Christians who Carry out Their Mission

“Then Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh and said to them, "You have done all that Moses the servant of the LORD commanded, and you have obeyed me in everything I commanded.  For a long time now--to this very day--you have not deserted your brothers but have carried out the mission the LORD your God gave you.” (Joshua 22:1-3).

Are we, Christians, trustworthy in non-believer’s perspective?  How about in our own perspective?  Can we trust each other?  It seems to me that we are not trustworthy to both non-believers and believers.  That’s how much they discredit us.  Why did we lose our credibility?  I think the reason is because we do not keep what we’ve promised.  In other words, we make a lot of promises with our mouths, but we actually don’ keep them with our action.  So we lost our credibility to non-believers and even to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.  What must we do?

When we look at the today’s passage Joshua 22:1-3, we see Joshua summoned the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh (v.1) and complimented them.  In a word, the compliment was that they have obeyed Moses and Joshua in everything they commanded (v.2).  What was the Moses and Joshua’s command that the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh obeyed?  It was to go armed over the Jordan before the Lord until He had driven His enemies out before Him (32:21).  That was their obligation to the Lord and to Israel (v.22).  At first, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, who had very large herds and flocks, wanted to settle down in the lands of Jazer and Gilead (v.1).  The reason was because the lands were suitable for livestock (vv. 1, 4).  They wanted to build pens there for their livestock and cities for their women and children (v.16).  So they requested to Moses saying “Do not make us cross the Jordan” (v.5).  Hearing their request, Moses said to them “Shall your countrymen go to war while you sit here?  Why do you discourage the Israelites from going over into the land the LORD has given them?” (vv.6-7). Think about it.  When everybody was heading toward the land of Canaan to conquer the land and the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh didn’t want to cross the Jordan and just sit in the land of Jazer and Gilead, what would other tribes feel?  Wouldn’t they be discouraged by the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh?  It seems to me the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh’s request was very irresponsible.  But thankfully, the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh listened to Moses’ rebuke and obeyed him.  So they said after they build the fortified cities for protection of their women and children, they decided to arm themselves and to go ahead of the Israelites until they had brought them to their place.  Moreover, they decided not to return to their homes until every Israelite had received their inheritance (vv.17-18).  They promised to Moses that they would not receive any inheritance with other Israelites on the other side of the Jordan because their inheritance had come to them on the east side of the Jordan (v.19).  Hearing this, Moses told the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh “do what you have promised” (v.24).  And this is what the Gadites and Reubenites said to Moses: "We your servants will do as our lord commands.  Our children and wives, our flocks and herds will remain here in the cities of Gilead.  But your servants, every man armed for battle, will cross over to fight before the LORD, just as our lord says" (vv. 25-27).  The Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh kept their promise to Moses.  For a long time, they had not deserted their brothers but had carried out the mission the Lord their God gave them (22:3).  They fulfilled their promise until the mission was accomplished.  They were faithful to their responsibility.  What a loyal and trustworthy people! 

Like the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, we must be responsible Christians.  We must fulfill what we have promised to God and to others.  We must be faithful toward the end, until we accomplish our mission.  The reason is because our God is faithful.  The reason is because “Not one of all the Lord’s good promises to the house of Israel failed; every one was fulfilled” (21:45).  And the same God who has made a promise to us in Christ Jesus is faithful in fulfilling that promise to us until everything is accomplished.  He is forever truthful and faithful to us.  If we truly trust in Him, we must be faithful in accomplishing the mission that the Lord has given us.  We must fulfill His mission until it is accomplished.  Let us be faithful even to the point of death!

A servant who wants to be faithful to his Master,

James Kim