In the book of Joshua, Joshua told his commanders to tell the people, “Remember the word which Moses the servant of the LORD commanded you, saying, the LORD your God has given you rest, and has given you this land, your wives, your little ones, and your cattle, shall remain in the land which Moses gave you on this side Jordan; but you shall pass before your brethren armed, all the mighty men of valor, and help them. Until the LORD has given your brethren rest, as he has given you, and they also have possessed the land which the LORD your God gives them: then you shall return unto the land of your possession, and enjoy it, which Moses the LORD'S servant gave you on this side Jordan toward the sunrising”, and in chapter one and verse sixteen of his book we learn how, “they answered Joshua” where we read,
And they answered Joshua, saying,
All that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.
The verse reads, “And they answered Joshua, saying, …” Joshua or the writer began with the words, “and they answered Joshua” which means “and they, the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, spoke and responded to Joshua whose name means Jehovah is salvation”, “saying” or “uttering, declaring and proclaiming” the following words. The people of the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh responded to Joshua by declaring the following words.
The verse goes on to say, “… all that you command us we will do, and wherever you send us, we will go.” Joshua continued with the words, “all that you command us” or “each, every and the whole of which you, Joshua, order and give charge to us, the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh” “we will do” which means “we, the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, shall accomplish, work and produce”, “and wherever you send us” or “and in whatever location or place you, Joshua, dispatch and assign us, the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh”, “we will go” which means “we, the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh, shall leave, depart and proceed”. The people of the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh declared that they would perform everything with which Joshua gave them charge, and they would be dispatched and proceed to whatever place he sent them.
When we meditate upon the words in this verse, we discover how the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh kept their commitment to Moses and Joshua as they humbled themselves and declared that they would obey him. God wants us to have this type of response to Him. He has offered salvation and forgiveness of sins if we will receive His Son Jesus who died on the cross for the sins of all mankind and was raised from the dead after three days. When we submit to Him, He will forgive our sins, grant us everlasting life and equip us with His Holy Spirit who will guide us into all truth and help us keep our commitments to Him and others in this world so our lives reflect Him to others who watch us. (See John 16:13; Acts 1:8)
Next time we see how the Ruebenites, Gadites and half the tribe of Manasseh tell Joshua, “as we hearkened unto Moses in all things, so will we hearken unto you”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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