A Meditation on Deuteronomy 3 : 18-20

Kevin J Youngblood
 

18 “And I commanded you at that time, saying, ‘The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel. 19 Only your wives, your little ones, and your livestock (I know that you have much livestock) shall remain in the cities that I have given you, 20 until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land that the Lord your God gives them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.’ (Deuteronomy 3:18 – 20)

Nobody rests until everybody rests. This just about sums up Moses’ instructions to the trans-Jordan tribes whose inheritance was distributed and settled well before the other nine-and-a-half tribes. Israel had not even crossed the Jordan yet. Reuben, Gad, and half of the tribe of Manasseh had requested and been granted lush grasslands east of the Jordan gorge. I prefer not to speculate what their motives were, but I can see how some might suspect that they were hoping to get out of the ugly business of encroaching on Canaanite territory and confronting a corrupt culture. Who needs the headache, not to mention the bad press, of trying to overturn sinful systems of oppression to make way for God’s just and equitable kingdom? However we moderns may want to (mis)characterize the Canaanite purge, get on our moral high horse and renounce this divinely sanctioned genocide, Scripture characterizes it as a necessary, long overdue accounting for the increasingly corrupt Canaanite culture and the immense amount of oppression it left in its wake.

Whatever their motives, the trans-Jordan tribes must be under no illusions that their successful petition to settle east of the Jordan excuses them from their responsibility to the rest of their Israelite brothers and sisters. Moses recognized the difficulties of transforming twelve tribes who were often rivals, perhaps even enemies, into one unified “nation under God.” Solidarity was essential and key to this solidarity was Moses’ insistence that Reuben, Gad, and East Manasseh postpone their rest until the remaining tribes had theirs.

What a great leadership principle! Everyone stays engaged until the work is completely finished and everyone can collapse together. We all work together and we all rest together. Nobody rests until everybody rests. What would happen if our churches operated according to this Mosaic principle? If the church took this seriously, there would be no such thing as the “80/20 rule” in our churches. The 80/20 rule, in case you are not familiar with it, refers to the well-established observation that in nearly every institution or organization only 20% of the people do at least 80% of the work. This is also known as the Pareto principle and it explains a lot of the inefficiency and burnout experienced in institutions of all kinds including religious institutions like churches.

Consumer minded Christians treat church as a dispenser of services that exists for their personal benefit rather than as a community of servants who lay their lives down together, as did Christ, for the good of the world. Once we get what we want out of church, we sit down and rest to enjoy our new found benefit. Better not let Moses catch you doing that, or Jesus for that matter. For the two of them are agreed on this point (as they are on virtually every other point), NOBODY RESTS UNTIL EVERYBODY RESTS. Israel was like a human body and it was unthinkable to Moses (and YHWH) that the body should cross the Jordan and confront a corrupt culture with two-and-a-half of its limbs laying dormant on the other side of the Jordan. Similarly, the church is the body of Christ and it is unthinkable that only part of the body should serve while the remainder rests. The Spirit creates solidarity and unity in the body by distributing spiritual gifts and keeping every disciple engaged until whatever task the church is currently working on is done. Then we all rest together while we wait for God to give us next assignment. This is the way every healthy family operates and it is the only way that the family of God can properly operate.

Father,

Forgive me of my consumer mentality that seeks to benefit from your church without contributing. Deliver me from my spiritual laziness and my neglect and disregard for my brothers and sisters whose work continues when mine is done. Lord Jesus, head of the body, give us your mind, your attitude of servanthood, that we might all be connected to you and to each other that we might bear each other’s weariness and postpone our rest until the work you have given us is done. Holy Spirit, unite us in our divinely ordained diversity to function efficiently in love for the sake of the world for which Christ died. Sustain us with your supernatural power and fill us with compassion for our brothers and sisters that we might not rest until they rest.

AMEN


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