Numbers 32
Reuben and Gad ask for land of Midianitesverses 1-5
Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very
great multitude of cattle – and when they saw the land of Jazer
and the land of Gilead – that
behold the place was a place for cattle
The children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses
and to Eleazar the priest – and to the princes of the congregation
saying Ataroth – Dibon – Jazer – Nimrah – Heshbon
Elealeh – Shebam – Nebo – Beon
Even the country which the LORD smote before the congregation of Israel
is a land for cattle – and your servants have cattle – wherefore said they
IF we have FOUND GRACE in your sight
let this land be given to your servants for a possession
and bring us not over Jordan
Moses warning of God’s wrathverses 6-15
And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben
Shall your brethren go to war – and shall you sit here?
And wherefore DISCOURAGE you the heart of the children of Israel
from going over into the land which the LORD has given them?
Thus did your fathers
when I sent them from Kadesh-barnea to see the land
For when they went up to 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
And the LORD’S anger was kindled the same time
and HE swore – saying
Surely none of the men that came up out of Egypt
from twenty years old and upward
shall see the land which I swore to
Abraham – Isaac – Jacob
BECAUSE they have NOT WHOLLY followed me
save Caleb – the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite
and Joshua the son of Nun – for they have
wholly followed the LORD
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
And BEHOLD – you are risen up in your fathers’ stead
an increase of sinful men to augment yet
the fierce anger of the LORD toward Israel
FOR if you turn away from after HIM
HE will yet again leave them in the wilderness
and you shall destroy all this people
Two tribes vow to fightverses 16-19
And they came near to him and said
We will build sheepfolds here for our cattle
and cities for our little ones
BUT we ourselves will go ready armed before the
children of Israel – until we have brought them
to their place – and our little ones shall dwell in
the fenced cities BECAUSE of the
inhabitants of the land
We will not return unto our houses
until the children of Israel have inherited every man his
inheritance
FOR we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan – or forward
BECAUSE our inheritance is fallen to us on this side
Jordan eastward
Moses warns them to keep their promiseverses 20-24
And Moses
said to them
IF you will do this thing – IF you will go armed before the LORD to war
and will go all of you armed over Jordan before the LORD
until HE has driven out HIS enemies from before HIM
and the land be subdued before the LORD
THEN afterward you shall return and be guiltless before the LORD
and before Israel
and this land shall be your possession before the LORD
BUT IF you will not do so BEHOLD
you have SINNED against the LORD
and be sure your SIN will find you out
Build you cities for your little ones – and folds for your sheep
and do that which has proceeded out of your mouth
Two tribes agrees to conditionsverses 25-27
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben spoke to Moses
saying
Your servants will do as my lord commands
our little ones – our wives – our flocks – and all our cattle
shall be there in the cities of Gilead
but your servants will pass over – every man armed for war
before the LORD to battle – as my lord says
Joshua informed of conditionsverses 28-30
So concerning them Moses commanded Eleazar the priest
and Joshua the son of Nun
and the chief fathers of the tribes of the children of Israel
and Moses said to them
IF the children of God and the children of Reuben will pass
with you over Jordan – every man armed to battle
before the LORD – and the land shall be
subdued before you
THEN you shall give them the land of Gilead for a possession
BUT IF they will not pass over with you armed
they shall have possession among you in
the land of Canaan
Two tribes restate their commitmentverses 31-32
And the children of Gad and the children of Reuben answered
saying
As the LORD has said to your servants
so will we do
We will pass over armed before the LORD into the land of Canaan
that the possession of our inheritance on this side Jordan
may be ours
Moses assigns to two and half tribesverse 33
And Moses gave to them – even to the children of Gad
and to the children of Reuben
and unto half the tribe of Manaseh – the son of Joseph
the kingdom of Sihon – king of the Amorites
and the kingdom of Og – king of Basham
the land – with the cities thereof in
the coasts – even the cities
of the country round about
Inheritance of Gadverses 34-36
And the children of Gad built Dibon – Ataroth – Aroer – Atroth,
Shophan – Jaazer – Jogbehah – Beth-nimrah – Beth-haran
fenced cities and fold for sheep
Inheritance of Reubenverses 37-38
And the children of Reuben built – Heshbon – Elealeh – Kirjathaim
Nebo – Baal-meon – (their names being changed) – Shibmah
and gave other names to the cities which they built
Inheritance of half tribe of Manassehverses 39-42
And the children of Machir – the son of Manasseh went to Gilead
and took it – and dispossessed the Amorite which was in it
And Moses gave Gilead to Machir the son of Manasseh
and he dwelt therein
And Jair the son of Manasseh went and took the small towns thereof
and called them Havoth-jair
And Nobah went and took Kenath – and the villages thereof
and called it Nobah – after his own name
COMMENTARY:
DAILY SPIRITUAL BREAKFAST: Young Believers
: 7 And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them? (5106 “discourage” [nuw] means hinder, frustrate, prevent, thwart, forbid, not allow or permit an event to happen)
DEVOTION: Is it wrong to frustrate fellow believers? When someone is going through a rough time, what is a fellow believer’s responsibility?
The children of Israel had just defeated the Midianites. Their land was cleared of all residents and cities. When the children of Gad and Reuben saw the land was good for feeding their flocks, they asked Moses if they could stay on this side of the Jordan.
Moses told them that it would frustrate the rest of the children of Israel if they stayed on this side of the Jordan and just settled in. He was angry that they would even think this thought.
However, the problem was that the children of Gad and Reuben didn’t communicate properly. They told Moses that they were willing to go over the Jordan with all their fighting men while leaving their families behind. They would not return to that side of the Jordan until after the battles were won.
Moses warned them that their sin would find them out if they didn’t keep their word. He told Joshua and Eleazar the priest about the conditions of the children of Gad, Reuben and the half tribe of Manasseh keep the land of Gilead.
Moses was saying that the people were ready to go into the land and fight to take the land that that LORD had promised. When the two and a half tribes asked to stay on the west side of the Jordan, he was afraid that it would break this willingness to fight. The children of Gad and Reuben agreed to go over the Jordan and fight with their relatives.
Sometimes we would like to settle somewhere out of the daily fights of our world. We would rather someone else did the fighting for us. The LORD said that we have to help each other in the daily fight with the enemy. If we stand together, we can defeat the enemy. The enemy is real. It is a combination of the world, the flesh and the devil. Every Christian is fighting this fight. Every Christian needs encouragement from fellow believers as they face the struggles of life.
Let’s work with our partners in the LORD to fight the enemy. Let’s not be the enemy or help the enemy to hurt our brothers in the LORD. We are not here to dissuade one another but to ENCOURAGE one another. Let us do it!!!
Remember the church is a hospital for sinners. There are no sinless people in our congregations. Some think they are but that is not so. Some like to judge others without the desire to encourage restoration, but that is not what the LORD commands.
CHALLENGE: Check to see if you are an encourager or a discourager. Ask the LORD to help you become more of an encourager of the brethren. The fight is real!!!
DAILY SPIRITUAL LUNCH: Transitional believers
: 12 Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite and Joshua the son of Nun: for they have wholly followed the LORD. (4390 “wholly” [male] means completely, devote, carry out, satisfy, accomplish, remain loyal to, proclaim loud, or wholeheartedly)
DEVOTION: What a testimony!!! Here are two men who are the only ones in their generation to be able to enter the Promised Land. They were faithful to the LORD when they gave a good report on the land.
Now we find them lifted up as examples of what it meant to give their lives completely to the LORD. They looked at the giants and said that God was able to defeat them. They wanted to enter the Promised Land right away.
Instead they had to wait forty years before they would be able to enter and they were given as a good example of people who were not afraid a hard fight against an enemy.
Moses was confronting the two tribes as if they were being cowards. That was not the case but they were warned not to leave the Promised Land until the enemy was conquered.
We need examples of individuals who didn’t give up when the battle was hard. We need examples of leaders who won’t doubt the LORD’S promises. We need people who will walk by faith even when the enemy is so real.
These two men were not looking for easy responsibilities when they entered the Promised Land. Joshua was the leader of the nation into battle. Caleb asked for a mountain to conquer.
CHALLENGE: Do we have a mountain to conquer? What does the LORD have to say regarding our service to HIM? Are we completely following HIM each day? Are we growing in our relationship to HIM? Are we leaders when others want to run?
15 For if you turn away from after HIM, HE will yet again leave them in the wilderness; and you shall destroy all this people. (7725 “turn away” [shuwb] means to turn back, to change orientation or direction, return, abandon, apostatize, or to turn about)
DEVOTION: Moses is not taking this request lightly. He is explaining that their actions could cause great problems for the nation. If God sees them as cowards then HE might judge the nation again to wandering in the wilderness.
Moses wanted them to know what they were requesting could have long lasting effects on the nation as a whole. Our decisions sometimes can have lasting effects on our family or church.
When we are part of a group we need to realize that any decision we make can affect the whole group. Our decisions need to be ones that we think of all the consequences to those around us.
Now that that has been said we still need to make major decisions in our lives that will affect the group or our family. The two tribes saw that the land was good for their livestock and they wanted to live there with their families.
So it was a good decision and they were willing to live with the consequences. That is the type of decisions we need to make for our families and for our churches when we are in a leadership position.
Children need to learn to make good decisions young. It is important for them to sometimes suffer the consequences of bad decisions in order to help them make better decisions later in life. If we don’t allow our children to make mistakes that they can learn from we are not training them as well as we should.
CHALLENGE: God is training HIS people in relationship to make good decisions.
DAILY SPIRITUAL SUPPER: Mature Believers
: 22 And the land be subdued before the LORD: then afterward you shall return, and be guiltless before the LORD, and before Israel, and this land shall be your possession before the LORD (5355 “guiltless” [naqiy] means blameless, unmarried, not subject to legal action, exempt, free from blame, clear, innocent, or free from obligation)
DEVOTION: Moses explains to them that if they keep their word to him and the nation that they will inherit the land that they requested. More important than Moses giving them a word of encouragement is that the LORD would hold them blameless.
We need to be people of our word. When we say we will do something we need to do it. I can sometimes make statements that are not followed up with and it is very disappointing. It hurts those who are affected. It has to be confessed and brought to the LORD and the person for forgiveness. The LORD is very forgiving because HE knows our weaknesses. Sometimes people are not as forgiving.
Our goal should be to be blameless before the LORD and before people. We need to realize that we will sometimes let our family and others down. It should not be a habit.
To be Christ like in our life we need to have consistency in our words and actions. We need to be able to ask the LORD for help in our actions and words. HE will help us if we ask. If we depend on ourselves alone to gain consistency in our life we will lose.
Ask the LORD help you to make wise decisions and wise actions following those decisions. Be a man or woman of your word.
CHALLENGE: Only the LORD can give you the consistency you want and those around you want in your life.
: 23 But if you will not do so, behold, you have sinned against the LORD: and be sure your sin will find you out. (3045 “sure” [yada] means to be cognizant or aware of a fact or a specific piece of information, possess knowledge or information about, learn, to realize, to perceive, or to understand)
DEVOTION: We find many warnings in the Word of God. Here we find that Moses addressing the promise that the tribes who wanted to stay on the other side of the Jordan made to the other tribes.
The land looked good to the tribes of Reuben and Gad wanted to stay across the Jordan River from the rest of the tribes. They promised to help the other tribes conquer the rest of the Promised Land. They just didn’t want to live over the river.
Moses warned them that if they didn’t keep their word the LORD would deal with them. He didn’t want them to think that the LORD would bless them for breaking a promise to the rest of the tribes.
The leaders of the two tribes said they would not brake, their word and would make sure the other tribes received their land before they went back across the river. This caused some other problems later because of a lack of understand.
We need to make sure we are helping our fellow Christians with their needs. We are not to just find a good spot for ourselves and then let the rest of the church members fight for themselves as they were going through battles.
We are to help one another throughout our Christian life. We need to remember that there will always be others who are looking to us for help during hard times. We need to be available.
When we join a local church, we are treating other members as family members. When a family member hurts, we need to be there to help.
CHALLENGE: Leaders need to remind fellow believers of their responsibility to each other. It is not just a hand shake once in a while it is labor to help in times of need.
DISCIPLINES OF THE FAITH:
BODY
Chastity (Purity in living)
Fasting (Time alone with LORD without eating or drinking)
Sacrifice (Giving up something we want to serve the LORD)
Submission (Willing to listen to others and LORD)
Solitude (Going to a quiet place without anyone)
SOUL
Fellowship (Gathering together around the Word of God)
Frugality (wise use of resources)
Journalizing (Writing down what you have learned from the LORD)
Study and Meditation (Thinking through your study in the Word)
Secrecy (Doing your good deeds without others knowing but God)
SPIRIT
Celebration (Gathering around a special occasion to worship LORD)
Confession (Tell the LORD we are sorry for our sins on a daily basis)
Prayer (Conversation with God on a personal level)
Silence (Letting the LORD deal with some problems and needs)
Worship (Time to praise the LORD alone or in a group)
DOCTRINES OF THE FAITH:
Scripture (66 inerrant books of the Bible)
God the Father (First person of the Godhead)
LORD- Jehovahverses 4, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 20, 23, 27, 29, 31, 32
LORD’S anger was kindledverses 10, 13
Sight of the LORDverse 13
Fierce anger of the LORDverse 14
HIS enemiesverse 21
God the Son (Second person of the Godhead – God/man, Messiah)
God the Holy Spirit (Third person of the Godhead – our comforter)
Trinity (Three persons of the Godhead who are co-equal = ONE God)
Angels (Created before the foundation of the world – Good and Evil)
Man (Created on the sixth twenty-four hour period of creation)
Kadesh-barneaverse 8
Valley of Eshcolverse 9
Egyptverse 11
Enemiesverse 21
Sihon king of the Amoritesverse 33
Og king of Bashan: Amoriteverse 33
Amoritesverse 39
Sin (Missing the mark set by God on man and angels)
Discourageverses 7, 9
Not wholly follow the LORDverse 11
Evilverse 13
Sinverses 14, 23
Salvation (Provided by Christ’s death on the cross for our sins)
Graceverse 5
Wholly followed the LORDverse 12
Inheritverses 18, 19
Guiltlessverse 22
Israel (Old Testament people of God)
Children of Reuben- land on this side of Jordanverses 1, 14-42
Children of Gad – land on this side of Jordanverses 1, 14-42
Land of Sihon – king of Amorites
Mosesverses 2, 6, 20
Eleazar the priestverses 2, 28
Princes of the congregationverse 2
Congregation of Israelverse 4
Children of Israelverses 7, 9, 17, 18, 28
Abrahamverse 11
Isaacverse 11
Jacobverse 11
Caleb – son of Jephunnehverse 12
Joshua – son of Nunverse 12
Israelverses 13, 14, 22
Wander in wilderness forty years
Church (New Testament people of God)
Last Things (Future Events)
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QUOTES regarding passage
In danger of losing all because they had been too selfish, the men of Reuben and Gad made a new proposal. They would go with the rest to the conquest of Canaan; yea, they would form the van of the army. If Moses would only allow them to provide sheep-folds for their flocks and cities for their families, they would take the field and never think of returning till the other tribes had all found settlement. The offer was one which Moses saw fit to accept; but with a caution to the Reubenites. If they fulfilled the promise, he said, they should be guiltless before the Lord; but if they did not, their sin would be written against them. Foreseeing the result of a division between the east and west which any such faithless conduct would certainly cause, he added the warning, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” The time would come when, if they refused to do their part in helping the rest, they should find themselves, in some day of extreme peril, without the sympathy of their brethren, the prey of enemies who came from the east and north.
Earthly comfort and the means of material prosperity can never be enjoyed without spiritual disadvantage, or at least the risk of spiritual loss. The whole region of ease and wealth lies towards the desert in which the adversaries of the soul have their lurking-places, from which they come stealthily or even boldly in open day to make their assaults. A man who has large means is exposed to the envy of others; his life may be embittered by their designs upon him; his nature may be seriously injured by the flattery of those who have no power but only the base cunning to which narrow self-love may descend. These, however, are not the assailants that are most to be dreaded. Rather should the man who is rich fear the danger to his religion and his soul which draws near in other ways. The wealthy who have no religion court his friendship and propose to him schemes for increasing his wealth. Alliances are urged upon him which stir and partly gratify his ambition. He is pointed to honors, that can only be had through abandoning the great ideas of life by which he should be ruled. He is served obsequiously, and is tempted to think that the world goes very well because he enjoys all he desires, or is in the way to obtain the fulfilment of his highest earthly hopes. The curse of egotism hangs over him, and to escape it he needs a double portion of the spirit of humility. Yet how is that to come to him?
It is well for a man when, before enjoying the good things of this life in abundance, he has taken the field with those who have to fight a hard battle, and has done his share of common work. But even that is not enough to guard him against pride and self-sufficiency for the whole term of his existence. Better is it when by his own choice the hardness is retained in his experience, when he never discharges himself from the duty of fighting side by side with others, that he may help them to their inheritance. That and that alone will save his life. He is called as a soldier of God to maintain the holy war for human rights, for the social well-being and spiritual good of mankind. Every rich man should be a friend of the people, a reformer, taking the part of the multitude against his own tendency and the tendency of his class to exclusiveness and self-indulgence. The warning given by Moses to Reuben and Gad in accepting their proposals should linger with those who are rich and in high station. If they fail to do their duty to the general mass of their fellow-men, if they leave the rest to fight, at disadvantage, for their human inheritance, they sin against God’s law, which calls for brotherhood, and that sin will surely find them out. In the end no sin is sure to come home in judgment. And it is not by some miserable gifts to religious objects or some patronage of philanthropic schemes the prosperous can discharge the great debt laid upon them. In whatever way the inequalities of life, the disabilities of privilege and wealth, hinder the realisation of brotherhood, there lie opportunity and need for men’s personal effort. Would this imply sacrifice of what are called rights, of perhaps no small amount of substance? That is precisely the saving of a rich man’s life. To that Christ pointed the rich young ruler who came to Him seeking salvation—from that the inquirer turned away.
And how does the sin of those who neglect such high duties find them out? Perhaps in the loss of the possessions they have selfishly guarded, and their reduction to the level of those whom they kept at arm’s-length and treated as inferiors or as enemies. Perhaps in the harshness of temper and bitterness of spirit the proud, friendless rich man may find growing upon him in old age, the horrible feeling that he has not one brother where he should have had thousands, no one to care—except selfishly—whether he lives or dies. To come to that, so far as a man is concerned with his fellow-men, is to be indeed lost. But these retributions may be artfully escaped. What then? Is not One to be reckoned with who is the Guardian of the human family and gives men power and wealth only as His stewards, to be used in His service? The future life does not obliterate society, but it destroys the class separations, the factitious distinctions, that exist now. It brings a man face to face with the fact that he is but a man, like others, responsible to God. Is not the result indicated by our Lord when He says to exclusive Pharisaical men, “They shall come from the east and west, and from the north and south, and shall sit down in the kingdom—ye yourselves cast forth without”? Brotherhood here, not in name, but in deed and truth, means brotherhood above. Denial of it here means unfitness for the society of heaven.
We learn from ver. 19 that the Reubenites and Gadites confidently affirmed, even when they made their request to Moses, that their inheritance had fallen to them on the east side of Jordan. It may be asked how they knew, since the division was not yet made. And the answer appears to be that they had made up their minds on the subject. Without waiting for the lot, they seem to have said, “This is nobody’s land now that the Amorites and Midianites are dispossessed. We will have it. And there was no sufficient reason for refusing them their choice when they accepted the conditions. At the same time, these tribes did not act fairly and with honor. And the result was that, although they gained the fat land and the good pastures, they lost the close fellowship with the other tribes which was of greater value. Reuben, the premier tribe, could no longer keep its position. It was by-and-by succeeded by Judah. Neither Reuben nor Gad made any great figure in the subsequent history. The half-tribe of Manasseh, which was settled, not on its own request, but by authority, in the northern part of Gilead towards the Argob, had greater distinction. Gad has some notice. We read of eleven valiant men of this tribe who swam the Jordan at its highest to join David in his trouble. “But no person, no incident is recorded to place Reuben before us in any distincter form than as a member of the community (if community it can be called) of the Reubenites, the Gadites, and the half-tribe of Manasseh. The very towns of his inheritance—Heshbon, Aroer, Kiriathaim, Dibon, Baalmeon, Sibmah, Jazer—are familiar to us as Moabite, not as Israelite, towns.” The Reubenites, in fact, under the influence of their wild neighbours, gradually lost touch with their brethren and fell away from the religion of Jehovah.
It is a parable of the degeneration of life.—Earthly choice rules and heavenly faith is hazarded for the sake of a temporal advantage. Men have their will because they insist upon it. They do not consult the prophet, but make terms with him, that they may gain their end. But as they place themselves, so they have to live, not on the soil of the promised land, no integral part of Israel. (Watson, R. A. (1903). The Book of Numbers. In W. Robertson Nicoll (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible: Genesis to Ruth (Vol. 1, pp. 478–480). Hartford, CT: S.S. Scranton Co.)
Ver. 21. And will go all of you armed over Jordan before the Lord, &c.] Moses tries them thoroughly, and is very express in his words, requiring them not only to go armed, or march from the place where they were, towards the land of Canaan, but to go over Jordan, and not some of them only, but all, and that before the Lord; though indeed, when the tribes came to the river Jordan, the ark, which was the symbol of the divine Presence, went before all the tribes into it, and there stayed till they passed over, and then these two tribes and the half-tribe of Manasseh passed before the children of Israel, and before the Lord, unto battle, Josh. 3:11, 17 and 4:12, 13 until he hath driven out his enemies before him: the Canaanites, who were the enemies of the Lord, as well as of his people; and because of their sins, in which they shewed their enmity to God, the land spewed them out, and he drove them out to make way for his people Israel, and till this was done the tribes of Reuben and Gad were to continue with them. (Gill, J. (1810). An Exposition of the Old Testament (Vol. 1, p. 856). London: Mathews and Leigh)
FROM MY READING:
(Remember the only author that I totally agree with is the HOLY SPIRIT in the inerrant WORD OF GOD called THE BIBLE! All other I try to gleam what I can to help me grow in the LORD!!)
The CHURCH in an AGE of CRISIS by James Emery White
Menninger details how the theological notion of sin became the legal idea of crime and then slid further from its true meaning when it was relegated to the psychological category of sickness. (p. 85)
We’ve become so uncomfortable with acknowledging the idea of sin and evil, particularly in our own life, that we’ve even tried to turn it into a virtue: lust becomes sensuality, and anger just means being honest with your emotions. (p. 85)
In his massive study of emerging adults, Christian Smith found that six out of ten (60 percent) interviewed expressed a highly individualistic approach to morality. In other words, morality is a personal choice that is “entirely a matter of individual decision.” (p. 87)
When there is no truth, you forget how to blush. Or to even care. (p. 89)
2 Thessalonians 2
Signs of the Day of the Lord, a day preceded by a vast “falling away,” show us we must stand fast.
INSIGHT
Unbelief is dangerous: It leads to deception, and deception leads to destruction. Jesus performed many miracles, convincing people of His identity so they could have a basis for believing in Him. Before His return, the Antichrist, empowered by Satan, will be loosed on the earth and a time of great deception and apostasy will occur. Those people who hate the truth will buy into this deception, precipitating their ultimate destruction. Meanwhile, believers must stand firm, holding tightly to the truth. In a world of falsehood and deliberate deception, we must always be on guard (Quiet Walk)
Years ago, I was invited to speak to the residents of a university’s fraternity house. They had a reputation for rowdiness so I brought along a friend for support. They were in a celebratory mood, having just won a football championship. At dinner, chaos reigned! Eventually, the president of the house announced: “There are two guys here that want to talk about God.”
I rose on rubbery legs and began to tell them of God’s love, and the room grew still. There was rapt attention. A vigorous and honest Q & A followed. Later, we started a Bible study there, and in subsequent years many received salvation in Jesus.
I recall many days like that when I “saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10:18), but there were other days when it was I who fell—flat on my face.
Luke 10 tells of Jesus’ disciples returning from a mission to report great success. Many had been brought into the kingdom, demons were put to flight, and people were healed. The disciples were pumped! Jesus replied, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.” But then He issued a caveat: “Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven” (v. 20).
We delight in success. But we may despair when we seem to fail. Keep doing what God has called you to do—and leave the results to Him. He has your name in His book!
By David H. Roper (Daily Bread)
THE TEACHING OF THE APOSTLES
…built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.
Ephesians 2:20
John’s whole purpose in writing his first epistle was to say to the early Christians, “Hold on to what I and the other apostles have told you.” You remember how he began. “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life” (1 John 1:1-2). He is referring to the apostles, and he says that he writes these things so that these Christians “may have fellowship with us” (1 John 1:3). Who are they? They are still the apostles.
Now this is something that is absolutely primary and fundamental. The claim of the New Testament is that it alone is authoritative in these matters. It teaches us that the apostles and prophets were the people to whom God, through the Holy Spirit, had revealed spiritual truth, and He meant them to teach it and to write it. The apostle Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:20 that the Christian church is “built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” All teaching must derive from them, and so you have this extraordinary claim in the New Testament. These men claimed a unique authority.
Listen to the apostle Paul putting it again in writing to the Galatians; he uses strong language like this: “But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed” (1:8). “What egotism!” says someone. No, it is not egotism; it is the claim of a man who has been commissioned by God. God has set him apart; God has given him the revelation. And he goes on to argue in so many of his letters that what he preached was also the message that was preached by the other apostles. This apostle and all the apostles did not hesitate to say that they exhorted these people to test every teaching by their teaching. And you and I are still committed to the same position.
A Thought to Ponder: The apostles and prophets were the people to whom God revealed spiritual truth.
(From The Love of God, pp. 30-31, by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones)
“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.” (Galatians 1:6-7)
Some have confessed difficulty with these verses, especially with the words “another gospel: Which is not another.” This problem finds resolution in an understanding of two distinct Greek words that, unfortunately, are both here translated as “another” in this passage.
In verse 6 Paul uses the Greek word heteros, which implies something of a totally different sort altogether—something diametrically opposed to the one to which it is compared. But in verse 7 he uses the word allos, which implies a comparison of two items of the same sort. The thought might be conveyed as follows: “You are removed from the true gospel of the grace of Christ unto a totally different belief system, which is not simply a similar but legitimate expression of the true gospel. Instead, it is quite opposite to the truth.” Paul goes on to teach that this “different” gospel is a perversion of the true gospel, and instead of bringing peace, it brings about a troubling of the mind.
The primary theme of the entire book of Galatians is salvation by grace through faith in Christ, as opposed to salvation by works and law. “No man is justified by the law in the sight of God….The just shall live by faith” (3:11). This marvelous good news had been denied by many in the Galatian church, but Paul had received the message of grace “by the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1:12). Any mixture of works with grace constituted a perversion of God’s plan, and any who would teach such perversion warranted strong condemnation from Paul. “If any man preach any other [Greek para, meaning contrary] gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed” (1:9).
(JDM, Institute for Creation Research)
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