Obeying God Fully
Scripture Passage: Deuteronomy 3:12-22 (NASB)
12 “So we took possession of this land at that time. From Aroer, which is by the valley of Arnon, and half the hill country of Gilead and its cities I gave to the Reubenites and to the Gadites. 13 The rest of Gilead and all Bashan, the kingdom of Og, I gave to the half-tribe of Manasseh, all the region of Argob (concerning all Bashan, it is called the land of Rephaim. 14 Jair the son of Manasseh took all the region of Argob as far as the border of the Geshurites and the Maacathites, and called it, that is, Bashan, after his own name, Havvoth-jair, as it is to this day.) 15 To Machir I gave Gilead. 16 To the Reubenites and to the Gadites I gave from Gilead even as far as the valley of Arnon, the middle of the valley as a border and as far as the river Jabbok, the border of the sons of Ammon; 17 the Arabah also, with the Jordan as a border, from Chinnereth even as far as the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, at the foot of the slopes of Pisgah on the east.
18 “Then I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess it; all you valiant men shall cross over armed before your brothers, the sons of Israel. 19 But your wives and your little ones and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in your cities which I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your fellow countrymen as to you, and they also possess the land which the Lord your God will give them beyond the Jordan. Then you may return every man to his possession which I have given you.’ 21 I commanded Joshua at that time, saying, ‘Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. 22 Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you.’
SUMMARY
After the Israelites had defeated the Amorites, Moses divided the land and gave it to the Reubenites and the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. Moses commanded all the valiant men of the three tribes to cross over armed before their brothers, the Israelites. Their wives and little ones and livestock were to remain in their cities until the Lord gave rest and possession of land to their other fellow Israelites in Canaan. Then, they were allowed to return to the regions east of the Jordan. Moses commanded Joshua at that time: “Your eyes have seen all that the Lord your God has done to these two kings; so the Lord shall do to all the kingdoms into which you are about to cross. Do not fear them, for the Lord your God is the one fighting for you” (vv. 21-22).
MEDITATION & REFLECTION
The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the land east of the Jordan was suitable for livestock. They approached Moses, Eleazar the priest and the leaders of the community to request this land instead of crossing the Jordan. Moses divided the land per their request, but he warned them that they would be sinning against God if they failed to fight across the Jordan (Numbers 32:23). I imagined that if these 2.5 tribes, which were more than 100 thousand men, decided not to cross over the Jordan, how discouraging it would have been for the other tribes. God allowed them to have that land as they requested, but Moses commanded all the able men to cross over and fight at the frontline with their brothers. These 2.5 tribes missed the whole point — those victories before crossing the Jordan were God’s grace to build up the Israelites so that they may trust God to conquer Canaan, not for them to rest there and settle down to fatten their herds.
APPLICATION
The three tribes choosing to settle on the east side of the Jordan made me reflect on the many times I failed to completely obey God. Even though God has allowed me to exercise my free will, I’ve missed out on the true blessings and true riches of His glory because I have not obeyed fully. There were times when God guided my heart to say, “No,” and I did not obey just because I wanted to please people or I wanted to prove that I can do all things. I ended up having too much on my plate and messed things up, or my family suffered because I burned myself out with work. I want to be completely obedient to the Lord our God, and follow what God’s will is for me and not my own desires. Temptation to stay on the east side of the Jordan may blind my heart from seeing God’s promised land. I have to put my hope and trust in the eternal life that Jesus Christ brought me, follow Jesus who guides me on the narrow path, and know that God is the one fighting for me.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank You for fighting for me. Please help me to fully obey Your will and follow Jesus Christ, not chasing after my own gain. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Please share your personal meditations on this Scripture passage with the HolyWave community in the comments section below. (We reserve the right to moderate comments.)