemed injurious to all the other tribes. They asked to have the land on the east side of Jordan for their portion, instead of any part of the land of Canaan : and Moses, conceiving their request to proceed from improper and unjustifiable motives, expostulated with them, and reproved them with great severity. Let us consider,
I. The grounds of his jealousy —
There was ample reason for the fears he entertained respecting them —
[Their request seemed to be dictated by selfishness, world- liness, and unbelief. As soon as Sihon king of the Amorites, and Og the king of Bashan were subdued, and their fertile territories were seized, these two tribes requested to have the exclusive possession of their land, under a pretence that it was pre-eminently suited to them, on account of the number of their flocks and herds. As for their brethren belonging to the other ten tribes, let them go and fight their way among the Canaanites, and get possession of whatever they could : but the land which was already subdued, and which was of the richest quality, they desired to have allotted to themselves without any further trouble.
This land was not within the precincts of Canaan : moreover, it would be far removed from the ordinances of religion and from the house of God : but they did not seem to regard either of these considerations in comparison of an ample, easy, and immediate settlement.
The inhabitants of the promised land were exceeding nume- rous and warlike ; and could never be dispossessed without