Morning devotional (Numbers 32).

1. Summary.

The children of Reuben and the children of Gad tried to stop the conquest, but God rebuked them. 
When they were rebuked, they came to their senses and joined the war of conquest again. 

 

2. What God is saying to me today

(1) Remember the events of Numbers 32. 
One of the trophies of victory in the Midianite war was the land of Midian. 
Among them, the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead looked good for pastoralism from the perspective of the pastoralizing Reuben & Gad descendants. 

They decided to abandon their advance into Canaan. 

They wanted to stay in the land of Jazer and Gilead, where they had already won.

"The land which the LORD had smitten and destroyed before the congregation of Israel is a good place for pasturing, and your servants have cattle.
And they said, If we have found favor with thee, give this land to thy servants for their possession, and let us not cross over the Jordan"(32:4-5). 

 

①At first glance, their demands seemed unproblematic. 
- Their demands were well-founded in reality: "The land is good for farming, and your servants have livestock."
- Their request was polite: "If you have found favor... please." It was a polite request: "If you have found favor...please do it." It was not a must-do, but "if" it would be favorable to the leadership. 
- It was a request for a trophy that they were entitled to: The heroes of the Midianite war asked leadership for what they had fought for. This is a way of saying, "I have the right to get it. But since you're in charge, we'll take what you give," a reasonable and polite way of saying, "I have the right to get it.

 

② But their demands were sinful. 
If the leadership (Moses and Aaron) had deviated from God's Word even a little bit, they might have given in to the demands of Reuben and the children of Gad. 
Their request was well-founded, polite, and authoritative. 
But the leadership discerned their request based on God's Word. 
Reuben and Gad's demands may have been reasonable by human standards, but they were "wicked" by the standards of God's Word. 
The leadership judged their demands based on the Word as follows 

"Do you want to discourage the children of Israel so that they will not be able to cross over into the land that the LORD is giving them" (32:7)

 

Their demands were reasonable and justified, but according to the Word, they were discouraging to the obedient. 

The problem with discouraging
turning obedient people into disobedient people.

 

③Spiritual leadership judged them by the standards of the Word and historical evidence.  
The leadership held the conquest of Canaan to the exacting standards of God's Word. 
The leadership judged and condemned based on the Word, and then gave further explanations based on historical evidence.  

......discouraged the children of Israel, so that they could not go into the land which the LORD had given them (32:9).

Reuben and Gad were not the only ones to do so.

The Israelites were reminded that they had already discouraged the Israelites with their words at Kadesh at the beginning of the wilderness journey.

 

(2) Do not love the trophy that my victory has given you. 
Reuben and Gad's problem was trophy love (the spoils of victory). 
When "God's victory" came to them, it became "trophy love." 
I remember them, and I must be different from them.
When God gives me victory, I must give the results back to God. 
I must be careful not to rest on the material, spiritual, and psychological ground that God gives me by grace. 
I must relinquish my claim to the fruits of victory.

 

(3) Do not discourage God's people. 
I must guard my heart.
I must examine my heart according to the standards of the Word.
If I fail to examine my heart, I must be careful with my words. 
If I have not yet removed the thought of settling for the trophies of victory, I should be silent. 
I should not speak words that are contrary to the Word.
For words contrary to the Word discourage God's people and are followed by God's judgment. 

 

So, who are the people of God who are listening closest to you?

 

① My wife and daughters. 
I must discern trophy-obsessed words, not with my lips, but at the level of my thoughts, lest they be discouraged.
When that is difficult, I must be careful with my words.
And when that is difficult,I need to be silent.

In the Word of God
Words that are worthy and in accord, words of vision, words of hope, and words of life.  

② 3Ps

There are also the "three pastors" who listen closely to me. 
As I grow, I judge them in many ways. 
But I don't want my judgment to hurt them.
If I hold back, one day I will speak up. 
When I get angry, I can't convey my words, vision, and heart. 
Angry words make it difficult to communicate content.
Anger without content causes discouragement.
I must not discourage the cedars. 
I have a command from God the Holy Spirit about them. 
I must obey that command to the letter. 
In this evening's meeting, I must act according to the voice of the Holy Spirit that I have already received. 

(4) Be a leader. 
Be a leader who knows how to interrupt, intervene, and persuade with the word of discouragement.
This requires staying awake to the Word and knowing the timing in prayer. 
In the end, it's all about the Word and prayer. 
To be a spiritual leader, you must excel in the Word and in prayer.

 

 

3. Today's prayer

Heavenly Father, my Lord. 
Have pity on me for my tendency to settle for trophies. 
Keep me focused on the goalposts, the [200 & 1.9 & 1000X1000s], like the march into Canaan. 
Continue to guard my heart against settling for the small battles won in obedience. 
Keep me from being momentarily blinded by small, selfish gains. 
Protect my sinful nature from jeopardizing my obedience. 
Guard my lips, which are full of discouraging words. 
Help me with my inability to properly shepherd those who discourage me. 
Help me when I discourage those close to me with my words.
Help those who are discouraged by my words of unbelief.  
Please help me. 
I pray in the name of Jesus. 
Amen.