Committed to Death

Numbers 32:1 The Reubenites and Gadites, who had very large herds and flocks, saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were suitable for livestock. 2 So they came to Moses and Eleazar the priest and to the leaders of the community, and said, 3 "Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sebam, Nebo and Beon- 4 the land the LORD subdued before the people of Israel—are suitable for livestock, and your servants have livestock. 5 If we have found favor in your eyes," they said, "let this land be given to your servants as our possession. Do not make us cross the Jordan." . . . . 6 Moses said to the Gadites and Reubenites, "Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here? 7 Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them?  . . . . 16 Then they came up to him and said, "We would like to build pens here for our livestock and cities for our women and children. 17 But we are ready to arm ourselves and go ahead of the Israelites until we have brought them to their place. . . . 18 We will not return to our homes until every Israelite has received his inheritance. 20 Then Moses said to them, "If you will do this—if you will arm yourselves before the LORD for battle, 21 and if all of you will go armed over the Jordan before the LORD until he has driven his enemies out before him- 22 then when the land is subdued before the LORD, you may return and be free from your obligation to the LORD and to Israel. And this land will be your possession before the LORD.


I read through the Bible every year or so and so many of my devotions will come out of my daily reading. Some days however I have had a stirring in my heart from other scriptures that I am meditating on and will post on those.


As I read today's passages I thought how wonderful the commitment was that the people of Israel had to each other. It stands in stark contrast to our present culture and the way the body of Christ has been affected by our culture. If there is anything we have been trained into is everyone for themselves.


The Tribes of Rueben, Gad and, in later passages, half of the tribe of Manasseh wanted to take possession of land outside of the borders that God had said Israel would have. The area had been captured by the who army but only these three tribes wanted it.

Moses got quite angry when they suggested to him that they receive it rather than land on the other side of the Jordan. Amazingly they committed themselves to fight right along side their countrymen even though they would not get a square inch of benefit for themselves.

What a wonderful transformation had happened to the community since they came from Egypt. Their forefathers were always running back to Egypt in their hearts. Here their children are committing to battles for honor and love's sake alone.


The Bible teaches that we who bear the name of Jesus in truth are more strongly related than any earthly kinship. We are so connected that we cannot possibly thrive without each of us giving the part we are to play in the one body of Christ fully to God and to each other.


1 Corinthians 12:7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. . . . .12 The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ. 13 For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body. . . . 14Now the body is not made up of one part but of many. 15 If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 16 And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body," it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body. 17 If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? 18 But in fact God has arranged the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. 19 If they were all one part, where would the body be? 20 As it is, there are many parts, but one body. 21 The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don't need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don't need you!" . . . . 26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it. 27 Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.


I see the trend in our culture to move more and more into smaller relational units. As we further and further cocoon we lose vital contact with each other. Today I would venture to say that physical proximity lessens the chance that we will have meaningful contact with others. The closer we are the less we interact with each other.

Using the internet as a safe way of carrying on virtually anonymous relationships means that we have more interaction with people who we will never be in the same place with than those that live next door. Neighborhoods are virtually non-existent if it means a group of people living together in an area that actually have interactions more than nodding.


The same is happening in the church. The development of the megachurch that does not have a strong home group emphasis mirrors the culture's tendency to move to extremely shallow relationships. Some churches have gone to drive in services where no one has to even get out of a car. Like the internet they see others through a crystal screen that keeps them from ever touching.

Now we have the even further abandonment of the almost non-existent fellowship that takes place in these anonymous organized religious gatherings to just staying at home and every now and then hanging out with a few friends that are Christians. 

I would agree that there is virtually no point in attending a megachurch if it is no more than what non-believers do when going to a play or a movie. Why not just stay home and watch it when the DVD comes out? But is that really what the body of Christ is about?

The first church had vital (complicated, messy and trying) relationships with each other that allowed them to be fully committed to each other. They lived and died together with the understanding that each of their successes or failures impacted everyone - just like the parts of a living body. In the process they learned what loving "one another" really meant. 


Reuben Gad and part of Manasseh understood the commitment love requires for each other. They were not about to take their goods and run. They were committed to the welfare of their kinsmen even to death. If it is so for those who had not yet received the revelation of the Messiah how much more should it be for us who have?