"ULTIMATE GIFT!"

Numbers 34:20-23                   (GNV)
"20 And Moses said unto them, If ye will do this thing, and go armed before the Lord to war:
21 And will go every one of you in harness over Jordan before the Lord, until he have cast out his enemies from his sight:
22 And until the land be subdued before the Lord, then ye shall return and be innocent toward the Lord, and toward Israel: and this land shall be your possession before the Lord.
23 But if ye will not do so, behold, ye have sinned against the Lord, and be sure, that YOUR SIN WILL FIND YOU OUT."



Have you ever used a new vacuum cleaner on an older piece of carpet?  The new vacuum can pick up dirt that has been left behind for years.  Even though the older carpet has been vacuumed many times in the past, the dirt was still there causing problems.

Moses was attempting to tell the Hebrew children that in order for them to be successful going into the Promised Land they had to examine theirselves and make sure they were blameless before a Holy GOD.  Moses even went as far as instructing the nation to go into battle in the right spirit, letting "The LORD cast out HIS enemies from HIS sight"!

The instructions of Moses were not the result of a heavy-handed, mean-spirited GOD who wanted everything HIS way.  GOD is a Holy GOD and if HE is to defend us and our actions, our actions must be defensible!  GOD wants to gain glory by defeating the enemies of HIS WORD, but HIS WORD cannot change to meet our desires!  Our desires have to follow HIS WORD!

Recently there was a movie on television about a twenty-something year old grandson whose billionaire grandfather passed away.  In his will, the grandfather left several instructions for his grandson to follow.  To acquire the "ULTIMATE GIFT" from his grandfather, the grandson ultimately had to prove his life had been changed.  Of course, in typical Hollywood form, the grandson eventually was changed and he received the "ULTIMATE GIFT", the entire estate worth nearly $2 billion dollars!

The "ULTIMATE GIFT" that awaits me cannot be measured with a dollar sign. But the same edicts that were pronounced upon the Hebrew Nation years ago still exists today.  A HOLY GOD "still" cannot tolerate a sinful lifestyle.  HE provided redemption for my sin through JESUS CHRIST on Calvary's tree.  My sin will STILL find me out!  I must constantly examine my life making sure that my "ULTIMATE GIFT" in JESUS CHRIST is not being taken lightly!