Theological Commentary: Click Here
Discipleship Focus: Competency
- Competency: Being able to accomplish what one is called to do.
As Moses gives the words of this chapter, I wonder how it was
received. God is giving some rather
unique orders here. If you are newlywed –
or about to be a newlywed, you can’t go out to war. If you just planted a vineyard and haven’t
been able to enjoy its fruit, you can’t go out to war. If you build a house and haven’t gotten a
chance to enjoy it, you can’t go out to war.
I wonder how many people in Moses’ day thought these were ridiculous words.
After all, these words favor the young. The young are most likely to be
newlywed. The young are the most likely
to have new houses. The young are the
most likely to have new brides. The
young are the most likely to have new unestablished vineyards. I wonder how many of the Hebrew people were competent
enough to respect God’s wishes and let the older men go off to war while the
younger men ensured the success of the next generation at home?
Or look at the passage about war with other people. Sue for peaceful surrender first. God tells us that we are to desire peace with
our enemies before we are to seek their destruction. I wonder how many of us are competent enough
to seek peaceful surrender before we try to ruin one another?
Or take the trees. God says
to spare the fruit trees because their purpose is to provide food for creation –
human beings included. We can cut down
the non-fruiting trees, but we are to leave the fruiting ones alone. I wonder how many of us have the competency
to listen to this point, too.
This chapter has some challenging points. Only the competent in God will find success
in His challenge.
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