Life On The East Side of God’s Will

Scripture

“We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones, and then our fighting men will leave our livestock, little ones, and wives in order to take the lead in moving the army of Israel into Canaan.  We will not return to our homes until every one of the children of Israel has received his inheritance in Canaan”. Numbers 32:16-18

Observation

The tribes of Gad, Reuben, and half the tribe of Manasseh made a good and even logical choice when they decided to settle on the east side of the Jordan. Israel’s army had defeated the armies of the Amorite king Sihon and the Bashanite king Og on its march toward the Jordan (Numbers 21:21-35; 32:33). So, why would they just abandon this land they had fought for?  As it so happened, the land was incredibly lush and perfect for raising livestock and keeping their families away from the enemies on the other side of the Jordan. Moses was concerned they were committing the same sin as their fathers who had all died after 40 years of wandering in the wilderness because of their lack of faith that God would give them victory against their enemies.  Even though Moses finally gave them permission to settle he might have been on to something there.  Their fathers had been caught in the immediate sin of compromise and disobedience. The 2 1/2 tribes were caught in the slow compromise of good being the enemy of best. Their good idea stood in opposition to God’s best will for their lives. The men of these tribes would be gone fighting and dying away from their families for the next seven years leaving the women and children to fend for themselves. Even when they finally returned to the east side they were vulnerable for not having the river as a natural protective barrier against enemy attacks from the east. Ultimately this allowed those tribes to be the first ones to be conquered when the Assyrian empire started marching westward and making inroads to conquering Israel’s northern kingdom (2 Kings 15:29).  Fast forward all the way to the time of Jesus when he encounters the man with a legion of demons in the Gadarenes and you begin to see how far the tribe of Gad had fallen from God and the fruit of their “good choice”. J Vernon McGee writes:“Now who are the Gadarenes? They are the tribe of Gad, living on the wrong side of the Jordan River. And when Jesus came to them, He found them in the pig business, you remember. And when He healed the demon-possessed man, the Gadarenes asked the Lord Jesus to leave their country! They had gotten into a sad condition. This always happens to the child of God who fails to cross Jordan and get into the Land of Promise.”

Application

Life on the East side of God’s will can often looks like this:

• The unmarried couple who follows the trend of cohabitation and settles for good enough for our culture rather than the best that comes with sex within a covenant marriage.

• The married couple who had figures the best way to keep the peace is to not talk about the difference growing between them. Keep it surface and keep it safe.

• The family member who avoids family gatherings so they don’t have to face the pain of unaddressed wounds from the past.

• The friend who becomes a different person depending on who they’re with at any given moment so that they don’t ever risk rejection or being alone.

• The Christian who attends church once or twice a month to keep up appearances, but rarely stops to spend time with God and His Word, rarely serves, rarely gives, and rarely confesses sin with anyone.

God has the best in mind for us. Why do we settle for “good enough?” Often, it’s because the best is on the other side of the Jordan. It’s going to require waiting, working, fighting, fierce conversations, and trusting God’s heart for us when all circumstances seem to prove the opposite is true. The best requires “delayed gratification” and the good enough promises “instant gratification.” Life on the East Side is all about logic over Lordship and choosing be settlers rather than pioneers. The bottom line is that we settle for the good because the best costs too much! As Jim Collins wrote in his book “Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t”, “Greatness is not a function of circumstance. Greatness, it turns out, is largely a matter of conscious choice, and discipline.”

Prayer

Jesus, this morning I’m reminded of Mary’s example of choosing the “best” by sitting at Your feet. I, like Martha, am very busy serving  but in my good intentions there’s so much unrest, trying so hard to make a good impression, that I’ve traded the “best”  of Your words for the good words of others.  (Luke 10:38-42.) When I do this I end of settling for what I can accomplish in my strength rather than by the empowerment of Your Spirit.  Forgive me for trading radical obedience to Your Lordship for the seeming safety of my logical plans. It’s time to cross the Jordan instead of avoiding it no matter what cost is required of me! I’m done with mediocrity. For the best place to be in life is not asking You to stay on my side, but for me to be at Your side!