Faith like Eastern Tribes
A study on 1 Chronicles 5
So it was explained to me that everyone has heard of the faith of Jabez and I've just been living under a rock. Additionally, the exposition of Jabez's prayer has also been overemphasized and mistreated to go beyond what the Scriptures are trying to tell us. So instead of me giving you an encouraging look at faith, it became another lesson in a pool of lessons. But fret not, for this week I intend to show you another passage of 1 Chronicles that I'm sure is actually skipped. This is the faith of the Eastern tribes, specifically Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr 5:18-26).
1 Chronicles 5:18–26 (LSB)
18The sons of Reuben and the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, consisting of men of valor, men who bore shield and sword and shot with bow and were learned in the ways of battle, were 44,760, who went out for military duty.
19They made war against the Hagrites, Jetur, Naphish, and Nodab.
20They were helped against them, and the Hagrites and all who were with them were given into their hand; for they cried out to God in the battle, and He was moved by their entreaty because they trusted in Him.
21They took captive their cattle: their 50,000 camels, 250,000 sheep, 2,000 donkeys; and 100,000 men.
22For many fell slain, because the war was of God. And they lived in their place until the exile.
23Now the sons of the half-tribe of Manasseh lived in the land; from Bashan to Baal-hermon and Senir and Mount Hermon they were numerous.
24These were the heads of their fathers’ households, even Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah, and Jahdiel, mighty men of valor, men of renown, heads of their fathers’ households.
25But they acted unfaithfully against the God of their fathers and played the harlot after the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them.
26So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul, king of Assyria, even the spirit of Tilgath-pilneser, king of Assyria, and he took them away into exile, namely the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh, and brought them to Halah, Habor, Hara, and to the river of Gozan, to this day.
In my workup, I found myself on the precipice of error, like the Prayer of Jabez, where I could have gone in any direction and built application after application. Instead, I hope to make this lesson short and simple; highlighting some observations that I gleaned from the text and allowing you to determine application from it. Of course, there is history to these tribes to understand why they are talked about together like this (Num 32:1-22; Josh 13:8-12). But that is something you're already familiar with or can read up on your own. Regardless, these are the tribes that are east of the Jordan River, outside the promised land.
What stood out is how the Chronicler described them. He mentions that they are men of valor who were learned in the ways of battle. And yet, it was not their skills that defeated their enemies but rather because of their plead to God (1 Chr 5:20). Here, God delivered the enemy into their hands and gave them spoils because they put their complete faith in the provision of God. Though they were fighting a war, they were fighting God's war (1 Chr 5:22) and because of the faith of these men, they were given land until the day of the exile (2 Kgs 15:29; 17:6).
Now, which tribe resulted in their inclusion into the exile is unknown, though the text reads as if it were the half-tribe of Manasseh (1 Chr 5:24), it is important to see that the descriptions mirror the previous. It is reasonable to assume that these are later generations (1 Chr 5:25) that succumbed to the same idolatry that both the Northern and Southern Kingdoms of Israel fell to. Their punishment via exile will be conducted with the Northern Kingdom. But what we note from the Chronicler is that these tribes were united the entire time.
Both in success and failure, there is a unity of the tribes. The half-tribe of Manasseh is rewarded and punished on the merits of their position and allegiance to the eastern Tribes. I'm not saying the Chronicler admired this quality but they definitely note it. But in unity, their faith was that of rewards and in unity, their rebellion was that of punishment. How similar we can view certain denominations of the church today. Those who abandon the Scriptural teachings in order to conform to the culture hide behind "what is right" by their measures and claim their unity with others in denominations as a defense.
Lastly, judgment did not occur as unbelievers would normally remark. God does not have to smite one individually for their transgressions, nor is the destruction going to be quick like Sodom and Gomorrah. We see that the punishment for rebellion occurs through the rising of a foreign nation with the focus to take away specific tribes (1 Chr 5:26). The Chronicler also doesn't indicate that this is a joyful occasion. The use of the term, "to this day" at the end of the verse is not necessarily a time-stamp but is probably indicative of a permanent nature. Of course, if we take into account the New Testament, we could probably say there was a restoration through Christ or that there will be a restoration through Christ. This is not where we should be hung up but to look that the punishment was intense enough to speak to a potential eternality. At the very least, the exiled tribes have only become a shadow of what they once were.
What is the application or exhortation of this message? I think it is simply recognizing the strength of prayer when you're at your lowest; and finding rewards in faith, though not necessarily material rewards. In contrast, when we lose the application of prayer or the dependence on God, we are prone to find ourselves straying away into rebellion. Strength in numbers is not something that will justify our position. Or as John Knox said, "A man with God is always in the majority."