Christian Living
‘And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: “Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?”
Numbers 32:6
The Account
Numbers 32 gives an account of how the Reubenites, the Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh took possession of the cities East of Jordan. Verse 1 declares that when they saw that the land was a place for livestock, they took a decision to ask Moses and the elders to concede the land to them, thus leaving the rest of the tribes to battle for the possession of Canaan.
The Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh knew that only favour could earn them their inheritance without war and so in verse 5 they say to Moses:
‘If we have found favour in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession’
Moses was incensed, not in the fact that they would obtain their inheritance by favour, but at the possibility that they would be at rest while the other tribes fought the necessary wars to lay hold on their own inheritance. He asks them the question at the beginning of this article and warned that they would not be blameless before God, should they ‘sit’ while the other tribes warred to take the land of Canaan.
The Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh told Moses that they would settle their children and live stock on their inheritance, arm themselves for battle, cross over with the other tribes and help their brethrens to fight the war to take Canaan. They also made a commitment to -
‘… not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received (taken possession) his inheritance’
Verse 18
The Analogy
As believers, we know that we are co-heirs with Christ and inheritors of the blessings of Abraham. Indeed the Bible declares that all the covenant promises of God are ours and we say Amen to them to the glory of God.
But some of us, if not most, would agree to have experienced a part of our lives where we are warring or have had to war to lay hold on the covenant promises of God.
I believe that God, who is a respecter of no person, does truly and lovingly give to us all, all things and could not have excluded anyone of us from a particular blessing. We know that it is practically impossible to get parents to choose who amongst their children should be blessed and who should suffer hardship. It is unimaginable that God, as Father to us all, would sit to assign who amongst us should succeed and who should fail, who should get a life partner early and who should wait for longer than usual, who should conceive and bear children every year and who should be made to wait for years for the fruit of the womb.
I do admit though that there are situations that have defied my understanding and sometimes brought me to the brink of renouncing my faith. Not because I do not believe in God but rather because I struggled with trying to understand why God would chose to let me suffer greatly for what others seem to walk into, like the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh without a fight. But, separating the truth from feelings and reminding myself of why I fell in love with Him always helps me to hold on to Him.
I also strongly believe that our ‘wars’ have a role to play in shaping us for the fulfillment of the destiny that we carry. You know, God using our trials and adversities to prepare us for His purpose. So when God allows us to war for what others have obtained by favour, it might be that He wants to qualify us, by the things that we experience on the journey to victory to become able ministers to those who would also have to war for their inheritance like we have had to for ours.
But this message is to all of us who have obtained, in some or all areas of our lives, by favour what others have had to or would have to fight for. Yes, we who have found life partners without any effort, we who have fought no war in getting jobs, or financial prosperity, or the fruit of the womb or success in ministry, or good health. God requires of us that we secure our inheritance, arm ourselves and go to war to fight for those who are yet to enter into their own inheritance.
We, like the Reubenites, Gadites and half tribe of Manasseh are to:
‘… be armed ready to go before the children of Israel (our brethren) until we have brought them to their place’ Numbers 32:17
We are to enter into the place of intercession and such other things as we can do (See James 2:14-17) and help (Joshua 1:14).
We, who have obtained by favour what others must need war for, must avoid the basis for Moses’ fears in Numbers 23 – discouraging those who would have to war to obtain their own inheritance. We sometimes do this by implying or outrightly stating that we are baffled as to why they have to struggle so hard to obtain what we obtained without a fight; we can do so by treating them as failures in an area where we feel successful; we can magnify the enemy and discourage them from the fight they, either through no choice of theirs, or by their own mistakes, need to fight to enter into the rest we have entered into by favour.
The lesson here is, don’t rest in your inheritance until your brother has also entered his. In practical terms, do not ‘sit’ in marriage until that single sister or brother gets married; don’t fawn or rest in your children until that couple have also laid hold of their own children; don’t rest in your health, until that sick brother or sister is healed of all infirmities.
It is our destiny to be blessed, but we must not rest in that blessing oblivious or unconcerned for those, who are also Christ’, but who are yet to lay hold of their inheritance. You must not ‘sit’
‘…until the Lord has given your brethren rest, as He gave you, and they also have taken possession of the land (inheritance) which the Lord is giving them’
Joshua 1:15
When you have done this:
‘Then you shall return to the land of your possession and enjoy it…’
Joshua 1:15
I guess that for most of us this might be difficult given the truth that it is taking us more than we can give to get our own lives going. And, we have to wonder how on earth we can take up ‘arms’ to fight another’s war.
I have no clear strategy on how it can work for us all. But I know that only the Holy Spirit can will and do this in us. Self effort and determination may trigger the process, but only unfeigned love and a true dependence on God to work it out in us can sustain it.
When the Lord asked me to write on this, I was reluctant. I mean, how on earth can this be? But we know that to say that God’s will is not possible is to give the same evil report as the 10 spies gave in Numbers 13:31-33. Knowing that with God all things are possible, we must open up our hearts to the possibility that we can indeed ‘fight’ for one another.
May the Lord, who is at work in us both to will and to do of His good pleasure, give us the heart, the strength, the courage, the opportunity, the resources, the capacity to let us share one another’s burden until we can behold and rejoice as we see our brethren take possession of their inheritance.
Shalom!
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