Start Time:	07:50 AM
End Time:	08:29 AM
Date:	July 29, 2014

 

TITLE: Reuben

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 5:1 – 26

God’s Message / God’s Commands / God’s Promises:

→ Reuben – the entitled

The sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel (he was the firstborn, but when he defiled his father’s marriage bed, his rights as firstborn were given to the sons of Joseph son of Israel; so he could not be listed in the genealogical record in accordance with his birthright, and though Judah was the strongest of his brothers and a ruler came from him, the rights of the firstborn belonged to Joseph)—  the sons of Reuben the firstborn of Israel: Hanok, Pallu, Hezron and Karmi.  The descendants of Joel: Shemaiah his son, Gog his son, Shimei his son,  Micah his son, Reaiah his son, Baal his son, and Beerah his son, whom Tiglath-Pileser^[a] king of Assyria took into exile. Beerah was a leader of the Reubenites.  Their relatives by clans, listed according to their genealogical records: Jeiel the chief, Zechariah,  and Bela son of Azaz, the son of Shema, the son of Joel. They settled in the area from Aroer to Nebo and Baal Meon. ⁹ To the east they occupied the land up to the edge of the desert that extends to the Euphrates River, because their livestock had increased in Gilead. During Saul’s reign they waged war against the Hagrites, who were defeated at their hands; they occupied the dwellings of the Hagrites throughout the entire region east of Gilead.

NOTES:

Ø  Reuben was indeed the firstborn and could have gotten everything that Joseph did but his mistake of disrespecting his father led to the lost of his inheritance – of what was truly his and was transferred to Joseph, Israel’s firstborn on Rachel.  When we were born, we all have our own inheritance but many times, our own wrong actions results to us losing what was rightfully ours.  In Reuben’s case, his disrespectfulness to Israel whom God made a nation out of.  It was symbolically disrespecting the children of God.  For Israel is in a way, God’s chosen nation or people – His children! And this act led to the lost of his right to his firstborn inheritance.  Let us learn from Reuben and understand that how we should treat others, especially God’s children.  Respect is important and needs to be given to God and His people.

Gad – the skilled

The Gadites lived next to them in Bashan, as far as Salekah: Joel was the chief, Shapham the second, then Janai and Shaphat, in Bashan.  Their relatives, by families, were: Michael, Meshullam, Sheba, Jorai, Jakan, Zia and Eber—seven in all.  These were the sons of Abihail 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.  Ahi son of Abdiel, the son of Guni, was head of their family.  The Gadites lived in Gilead, in Bashan and its outlying villages, and on all the pasturelands of Sharon as far as they extended.  All these were entered in the genealogical records during the reigns of Jotham king of Judah and Jeroboam king of Israel.  The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh had 44,760 men ready for military service—able-bodied men who could handle shield and sword, who could use a bow, and who were trained for battle.  They waged war against the Hagrites, Jetur,Naphish and Nodab.  They were helped in fighting them, and God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands, because they cried out to him during the battle. He answered their prayers, because they trusted in him.  They seized the livestock of the Hagrites—fifty thousand camels, two hundred fifty thousand sheep and two thousand donkeys. They also took one hundred thousand people captive,  and many others fell slain, because the battle was God’s. And they occupied the land until the exile.

NOTES:

Ø  The passage above shows the skills of the Gadites, Reubenites and even the half tribe of Manasseh.  It was stated that they were ready for military service; they were able-bodied men who can handle sword and shields.  They can use bow and were trained specifically for battle.  Yet the importance in all of the verses above is that God delivered the Hagrites and all their allies into their hands.  It was not their skills or abilities to handle a weapon or training for battle, it was God.  And the reason why their enemies were delivered to them was because they CRIED OUT TO GOD during the battle and THEY TRUSTED IN GOD.  So whatever battles we face, whether this battle is new to us or something that we have gone thru before, whether we are skilled to handle the situation or we are dealing with it for the first time, know that the battle is God’s and if we want victory, we need to cry out to God and trust in Him alone!

The Half-Tribe of Manasseh – the confident

The people of the half-tribe of Manasseh were numerous; they settled in the land from Bashan to Baal Hermon, that is, to Senir (Mount Hermon).  These were the heads of their families: Epher, Ishi, Eliel, Azriel, Jeremiah, Hodaviah and Jahdiel. They were brave warriors, famous men, and heads of their families.  But they were unfaithful to the God of their ancestors and prostituted themselves to the gods of the peoples of the land, whom God had destroyed before them. So the God of Israel stirred up the spirit of Pul king of Assyria (that is, Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria), who took the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh into exile. He took them to Halah, Habor, Hara and the river of Gozan, where they are to this day.

NOTES:

Ø  The half-tribe of Manasseh are confident.  They were not skilled, it was not written that they know how to fight or trained for it but it was noted that they were brave, they were famous and they were the heads of their families – clearly indicating that they are confident.  They may not be skilled like the Gadites or entitled like the Reubenites but they are brave!  They are confident!  And I believe that their confidence led to pride that’s why they prostituted themselves to other gods of the people of the land.  They didn’t see the winning of their battles as God’s doing.  They thought they did it themselves and so they were confident to run to other gods because deep inside they thought, it was their own work that won the battle!  Ironic and funny, right?  So let these tribes become a lesson to us, that whether you are entitled (with authority, with royalty or connection), whether you are skilled (with abilities and physical strength or mental capabilities), or whether you are just plain confident (brave and courageous), in the end God is the source of all victory!  These 3 tribes worked as a team in winning the victory over the Hagrites and so the unfaithfulness that rooted from the half-tribe of Manasseh brought the whole team down.  Know that what we do impacts not only ourselves but the people we belong to.

Prayer:

Lord Jesus, great and mighty and the source of life, of victory, of joy, and all things good – thank You because You are just and You hear our cry and see our hearts.  You are truly God amazing because despite of what the Reubenites did against Israel, You did not forget about them.  You have given them land to camp onto, You gave them victory against the Hagrites.  Clearly, You love and grace continually shows in every word of Your book.  Lord help me to never depend on my entitlement, even if I am, or depend on my skills, even if I am, or depend on myself and develop overconfidence, even if I am, without recognizing that everything is from You and You are the source of my success, my victories.  Even if I am entitled for a victory, remind me that I received it because You gave it to me.  Even if my skills helped me accomplish great things, remind me that it was so because You gave me the victory.  Even if I have a brave heart, remind me that my bravery stands on Your power and not my own.  Thank You Jesus.  In Your Name I pray, Amen!