GO WITH US AND GOD WILL BLESS YOU
Numbers 10:29-32
Morning Meditation 8/28/2015
"And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel. And he said unto him, I will not go; but I will depart to mine own land, and to my kindred. And he said, Leave us not, I pray thee; forasmuch as thou knowest how we are to encamp in the wilderness, and thou mayest be to us instead of eyes. And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee."
Moses said to Hobab, his father-in-law, who had come from Median to visit him in the wilderness, "We are journeying unto the place of which the Lord said, 'I will give it you.' Come thou with us, and we will do thee good." Those who by faith see that city whose Builder and Maker is God desire others to come and share the blessedness.
The Christian life, as a pilgrimage, may be illustrated from this incident in the following ways:
AS PILGRIMS
"We are journeying" from the house of bondage, from the slavery of sin and the dominion of the devil, from a life of misery and fruitlessness. The pilgrim's journey takes him through the wilderness of this world, still lying in the lap of the wicked one. The experience of each individual pilgrim may be vastly different, but all keep plodding on to the blessed land of promise.
Salvation is a pilgrim journey. A pilgrim is a person who journeys, esp. a long distance, to some sacred place as an act of religious devotion i..e., pilgrims to the Holy Land.
We are pilgrims and as we journey we invite others to join us. It is an invitation that will so change their lives that they become pilgrims in a journey toward the promised land. John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also."
The pilgrim is convinced that his journey will pay off in eternal dividends. He is willing to be treated by the world as an alien because he understands that this is literally true. His willingness to be unchanged by the world is a major problem with the world.
AS PILGRIMS JOURNEYING TO A LAND OF PROMISE
It is like it was in the days of Noah. The people of that day had to think that Noah had lost his mind. That is, until it started raining. But then it was too late. For us we are looking for a city which hath foundations whose builder and maker is God" (Heb 11:10).
As pilgrims we sing along the way. Most of our Christian songs celebrate our salvation and anticipate the glorious appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
As we journey toward that land of promise we get glimpses at the glory of it through the Scriptures. 1 John 3:1-3, "Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure."
The Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ and shows them unto us. May our spiritual life grow up and journey on into an ever increasing likeness to Him, whom having not seen, yet we love."
AS PILGRIMS ANIMATED BY FAITH
The Lord said in our text, "And Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Raguel the Midianite, Moses' father in law, We are journeying unto the place of which the LORD said, I will give it you: come thou with us, and we will do thee good: for the LORD hath spoken good concerning Israel."
How do we know that we will inherit the blessing? It is simple. God said it and we believe it. It is faith that digs in and says, "God cannot lie. He will stay true to His world. We will inherit the blessing and the sacrifices that we make by self denial concerning the thing of this world and not to be compared with the reward that awaits the child of God.
AS PILGRIMS ANXIOUS FOR OTHERS TO COME WITH THEM
The coming of others into the joy of salvation does not curtail but enlarges our own inheritance of blessing. The days in which we live challenge us to ask, "are we truly His disciples? Are we willing to die believing the promises of the Divine inheritance? We want you to come but we must also caution you that a mere visit with the pilgrims when we meet to worship is not salvation. One must embrace by faith the person of Christ and all He has to say.
As pilgrims we are anxious for others to come with us. Repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ for the salvation of one's soul will translate him from the path that leads to eternal destruction to the high road that leads into His presence forever.
May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.
In Christ
Bro. White
