Rev. Don Campbell
Numbers 33-34
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, March 9, 2019
“FILLING UP THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS”
After recounting Israel’s journey from Egypt (Numbers 33:1-49), Moses was instructed by the Lord: “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you pass over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you and destroy all their figured stones and destroy all their metal images and demolish all their high places. And you shall take possession of the land and settle in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it. You shall inherit the land by lot according to your clans.
To a large tribe you shall give a large inheritance, and to a small tribe you shall give a small inheritance. Wherever the lot falls for anyone, that shall be his. According to the tribes of your fathers you shall inherit. But if you do not drive out the inhabitants of the land from before you, then those of them whom you let remain shall be as barbs in your eyes and thorns in your sides, and they shall trouble you in the land where you dwell. And I will do to you as I thought to do to them” (Numbers 33:50-56).
About 40 years before, God had said, “‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel” (Exodus 19:4-6).
Combining the passages, we see two important truths: First, all the earth belongs to God, no matter who settled it or when it was settled. Second, God does not act arbitrarily when disposing of nations. When God promised the land to Abraham and his descendants, he said, “And they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity of the Amorites is not yet complete” (Gen 15:15-16). God allows man to occupy his land as tenants, but when they fill up their iniquity, he either destroys them by allowing another nation to conquer them or allows them to rot from within and collapse under the weight of their own sin.
Jesus lamented over Jerusalem and the nation: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate” (Matthew 23:37-38). He had said in v.32, “Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers.” God had promised in Numbers that if they were not faithful, they would meet the same fate as the nations they refused to drive out. He had put up with them for about 1500 years, but the end was near.
God has no chosen people inhabiting a chosen land today, but he teaches us through Jeremiah that he raises up nations and tears down nations based on certain principles which he requires of every nation: “seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow’s cause” (Isaiah 1:17). If judges appointed by men do not judge righteously, the God of heaven will: “But the Lord sits enthroned forever; he has established his throne for justice, and he judges the world with righteousness; he judges the peoples with uprightness” (Psalms 9:7-8).
CONNECTIONS – No Nation is Perfect
1. No nation is perfect, because every nation is composed of fallen humanity. As much as we might like to believe that our fathers really meant, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal and endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights,” we know that they did not mean black slaves and, in some cases, non-landowners. We cannot undo the sins of the fathers, but we can choose not to repeat them.
2. Luke Kemp, a historian who studies the collapse of civilizations, says, “Collapse is often quick and greatness provides no immunity. The Roman Empire covered 4.4 million sq km (1.9 million sq miles) in 390. Five years later, it had plummeted to 2 million sq km (770,000 sq miles). By 476, the empire’s reach was zero.” According to Kemp the average lifespan of civilizations has been 336 years. We have been a nation for 243 years. Is the collapse of American inevitable?
“Link to YouTube Video – He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”
