Tuesday – Pentateuch

Reading – Numbers 31-32

Highlight Verse:

“If we have found favor with you, please let us have this land as our property instead of giving us land across the Jordan River.””
‭‭Numbers‬ ‭32‬:‭5‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Before I moved to Colorado, I needed a vehicle that could carry as much of my stuff as possible.

I found a Plymouth Grand Voyager.

The price was right. It drove well. The engine sounded good. No leaks. Good brakes.

And it was nice.

A no brainer, right.

I don’t remember if I prayed first but I’m sure I didn’t listen for God’s reply if I did.

The engine blew 230 miles into my journey to Colorado.

Miraculously, I got the engine replaced for what I could “afford” (barely and with a little help).

By the time I got to Colorado, one of the wheels was literally ready to fall off.

If I had stopped and listened to God, I would have never bought that van.

If the tribes of Gad and Reuben had paid attention to God and waited for the promised land, they would have been much better off.

They saw land that could support them and their livestock and decided that would be the best for them.

While the Bible does not go into great detail about the geography of the area, the truth is, the area east of the Jordan River is far more arid than the land they were promised to the West of the Jordan.

Beyond that, that area was more prone to attack and required longer travel for worship.

In short, they would have been better off to wait and join the rest of Israel west of the Jordan.

They settled for the available instead of waiting for the ideal.

We all make major decisions in our lives.

I can look back on several where I settled for what was available rather than what was ideal.

By the grace and mercy of God, I can still thrive despite those decisions.

But life could have been easier if I had sought God’s will and listened more closely.

What major decisions are you facing?
What do you do to hear from God before making major decisions?