Don’t Settle for less than Greater

Don’t Settle for less than Greater

Numbers 32:1-5

Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock; and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock, 2 the children of Gad and the children of Reuben came and spoke to Moses, to Eleazar the priest, and to the leaders of the congregation, saying, 3(cities) “Ataroth, Dibon, Jazer, Nimrah, Heshbon, Elealeh, Shebam, Nebo, and Beon, 4 the country which the Lord defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock.” 5 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.”

INTRODUCTION:

Nelson Mandela

There is no passion to be found in settling for a life that is less than the one you are capable of living.

Warren Wiersbe

Some people choose to live on the border of God’s blessing. They make their decisions on the basis of material gain and not spiritual blessing.

ILLUS: A man, who had walked from New York City to San Francisco, was asked about his biggest hurdle. He said that the toughest part of his trip wasn't walking up the mountains or crossing hot, dry, barren stretches of desert. "The thing that came closest to defeating me," he admitted, "was the sand in my shoes." This reminds me of how we can be spiritually defeated by what begins as a little irritant. We let an unkind word, a small setback, or a misunderstanding get us down. Or we allow people around us to influence us in the wrong way. Before long, we find sand in our shoes--it becomes hard to walk the right way.

Our Sermoic Spotlight shines on numbers, chapter 32

here are a few reasons that I think why they settled,

They are counting: 40 years

They are craving: The lush land

They are collaborating: Ruben, Gad,1/2 Manassah

Israel is on the verge of entering into the Promised Land.

After an incredible victory over the enemy in chapter 31, we still see God's people fail to claim His promise completely. The tribes of Reuben and Gad, decided they wanted to stay on the east side of Jordan and didn't want to take the land that God had promised.

The Lord described this land as a land "flowing with milk and honey." Certainly, you would think every tribe would be excited about claiming their part in God's Promised Land.

However, in Chapter 32, of the book of Numbers, we find the tribes of Reuben and Gad disenchanted with the idea of leaving their comfortable surroundings in order to claim their share. You see, they had already settled down on the east side of the Jordan River and were very content with what they had.

Do you know that in a very similar way, it is easy for us to settle down in a comfort zone and miss what God has for us? We look around, we are distracted, and before you know it, we are camped out on the wrong side of the river.

Don’t Stop Short Of God’s Blessing!

This morning, I want us to see a few things about settling,

I. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On The Possibilities Of Greater.

v1 'Now the children of Reuben and the children of Gad had a very great multitude of livestock;

They Developed An Allurement For Gilead.

v1b and when they saw the land of Jazer and the land of Gilead, that indeed the region was a place for livestock,

The key word in the first verse is the verb, “They saw.”

Seeing in the Bible is definitely not believing.

On the contrary, sight is often the exact opposite of faith. Seeing is frequently the prelude to bad decisions because our eyes tend to make superficial judgments.

Gen 3:6-Eve “saw” that the fruit of the tree of knowledge was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and so she ate the forbidden fruit instead of believing God’s Word that this fruit was not good.

Gen 13:10-when Lot “saw” that the plain of the Jordan was well watered, like the Garden of the Lord or like the land of Egypt, he chose to separate from Abraham and settle in the unpromised land to the east of the Jordan. Before long he found himself living in Sodom.

In other words, this was a very fertile area for grazing their cattle. It was also a beautiful placed to raise their children and care for their families. What else could they possibly need?

They was Following Their Desire. Let me say, desire is a good thing, so long as we desire the things of God; but when we let our desires get in the way of what God wants for us, then we always become the losers.

THEY ALLOWED THEIR CATTLE TO DETERMINE WHERE THEY WOULD LIVE.

The blessing God gave them caused them to stop following God.

I have seen that happen so many times. God will bless a family, and then that family turn away from following God.

Don’t let the grassy land determine God’s will for you.

They Developed An Allurement For Gilead

They Developed An Attachment To Gilead

v4 the country which the LORD defeated before the congregation of Israel, is a land for livestock, and your servants have livestock."

v5"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."

Richard DeHann said:

"Looking out the window of an airplane, you can see the winding paths of rivers below. Except for some man-made waterways, all rivers have one thing in common--they all are crooked. The reason is simple--they follow the path of least resistance. Rivers find their way around anything that blocks their flow because they take the easy way."

Reuben and Gad were following the path of least resistance. They had deviated from the Lord's perfect will. They were distracted by their desire for the fertile land on the east side of Jordan.

v5"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."

They forgot their goal

When God heard their cry in Egypt, He said, "And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey..." (Exodus 3:8). The east side of the Jordan River was not the Promised Land. The Promised Land was within sight, about 10 miles away--they were so close.

Do you know that you can be very close to something and still be far away? These folks might as well have been 10,000 miles away; for in their hearts, they were that far from God. And why? They became distracted; they forgot their goal.

They Developed An Attachment To Gilead

They became distracted; and as a result, they lost sight of the goal!

Two Things:

A.They missed God's best

QUOTE: Someone once wrote, "Of all the words of tongue and pen, the saddest of these are it might have been." --unknown

Notice again, the words, "...bring us not over Jordan." How foolish they were. They gave up the Promised Land for the east side of Jordan. God's promises and His blessings are always found at the place of His choosing, not ours.

B.The settled for second best

Reuben, Gad could have had first place, but they made the decision to live on the east side of Jordan.

Listen,

LIVING ON THE EAST SIDE OF JORDAN

They Were Distracted--they followed their desire and they forgot their goal.

They Were Disinterested--in part, due to a lack of faith and secondly, because they were walking in the flesh...the Ark was on the other side of Jordan.

They Were Disobedient...as a result; they missed God's best and settled for second best.

The challenge for us is to not let personal desire distract us from God's perfect will.

I. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On The Possibilities Of Greater.

II. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On Provisions That Are Given.

v16 Then they came near to him and said: "We will build sheepfolds here for our livestock, and cities for our little ones,

In effect they were asking to settle down somewhere other than where God had called them to live because it was more suitable for their lifestyle.

They missed out on the provisions God already prepared!

They were choosing to compromise with the world, to accept an inheritance “outside” the promised land.

Deuteronomy 6:10 (NKJV)

So it shall be, when the LORD your God brings you into the land of which He swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build.

v11"houses full of all good things, which you did not fill, hewn-out wells which you did not dig, vineyards and olive trees which you did not plant-when you have eaten and are full.

Proverbs 10:22 (NKJV)

The blessing of the LORD makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.

Their choice was not a good choice for a number of reasons.

1. Their Choice Demonstrated Impatience.

By not entering into the Promised Land, how would they ever know if there was not even better land for their cattle in the land of Canaan? The choice of immediate gratification was the line of least resistance. They were not willing to wait for God’s choice for them. Are you willing to wait for His best?

2. Their Choice Put them at a Disadvantage.

They were separated from the rest of the people. Down the road, they will end up being conquered first and going into captivity first.

I. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On The Possibilities Of Greater.

II. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On Provisions That Are Given.

III. Settling Causes You To Miss Out On The Presence Of God.

v18 We will not return unto our houses, until the children of Israel have inherited every man his inheritance. 19 For we will not inherit with them on yonder side Jordan, or forward; because our inheritance is fallen to us on this side Jordan eastward.

v26 Our little ones, our wives, our flocks, and all our cattle, shall be there in the cities of Gilead:

The Presence Of God Was Not In Gilead, It Was In Canaan

Gilead was on the wrong side of Jordan. They were not supposed to set up homestead there.

This was a compromise. God had never intended for them to settle apart from the Promised Land. The men of these tribes made the decision that they knew better than God about where to settle down and raise their families.

THEY WERE THE FIRST ONES TO BE CAPTURED WHEN THE ENEMY CAME.

1Ch 5:26 And the God of Israel stirred up the spirit king of Assyria, and they carried them away, even the Reubenites, and the Gadites, and the half tribe of Manasseh,

This was about 152 years later – every person who had been involved in staying in Gilead was dead by this time – but their children and grandchildren paid the price.