May the mumbling commence!
Only the strong will survive?
No, only the meek and humble of the Lord will survive.
The Promised Land is not won by strength of humanity. The Promised Land can only be received as a gift of grace from the Almighty One. Those left behind in the Promised Land during the exile did not inherit the Promised Land by default. Read from Ezekiel 33:23-33 –
Then the word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, the people living in those ruins in the land of Israel are saying, 'Abraham was only one man, yet he possessed the land. But we are many; surely the land has been given to us as our possession.' Therefore say to them, 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Since you eat meat with the blood still in it and look to your idols and shed blood, should you then possess the land? You rely on your sword, you do detestable things, and each of you defiles his neighbor's wife. Should you then possess the land?'
Say this to them: 'This is what the Sovereign Lord says: As surely as I live, those who are left in the ruins will fall by the sword, those out in the country I will give to the wild animals to be devoured, and those in strongholds and caves will die of a plague. I will make the land a desolate waste, and her proud strength will come to an end, and the mountains of Israel will become desolate so that no one will cross them. Then they will know that I am the Lord, when I have made the land a desolate waste because of all the detestable things they have done.'
As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice.
When all this comes true – and it surely will – then they will know that a prophet has been among them."
The poor and weak were left behind during the exile. The meek inherit the earth, right? Not so fast! Meekness and humility have little to do with the “last man (or woman) standing.” Even these poor and weak people who were left behind reveled in their newfound strength and freedom – freedom to own land and to eat and worship they way they saw fit. Taking advantage of freedoms granted to us by the Lord is the antithesis of meekness and humility.
Meekness and humility mean that we are fully attentive to the call of the Lord in our lives. It means hearing the words of the Lord AND putting them into practice. Humble and meek people toward the Lord will inherit the earth. The song and story of the Lord is not a silly little love song to be ignored or cast aside. The song and story of the Lord is about a powerful love that nothing can overcome (Romans 8:31-39).
My prayer today is that we might have the Love Song of the Lord etched upon our hearts so that we can be attentive to the heartbeat of the Lord. Oh, to be a man or woman after God’s own heart!
Enough mumbling for now…
Peace Out
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