Numbers 32
As the Israelites move closer to inhabiting the land God prepared for them - Canaan - the Reubenites and Gadites express their desire to stay on the east side of the Jordan, which is against the express wishes of the Lord who commanded the Israelites to conquer and inhabit the land across the Jordan.
Moses reacts to the Reubenites and Gadites:
6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? 7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them? 8 This is what your fathers did when I sent them from Kadesh Barnea to look over the land. 9 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. 10 The LORD's anger was aroused that day and he swore this oath: 11 'Because they have not followed me wholeheartedly, not one of the men twenty years old or more who came up out of Egypt will see the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob- 12 not one except Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite and Joshua son of Nun, for they followed the LORD wholeheartedly.' 13 The LORD's anger burned against Israel and he made them wander in the desert forty years, until the whole generation of those who had done evil in his sight was gone.
14 "And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the LORD even more angry with Israel. 15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction." (Numbers 32:6-15)
14 "And here you are, a brood of sinners, standing in the place of your fathers and making the LORD even more angry with Israel. 15 If you turn away from following him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction." (Numbers 32:6-15)
While I am not entirely certain why the Reubenites and Gadites did not want to conquer and inhabit Canaan, I can be certain that they were not following God's will. Maybe it was fear - fear of confrontation and death that may result from battle....again I am not certain. Regardless of the motivation the point is clear, there was resistance to following God's will.
So, the question becomes - what are MY motivations to not following God's will. There are too many to list...I need to remember that "if you turn away from him, he will again leave all this people in the desert, and you will be the cause of their destruction".
My Prayer: Lord, thank you for preparing the promised land for me, in heaven specifically. I must focus on this as my promised land. Forgive me for my motivations to be disobedient. Help me follow you wholeheartedly.
