Theological
Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship
Focus: Authority, Identity
- Authority: Our calling. This comes from God as king. Because He calls us as His representatives, He gives us authority to go and do His will.
- Identity: Our true identity comes from the Father. Only when our identity comes from God can we be obedient in ways that satisfy our person to our core.
I really had a difficult time choosing between authority and
identity on this one. So I’ll do a
paragraph on each and see what truly comes out.
With respect to identity, I am planning on going two ways. First, the Hebrew people clearly are getting
their identity from God. How many times
are we told in this chapter alone that this “new generation” of Hebrew people
following the Lord’s directions? God
speaks to Moses, Moses leads, the people listen! That’s identity right there. However, notice that after the war the
soldiers are made to sit outside the camp for seven days for spiritual
purification. I can’t imagine being a
soldier, but I can imagine having just risked my life in battle and coming
home. I can imagine what would go
through my head when I would be told I couldn’t see my wife for another seven
days. It would take a strong sense of
identity in God to abide by the purification ritual. I give them credit.
As for authority, I am going to go to the battle on this one. God told Moses how to arrange the men and how
many to select. The people obeyed. The men went out under God’s authority. Not a man was lost. Now that’s living out the authority that
comes from God!
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