"If we have found favor in your eyes," they said. "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?"...
"Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Issac and Jacob."...
"And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of yur fathers and making the Lord even more angry with Israel."...
"But if you fail to do this, you will be sinning against the Lord; and you may be sure that your sin will find you out"...
"We will cross over before the Lord into Canaan armed, but the property we inheret will be on this side of the Jordan."...
"Speak to the Israelites and say to them" 'When you cross the Jordan into Canaan drive out all the inhabitants of the land before you. Destroy all their carved images and their cast idols, and demolish all their high places....But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land, those you allow to remain will become barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides. They will give you trouble in the land where you will live."
Numbers 32 & 33 NIV
Here, the Israelites are in final preparation for the conquest of the promised land, the land flowing with milk and honey and there is division among the tribes. The Reubenites and Gadites are contented with the land east of the Jordan. Disunity and division are not fruits of the spirit and are creatively dealt with here.
Moses points out the Reubenite and Gadite position is making the Lord "even more angry with Israel," and calls them a "brood of sinners." The Reubenites and Gadites realize the situation and promote unity in Israel by agreeing to go armed over the Jordan to aid the conquest of Canaan.
Moses advises these two tribes that if they did not participate in the conquest, they would be sinning against the Lord and that their sin would find them out. Not following God's instruction is sin. Here God clearly instructs the Israelites to "drive out the inhabitants...destroy all their carved images and their cast idols and demolish all their high places." Unfortunately Israel did not drive out, destroy and demolish as they were instructed and, as a result, those they allowed to remain did become "barbs" in their eyes and "thorns" in their sides.
Thoughts:
Where in your life at work, home, social activites or other might you be compromising by persuing something other than a promise of God?
Can you see such a persuit or compromise as causing divisions?
Pray for unity on our Lenten journey.
In Christ,
David P
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