Give yourselves no rest, oh men of God!

“The Lord your God has given you this land to possess. All your men of valor shall cross over armed before your brothers, the people of Israel…until the Lord gives rest to your brothers, as to you, and they also occupy the land the Lord your God has promised them beyond the Jordan. Then each of you may return to his possession which I have given you.”

– Deuteronomy 3:18-20

Here Moses is relating to a new generation of Israelites what has transpired since their miraculous freeing from Egypt,. Finally, after over four decades in the desert the nation is preparing to enter the promised land. However, the Ruebenites and the Gadites have requested to stay behind in a land that they had already conquered, settling there with their families and livestock. Moses agrees, on the condition that all of the men of fighting age stay with the rest of Israel until they had defeated the tribes within the promised lands. The Ruebenites and the Gadites agree.

In these few verses (and the earlier relation of the same story in Numbers chapter 32) I see a principle that is both extremely relevant and extremely neglected in Christianity today; that of our obligation to serve and assist our fellow believers. We are not to rest until our brothers and sisters in Christ have found a rest and peace of their own. As God declares in Isaiah 62, “You who call on the Lord, give yourselves no rest, and give him no rest till he establishes Jerusalem and makes her the praise of the earth.” So are we to do today, to devote ourselves to working every meaning of the word to establish our brothers and sisters in Christ.

It is not necessarily that we are to send our young men off to join with other believers in hostile territory (though it very well may be so in some cases, and I would say that if that never happens something is very wrong) but that we are not to give ourselves to lounging and pleasure and entertainment when there are others who have no such luxuries.

What massive significance this has in our western cultures! Our tendency is so much towards slothfulness and rest in the face of the fact that thousands of Christians are struggling to survive with little or no food as we sit in the movie theaters with our $5 large popcorn, $4 drinks, and candy. Such a thought should horrify us. Not only should it horrify us with its blatant lack of care for others, but it should also strike terror into our hearts when we read what the Lord declares to such a country in the book of Amos, when he says,

“You lie on beds inlaid with ivory

and lounge on your couches.

You dine on choice lambs

and fattened calves.

You strum away on your harps like David

and improvise on musical instruments.

You drink wine by the bowlful

and use the finest lotions,

but you do not grieve over the ruin of Joseph.

Therefore you will be among the first to go into exile;

your feasting and lounging will end.”

(Amos 6:4-7)

Do those words not describe us? Oh, surely we are a people who lounge about and dine upon the choicest of foods! Think of the hundreds of new musicians every day who seek only their own glory and fame, of the numerous people who have given their lives to drinking, caring for their appearance, and seeking only their own satisfaction, completely ignoring the ruin that coats the earth.

Are there any “men of valor” among us? If so, let them rise up and go before their brothers and sisters, laying down their lives “until the Lord gives rest” to them. This faith of ours is not one that sits idly by and watches as the earth spins, declaring that God shall do what must be done. Far from it! Ours is a faith that calls men to rise from their comfort and go, in complete dependence upon God, into the darkest and most wretched parts of the world, bringing with them the full glory of the Gospel. Come, oh men of God. Give yourselves no rest until the Lord should establish His kingdom in full! Cast off the hours of television after getting home from work. Throw away the video games and fishing poles and sports and hobbies that keep you from the work of the Lord. Do not seek to surround yourself with comfort and settle in the place which the Lord has given you until He has also established comfort and peace for those who also bear His name.

Then how sweet shall the rest be as we come before that final throne to hear God himself rise and declare “Well done, my sons! You have fought the good fight and won the race.” Is not an evening’s rest much better after a heavy day’s work? Shall not the rest of heaven be infinitely more potent if we have given ourselves to that heavy work here in this life? Do not hold back! The Lord shall reward those who do as He desires, as Paul writes, “God will give to each person according to what he has done. To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, he will give eternal life.” (Romans 2:6-7)