- But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the Lord, and be sure your sin will find you out. Numbers 32:23 – The nation of Israel had now traveled almost their entire forty year journey through the wilderness and was at the borders of the Promised Land. At this spot forty years prior is when ten spies came back and spread fear within the nation about the Promised Land which caused the nation to refuse to go in, leading to their exile in the wilderness. Now, as they are close to finally crossing over, two of the tribes of Israel said they’d rather just say over here and not go into the Promised Land. As you can expect Moses was furious and could see this being the reason the people were sentenced to another forty years of wandering in the wilderness. After much discussion these tribes were allowed to stay on this side of the border only if the men of their tribes were still willing to cross into the Promised Land and help the other tribes take possession of it. If they did, all was good, yet it they refuse to do so, as our verse above says this would be a sin against the Lord. This is a good example for us today to take note of, for what exactly was the sin they would have committed by not going? The sin of doing nothing. Sometimes the most common sin we commit isn’t anything listed in the Ten Commandments, but it’s the sin of doing nothing. Of not helping our brother or sister when they need it, not showing love when we could, not serving when we could. No you didn’t say a hateful word or physically harm anyone, you did nothing, and that’s the issue. Often we are called by God to move and act somehow, and if we don’t we are in sin. As in Obadiah, let’s not stand aloof when our brother is in need. Move when God says move and be the brother or sister that steps in to help. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 3382
- Then they came near to him and said, “We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, but we will take up arms, ready to go before the people of Israel, until we have brought them to their place. And our little ones shall live in the fortified cities because of the inhabitants of the land.” Numbers 32:16-17 – They were willing to leave their precious things behind them for awhile to help their brothers step into all that God had for them. This heart is one we should seek to have concerning our brother. Where maybe yes, we’ve seen and stepped into our promise from God, yet our brother hasn’t. He hasn’t walked through it, seen it, or even taken the first step into it. We though take up arms to help him begin that journey and take hold of the promise God has waiting for him. How can you help someone else today step into God’s promise for them? Invite them to church, pray with them, or buy them coffee and have a real conversation with them are just a few ways to begin. Help them see there is something better in Jesus they could be running to and make sure they know you’ll run with them all the way. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 1448
- Numbers 32 – Pastor Mac Daily DEVO But Moses said to the people of Gad and to the people of Reuben, “Shall your brothers go to the war while you sit here? 7 Why will you discourage the heart of the people of Israel from going over into the land that the Lord has given them? Numbers 32:6-7 – The people of Israel are about to end their journey in the wilderness and finally enter into the promise land. Yet before stepping in, a couple tribes look at the land they just conquered, lands that weren’t a part of the designated land God was promising them, and asked if they could claim this as their inheritance portion. Whether this request was made selfishly because they didn’t want to go into the promise land (like Moses accuses them of) or of a right heart to simply have land that was good for their lifestyle is unclear. Moses though brought up a good point. If you do this, and refuse to step across the Jordan with your brothers to fight, you are going to discourage them from going over too. Your actions will cause your brothers to not want to step into God’s promise. This is something we must be careful to not do. We can by our actions or words cause those around us to not lean into all that God has for them. For example, see how children who don’t have parents prioritizing church have so often even less of a desire for attending church themselves when on their own. Or how a friend, who turns to sin, can influence an entire friend group into destructive choices. If sin ONLY affected you, then maybe some of the sin we commit you could in your mind blow off as not that bad to do, but our sin never only effect just us. In fact our choice to say yes to sin can cause someone to make the choice to say no to God. Be wise then in how you handle sin in your story and be willing to see the damage beyond you it can/will cause. I love you, but Jesus loves you more – Mac – Daily DEVO 2313
Daily DEVO 