Verse for the Day, 1 September 2016.

Numbers 32:20-24, “So Moses said to them, "If you will do this, if you will take up arms to go before the LORD for the war,  (21)  and every armed man of you will pass over the Jordan before the LORD, until he has driven out his enemies from before him  (22)  and the land is subdued before the LORD; then after that you shall return and be free of obligation to the LORD and to Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.  (23)  But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD, and be sure your sin will find you out.  (24)  Build cities for your little ones and folds for your sheep, and do what you have promised."”

The tribes of Reuben and Gad had seen that the land of Jazer and Gilead, was rich grazing land, ideal for farming livestock. Due to the fact that they had large herds of livestock, they wanted to remain in this land rather than go to Canaan. Therefore, they bring their request to Moses and the other tribal leaders.

But this request is far from a straight forward and simple one to grant, there are some important heart issues at stake.

Moses is quick to warn these two tribes against making the same mistake as their fore-fathers, who refused to go into the Promised Land out of fear. By making this request, it would effectively reduce the size of the army, and would mean that none of the men from Reuben and Gad would fight in the conquest of the Promised Land. Moses is seeking to discern what their true motivation is, do they want to avoid having to fight numerous battles, suffer loss and have to make sacrifices for the sake of the nation? Are they just looking out for themselves and looking for an easy way out, are they more concerned about themselves, their wellbeing and wealth, or do the they have the good of the whole nation at heart? Are they putting their trust in what they can see and in themselves, rather than trusting in God?

These are the heart issues:

Do the people of Reuben and Gad actually trust God?

Are they reluctant or unwilling to help conquer the Promised Land?

Who are they concerned for, their own tribes, or for the nation as a whole?

Are their hearts truly in the right place?

The leaders of Reuben and Gad are quick to stress that they will not fail in their duty to the nation and to God. They promise that they will go with the rest of the nation and help to conquer the Promised Land. They swear that they will not return to their own land until the conquest is completed and each tribe has taken possession of their allotted territory.

Having heard their pledge and promise, Moses gives them one final and stern warning. It is easy to make these promises and pledges ahead of time, before you are actually held accountable to them. But when the time comes for the promise to be kept, the opportunity to try and worm their way out of it will be there. The tribes of Rueben and Gad make this promise now, but will they be true to it when the time comes?

Moses warns them that this promise they are making, is not just being made in the presence of the people of Israel, it is also made in the presence of God. Ultimately it will be God who will hold them accountable. If they fail to keep their promises, they may escape the wrath of the rest of their nation. Their failure to keep their promise will not prevent God from enabling the rest of their nation to conquer the land. But that doesn’t mean they will escape lightly, rather as Moses says, “be sure your sin will find you out.” God will justly judge and punish them, for their sin is not just against the nation, it is ultimately against God.

The phrase, “your sin will find you out”, is a well-known one. Strangely, the truth of it doesn’t seem to deter us from engaging in that which we know is sinful. What we need to remind ourselves of constantly is that God is 100% just, 100% of the time. God is ALWAYS displeased by sin, and will NEVER ignore it, or allow it to pass by unnoticed. Our sin never escapes God’s notice. Though we may hide it from each other and escape any human, earthly consequences, we will not be able to hide or escape from God. He sees it, knows it, and will respond with a holy displeasure and with justice. Our sin will find us out, because God will find us out.

Sin will always have consequences and an impact upon our lives. It will disrupt and disturb our relationship with God. As long as that sin remains, it will seek to serve as a wedge trying to drive us and God apart. Yes, we rejoice for God’s grace, love and salvation far exceeds the power of sin. But, the pursuit of the believer should be the glory and honour of God. As believers in Christ, we should not be ashamed of God having a full view and knowledge of our lives, nor should we be reluctant for Him to deal with our sin and refine us. In fact, the Psalmist prays in Psalm 19 and 139 that God would expose his sin, so that he might repent of it. Have you ever prayed such a prayer, “Lord God, please expose all my sin, the darkness of my heart, my unholiness, root out all in me that displeases you, bring it all to the surface, into full view so that it might be dealt with!”

Most of us are too afraid to pray such a prayer, simply because we know how much sin we are hiding, and that we are continuing to indulge in sin. We hide our sin and we don’t want it to find us out. But this has a direct negative impact upon our relationship with God, our experience of our salvation, our usefulness within the Church and our witness to the world.

As children of God, our desire should be, to be holy as our Father is holy. Therefore, as contrary as it may sound to our human nature, we should want God to reveal our sin to us, so that we might walk in joyful holiness and obedience.

Holy, holy, holy Father, as hard as it is for us to pray this, we ask that You would gently show us our sin. Forgive us for trying so hard to hide it and thinking we can escape its consequences, and its impact upon our relationship with You. May our desire for holiness be such that we have the courage to pray this prayer every day, so that we might repent of our sin, stop hiding it, and walk in greater obedience. Thank You, that if we do this, we will continuously know the grace of Your forgiveness, the blessing of fellowship with You, and the joy of holiness. Amen.