The Good and the Best

"One Year Bible" Old Testament History Passage
Numbers 32:1-33:39

"Therefore they said, 'If we have found favor in your sight, let this land be given to your servants as a possession.  Do not take us over the Jordan.'  And Moses said to the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben: 'Shall your brethren go to war while you sit here?'"  Numbers 32:5-6 (NKJV)

After forty years of traveling toward the Promised Land, the tribes of Gad and Reuben decided they would not go the last leg of the journey.  They looked around at the land east of the Jordan and said, "This is good enough for us." 

So often, we are ROBBED of the BEST, because we settle for the GOOD.  There was nothing really wrong with the land on the east side of the Jordan.  It looked pretty good.  It just was NOT GOD'S FULLEST PROVISION. 

It seems that the further we walk this journey, we find that our decisions are not between good and evil.  It seems that the decisions are between the good and the best.  Far too often, we settle for half of God's provision when the fullest blessing is just a little further down the road.  Due to tiredness or loss of vision, we stop just short of the finish line.

Moses issued a stern warning to Gad and Reuben.  They responded by going the full distance with their brothers and fighting with them until they ALL had their possessions.  It is somewhat of a shame that Gad and Reuben went throughout the land of Canaan fighting for conquest only to withdraw later and settle for a lesser inheritance.  They could have had the BEST but settled instead for the GOOD.

One last thought:  Gad and Reuben are never a force for Israel again. In the dispersion years later, they were the first to disappear.  They were good people living on the wrong land.  It is time for each of us to know our identity in Christ and to stand on our God-given territory.  Though the battle may be heavy, it's still the best and safest place to be.