Beloved: grace, mercy and peace be yours abundantly from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord and Redeemer. I am glad to welcome you to another week of the month of February 2025. My prayer is that God will rid you every attitude that may make you a hindrance to the progress of the church of God or of other people in your life. Amen.
In Numbers, chapter 32, Moses says this to the tribes of Gad and Reuben:
“Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. After they went up to the Valley of Eshcol and viewed the land, they discouraged the Israelites from entering the land the LORD had given them.”” (Num 32:6-9NIV)
Why did he say these hurting words to them? It was because they had requested to have their own inheritance before the whole nation crossed over River Jordan to take the land of Canaan that God wanted to give them. And Moses saw that as a sign of unfaithfulness and an attempt to discourage the remaining people from going on to take the land God was going to give them. Therefore, he began to rebuke them severely.
But then, these people simply made that request because they saw that the land on that side of River Jordan was suitable for livestock rearing. And they had very large herds and flocks. Why, then, did Moses get so upset with them that he began to rebuke them? The reason was that he did not want them to be the reason others would be discouraged from going for what God had wanted them to have and then get into trouble.
As Moses pointed out to them, the reason all of them ended up wandering for forty years in the wilderness was that ten of the twelve men that were sent to spy the land God was going to give them brought back an evil and discouraging report to the people. And it was because of these ten men that the entire nation had to suffer and be kept from enjoying God’s provision for them to the full for forty years. If only ten men, then, could make an entire nation suffer for forty years, imagine what problems whole two tribes could bring upon them. That, of course, was why Moses had to quickly protest.
In any case, those people assure Moses not to worry at all. They told him that they would not dare discourage the people from having God’s best for them. Instead, they would leave their families behind and march on with them into the Promised Land until every other tribe had their own inheritance. And that was exactly what they did. (Cf. Jos 22:1-9)
Now what lessons are there for us in all this? First, it is that we need to watch how our words and actions may affect those in our lives, especially the people of God. Yes, we may have very good reasons for wanting to say or do whatever we have in mind. But where what we say or do may discourage others or fill them with lukewarmness and keep them from away from what God has planned for their lives, we need to watch ourselves. Otherwise, we may end up being the reason their lives and our lives as well will remain stagnant forever.
Second, where we observe that the people in our lives are doing things that will discourage us or others, we need to speak up, as Moses did. Yes, they may have good reasons for what they are doing. But unless we speak up and allow them to explain themselves, we may not know whether they should be tolerated or firmly resisted. And that may just allow Satan to use them to make a short trip to greatness and rest long or impossible for us.
Third, if we are confronted by others who have legitimate reasons to believe that our actions are going to hinder them or cause problems for them in life, we should be patient and humble enough to explain ourselves. Otherwise, we may make a bad situation worse. If the people of Gad and of Reuben had chosen to enter into arguments with Moses, instead of explaining themselves to him, he may have prayed to God against them. And they may have been severely judged by God, as Dathan, Korah and those with them were judged by Him. (Cf. Num 16)
So, don’t train yourself to be arguing with people when they accuse you on any matter. Instead, be patient and humble to explain yourself to them. That way, you will be healing your relationship with them instead of further destroying it. And may the Spirit of God continually fill you with the wisdom and strength to act accordingly. Amen.
Have a splendid week.
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