Numbers 32:6 says, And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? Since the people of Gad and Reuben had asked for land already captured, Moses asked them if the rest of the people of Israel should go to war while they sat there in peace. We as followers of Christ today are at war with the sin in the world, and we should not expect to sit back at peace and prosperous while our fellow believers struggle to survive and fight the war. Verse seven adds, And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? Moses asked them why they would want to discourage others from going into the land that God had given them. If we have seemingly gained great riches of this earth as Christians, seemingly without any problem, we may discourage other Christians who are struggling if we just sit back in ease. Verse eight continues, Thus did your fathers, when I sent them from Kadeshbarnea to see the land. Moses said this was what their fathers had done when he sent them to spy on the land originally. They returned with a negative report, except for Joshua and Caleb, and the people were afraid to go into the land. We should never let our success as followers of Christ serve as a discouragement to others. Verse nine states, For when they went up unto the valley of Eshcol, and saw the land, they discouraged the heart of the children of Israel, that they should not go into the land which the LORD had given them. As just stated, Moses said the negative report of the spies discouraged the people of Isreal from going into the Promised Land a generation earlier, and if the tribes of Gad and Reuben stayed in the already conquered land, it could likewise discourage the rest of the people from wanting to cross over the Jordan where they would then have to fight for the Promised Land. Though as Christians we are already assured of entering into our Promised Land, Heaven, we are not exempt from fighting the war against Satan in the world today. Verse ten adds, And the LORD’s anger was kindled the same time, and he sware, saying, Verse eleven continues, Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt, from twenty years old and upward, shall see the land which I sware unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob; because they have not wholly followed me: Moses reminded them of what had happened when the people of Israel chose to believe the report of the ten spies instead of putting their faith in God. None of the men who came out of Egypt who were twenty years old or older would be allowed to go into the Promised Land. Though if we put our faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord we will never be kept out of heaven, we still must actively follow God's will today. We are not exempt from fighting the war against God by the forces of evil today, and if we just sit back and enjoy life if God has blessed us with prosperity and refuse to take an active role in fighting the war against evil, we may very well discourage other believers who are less fortunate. Verse twelve says, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite, and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. Moses pointed out that Caleb and Joshua were the exception to the other spies, because they wholly followed God. We need to be like them, and not like the rest of the spies and the people of Israel. Verse thirteen continues, And the LORD’s anger was kindled against Israel, and he made them wander in the wilderness forty years, until all the generation, that had done evil in the sight of the LORD, was consumed. Moses then reminded them of the forty years of wandering in the wilderness that God had them endure until all those men twenty years and older died. God still expects His people to live by faith in Him and not by fear of what may happen to them in this world if they follow His will. Verse fourteen states, And, behold, ye are risen up in your fathers’ stead, an increase of sinful men, to augment yet the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel. Moses said that the people of Gad and Ruben were in danger of being like their fathers by not wanting to cross over into the Promised Land, because of the land where they were looking so good. No matter how good things are for us in this world, we must make sure this does not come between us and God's will for us. Verses fifteen adds, For if ye turn away from after him, he will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and ye shall destroy all this people. Moses told the people of Gad and Reuben if that if they stayed on this side of the Jordan and settled in peace that they might cause the rest of the nation to continue in the wilderness because they would question the need to cross over into the Promised Land and fight for it by faith in God. We must likewise engage in the battle against the forces of evil as followers of Christ, no matter how prosperous and at ease our life may be. Above all else, we must never allow our life to discourage others from putting their faith in Jesus Christ.
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