I
C H R O N I C L E S
CHAP. V.
This
chapter gives us some account of the two tribes and a half that were seated on
the other side Jordan. I. Of Reuben, ver. 1-10. II. Of Gad, ver. 11-17. III.
Of the half-tribe of Manasseh, ver. 23, 24. IV. Concerning all three acting in
conjunction we are told, 1. How they conquered the Hagarites, ver. 18-22. 2.
How they were, at length, themselves conquered, and made captives, by the king
of
Assyria, because they had forsaken God, ver. 25, 26.
1 Now the sons of Reuben the firstborn of
Israel, (for he was the firstborn; but,
forasmuch as he defiled his father's bed, his birthright was given unto the
sons of Joseph the son of
Israel: and the genealogy is not to be reckoned after
the birthright. 2 For Judah prevailed above his brethren, and of
him came the chief ruler; but the birthright was
Joseph's:) 3 The sons, I say, of Reuben the firstborn of
Israel were, Hanoch, and Pallu, Hezron, and Carmi. 4 The
sons of Joel; Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son, 5
Micah his son, Reaia his son, Baal his son, 6 Beerah his son, whom
Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria carried away captive: he was
prince of the Reubenites. 7 And his brethren by their families,
when the genealogy of their generations was reckoned, were the chief,
Jeiel, and Zechariah, 8 And Bela the son of Azaz, the son of Shema,
the son of Joel, who dwelt in Aroer, even unto Nebo and Baal-meon:
9 And eastward he inhabited unto the entering in of the wilderness from the
river Euphrates: because their cattle were multiplied in the land of
Gilead. 10 And in the days of Saul they made war with the
Hagarites, who fell by their hand: and they dwelt in their tents throughout
all the east land of Gilead. 11 And the children of Gad
dwelt over against them, in the land of Bashan unto Salchah: 12
Joel the chief, and Shapham the next, and Jaanai, and Shaphat in Bashan.
13 And their brethren of the house of their fathers were, Michael, and
Meshullam, and Sheba, and Jorai, and Jachan, and Zia, and Heber, seven.
14 These are the children of Abihail the son of Huri, the son of Jaroah,
the son of Gilead, the son of Michael, the son of Jeshishai, the son of Jahdo,
the son of Buz; 15 Ahi the son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, chief
of the house of their fathers. 16 And they dwelt in Gilead in
Bashan, and in her towns, and in all the suburbs of Sharon, upon their
borders. 17 All these were reckoned by genealogies in the days of
Jotham king of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam king of Israel.
We have here an extract out of the genealogies,
I. Of the tribe of Reuben, where we have,
1. The reason why this tribe is thus postponed. It is confessed that Reuben
was the first-born of Israel, and, upon that account, might challenge the
precedency; but he forfeited his birthright by defiling his father's
concubine, and was, for that, sentenced not to excel, Gen. xlix. 4. Sin
lessens men, thrusts them down from their excellency. Seventh-commandment sins
especially leave an indelible stain upon men's names and families, a reproach
which time will not wipe away. Reuben's seed, to the last, bear the disgrace
of Reuben's sin. Yet, though that tribe was degraded, it was not discarded or
disinherited. The sullying of the honour of an Israelite is not the losing of
his happiness. Reuben loses his birthright, yet it does not devolve upon
Simeon the next in order; for it was typical, and therefore must attend, not
the course of nature, but the choice of grace. The advantages of the
birthright were dominion and a double portion. Reuben having forfeited these,
it was thought too much that both should be transferred to any one, and
therefore they were divided. (1.) Joseph had the double portion; for two
tribes descended from him, Ephraim and Manasseh, each of whom had a child's
part (for so Jacob by faith blessed them, Heb. xi. 21; Gen. xlviii. 15, 22),
and each of those tribes was as considerable, and made as good a figure, as
any one of the twelve, except Judah. But, (2.) Judah had the dominion; on him
the dying patriarch entailed the sceptre, Gen. xlix. 10. Of him came the chief
ruler, David first, and, in the fulness of time, Messiah the Prince, Mic. v.
2. This honour was secured to Judah, though the birthright was Joseph's; and,
having this, he needed not envy Joseph the double portion.
2. The genealogy of the princes of this tribe, the chief family of it (many,
no doubt, being omitted), to Beerah, who was head of this clan when the king
of Assyria carried them captive, v. 4-6. Perhaps he is mentioned as
prince of the Reubenites at that time because he did not do his part to
prevent the captivity.
3. The enlargement of the coasts of this tribe. They increasing, and their
cattle being multiplied, they crowded out their neighbours the Hagarites, and
extended their conquests, though not to the river Euphrates, yet to the
wilderness which abutted upon that river, v. 9, 10. Thus God did for
his people as he promised them: he cast out the enemy from before them by
little and little, and gave them their land as they had occasion for it, Exod.
xxiii. 30.
II. Of the tribe of Gad. Some great families of that tribe are here named (v.
12), seven that were the children of Abihail, whose pedigree is carried
upwards from the son to the father (v. 14, 15), as that v. 4, 5,
is brought downwards from father to son. These genealogies were perfected in
the days of Jotham king of Judah, but were begun some years before, in the
reign of Jeroboam II, king of Israel. What particular reason there was for
taking these accounts then does not appear; but it was just before they were
carried away captive by the Assyrians, as appears 2 Kings xv. 29, 31. When the
judgments of God were ready to break out against them for their wretched
degeneracy and apostasy then were they priding themselves in their
genealogies, that they were the children of the covenant; as the Jews, in our
Saviour's time, who, when they were ripe for ruin, boasted, We have Abraham
to our father. Or there might be a special providence in it, and a
favourable intimation that though they were, for the present, cast out, they
were not cast off for ever. What we design to call for hereafter we keep an
inventory of.
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The
Defeat of the Hagarites.
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B.
C. 750.
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18 The sons of Reuben, and the Gadites, and
half the tribe of Manasseh, of valiant men, men able to bear buckler and
sword, and to shoot with bow, and skilful in war, were four and forty
thousand seven hundred and threescore, that went out to the war.
19 And they made war with the Hagarites, with Jetur, and Nephish, and Nodab.
20 And they were helped against them, and the Hagarites were delivered into
their hand, and all that were with them: for they cried to God in the
battle, and he was intreated of them; because they put their trust in
him. 21 And they took away their cattle; of their camels fifty
thousand, and of sheep two hundred and fifty thousand, and of asses two
thousand, and of men a hundred thousand. 22 For there fell down
many slain, because the war was of God. And they dwelt in their steads
until the captivity. 23 And the children of the half tribe of
Manasseh dwelt in the land: they increased from Bashan unto Baal-hermon and
Senir, and unto mount Hermon. 24 And these were the heads
of the house of their fathers, even Epher, and Ishi, and Eliel, and Azriel,
and Jeremiah, and Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valour, famous men, and
heads of the house of their fathers. 25 And they transgressed
against the God of their fathers, and went a whoring after the gods of the
people of the land, whom God destroyed before them. 26 And the God
of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria, and the spirit of
Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria, and he carried them away, even the
Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh, and brought them
unto Halah, and Habor, and Hara, and to the river Gozan, unto this day.
The heads of the half-tribe of Manasseh, that were seated on the other side
Jordan, are named here, v. 23, 24. Their lot, at first, was Bashan
only; but afterwards they increased so much in wealth and power that they
spread far north, even unto Hermon. Two things only are here recorded
concerning these tribes on the other side Jordan, in which they were all
concerned. They all shared,
I. In a glorious victory over the Hagarites, so the Ishmaelites were now
called, to remind them that they were the sons of the bond-woman, that
was cast out. We are not told when this victory was obtained: whether
it be the same with that of the Reubenites (which is said v. 10 to be in
the days of Saul), or whether that success of one of these tribes animated
and excited the other two to join with them in another expedition, is not
certain. It seems, though in Saul's time the common interests of the kingdom
were weak and low, some of the tribes that acted separately did well for
themselves. We are here told,
1. What a brave army these frontier-tribes brought into the field against the
Hagarites, 44,000 men and upwards, all strong, and brave, and skilful in war,
so many effective men, that knew how to manage their weapons, v. 18.
How much more considerable might Israel have been than they were in the time
of the judges if all the tribes had acted in conjunction!
2. What course they took to engage God for them: They cried to God, and
put their trust in him, v. 20. Now they acted as Israelites
indeed. (1.) As the seed of believing Abraham, they put their trust in God.
Though they had a powerful army, they relied not on that, but on the divine
power. They depended on the commission they had from God to wage war with
their neighbours for the enlarging of their coasts, if there was occasion,
even with those that were very far off, besides the devoted nations. See Deut.
xx. 15. They depended on God's providence to give them success. (2.) As the
seed of praying Jacob, they cried unto God, especially in the
battle, when perhaps, at first, they were in danger of being overpowered.
See the like done, 2 Chron. xiii. 14. In distress, God expects we should cry
to him; he distrains upon us for this tribute, this rent. In our spiritual
conflicts, we must look up to heaven for strength; and it is the believing
prayer that will be the prevailing prayer.
3. We are told what success they had: God was entreated of them, though
need drove them to him; so ready is he to hear and answer prayer. They were
helped against their enemies; for God never yet failed any that trusted in
him. And then they routed the enemy's army, though far superior in number to
theirs, slew many (v. 22), took 100,000 prisoners, enriched themselves
greatly with the spoil, and settled themselves in their country (v. 21,
22), and all this because the war was of God, undertaken in his fear
and carried on in a dependence upon him. If the battle be the Lord's, there is
reason to hope it will be successful. Then we may expect to prosper in any
enterprise, and then only, when we take God along with us.
II. They shared, at length, in an inglorious captivity. Had they kept close to
God and their duty, they would have continued to enjoy both their ancient lot
and their new conquests; but they transgressed against the God of their
fathers, v. 25. They lay upon the borders, and conversed most with
the neighbouring nations, by which means they learned their idolatrous usages
and transmitted the infection to the other tribes; for this God had a
controversy with them. He was a husband to them, and no marvel that his
jealousy burnt like fire when they went a whoring after other gods.
Justly is a bill of divorce given to the adulteress. God stirred up the
spirit of the kings of Assyria, first one and then another, against them,
served his own purposes by the designs of those ambitious monarchs, employed
them to chastise these revolters first, and, when that humbled them not, then
wholly to root them out, v. 26. These tribes were first placed,
and they were first displaced. They would have the best land, not considering
that it lay most exposed. But those who are governed more by sense than by
reason or faith in their choices may expect to fare accordingly.
Contents
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