I have been reading in Joshua lately and I ran accross something this morning that struck me. Up to this point the Israelites had been wandering around for 40 years waiting for all the men to die that had disobeyed God. Now they had just crossed over the Jordan River at flood stage when God stopped the water from flowing. All the men of Israel now have to have some minor surgery with flint knives (ouch!). Where’s your HMO when you need it? They waited a few days to heal and then they celebrated the Passover together on the plains of Jericho. The Bible tells us the very next day they ate from the fruit of the land and the manna stopped right then.
For 40 years, God had supernaturally provided a means to meet the physical needs of his people during their time in the wilderness. I realize that I am making some inferences to scripture here, but go with me for a minute. For all this time, the Israelites had not had to do anything to survive. They had their pancakes waiting for them when they woke up each morning. They didn’t even have to call room service, it was just there. Now, they are on the very edge of the land God has promised to give them and they are able to gather and eat food from the land. I have a question. I wonder how many Israelites spent the next several days going hungry because they kept waiting for their morning manna delivery?
What’s the point? There is a time for action! There comes a point in time when simply “feasting on the bounty of God’s grace and provision” will not suffice. Do you know what would have happened to the Israelites if they chose to do this? They would have died! Now was the time for action. No more could they rest on the future hope of the promises God had given them. Now it’s time to act! I believe the church is in that boat today. We have boudless volumes of theology and doctrine stockpiled so that generations to come will know of our scholastic aptitude. But what will future generations know of our boldness for Jesus? What lasting evidence and legacy will there be from your life and my life that we loved the Jesus we study so vigorously?
I think now is a time for action. We have a choice to make. We can either put legs to our faith and make an impact for the Kingdom of Christ or we can sit back and complacently admire what a great God we serve. James 2:17 has something to say about that. There is nothing wrong with the thoughtful and careful study of theology, in fact it’s expected! The question is what do we do with that knowledge?
