Have we become complacent as a nation?
Do you ever find yourself fighting complacency?
In the middle of Chapter 29 of the Book of Deuteronomy, God is still talking to the Israelites. We find that they too are fighting complacency as they wait. God reminds them of a few things as He comments on the place where they are now standing.
We read these comments in Deuteronomy 29:7-8:
When you reached this place, Sihon king of Heshbon and Og king of Bashan came out to fight against us, but we defeated them. We took their land and gave it as an inheritance to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh.”
GIVING THE COMPLACENT TRIBES THEIR INHERITANCE
With God’s help; Israel had taken the land of their enemies in battle. Obviously, God was not in a mood for complacency. He was all about moving the obstacles that kept the Israelites from entering the land of promise.
However; the Reubenites, the Gadites and half of the tribe of Manasseh had requested that this land won by an amazing victory be their portion of the inheritance, instead of a part of the land of Canaan.
Why?
None of them were fighting complacency.
God allowed this to happen.
He helped them to win the battle first. Later; these two and one-half tribes took it upon themselves to make this land their permanent home.
THEY HAD BECOME VERY COMFORTABLE
It was comfortable to them.
They were not fighting their need for complacency.
These tribes did not really want to move on when all the nation began to move forward again.
Complacency had moved into their hearts and made it home.
They wanted to stay in the land next to Canaan and continue to live there with their wives, children and livestock.
By the way; we have told this story in greater detail before in a former lesson. The link for that lesson is here for your review. https://theinseasonlifestyle.com/when-you-settle-for-less-than-gods-best// . Please read the former lesson in order to grasp all of the many details involved with this decision.
REMEMBERING A FORMER LESSON
The linked lesson is a lesson I love to remember today; because we Americans are so much like those Rubenites and Gaddites and the half-tribe of Manasseh who just wanted to find a place that fits their needs and settle down.
They were not fighting complacency.
Moving on no longer appealed to them because they had become settled in their present circumstances.
Complacency toward God had settled into their hearts.
These people were no longer thinking and wondering what God wanted for their lives. Instead; they had begun to think and wonder about achieving their own human needs and desires.
ENOUGH WITHOUT GOD’S WILL ISN’T ENOUGH
The land where Israel was waiting was very healthy. It suited the need for raising livestock. Hard times from traveling through desert lands had given these farmers a whole new appreciation for good land with water and green rolling-hills for grazing herds.
The three complacent groups convinced Moses and Joshua to let them establish homes right where they were.
Then they moved their families into those homes and they fenced-in all of their livestock; after which ONLY the men prepared to temporarily march on with Israel into the last battle for the Promised Land with all the rest of the tribes.
Those who were eventually planning on staying behind committed to go first into the last battle where they would fight on the front lines for all of Israel.
The past generation of tribal ancestors had made the wrong decision too. They had let fear reign over them. This new generation of men went at least one step further in the right direction by deciding to fight with Israel; but it was to no avail. In the end, they did not complete their own journey because of complacency.
Complacency rarely brings complete victory. Those who comply with everything never change anything.
When the battle was over, these men would return to their homes on the border lands of Canaan instead of actually dwelling inside the Land of Canaan like all of the other tribes of Israel would do.
The nation had its first taste of division with their complacent decision.
Israel was brand new, yet already divided.
KEEPING UP APPEARANCES DOESN’T COUNT
It was noble that the men of Ruben and Gad and half of Mannaseh did not take the coward’s way out. They were willing to keep fighting with the others; then return to their own desired inheritance.
The complacent men were the most well-trained of all of Israel’s warriors.
Then they wanted to return to the land where they had already established homes for themselves.
How sad that these tribes made this decision.
There is a passage in this 29th Chapter of Deuteronomy that says: “ The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law.”
The ones who followed their own paths missed the secret things of God.
THE SECRET THINGS BELONG TO THE LORD
The ones who wanted to go back on their own did not genuinely and fully participate in the completed renewing of God’s Covenant with the people.
They wanted their own way, or they would have kept moving forward.
By not moving into the Promised Land; they would miss the blessing of being a permanent part of the Covenant blessings that God promised those who did move on.
Again; it boils down to disobedience.
THE MISSING ELEMENTS OF FAITH
The tribes that did not move permanently into Canaan were missing three important elements of faith in God that so many of us living in today’s world also miss.
These complacent people did not fully trust God.
Their hearts were no longer teachable.
They had forgotten how important it is to wait on God.
A teacher named Bunni Pounds conducts a great bible study. A link to that study is right here: https://christiansengaged.org/blog/psalm-25.
This great teacher speaks of these three things being the secret to knowing God and discovering His secrets which give us life. David speaks of them in Psalm 25.
REMEMBERING PSALM 25
At the end of this lesson, I’ll summarize our thoughts on the subject with a quote from Bunni Pounds’ study because it just seems to fit what we all need to dwell on today.
We are at a crossroads right now in our own nation. If we are not very careful we will miss our greatest blessings by becoming too complacent to move on to the promises that God has in store for us.
It is important to remain in the fight and to keep moving forward into who God has destined us to be.
I promised to post this quote:
“This is the promise that I want us to cling to from Psalm 25 –
Who is the man that fears the Lord? Him shall He teach in the way He chooses. He himself shall dwell in prosperity, and his descendants shall inherit the earth. (verses 12-13)
True prosperity is the knowledge of God lived out in our lives and the lives of our children and our grandchildren. In the end – that is all that matters!” (Bunni Pounds)