Misapplied Scriptures: "Be Sure, Your Sin Will Find You Out.”

Introduction: Some ministers have used this verse as a way to make people think. Admittedly, sin is not a very popular topic for many people but it’s real and part of any good minister’s job is to point out sins and the potential for sin. It’s good, to make people think, but sometimes a verse can be taken way out of context. This is one such verse.

Here’s the verse, in the King James Version of the Bible (KJV):

Text, Numbers 32:23, KJV: 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out

1 How the verse is sometimes misapplied

I mentioned in the introduction that some preachers will use this verse to prove, or at least make people think, that sin is real and the penalty for sin is real. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself spoke of any number of sins in His various messages (see the Gospels).

For one example, look at the hottest sermon He ever preached, and it was directed at the Pharisees, some of the most religious Jews in history! He pointed out what they did, and often why they did it. Perhaps to nobody’s surprise, there is no record that any of them who heard the sermon in Matthew 23 ever repented or asked the Lord for forgiveness.

And preachers even in recent years have used this text as a goad or attention-grabber. I remember reading one preacher’s printed sermon which had part of this verse as the written invitation to repent and become a believer in Jesus. It went something like this, “I know that I am a sinner and I know my sins will find me out”, followed by a sample prayer to accept the free gift of everlasting salvation.

All of that was profitable, as far as it goes, but that’s not the message, or what the verse was intended to convey. Looking at the context, nearly everything was different.

2 How the verse should be applied

In the context, the verse had nothing whatsoever to do with anybody’s salvation! The historical context was that Israel was on the “home stretch” after nearly 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. That they had sinned, and realized instead of living in the beauty of Canaan and the Promised Land, they would all (aged 20 and older) die in the desert, the Punishing Land. The children and grandchildren of those who had originally been slaves in Egypt would now enjoy something their ancestors had forfeited because of their sins (see Numbers 14).

Just a short time before Israel entered into Canaan, though, two tribes and half of another tribe asked Moses if they could settle in another area of the land. Reuben and Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh, asked Moses to give them land to the east of the Jordan River, even though the Lord had only given Israel land on the west side of Jordan.

Not long after this, God gave the boundaries for the land of Israel as listed in Numbers 34. Of note is that all of the land was on the west side of the Jordan; nothing was mentioned about the east side. Even so, God allowed the two-and-a-half tribes to settle east of Jordan.

Moses, still alive at the time, was very upset that the two tribes, at first, requested land apart from the rest of the nation. Moses had some very strong words, such as “Why are you trying to discourage your brothers (fellow Israelites) from crossing over (the Jordan)? There may have been more that is not recorded, but Reuben’s and Gad’s leaders got the message: don’t fail to do your duty in taking over the land. Just because you want to live away from the others doesn’t mean you can ignore them as they fight to take over the land God had promised all Israel.

These two tribes also promised to stay in the battle as long as it would take to conquer the land. They would build places to protect the ones left behind, their wives and little ones. That speaks of faith in the Lord that He would protect the defenseless while the fighting men were away. These men then affirmed, “We won’t live in the land we’ve requested until everybody else gets their inheritances too”.

With that, Moses was pleased that the two tribes meant business and that they were sincere about joining the battles, not staying home while others did the fighting.

And that is the reason why Moses gave a very strong, very stern warning in Numbers 32:20-24,

20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war, 21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him, 22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD. 23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. 24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.

The tribes did so, and received a “well done” from Joshua as recorded in Joshua 22 after the initial conquest was completed.

Conclusion: the verse mentioned, and the thought, has absolutely nothing to do with salvation, but is a reminder that God knows every promise of every person. Moses reminded the two tribes that if they didn’t follow through with what they had promised, that was sin, and that “sin would find [them] out”.

Besides, the Lord already knows every sin we ever did and every sin we will do in the future, so we’re already “found out”!

Scripture quotations taken from the King James Version of the Bible (KJV)