Many movies portray the battle between good and evil as being somewhat of an equal fight where good triumphs after a hard battle. Some people picture the battle between Yahweh and Satan as being similar. They believe Yahweh will eventually win, but only after a hard struggle.
There is a line at the end of today’s passage which gives us a better picture of the fight between Yahweh and Satan. It is not an equal fight. It is not a battle where Yahweh struggles to win. A better picture is a judge sitting in a courtroom, exercising complete authority over what happens in his courtroom.
When Moses led Israel out of slavery in Egypt, the ultimate destination was to return to the land of Canaan which had been promised to Israel. After receiving the law at Mount Sinai and then wandering in the wilderness for forty years, Israel approached the Promised Land from the southeast. They conquered land on the east side of the Jordan River.
Before they crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land, the tribes of Reuben and Gad asked Moses if they could settle on the east side of the Jordan because the land on the east side was a good place for livestock. At first, Moses accused those two tribes of being selfish, wanting to settle in land that the other ten tribes had helped conquer, but not being willing to help the other ten tribes conquer the Promised Land. Reuben and Gad offered to cross the Jordan River, help the other ten tribes conquer Canaan, and then return to the east side of the Jordan to settle after the other ten tribes settled in their possessions. Moses agreed to this plan.
Num. 32:25 ¶ And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben spoke to Moses, saying, “Your servants will do just as my lord commands.
Num. 32:26 Our little ones, our wives, our livestock, and all our cattle shall remain there in the cities of Gilead;
Num. 32:27 but your servants, everyone who is armed for war, will cross over in the presence of Yahweh to battle, just as my lord says.”
Num. 32:28 ¶ So Moses gave a command concerning them to Eleazar the priest and to Joshua the son of Nun and to the heads of the fathers’ households of the tribes of the sons of Israel.
Moses knew he was going to die and would not lead the fight to conquer Canaan, so he made sure his successor and the high priest understood the agreement he made with Reuben and Gad.
Num. 32:29 And Moses said to them, “If the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben, everyone who is armed for battle, will cross with you over the Jordan in the presence of Yahweh, and the land is subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession;
Num. 32:30 but if they will not cross over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.”
Num. 32:31 And the sons of Gad and the sons of Reuben answered, saying, “As Yahweh has said to your servants, so we will do.
Num. 32:32 We ourselves will cross over armed in the presence of Yahweh into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us across the Jordan.”
Num. 32:33 ¶ So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land.
Notice the reference to the half-tribe of Manasseh. Reuben and Gad were the tribes that requested permission to settle on the east side of the Jordan River. At some point half the tribe of Manasseh also decided to settle on the east side.
Num. 32:34 And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer,
Num. 32:35 and Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah,
Num. 32:36 and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep.
Verse 16 of chapter 32 tells us the Reubenites and Gadites promised to build cities and sheepfolds to protect their wives, children, and sheep while they crossed the Jordan to help defeat the Canaanites. Verses 34-36 list the cities built by the Gadites.
Num. 32:37 And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim,
Num. 32:38 and Nebo and Baal-meon—their names being changed—and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built.
Verses 37-38 list the cities built by the Reubenites to protect their families.
Num. 32:39 And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it.
Num. 32:40 So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it.
Num. 32:41 And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns and called them Havvoth-jair.
Num. 32:42 And Nobah went and took Kenath and its towns and called it Nobah after his own name.
Verses 39-42 describe how the half-tribe of Manasseh conquered their area east of the Jordan River.
Num. 33:1 ¶ These are the journeys of the sons of Israel, by which they came out from the land of Egypt by their armies, by the hand of Moses and Aaron.
Chapter 33 starts a new section of the book of Numbers. Suddenly, the author went back in time and recounted Israel’s overall journey from Egypt to Canaan.
Num. 33:2 And Moses wrote down their starting places according to their journeys by the command of Yahweh, and these are their journeys according to their starting places.
Look at the words “Moses wrote down”. As the Israelites traveled, Moses took notes regarding where they were. This does not mean Moses wrote the book of Numbers. It means Moses documented their travels. Later, the author of Numbers used those notes to write the book of Numbers.
Num. 33:3 They journeyed from Rameses in the first month, on the fifteenth day of the first month; on the next day after the Passover the sons of Israel started out with a high hand in the sight of all the Egyptians,
Num. 33:4 but the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom Yahweh had struck down among them. Yahweh had also executed judgments on their gods.
Take note of the last sentence of this passage. Yahweh executed judgments on the gods of the Egyptians. This creates a picture of Yahweh sitting as a judge in His courtroom, having complete authority to execute judgments on false gods.
Many people picture the fight between God and Satan as being somewhat of an equal fight where God will eventually win, but only after a hard struggle. That is not the correct picture. A judge sitting in His courtroom with unchallenged authority is the correct picture.
Yahweh has no equal. Yahweh is the most powerful force in the universe. Yahweh can do anything He chooses, at the time of His choosing. Satan is completely powerless to resist, oppose, or stop Yahweh in any way, shape, or form.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”