Detail Matters

This was the homeland allocated to the clans of the tribe of Judah. [Joshua 15.20]

Today's OYCB reading details the portions of land and cities in the Promised Land allotted to Judah, Ephraim and Manasseh particularly (and laboriously to most readers). This detail starts in the verse above. Detail matters.

Historically, I have addressed the fact that today's reading points out the failures of the mentioned tribes to drive out certain inhabitants of their respective allotments of land. While this fact is significant, it is not what first stood out to me today.

In succession to yesterday's post (God Does Lists), it stood out to me in today's reading that the details of God's Promised Land matter. How much more do the details of God's promises throughout the Bible matter to His people?

What this should cause us to consider first and foremost is that God's promises are not abstract or vague. Regardless what modern religion has made them, God's promises to His people are often quite specific. Case in point: Malachi speaks of the following promise from God regarding wealth:

Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test! [Malachi 3.10]

Modern religion tries to convince us that this means our needs will be met as opposed to being genuinely rich or wealthy. The problem with this conclusion is that it is drawn off the experience of man - not the Word of God.

Another area where modern religion has diluted God's Word is in the area of health:

The LORD will afflict you with every sickness and plague there is, even those not mentioned in this Book of Instruction, until you are destroyed. [Deuteronomy 28.61]

God's promise in Deuteronomy 28.61 is specifically a promise regarding disobedience - but it IS a promise nonetheless. And yet, modern religion again dilutes the meaning of God's Word so as not to concur with it that sin is responsible for the evidence of sickness and disease thus needing to be dealt with (albeit by faith in Jesus for New Testament believers).

The point being made here is that we need to understand that the details surrounding Israel's history very much indicate that we should pay attention to the specific details of what God has also promised us! And then, this brings us back to the fact that Israel failed to drive out inhabitants of lands and cities that God said they should (as a command) and would (as a promise) annihilate completely.

Let's explore this, shall we? Deuteronomy 28.61 is mentioned above. That 'promise' is that every named and unnamed sickness and plague will destroy those who disobey God. Stay with me here... Since Jesus redeemed us from this and every curse found in Deuteronomy 28.15-68 (according to Galatians 3.13), where is modern religion ever given the right to brazenly refute God's Word by disassociating sickness and plagues from the need for repentance and faith in Christ? (Hint: neither modern nor ancient religion were EVER given this right!)

God's promises are not abstract. If we do not pay attention to the details of God's Word - God's promises, we are in danger of dilution and all the error associated with it! The very religion that nailed Jesus to the Cross is the same religion today that picks and chooses what it will believe - instead of accepting the fullness of what it says and consequently repenting in the light of its revelation.

Historically, the very people Israel did not destroy completely (as commanded by God) became ground zero for doubt, unbelief, idolatry and confusion that would eventually trip them up.

Yes then, the details MATTER! IF God's Word says every sickness and plague there is is the result of disobedience (sin), THEN we are in flagrant disobedience to God (not to mention, completely amiss) to attempt to mitigate any and every sickness or plague without repentance and faith in Christ! The same goes for every promise God made about wealth, protection, peace of mind and everything considered a blessing (see Psalm 23).

Before dismissing me as "obsessive compulsive," it should be remembered that GOD is the One Who gave all these details IN IS WORD (not me)! If God believes in details, then DETAIL MATTERS!

Father, may we all pay attention to the details of Your Word understanding that these details establish precedent for what matters to You and, consequently what matters to us. Help us to see that in the details we find ourselves!