Inheritance, Dominion, and the Hard Work of Building Text: Numbers 32:33-42
Introduction: The Theology of Shovels and Swords
We live in a sentimental age, an age that prefers its religion to be entirely spiritual, which is another way of saying, entirely imaginary. Modern evangelicals are often quite comfortable with a Jesus who saves their souls for a disembodied heaven, but they grow skittish and nervous when confronted with a God who gives His people actual dirt, actual real estate, and instructs them to build actual cities with actual shovels. They are comfortable with a spiritual warfare that consists of quiet times and personal piety, but they don't know what to do with a text where God's people dispossess their enemies and take their land as a covenant inheritance.
But the God of the Bible is not a Gnostic. He is the God of creation, the God of incarnation, the God who made dirt and called it good. And the inheritance He gives His people is not a wispy, ethereal sentiment. It is a tangible, historical, and geographical reality. The Great Commission is not a command to evacuate the planet, but to disciple the nations. And you cannot disciple a nation without affecting its culture, its laws, its architecture, and its city planning. The gospel is meant to take root in the soil of history and produce the fruit of Christendom.
The passage before us is a gritty, earthy account of what happens after the battles are fought and the promises are secured. It is a story of settlement, construction, and dominion. The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and the half-tribe of Manasseh have received their inheritance on the east side of the Jordan. But receiving an inheritance and possessing it are two different things. An inheritance promised is a title deed. Possessing it means showing up with your tools and your families, rolling up your sleeves, and getting to work. It means building, naming, and governing. This passage, then, is a case study in the practical outworking of the dominion mandate. It is a theology of shovels and swords, of building and battling, which is the constant calling of the people of God in this world.
The Text
33 So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land. 34And the sons of Gad built Dibon and Ataroth and Aroer, 35and Atroth-shophan and Jazer and Jogbehah, 36and Beth-nimrah and Beth-haran as fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. 37And the sons of Reuben built Heshbon and Elealeh and Kiriathaim, 38and Nebo and Baal-meon, their names being changed, and Sibmah, and they gave other names to the cities which they built. 39And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it. 40So Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh, and he lived in it. 41And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns and called them Havvoth-jair. 42And Nobah went and took Kenath and its towns and called it Nobah after his own name.
(Numbers 32:33-42 LSB)
Covenant Grant and Tangible Dominion (v. 33)
We begin with the formal grant of the land.
"So Moses gave to them, to the sons of Gad and to the sons of Reuben and to the half-tribe of Joseph’s son Manasseh, the kingdom of Sihon, king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og, the king of Bashan, the land with its cities with their territories, the cities of the surrounding land." (Numbers 32:33)
Notice the authority here. Moses, as God's covenant mediator, gives the land. God is the ultimate owner, but He delegates authority to His appointed leaders. This is not a chaotic land grab; it is an orderly, covenantal transfer of property. The land is not empty; it is defined by the kingdoms that were just defeated. God gives His people the assets of their enemies. The spoils of victory, won by God's power, are now the inheritance of His children.
This establishes a vital principle. God's blessings often come to us through the defeat of His enemies. The kingdoms of Sihon and Og were thorns in Israel's side, pagan outposts of idolatry and rebellion. God, in His justice, judged them and, in His grace, turned their real estate over to His people. This is how God builds His kingdom. He tears down strongholds and then gives the rubble to His saints to build something new and beautiful. History is the story of God transferring the assets of the wicked into the hands of the righteous. As Proverbs tells us, "the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous" (Prov. 13:22).
This was not just raw land. It was "the land with its cities." They inherited infrastructure. They were given a head start. This is a picture of generational faithfulness. Each generation is to build upon what the previous generation has won. We are not meant to start from scratch in every generation. We receive an inheritance, a "kingdom," and our task is to steward it, expand it, and pass it on, more developed and more godly, to our children.
Building for Posterity and Purpose (v. 34-38)
The reception of the gift is immediately followed by responsible action. Look at what they do.
"And the sons of Gad built... fortified cities, and sheepfolds for sheep. And the sons of Reuben built..." (Numbers 32:34-38)
The word is "built." They were not squatters. They were constructors. They took the cities they were given and made them their own. They strengthened them, rebuilt them, and established them. This is the work of dominion. It is not passive. It is active, creative, and laborious. Faith is not a feeling; it is a hammer and a trowel. They built "fortified cities," which tells us they understood the reality of the world they lived in. They were not utopians. They knew that possessing the land meant they had to be prepared to defend it. The sword and the shovel go together. Nehemiah understood this perfectly: "Those who were rebuilding the wall and those who carried burdens took their load with one hand doing the work and the other holding a weapon" (Neh. 4:17). A faith that is not worth defending is not a faith worth having.
But they also built "sheepfolds for sheep." This is crucial. They were not just warriors; they were shepherds. They were building an economy. They were planning for a future of peace and prosperity. The fortifications were for the protection of their families and their livelihood. A healthy culture understands the need for both protection and production. We are to be lions in the defense of truth and lambs in our productive, daily lives. We build walls so that the sheep may graze in safety. This is the pattern for a Christian society: strong defenses protecting a peaceful, productive, and prosperous populace.
Then we come to a fascinating detail in verse 38. The sons of Reuben built cities, including "Nebo and Baal-meon, their names being changed." Why change the names? Because names have theological weight. Nebo was a Babylonian deity. Baal was the Canaanite storm god, the great rival to Yahweh. To live in a city named "Baal's Place" would be a constant, nagging compromise. It would be an act of spiritual treason. So they changed the names. This was a theological statement. It was an act of cultural conquest. They were not simply occupying the land; they were cleansing it. They were de-paganizing their inheritance.
This is a direct lesson for us. We are to take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ. This applies to our language, our institutions, and our cities. We must not be content to live in a culture named after pagan gods, whether their names are Baal, Molech, Aphrodite, or Secularism. By our gospel labors, we are to rename the world, claiming every square inch for Christ. When we build a Christian school, we are changing the name of education in our town. When we establish a faithful church, we are changing the name of worship. When we raise our children in the fear of the Lord, we are changing the name of the future.
Subduing, Settling, and Naming (v. 39-42)
The half-tribe of Manasseh provides an even clearer picture of this dominion work.
"And the sons of Machir the son of Manasseh went to Gilead and took it and dispossessed the Amorites who were in it... And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took its towns and called them Havvoth-jair. And Nobah went and took Kenath and its towns and called it Nobah after his own name." (Genesis 32:39, 41-42)
Here we see the three-step process of faithful settlement. First, they "took it and dispossessed the Amorites." This was holy war. The Amorites were under the ban, the cherem, the sentence of God's judgment for their centuries of unrepentant sin (Gen. 15:16). This was not imperialism; it was divine justice executed by human hands. The church does not wield the physical sword in this way today, but we are still called to dispossess the spiritual enemies who occupy the land. We are to tear down arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God (2 Cor. 10:5). We are to drive out the idolatries of our age with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.
Second, after taking the land, they lived in it. Moses gave Gilead to Machir, "and he lived in it." This is the goal. We don't conquer for the sake of conquering. We conquer in order to settle, to plant, to build, to live. The goal of our spiritual warfare is peace. The goal of our evangelism is a settled and mature church. The goal of Christian cultural engagement is a stable, godly, and flourishing society where our children and our children's children can live in faithfulness to God.
Third, they named their conquests. Jair took the towns and called them "Havvoth-jair," which means "the towns of Jair." Nobah took Kenath and "called it Nobah after his own name." At first glance, this might seem like an act of pride. But in the biblical mindset, naming is an exercise of righteous authority. God named the Day and the Night. Adam named the animals. To name something is to claim responsibility for it, to put your stamp on it, and to define its purpose. These men were not just grabbing land; they were establishing legacies. They were tying their family name to a piece of God's promised inheritance and saying, "As for me and my house, this land will serve the Lord." This is the heart of patriarchal, generational faithfulness. A godly man seeks to build something that will outlast him, a legacy of faith and fruitfulness for his posterity.
Conclusion: Your Plot of Ground
This is not just a dusty record of ancient land transactions. This is a pattern for Christian living. God has given us an inheritance. Through the victory of Christ over Sihon and Og, that is, over sin and death and Satan, He has given us the world as our inheritance. "Ask of me," the Father says to the Son, "and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession" (Psalm 2:8). We are co-heirs with Christ. The world is ours.
But the title deed is not the same as possession. The world is full of spiritual Amorites who currently occupy our inheritance. The cities of our culture are named after pagan gods like Baal and Nebo. What are we to do? We are to do what Gad, Reuben, and Manasseh did.
We are to build. We are to be people of the shovel and the trowel. Build a strong family. Build a faithful church. Build a Christian business. Build a classical Christian school. Don't just complain about the ruins; start laying stones. Build fortified cities, be prepared to defend what you build from the enemies of the faith. And build sheepfolds, make your labors productive, peaceful, and prosperous for the glory of God.
We are to dispossess. With the weapons of our warfare, which are mighty in God for tearing down strongholds, we are to drive out the idolatries that have taken root in our land. We are to challenge the lies of our age with the truth of God's Word. We do this in our homes, in our churches, and in the public square.
And we are to rename. We must refuse to live by the world's definitions. We are to assert the Lordship of Christ over every area of life. We are to take the pagan cities of our culture and, by faithful labor, rename them for the glory of the triune God. Every time a sinner is converted, a piece of territory is renamed. Every time a Christian family dedicates their home to the Lord, a plot of land is renamed. Every time a Christian artist creates a beautiful work, a corner of the culture is renamed.
God has given you your inheritance in Christ. The question is, what are you doing with it? Are you living like a squatter, just passing through? Or are you living like a son, like an heir? Get your tools. Take your plot of ground. Dispossess the enemy. And start building and naming for the glory of King Jesus.