And the Lord spake unto me, saying ‘Ye have compassed this mountain long enough, turn you northward’. Deuteronomy 2:2,3
The children of Israel travelled many years through the wilderness; they were ready to settle down and claim the land that God had promised them. Now, they had come to Mount Seir, apparently expecting to take over that land, or at least hoping that they were at the end of their journey. God reminds them that Seir is not for them, he had promised it to the children of Esau, and the Israelites were to push on to a better land. They would do business with the Edomites, but they would not take their land from them.
There comes a time when the Lord needs to tell us, too, that we need to make some progress in our Christian lives. He reminds us that we are not to possess the land that we are in, because he has promised us a better land. And we are to push on toward it.
Just as the Israelites needed to buy food and water from the Edomites, so too we need to do business with this world. But our goal should not be to inherit this world. In fact, if we can get an appreciation for the land that God has prepared for us, we will not desire the Mount Seirs of this world.
But it is hard, though, not to hunker down here and try to gain all that we can of this world. Yes, we need to make a living, we need a place to dwell, we need vehicles and tools for our sojourning. There is nothing wrong with getting these things. What is wrong is our attitude, if we can’t see beyond these things to what the Lord has prepared for us.
Consider your most important possession, for example, your house or your business. Now, imagine it going up in flames. Now, realize that this is not imagination, because it is in fact going to be burned up, someday. God has declared this in His Word; all the material things that you hold so dear today will someday be but ashes and soot. But what you possess of spiritual things are yours to greet you on your entrance into the Paradise of Jesus’ presence forever.
It is time to give value to what is done for the Lord above all that we do for ourselves. After all, this is not our final home, and the mansions that we are going to receive are well worth the wait. -Jim MacIntosh