Gad Gen. 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.

Transcription

1 Gad Gen. 49:19 Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. I ve got good news for you, and I have bad news for you, which do you want first? have you ever had that said to you? Well, Gad was given the bad news first. In front of him was the prospect of being attacked by a band of raiders. However, he was going to overcome. How was he going to overcome? Who was the enemy going to be? he wasn t told. When was it going to happen, by who or by what? In a one liner that s all his dying father Jacob would tell him. Gad was Jacob s seventh son, the son of Leah s maid, Zilpah, and at his birth it was said, A troop cometh, hence the name Gad. We don t know anything about him, except that when he went to Egypt he had seven sons (Gen. 46:16). There is a very clever pun in the Hebrew, you can just about make it out in the English (if you know what you are looking for!) Gad, a troop shall overcome him Gad means a troop (the reason some of your translations says fortune goes back to the translation of the Hebrew into the Greek LXX and into the Latin Vulgate. Expert Hebrew scholars say that word most definitely means troop, and to render it fortune is wholly misleading.) So basically, what the first part of this verse is saying is this, Gad will be attacked by Gad. If you wish to become technical this is one of the most remarkable examples of paranomasia in the Bible, Gad is a troop of plunderers; a troop of plunderers shall plunder him, but he shall plunder at the last. Clear as mud? It will come, Gad is a decent chap, - he s not a snake like Dan or violently treacherous like Simeon and Levi. He s a decent chap who isn t going to get it easy!

2 D.G. 2 So what then can we learn from this man and his tribe, the tribe of Gad? GAD LOOKS TO THE LAND Numbers 32:1ff. Gad, a troop shall overcome him When the tribe of Gad departed from Egypt there were 45,650 men fit for fighting; during the wilderness wanderings this number decreased to 40,500. Nonetheless, by all accounts they were a successful people, - especially with their large herds and flocks. When they crossed the River Jordan Gad looked around him and saw the beautiful land, We don t need to go any further, we ve gone far enough. We ll set our roots down here. So they went to Moses and the leaders of the community, 4 Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel, is a land for cattle, and thy servants have cattle: 5 Wherefore, said they, if we have found grace in thy sight, let this land be given unto thy servants for a possession, and bring us not over Jordan. Look at how their request was greeted, v.6, laziness; v.7, discouragers; v.14, an increase of sinful men ; v.15, a possible cause of failure. You see, the tribe of Gad were being attacked from within, It s future was in peril not because of the Canaanites, or the new terrain, or any of the other tribes of Jacob. No, from within the threat was coming from those who thought they had done enough, - there s no need to go any further, this land is good enough for us, It ll do us our time! And they weren t going to go any further, but Moses said to them something different! You see, every man in the Hebrew camp was important, - there was none of them that could be done without. They were only a small nation, who had just spent 400 years in Egypt, - most of which was in captivity and slavery, - and then 40 years in the wilderness.

3 D.G. 3 None of them could afford to relax off and abandon their brethren, - they (along with the tribe of Reuben) were prepared to sit back and slack off!) Ah, it s a real discouragement in the church of God to see some working hard and others living off their labours, - that s what Gad was prepared to do. Such people were a hindrance to the rest and were a barrier to the cause of God s people as they headed through this hostile land of Canaan. The tribe of Gad were all too prepared to sit back and let others do the work and pass over on the responsibilities. And it wasn t an outside influence that got the better of them, - it was from within, from their own number. Gad was looking only to the land, and God s Word through Moses left them in no doubt as to their end if they did not change their minds, 15 For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. i.e. Turning away from God can only result in a wilderness experience that has repercussions for all God s people. When you think of the small number who followed the Lord Jesus and were empowered by the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, When you think of the relatively small number of Reformers who stood up against the idolatry and darkness of Rome in the 16 th century, But, you see, they stood together as one! It was all very well for Gad and Reuben to look at the land and be satisfied with what they saw, but the Lord had even something better for them, something more that He had promised them and called them to! It s interesting to notice who Gad s buddy was, - Reuben; remember what we learned about him He was a three-time loser: 1 He lost the power (being the firstborn) 2 He lost the honour, and 3 He lost the priesthood. it s not good to ally ourselves with losers!

4 D.G. 4 Yes, GAD LOOKED TO THE LAND and he was attacked from within, - the most subtle enemy of them all! But it s good we read that they came good and founght alongside their brethren. GAD LOOKED TO THE LORD I Chronicles 12:1,8-15 but he shall overcome at the last. David was on the run from king Saul, he was out in the wilderness. He was not on his own because he had the company of the fighting men from a number of the tribes, - these included men from the tribe of Gad. Look at how the beautiful way they are described, 8 And of the Gadites there separated themselves unto David into the hold to the wilderness men of might, and men of war fit for the battle, that could handle shield and buckler, whose faces were like the faces of lions, and were as swift as the roes upon the mountains; Look at the row of medals they had collected since last we met them in Numbers 32, They had separated themselves unto David, They were men of might They could handle shield and buckler They were fearless, - faces were like the faces of lions No going back! as swift as the roes upon the mountains What had happened since Numbers 32? They had come to realise their responsibilities. They had come to realise that they were an integral part of God s people and they were needed! They had progressed from the good land they thought was previously suitable for their needs. and even, - something else, - they had to earlier cross the Jordan when the river flooded its banks. They had undergone a complete transformation of heart, mind, soul, and spiritual eyesight!

5 D.G. 5 CONCLUSION. There is a battle going in in this church. It s not between rival factions or divisions. Very simply, it is this: are we looking merely at the land, or do we have our eyes firmly fixed upon the Lord. His plans and aspirations far exceed those of His people. The tribe of Gad has much to teach us, - they didn t get it easy, but God kept the word of old Jacob Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last. When Saul and Jonathan were killed by the Philistines and their bodies were hung up for everyone to see it was the men of Jabesh-Gilead, - of the tribe of Gad, - who graciously removed them. (I Sam. 31) It was among the Gadites that David found asylum when his son Absalom was trying to kill him (II Sam. 17); and it was in the territory of the Gadites that the battle was fought to regain him the throne (II Sam. 18). God s grace was much in evidence here towards the children of Gad. They didn t start off too well, but they learnt quickly the lesson to take their eyes of the land and look instead to the Lord, Gad, a troop shall overcome him: but he shall overcome at the last.