Numbers 32:23
But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out.
The above verse is taken from the story about two tribes of Isreael (Gad and Reuben) negotiating with Moses to take their possession on the east side of the Jordan River, alone, rather than the west side of the Jordan, with the other 10 tribes. (1/2 the tribe of Manasseh will also join them). Apparently they were sheep herders and the land on that side of the Jordan was favorable to them. It should be noted that these men had never seen the "real" promised land. Described earlier it was a land that flowed with milk and honey. It had giant grapes and other assorted fruits. But, they wanted what they could see. The land right in front of them was "good enough" for them. Moses, at first, opposed this idea because he thought, like before, they were simply afraid of the giants of the land protecting the giant fruit. However, when the 2 1/2 tribes promised to fight for the other 9 1/2 tribes, Moses relented ... except for the above statement. In essence, Moses is warning them that their commitment to fight for their brothers was a vow. In the proceeding chapters of this book the vow was a matter of oath. You didn't make an oath and not keep it. Moses wanted them to know that failing to fulfill their commitment would be a sin and sin is ALWAYS found out by God. The principle here is so important for us. We tend to think that we can hide sins ... we can make an oath and not fulfill it. We can't. God knows our words. He keeps His and He expects us to Keep ours. Our word is our bound and to fail to fulfill that bond is a sin and sin will always be noticed by God. Keep your word.
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