Today is the 21st day of March. Welcome to the Daily Audio Bible. I am Brian. It is fantastic to be here with you today as we gather around the global campfire and take the next step forward together.

And our next step is leading us to the final chapters of the Book of Numbers.

Believe day after tomorrow is when we will transition out of Numbers and into the next book in the Torah due to Ronymy.

But for now we are squarely in the Book of Numbers and today, Numbers chapter 32 verse 1 through 33 verse 39.

Now the Rubenites and the Gadites possessed a very large number of cattle. When they saw that the lands of Jayzer and Gilead were ideal for cattle, the Gadites and the Rubenites came in addressed Moses, Eleazar the Priest and the leaders of the community.

They said, Adarot, Deban, Jayzer, Nimra, Heshban, Aliyah, Cebam, Nibbou and Bion. The land that the Lord subdued before the community of Israel is ideal for cattle and your servants have cattle.

So they said, If we have found favor in your site, let this land be given to your servants for our inheritance. Do not have us cross the Jordan River.

Moses said to the Gadites and the Rubenites, must your brothers go to war while you remain here? Why do you frustrate the intent of the Israelites to cross over into the land that the Lord has given them?

Your fathers did the same thing when I sent them from Kadesh, Barnaya to see the land. When they went up to the Eschol valley and saw the land, they frustrated the intent of the Israelites so that they did not enter the land that the Lord had given them.

So the anger of the Lord was kindled that day and he swore, because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men 20 years old and upward who came from Egypt will see the land that I swore to give to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, except Caleb, son of Jipuna, the Kennesite, and Joshua, son of Nun, for they followed the Lord wholeheartedly.

So the Lord's anger was kindled against the Israelites and he made them wander in the wilderness for 40 years until all that generation that had done wickedly before the Lord was finished.

Now look, you are standing in your father's place, a brood of sinners, to increase still further the fierce wrath of the Lord against the Israelites.

For if you turn away from following him, he will once again abandon them in the wilderness and you will be the reason for their destruction.

And they came very close to him and said,

we will build sheepfolds here, for our flocks and cities for our families, but we will maintain ourselves in armed readiness and go before the Israelites until whenever we have brought them to their place.

Our descendants will be living in fortified towns as a protection against the inhabitants of the land.

We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has his inheritance, for we will not accept any inheritance on the other side of the Jordan River and beyond, because our inheritance has come to us on this eastern side of the Jordan.

The Moses replied,

if you will do this thing and if you will arm yourselves for battle before the Lord, and if all your armed men cross the Jordan before the Lord until he drives out his enemies from his presence and the land is subdued before the Lord, then afterward you may return and be free of your obligation to the Lord and to Israel.

This land will then be your possession in the Lord's sight.

But if you do not do this, then look, you will have sinned against the Lord and know that your sin will find you out.

So build cities for your descendants and pans for your sheep but do what you have said you would do.

...