As I begin to read through Deuteronomy, there are several general thoughts that are striking me from the narrative as a whole. Today I was in Dt 3-5 as Moses is essentially “reviewing” with the Israelites.
One of the things reviewed is found in chapter four. Moses reminds the tribes of Reuben and Gad and the half tribe of Manasseh, all of which chose to live on the east side of the Jordan, that they have an obligation to cross over the Jordan and fight with the rest of the nation.
All that is recorded is whole-hearted agreement to the deal. But is that the whole picture? All of the fighting men were crossing the Jordan to go into battle there, meanwhile leaving their families unprotected for an indefinite period of time. The people of the area were terrified of the Israelites and were desperate to protect themselves. What better way than to divide the strength of the Israelite army by attacking undefended women, children, and elderly?
I can just imagine the anxiety I would feel in this situation. The anxiety Doug would feel. It had to be a hard time. But, that’s not recorded. At all. All that is recorded is the obedience. And it’s not because God wanted to paint a rosy picture of the Israelites in His Word. He’s usually pretty clear about their disobedience! But here all we see is obedience and trust. They might have been afraid, but still they left their loved ones in the hands of God and went.
Thinking through all of this has challenged me to leave just such a legacy. A legacy of obedience and trust, no matter what my inward parts are doing. I want to be known as one who, no matter how frightened, obeys and trusts God with the details.
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