DEVOTIONAL
“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 NASBS
As children of the living God, those whom He has plucked from the fires of eternal damnation, we must consider the entire word of God as a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our pathway. It is very easy for us to recognize the sins in the second table of the Lords Commandments. Sins such as, “Honor your mother and father, do not commit murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, and do not covet. In our pilgrimage, from this world to that which is to come, we recognize these sins every day and seek to abstain from them, longing to become a living sacrifice to our Master, Jesus Christ. But have we ever considered the sin of doing nothing? Have we considered what a privilege it is to sit in the light of God’s holy word being preached each week as we assemble with God’s people, and yet many times having no intentions of taking it beyond the church borders, into the highways and byways, compelling lost souls to come to Christ? Have our hearts become so hardened that we do not have deep travail for our brothers and sisters who are struggling? Are we willing to lay down certain privileges that could possibly be a stumbling block for new Christians who have just been brought into the faith? May this be engraved upon our heart with an iron stylist, the sins of having idol hands with no intentions of helping our brothers and sisters, are just as detestable in the eyes of the Lord as any other sin, and they will find us out.
As the nation of Israel was nearing the end of their 40 years of wandering in the wilderness the Lord God had blessed them immensely. The Lord had given them the strength to conquer the two mighty Amorite kings, Og and Sihon, possessing their land, along with the land of Midian. Though The Lord had given them the power to conquer these mighty kings, all twelve tribes were commanded to work together as The Lord governed over them. Now as Moses begins to prepare the nation to cross the Jordan River, to inherit the land God promised to them, the land flowing with milk and honey, the tribes of Reuben and Gad decided they did not want to cross over, but to stay in the land that had already been conquered. Moses gives them permission to settle in the land, but first they must cross the Jordan with her brothers and sisters and fight with them until all of the land of Canaan has been conquered , and then they can go back across the Jordan and settle in the land of Gilead. Moses said, “But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.”
Christians, soldiers of the cross, those whom The Lord has arrayed with the battlements of armor, must you be carried to heaven on flowery beds of ease, while others fight against Apollyon in trials that seem like raging seas? Has the Lord asked us to take off our armor and go to sleep while children all around us are being corrupted by immorality, while our nation is dying from ungodliness? Oh Lord God, King of heaven and earth, forgive us for we have sin mightily against you. For we have not waged in holy warfare upon our knees for our brothers and sisters as we should. We have not sought to bring every brother or sister in faith to maturity. We have not engaged in the proclamation of the Gospel, impressing it upon the souls of the lost, weeping over their lost estate as we should. Oh Lord, we can be an obstinate people, seeking the frivolous entertainment of this world as Hell broadens its mouth engulfing impenitent sinners without even blushing?
Lord God, may each of us, individually examine our own lives to see if we may be lacking, may Your grace be with us forever more, amen.