A Life With Boundaries

"And you shall divide the land by lot as an inheritance among your families; to the larger you shall give a larger inheritance, and to the smaller you shall give a smaller inheritance; there everyone's inheritance shall be whatever falls to him by lot. You shall inherit according to the tribes of your fathers."

Numbers 33:54

God provided an inheritance of land for His people to be divided by lot.  The Hebrews were not called to global conquest but were given land with clearly defined borders:  God would drive out the inhabitants of the land before them, and they were called to enter in and take possession of it.  Each tribe and family (save the Levites) were given a parcel of land which would be passed down through generations.  The arid land God gave His people was a small fraction of the land available, and it was sufficient for His people.

It is telling God gave His people land with borders and boundaries.  The Law of Moses forbade the moving of landmarks, and each person was to be content with the land God graciously provided for them.  Some people had running water, others had fields fit for flocks and herds, and others had rocky hills.  It would have been easy to look with longing eyes on land beyond your borders which looked like an oasis compared to your own dusty, rocky patch.  In providing boundaries God taught His people lessons concerning contentment.  Instead of looking to enlarge their borders, they were to put their hand to the plow and make the most of where God sovereignly placed them.

The boundaries God made for His people provides an insightful and instructive lesson for people today.  We all have boundaries in our lives we can view as restrictions that prevent us from fulfillment, satisfaction, profitability, and fruitfulness.  We imagine if we had a role at work with more responsibility we would be content; if our church was bigger our efforts to serve would be more useful.  Because of lack of faith and rest in God's sovereignty we can grow to resent the boundaries God has graciously established for our good.  We can be filled with envy our neighbour's property has a running stream and waterfront property while we must toil to dig a well.  We think happiness and contentment is somewhere to be found outside our borders.

Friends, let us endeavour to trust God, His wisdom, provision, and plans.  There is security and rest in all the boundaries God has given us and what He has chosen not to give us.  It is not in lands, flocks, herds, and waterfalls where we find satisfaction and rest but in the LORD Himself; it is not in proficiency in every spiritual gift we are fruitful but to make the best use of the one God has given us.  Envy stifles the gratefulness and thanksgiving which ought to mark our lives as children of God for whom He has provided all things concerning life and godliness.  Regardless of what has fallen to us, let us rejoice and be satisfied in the goodness, generosity, and kindness of our LORD.

The Blessed Rehearsal

"If it had not been the LORD who was on our side," let Israel now say--² "If it had not been the LORD who was on our side, when men rose up against us, ³ then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; ⁴ then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; ⁵ then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul." ⁶ Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth."

Psalm 124:1-6

Repetition is a feature of Jewish poetry which is a useful literary device to make strong emphasis.  Psalm 124 caused people to remember and acknowledge the help and deliverance by God in the past.  Passages like this have reminded people in all seasons of life to proclaim the goodness and salvation of God.  In times of peace and prosperity even God's people can forget about Him, so it is profitable to rehearse the many times God has been faithful to protect, provide, and save us.

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 was a mandate to the children of Israel to continually teach their children about God and bring Him to remembrance:  "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! ⁵ You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. ⁶ "And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. ⁷ You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. ⁸ You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. ⁹ You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates."  God and His righteous ways are to be at the forefront of the minds of those who love Him.  More important than learning a trade or earning a degree was to hold God in honour and high esteem in all aspects of life because He is our life.

A compelling event occurred when Amalek fought against the Hebrews after their deliverance from Egypt.  When Moses held aloft the rod of God the children of Israel prevailed over their enemies, but when his arms dropped Amalek and his people gained the advantage.  Aaron and Hur helped steady the arms of Moses until nightfall while Joshua routed the Amalekites by the power of God.  The victory was not because of the rod of God, the calling of Moses, the quick-thinking and support of Aaron and Hur, or Joshua's skill in battle:  they were victorious because of God alone.  After the battle Exodus 17:14-16 states, "Then the LORD said to Moses, "Write this for a memorial in the book and recount it in the hearing of Joshua, that I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven." ¹⁵ And Moses built an altar and called its name, The-LORD-Is-My-Banner; ¹⁶ for he said, "Because the LORD has sworn: the LORD will have war with Amalek from generation to generation."

The KJV says God told Moses to "rehearse" the memory of this battle in the ears of Joshua, the man God had chosen to lead the people after him.  At a rehearsal of a play lines and scenes are repeated and practiced over and over to gain mastery for a future performance.  Just as parents were to teach their children of God and His deliverance, Moses was to rehearse the victory God had won over Amalek that day--with the knowledge battles with the Amalekites would continue for generations.  In the heat of battle Joshua may not have noticed what Moses, Aaron, and Hur were up to, and a day would come when he would face battle without these men of God.  The victory that day and in every future battle would be won due to Jehovah-Nissi, the LORD who would be Joshua's banner when he looked to Him in faith.

Because the LORD was on the side of His people David concluded his song in Psalm 124:6-8, "Blessed be the LORD, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. ⁷ Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. ⁸ Our help is in the name of the LORD, Who made heaven and earth."  We make the mistake of hoping for help from someone rather than placing our hope in the LORD who was a Banner of victory for Moses, Joshua, and David.  Let us rehearse with others what God has done to deliver His people in the past and acknowledge the salvation and victory we have also received by His grace--not only so we will be strengthened and comforted but so the generation to come will know, praise, and hope in the LORD God.  Blessed be the LORD who is our Banner! 

Bless the LORD Forever

After God brought His people out of Egypt and through the Red Sea, He miraculously provided them water to drink to quench their thirst.  Though God made a covenant with His people, it was not long before they murmured against Moses and Aaron, men chosen by God according to His divine purposes.  They grumbled and complained in their discontent.  They even expressed their preference to have died in Egypt, for at least there they had meat and bread to eat to the full.  In their bitterness they forgot how they cried out to God for deliverance because of the harsh bondage they suffered.  God would prove faithful to supply food for even grumbling, complaining people.

Exodus 16:6-8 says, "Then Moses and Aaron said to all the children of Israel, "At evening you shall know that the LORD has brought you out of the land of Egypt. ⁷ And in the morning you shall see the glory of the LORD; for He hears your complaints against the LORD. But what are we, that you complain against us?" ⁸ Also Moses said, "This shall be seen when the LORD gives you meat to eat in the evening, and in the morning bread to the full; for the LORD hears your complaints which you make against Him. And what are we? Your complaints are not against us but against the LORD."  Moses was meek before God and man.  He revealed complaints against Moses and Aaron were actually against the LORD.  The discontent of the people was fueled by their unbelief in God and exacerbated by their refusal to trust Him.  Their murmuring and complaining was more an indictment against them then an accurate gauge of the performance of Moses and Aaron.

Now were Moses and Aaron perfect leaders?  Absolutely not!  Like all men and women they had many faults, yet even their errors did not justify the complaints of the people against them.  Since God's people know God is sovereign and He rules over all, this should greatly temper our complaints against the rulers He has put in authority.  Though David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel he would not speak against Saul who he acknowledged as the "LORD's anointed."  The apostle Paul once was struck on the face and later apologised for speaking harshly towards the high priest (whose conduct was inappropriate and unlawful) in Acts 23:5:  "I did not know, brethren, that he was the high priest; for it is written, 'You shall not speak evil of a ruler of your people.'" 

In societies which have embraced democratic principles we are often free to have an opinion, to question and debate policies and platforms, and vote as we see fit.  In a culture polarised by the right and left, by Liberal and Labour, or Republican and Democrat, we can lose sight of God's sovereign role in society, government, and politics.  After God revealed a dream and interpretation, consider the words of Daniel, a Jew was made to serve King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon in Daniel 2:20-22:  "Daniel answered and said: "Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. ²¹ And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. ²² He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells with Him."  Daniel was an advisor of a king who laid Israel waste, razed the Temple in Jerusalem to the ground, killed his countrymen, and took him captive in a foreign land.  When Nebuchadnezzar began to slaughter the wise men of Babylon Daniel sought the LORD so people could be saved--without a single recorded complaint against King Nebuchadnezzar.

Friend, are you one who complains and murmurs against rulers God has put in authority?  Realise when you do so your complaints are actually against God.  The same God who put Pharaoh in authority over Egypt was God who chose Moses to deliver His people from bondage.  The God who established proud, murderous Nebuchadnezzar as king of an empire divinely placed Daniel and his companions in his court as wise men to accomplish His purposes.  By all means we ought to seek to stand up for righteousness and glorify God in our words and conduct, but we cannot do this when there springs from our hearts a poisonous undercurrent of murmuring and complaining against rulers God has raised up.  No matter who "wins" an election or what party or person is seen to be "in charge" of government, God sits on the throne without rival.  It is Him we honour and serve.  Instead of complaining against a person or political party, let us bless the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His.

Praying and Prayerfully Doing

"Rejoice always, ¹⁷ pray without ceasing, ¹⁸ in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you."

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

The will of God is for us to always rejoice, pray, and in everything give thanks.  Doing so is indicative of people who are at rest in the almighty God they trust with their whole hearts.  Instead of being blinded by fears and worries, followers of Jesus are enabled by the power of the Holy Spirit to do God's will with gladness.

I read Exodus 14 today and was intrigued with the back-and-forth between the Hebrews and Moses after Pharaoh sent them away.  Shortly after demanding the children of Israel leave Egypt, Pharaoh and his people regretted sending away their slave labour and mustered all their chariots to pursue them.  When the Hebrews saw the advancing enemies out of fear for their lives they lashed out at Moses.  Their terror distorted their grasp on reality and clouded their view of God, His promises, and ability to save them.  Exodus 14:13-14 reads, "And Moses said to the people, "Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever. ¹⁴ The LORD will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace."  Moses urged the people to repent of their fear and trust the LORD who would fight for them and save them.

In light of it being God's will people pray without ceasing, Exodus 14:15-16 is most instructive:  "And the LORD said to Moses, "Why do you cry to Me? Tell the children of Israel to go forward. ¹⁶ But lift up your rod, and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it. And the children of Israel shall go on dry ground through the midst of the sea."  Prayer is fitting at all times yet prayer should not hinder us from trusting and obeying God.  Moses believed God would save His people and thus it was pointless to continue praying God would save when it was time for Moses to tell the people to go forward in faith when there was no path.  God told Moses to lift up the rod, stretch it out, and the Red Sea would be divided:  it would be a path to deliverance for the Hebrews and a tomb for the pursuing Egyptians.

I wonder:  is it possible we are continuing to pray for something God has already declared as done?  Can we be like Moses, crying out for salvation and deliverance when all that remains is for us to obey Him and take necessary steps of faith?  I am sure the people prayed as they walked between the walls of water which towered above them on the right and the left, and God brought them through.  I am convinced prayer is the best course of action in all seasons of life yet it serves little purpose if we do not respond to God's directives in faithful obedience.  Prayer is an intentional action that leads us to undertake God-directed actions prayerfully.

A similar situation occurred under Joshua's leadership after the children of Israel suffered a shock defeat at Ai.  On the heels of a miraculous victory over the stronghold of Jericho the men who went up against Ai (without seeking counsel of the LORD) fled and 36 of them fell slain.  Joshua tore his clothes and lay before the presence of the LORD with dust on his head.  His words sound eerily similar to the Hebrews who trembled at the sight of the Egyptians:  "Oh that we had been content on the other side of the Jordan!  What shall I say when Israel turns their backs before their enemies?"  Joshua's lamentation received a pointed answer from God.

Joshua 7:10-13 gives us God's response:  "So the LORD said to Joshua: "Get up! Why do you lie thus on your face? ¹¹ Israel has sinned, and they have also transgressed My covenant which I commanded them. For they have even taken some of the accursed things, and have both stolen and deceived; and they have also put it among their own stuff. ¹² Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they have become doomed to destruction. Neither will I be with you anymore, unless you destroy the accursed from among you. ¹³ Get up, sanctify the people, and say, 'Sanctify yourselves for tomorrow, because thus says the LORD God of Israel: "There is an accursed thing in your midst, O Israel; you cannot stand before your enemies until you take away the accursed thing from among you."  There was no point in Joshua lying and mourning a defeat and loss of life when there was sin in the camp which needed to be confessed and removed from among them.  Only then could they stand before God or their enemies.  Prayer preceded God's answer, and Joshua would prayerfully need to carry out the judgment according to God's word.

When God asked Moses why he cried unto Him or why Joshua lay on his face, they did not answer.  What could they say in light of God's glorious voice, wisdom, and judgments?  God told Moses to tell the people to go forward; Joshua was told to get up and sanctify himself with all the people.  This teaches us prayer is not just something we do as an end in itself so God will do something (which He does beyond reckoning) but to adopt a posture for God to instruct and direct us to practically take action according to His will.  When we are fearful or have suffered a defeat, let us hope in our almighty God, His promises, and unfailing love.  Instead of pleading for what He has already promised or being overwhelmed by regret, go forward in faith!  Get up off the ground, dust yourself off, and take prayerful action to sanctify yourself before the LORD who knows the hearts of all men.  If we trust God to pray, shouldn't we trust His commands and do them?