Genesis 49:19 “Raiders shall raid Gad, but he shall raid at their heels.
Numbers 32:29 And Moses said to them, “If the people of Gad and the people of Reuben, every man who is armed to battle before the LORD, will pass with you over the Jordan and the land shall be subdued before you, then you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession. However, if they will not pass over with you armed, they shall have possessions among you in the land of Canaan.” And the people of Gad and the people of Reuben answered, “What the LORD has said to your servants, we will do. We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan, and the possession of our inheritance shall remain with us beyond the Jordan.”
Deuteronomy 33:20-21 And of Gad he said, “Blessed be he who enlarges Gad! Gad crouches like a lion; he tears off arm and scalp. He chose the best of the land for himself, for there a commander’s portion was reserved; and he came with the heads of the people, with Israel he executed the justice of the LORD, and his judgments for Israel.”
In the days of Jeremiah (among other times), foreign armies oppressed Gad (Jeremiah 49:1). Yet victory would be his in the end. (Guzik)
“This has been the blessing of many a child of God – to fight, and apparently to lose the battle, yet to win it at the end.” (Spurgeon)
Concerning Gad, Jacob alludes to his name, which signifies a troop, and foresees the character of that tribe. The cause of God and his people, though for a time it may seem to be baffled and run down, will be victorious at last. It represents the Christian’s conflict. Grace in the soul is often foiled in its conflicts; troops of corruption overcome it, but the cause is God’s, and grace will in the end come off conqueror, yea, more than conqueror, Ro 8:37. (Henry)
When our battles and trials are made and fought within our own doing the outcome is bad for us. When our battles and trials are surrendered into the hands of God the outcome and victory is His and the blessing ours. God is all-knowing, ever-present, and all-powerful. We do well to remember this and subject the things of this world that afflict us into His hands and keep our eyes focused on Jesus Christ with our hearts and minds seeking to honor and glorify Him in all we think, say, and do.
