The Children of Reuben, Gad and Half of Manasseh - Joshua 4:12

In the book of Joshua, we learned how, “it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, (the Jordan river) that the ark of the LORD passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people”, and in chapter four and verse twelve of the book of Joshua, we see what happened with, “the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh” where we read,

And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, 

passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke unto them:

The verse reads, “And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and the children of Reuben” which means “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Reuben whose name means ‘behold a son’ and was the eldest son of Jacob by Leah”, “and the children of Gad” or “and the offspring and progeny belonging to Gad whose name means ‘troop’ and was the seventh son of Jacob by Zilpah, Leah's handmaid and the full brother of Asher.”, “and half the tribe of Manasseh” which means “and one half of the clan belonging to Manasseh whose name means ‘causing to forget’ and was the eldest son of Joseph and progenitor of the tribe of Manasseh”. Joshua began to share what happed with the offspring of “Reuben, Gad and one half of the clan of Manasseh”.

 

The verse goes on to say, “… passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spoke unto them:” Joshua continued with the words, “passed over armed” or “crossed the river Jordan in battle array” “before the children of Israel” which means “in front and in the presence of the offspring and progeny belonging to Israel whose name means God prevails and is the name of the descendants and the nation of the descendants of Jacob”, “as Moses spoke unto them” or “even and indeed like Moses whose name means ‘drawn out’ and was the prophet, lawgiver and leader of the Exodus, uttered, declared and proclaimed to them, the children of Israel”. Joshua or the writer shared how the offspring of “Reuben, Gad and one half of the clan of Manasseh” crossed the Jordan river clad in the battle array just the way “Moses” had instructed them before he died.

When we consider the words in this verse, we learn how it was time for the men of war from “Reuben, Gad and one half of the clan of Manasseh” to fulfill their obligation to fight with the remainder of the “tribes” of Israel as they entered the promise land. They crossed the Jordan river ready for battle, and they did so in the presence of all the other children of Israel. God wants us to keep our commitments to Him and others, and because He loves us, He sent His Son Jesus into the world to die on the cross for the sins of all mankind and to be raised from the dead after three days so when we put our faith and trust in Him as our “Savior and Lord”, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit to guide us into all truth and prepare us for spiritual battle according to His perfect plan and will. (See Ephesians 6:12)

Next time we learn how, “forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the LORD unto battle”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.

Until tomorrow…there is more…

See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".