What does Numbers 32:23 mean when it says, “Be sure your sin will find you out”?

Response

Numbers 32:23 states, “Be certain your sin will be revealed” (KJV). This is an intriguing warning, particularly when considered independently. Therefore, we will examine its context, specifically the complete chapter of Numbers 32, and then explore what other insights the Bible provides regarding the exposure of our sins.

The declaration “be sure your sin will find you out” occurs at the conclusion of the Israelites’ exodus from Egypt. After forty years of wandering in the wilderness, the tribes of Israel were preparing to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land. Men of military age from all twelve tribes were tasked with assisting each tribe in conquering its designated territory, a challenging and time-consuming endeavor.

Prior to crossing the Jordan, the tribes of Gad and Reuben expressed their preference to remain where they were, east of the Jordan. The land in that region was ideal for cattle farming «Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of cattle: and when they saw the land of Jazer, and the land of Gilead, that, behold, the place was a place for cattle; », (Numbers 32:1), and the leaders of these tribes approached Moses seeking permission to settle on the eastern side rather than in Canaan. Initially, Moses refused: “Should your fellow Israelites go to war while you sit here?” (verse 6). He then accused them of lacking the desire to enter the Promised Land, as the previous generation had: “This is what your fathers did” (verse 8). He also reminded them that this very sin had provoked the Lord’s anger against them for forty years, cautioning them that they risked bringing destruction upon the entire nation once more (verses 13–15).

However, Gad and Reuben had a different motive, as they clarified. They requested Moses’ permission to leave their livestock and families

Behind in settlements, the men armed themselves and went to war in Canaan. After assuring they were not abandoning their fellow Israelites, Moses agreed to their request. He instructed them to fight until the land was subdued, and only then could they return to their property east of the Jordan. Moses then added a warning: “But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure your sin will find you out” «But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. », (Numbers 32:23).

When Moses said, “Be sure your sin will find you out,” he did not mean, “Everyone will find out about your sin.” If the trans-Jordan tribes failed to keep their promise, it would be a sin against the Lord and the whole nation, and their sin would be obvious to all. Rather, Moses’ warning that they could be sure their sin will find them out hints at the strange-but-true nature of sin.

In several places in the Bible, sin is described in terms that make it seem as if it were a living being with a mind and will of its own. God poetically warns Cain that “sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it” «If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him. », (Genesis 4:7). James explains how, figuratively speaking, people “are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death” (James 1:14-15). Paul, in Romans 7:14–25, describes sin as though it were a being living within him, enslaving him against his will and making

him do what he himself hates and condemns: “It is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” (verse 20).

In the statement “be sure your sin will find you out,” the mystery of sin is revealed. The nature of sin is such that, whether or not others discover your sin, your sin will “discover you.” You cannot run from the consequences. Sin carries within itself the power to pay the sinner back, and sin’s payback is hell. Don’t even think about toying with sin. It cannot be tamed, outrun, or shaken off. No matter how safe you think you are, if you are a sinner, your sin will find you out.

Moses’ warning to the tribes of Israel, “be sure your sin will find you out,” is echoed by Paul: “Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life” (Galatians 6:7-8). The only way to escape sin’s consequences is to be forgiven of your sin by faith in the death and resurrection of Christ (Romans 10:9; 1 John 2:2; Revelation 1:5).