As Good As It Gets?

The tribes of Reuben and Gad owned vast numbers of livestock. So when they saw that the lands of Jazer and Gilead were ideally suited for their flocks and herds, they came to Moses, Eleazar the priest, and the other leaders of the community. They said, “Notice the towns of Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Sibmah, Nebo, and Beon. The LORD has conquered this whole area for the community of Israel, and it is ideally suited for all our livestock. 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 32.1-5]

Was this a good decision or a bad decision?

Here is the question that comes to my mind: if God had promised Canaan - the Promised Land - to Israel, did He fail to think about raising cattle?

I am just going to wander here a bit... Israel needed a significant amount of livestock not only to live, but also to provide for their prescribed sacrifices as worshipers of Almighty God. If the land east of the Jordan was indeed better-suited for livestock, or, more relevantly, the Promised Land was not as suitable for livestock, could that have been God's way of saying that the Promised Land was ultimately NOT about sacrifices?

With this in mind, were the tribes of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh not looking for the real PROMISE in the Promised Land? Had they simply settled into the lifestyle of animal sacrifices into perpetuity? I could think so.

The story of this situation begs us to ask ourselves, "Have we settled into an existence that is less than Promised?" I mean, with all the educational, technological and medical advancements we have today, have we concluded, "This is as good as it gets" here on earth?

May God help us to see in the life and ministry of Jesus Christ that there is a better way than we even see today... For many who call themselves Christians, the Way (Jesus and all He demonstrated on earth) has been seen but not traveled! Early Christians were not called "Christian" because they saw Christ but because they acted like Christ!

It might be observed that one calling himself a Christian and not looking like Christ is indeed blasphemy against God's Holy Spirit Who makes us look like Christ in the earth!

Father, forgive me for calling myself a Christian and not looking like Jesus. Forgive me for settling in to a life of demonstrated powerlessness when the Bible clearly chronicles Your Son's power over everything! Forgive me for being satisfied with less than "all authority" that Jesus emphatically passed on to all who would believe and follow Him (Matthew 28.18-20).