Its really hard to imagine all of this taking place in today’s world. But this is the world that these Israelites lived in. They were on the offensive in war and they were taking what God had already divinely given to them.

Yesterday we got to the first successful military conflict that the Israelites completed and today we already have two tribes looking to possess that piece of land. Specifically the tribes of Reuben and Gad. They wanted this specific land because they had a greater amount of livestock, and this land was perfect for their flocks.

We see that they brought this to Moses’ attention, but Moses smelled a rat. He thought they were trying to get out of going into the land of Canaan with the other tribes, and just simply settling in the most convenient place, which was right where they were.

They then convinced Moses that this wasn’t the case at all, it was just the perfect place for them to settle and that they still intended to send everyone who was eligible for war with the rest of the nation of Israel.

After hearing this Moses then allowed them to stay but reminded them that if they failed to come through on their promise, then they would be guilty of sinning against God and their sin would catch up to them.