20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, if ye will go armed before the LORD to war,
21 And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD, until he hath driven out his enemies from before him,
22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel; and this land shall be your possession before the LORD.
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out.
24 Build you cities for your little ones, and folds for your sheep; and do that which hath proceeded out of your mouth.
25 And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spake unto Moses, saying, Thy servants will do as my lord commandeth.
26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:
27 But thy servants will pass over, every man armed for war, before the LORD to battle, as my lord saith.
This Old Testament passage has application for us today.
Q. What is the battle at hand?
A. The battle is for souls to be won for Christ! The battle is a spiritual battle, with the enemy of all souls – he wants to destroy all men and woman who have been made in the image of God.
Q. What are the weapons of our warfare?
A. They are not carnal. They are not the physically taking over of a land or our country; they are not the crusades; they are not fought with swords, arrows, bullets or bombs. This spiritual battle is fought by spiritual means, with 100% reliance on our Captain, our LORD of lords, Jesus Christ: Some of the weapons are:
- Prayer – Individual and Corporate;
- Deeper knowledge and understanding of God inasmuch as He reveals;
- Deeper understanding of each other (Koinonia Fellowship)
- Discipleship – learning to be like our Master
- Many other aspects, but in all, obedience to Christ and His commandments (John 14:15, 23); Abiding in Christ (John 15:1-11f);
All of that said, there is the other side of this – what does it look like for the one(s) who won’t go to the battle?
- Week after week, sitting in the pews;
- Hearing the truth, but never doing anything with it;
- Never growing in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord Jesus Christ;
- Aware of many problems, complaining about them, but again, never actively coming to the conclusion that God might be calling us to do something about it: pray, carry another’s burden;
- Willingness to never do anything but Sunday morning service;
- Rationalizing that God doesn't need me, thus He won’t call me;
- Never realizing that God has called us to more than a happy life on this earth;
- Unprepared for big laborious trials when they come, and not even prepared for “small” trials;
- Susceptible to any wind of doctrine that comes along;
- Many others. . .
Not everyone exhibits all of these characteristics, but any of them can lead to others.
But the hard thing to swallow is the fact that it might be sin! We don’t like the idea that nothingness or not doing something could be sinful.
But the fact is, if we’re not growing in the Lord, it’s foolish to think that we’re staying “neutral” or just staying in one place. Our relationship to God may be secure, but it is based on something He did, and for a purpose.
If we think we can just be saved and that that will give us an abundant, joy filled life, we are sadly mistaken. We need Jesus Christ to be in our life and to BE OUR LIFE in order for our life to represent Him the way He wants us to.
The Israelites had to act and participate in the things that maintained their fellowship with God. Not their relationship – that was sealed by God’s own covenant. The tragic thing of course was that not everyone experienced the Joy of the Salvation of God because they would not obey Him; they would not abide in Him. He would go on, just as we see throughout the Scriptures, to continue to save remnants again and again, for His purposes, but so many missed out on the promised land because they would not go up and take it as He told them to do. One specific example of disobedience is when they were to enter into the land but wouldn't because they were afraid and didn't trust God to give it to them, and every person over 20 was to perish and not enter into the land that God had promised them.
But our fellowship with God is a two way fellowship. He wants to fellowship with us (which boggles the mind); He wants us to know Him, to trust Him, to love Him with all of our heart, mind, soul, and strength, and He, in turn, will bestow riches upon us that are beyond what this world can offer.
So, accept His Word of Truth, His Law, His Testimonies, His Statutes, His Commandments, with fear and trembling, for they are better than gold, yea, better than much fine gold!
Psalm 19:7-11
The law of the LORD [is] perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD [is] sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD [are] right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD [is] pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD [is] clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD [are] true [and] righteous altogether. More to be desired [are they] than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them is thy servant warned: [and] in keeping of them [there is] great reward.