BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT
NUMBERS 32:23
BE SURE YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT! That particular passage is found in Numbers 32:23...and I believe this is one of the most misunderstood statements in all of God’s Word.
There are many sins that go unexposed here on earth...and they will be revealed only at the judgment. In Romans 2, Paul says that God will judge the secrets of man.
That word secret means "that which is concealed, hidden, covered up." The adulterer may hide his sin until the judgment day. The thief may cover up his crimes and not get caught in this life...
Wicked hearts and evil thoughts may go unnoticed and unexposed before men. Hypocrisy may be hidden for years under a pretense of religion. But there is a sin that will always find you out...here and now. And that is what I want to address this morning....So hold on!
Last night we had what was to be a short meeting and a wiener roast. But it turned out to be much more as we discussed the Pioneer Club project that we’ve been considering.
During the meeting the discussion got off the actual details of the program and focused on an issue that I feel needs to be dealt with in a more clear and concise way than may have been done in the past.
And I’m glad that the subject came up because it reveals the need for a clear word on this. I hope this will answer some of the questions that some are asking. At the very least, you’ll know where I stand as your pastor...and what the Bible has to say about the heart of this matter.
This familiar verse, as I said, is one that is grossly misunderstood. When Moses spoke those words, he was talking about one particular sin, and that is a stubborn refusal to follow the Lord with your whole heart. He was talking about what I call "middle ground Christians!"
When Moses led God’s people out of captivity in Egypt, they were to go to the Promised Land. In order to get there they were required to make 2 crossings...one over the Red Sea and one over the Jordan River. And each of these were symbolic.
Crossing the Red Sea was a type of leaving the world and all its idols and lusts...which is a clear representation of conversion. The crossing of the Jordan represented dying to self and going on to the fullness of Christ.
But between the 2 crossings was the territory of Gilead and Jazer... which bordered the Jordan and the Promised Land of Fullness. And this represents Middle Ground...a place of half-surrender which is totally indefensible.
This was a very dangerous place to live...it was surrounded by heathen enemies...and it speaks of falling short of God’s ultimate place and purpose for His children.
2 1/2 tribes felt most comfortable with this middle ground. What they basically said was, "This is as far as we go! This suits our lifestyle just fine! We’ve come a long way...we’re tired, give us Gilead Jazer. Let the rest go on...we are going to settle here."
This is not just a history lesson about the struggles of Israel. Paul said in 1 Cor. 10:6, "...these things occurred as examples, to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did." In other words, this is history with a voice - speaking to us!
This example of settling for middle ground speaks clearly to the lukewarmness and compromise in the church today. In this story God is showing us the tragic consequences of partial obedience.
They suffered terribly because Adaptability became their way of life. And we see how their sin found them out...they were overcome by the enemy...and ended up more wicked than when they were in Egypt.
Those who live on middle ground today share certain characteristics... the same characteristics of these 2 1/2 tribes who refused to separate themselves from the things and ways of the world. Let’s look at each of them.
Reuben was Jacob’s firstborn, but he lost the birthright because he was driven by lust...and had sex with his father’s concubine. Jacob described his son as one that was "unstable as water"...and would not excel.
Moses also recognized this weakness. Reuben had eyes only for this world...for its things, its pleasures. He was unstable because his heart was always divided...and this spirit was passed on to his descendants. Here was an entire tribe attached to the world and bent on having their own way.
Gad...the name means fortune-troop...or soldiers of fortune... mercenaries. This was a tribe that looked obedient from the outside... but their overriding characteristic was self-interest. Gad was consumed with his own problems...the need to make it!
Gad’s philosophy is, "I’ll fight with the Lord’s army...I’ll do what’s expected of me...but first I’ve got a stake in life. I need to get myself and my family set up...then I’ll be free to give and do more for the Lord!"
Here is the Christian who thinks, "God expects me to take care of my family first...I’ve got to pay my bills. As soon as I see some daylight...as soon as I get a little ahead...then I’ll give the Lord more time."
Now, that may sound good, but rebellion is at the heart of this kind of attitude. There is no burning desire to please only the Lord...to do His will absolutely. He is preoccupied with self-interests.
Manasseh...this name means to forget. Manasseh was Joseph’s firstborn son and should have received the birthright. But even in his childhood there was a sad trait developing...and one day Manasseh would forget the ways of his father and neglect the commands of the Lord.
It’s ironic that this was the tribe that carried with them a constant reminder to go all the way with God. In fulfillment of a promise they carried Joseph’s casket, with his bones, to be buried beyond the Jordan.
And for years that casket reminded Manasseh, "Go all the way with God...cross the Jordan - into fullness. Well, the bones went in, but half the tribe of Manasseh does not.
So what do we learn about middle ground Christians from this example: first, that they are as unstable as water in spiritual convictions... that they never excel in the things of God...they are lukewarm, weak with lust...they are ruled by selfish needs...
they also neglect the Bible, God’s Word...not taking the Lord’s commands seriously...they make their own choices instead of trusting God...they justify their own decisions...and are unwilling to keep away from the very things that would seduce them back to middle ground
One other characteristic they have is a very stubborn self-will...one that even a Moses can’t change. Look at their reasoning. They said, "Hey, this land is good for cattle...and we have cattle."
But God’s will and His Word wasn’t even considered. They looked at the green pastures..then looked at their cattle, and said - "This is ours! We go no further."
Well Moses was hot. He told them that what they were doing was not only wrong and would anger the Lord, but it would also discourage the others. What was their answer?
They said, "Aw, you don’t understand. We like the fellowship...we’re not going back to our old sins. We’ll stand with you and fight the enemy...but we don’t want to live like that. We have our own ideas about serving God."
The still wanted to be part of God’s people...they just wanted to do it their own way. And that same spirit is alive and well today. "I don’t criticize those who want to live like that...giving up things... denying themselves...but that’s just not for me."
They were putting career ahead of Christ. Family ahead of God. Look at v. 16-17 (READ) Now, should they be commended for providing so well for their children and wives? NO!!
They were keeping their families on middle ground...robbing them of their true inheritance. They should have taken them all over Jordan. That was where the spiritual authority was. That is where the ark was...which represented the presence of the Lord.
They should have been over there to see the walls of Jericho fall... they should have tasted the grapes of Eschol and the honey of the land as they were promised. They should have been taken into the fullness of the Lord.
These misguided middle ground fathers thought that love, protection, and no privations would hold their children and families together. So they built high fences to keep them secure...they gave them all they needed and assured them they were loved. BUT THEY UNDERESTIMATED THEIR DANGER!
And here is the tragedy of those who won’t go all the way with God... They destroy their loved ones ! And here is where their sin found them out. Love was not enough! Overprotecting them was not enough! Having all they needed was not enough!
They doomed their families by settling on middle ground. These middle ground people are the first to be judged...these defenseless people were overrun by the enemy.
Their children became idol worshipers...their wives were prostituted and became heathen in all their ways. All spiritual desire was lost and they became morally and physically devastated.
All you parents look at me... If you refuse to go on with God and instead permit compromise in your life or your home...you will live to see the day when your sin will be visited upon your family.
You will lose the anointing of God in your own life and the devil will plunder your household. Your children will fall into the temptations of the world...and you will have untold sorrows and troubles...because you settled on unholy ground. And some of you can already testify to that very fact.
They started out right...they went over long enough to fight for a time with their brothers...but now the battles were over, and the Lord gave to Israel all the land he promised them.
But that means it was time for the 2 1/2 tribes to go back to where their heart was...they went back to middle ground. And that caused a great division among God’s people. And that is what causes division among God’s people to this day.
Look at Joshua 22... READ 10-12; 34 This altar represented their cry for unity. It was a positive confession from a group of people who wanted to keep being identified with those who had gone on with God. And it almost ended in a full scale war among God’s people.
READ 22: 19; 24-27 ....the message is clear...they must have saw a time coming when the only evidence that God was with them...or that they were part of God’s family was a pile of stones...just some outward symbol...no real unity with the body.
And if you are around those believers who are going all out for the Lord, you will feel left out if you are on middle ground. You’ll accuse others of being "holier than thou"...you will accuse them of being just some clique.
And no matter how hard you try to be like them...it just won’t work. And the reason is that you have removed yourself from God’s ordained place of victory, unity, and spiritual power.
And there are those who enter that place. Caleb is a type of those who go all the way with God. In Joshua 14:14 it says that Hebron became the inheritance of Caleb because he followed the Lord, the God of Israel wholeheartedly.
The message is glorious! It is this...it is not enough to have died to sin, to have entered into fullness sometime in the past. The need is to grow in the Lord to the end.
The message is to keep your spiritual power and strength...and not to waver...to follow the Lord wholeheartedly. We are to have an ever-increasing faith
Caleb’s wholeheartedness for the Lord produced a holy fire for God in his children. While the children of the 2 1/2 tribes turn away and embrace the world and its possessions...Caleb’s family is growing strong in the Lord.
I want to see that in my children, and grandchildren - that determined going after the things of God...that zeal...that thirst for His Word.
God desire for all of us is to enter a place of rest, joy, and peace. But that requires following Him with all the heart and strength.
