Numbers 32:33 So Moses gave to the children of Gad, to the children of Reuben, and to half the tribe of Manasseh the son of Joseph, the kingdom of Sihon king of the Amorites and the kingdom of Og king of Bashan, the land with its cities within the borders, the cities of the surrounding country.

It’s funny how fast some things change. It hasn’t been all that long ago that if a lot of people in a school or business got online at the same time, the whole system would bog down or even crash. There just wasn’t unlimited bandwidth. So you might have to plan usage or take turns.

The Children of Israel had been ‘on the road’ for over forty years. The ‘promise’ of the Promised Land had been given by the Lord while they were still slaves in Egypt. He would give them ‘a land flowing with milk and honey.’ When they got there the first time, they turned away in fear, but they are back now and ready to go in. But it wasn’t automatic. God was giving it to them, but there were evil kingdoms to deal with.* If they didn’t deal with that issue there would always be competing loyalties - some serving the Lord and others serving false gods.

Isn’t that always the way? When God comes there is a necessary shuffling of priorities. God brings salvation, but asks us to ‘put on’ good things and ‘put off’ bad things. It has to be this way. We don’t have unlimited bandwidth. If I am going to add a new habit to my life, typically, an old one has to go. If I decide to read the Bible, I’m ‘not doing’ something else during that time. If I go to church, I’m not going somewhere else.

God’s ways are best. But to appreciate all the promise they hold, it will generally involve a reordering of my ways. It’s not just a matter of bandwidth, but of competing loyalties. If there are things in my life that draw me away from God, they need to go. But that will make more room for good things!

Blessings,

Pastor Russ

*This part of Scripture is not always easy to understand. If you have further questions, feel free to reach out and we can dive deeper.