But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out (Num. 32:23).
Moses was leading the 12 tribes of Israel to the Promises Land. Just before they crossed the Jordan, soon to take possession of Canaan and contend with its fierce inhabitants, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh decided to claim the land where Israel was then encamped. It looked like insurrection. Should they refuse to cross Jordan with the other tribes, the armies of Israel would be weakened just when every person was needed in the ranks. But they proposed to build houses for their families and shelters for their cattle in the land of Gilead and then go "ready armed before the children of Israel....We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance" (Num. 32:17, 18).
Moses, as God's spokesperson, agreed to this plan and said, "If ye will do this thing,...then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel....But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out" (verses 20-23). This is a warning of evil in case of disobedience. Should the contract be broken, then they would be declared sinners against God and God's people. And their sin would find them out, would follow them and be a cruse upon them.
Is sin any less evil today? Can we break faith just because we do not like to carry out our promised agreements? Let us remember this: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22), as the prophet said to King Saul. For the defiant, unrepentant, or unheeding soul there is no escape, no refuge--their own sin will find them out. But for the repentant one there is a certain hiding place. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me" (Ps. 19:13).
Moses was leading the 12 tribes of Israel to the Promises Land. Just before they crossed the Jordan, soon to take possession of Canaan and contend with its fierce inhabitants, the tribes of Reuben and Gad and half the tribe of Manasseh decided to claim the land where Israel was then encamped. It looked like insurrection. Should they refuse to cross Jordan with the other tribes, the armies of Israel would be weakened just when every person was needed in the ranks. But they proposed to build houses for their families and shelters for their cattle in the land of Gilead and then go "ready armed before the children of Israel....We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance" (Num. 32:17, 18).
Moses, as God's spokesperson, agreed to this plan and said, "If ye will do this thing,...then afterward ye shall return, and be guiltless before the Lord, and before Israel....But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord: and be sure your sin will find you out" (verses 20-23). This is a warning of evil in case of disobedience. Should the contract be broken, then they would be declared sinners against God and God's people. And their sin would find them out, would follow them and be a cruse upon them.
Is sin any less evil today? Can we break faith just because we do not like to carry out our promised agreements? Let us remember this: "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to harken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22), as the prophet said to King Saul. For the defiant, unrepentant, or unheeding soul there is no escape, no refuge--their own sin will find them out. But for the repentant one there is a certain hiding place. "The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
MEDITATION PRAYER: "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me" (Ps. 19:13).
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