February 5, 2023

Passage Read: 2 Kings 24 - 1 Chronicles 2
Meditation Verse: 1 Chronicles 2:55

Thought

If this is the same Recab, who fathered the Recabites, who were not to drink wine or live in cities, then they were from the people of Moses' father-in-law, the Kenites! They weren't originally Israelites, but we're faithful followers of the Lord, priests of the Lord from Midian. They were always nomadic while living with Israel in Canaan; their father must have codified that practice as he saw the trouble brought on by gaining and possessing land, gathering wealth. The Israelites we're blessed by the Lord, grew rich and forgot the Lord. From the cycle of the time of the judges, he must have determined that his descendants must not settle down, but always be aliens to help them remain faithful to the Lord. And to a large degree, he was successful, so that God could point to his descendants in Jeremiah's day to illustrate faithfulness to a father's directives.

Application

There is a sense in which I'd rather not settle down, but remain flexible and ready to move whenever and whenever the Lord asks. There is a fear that if I settle down and really put down roots, then I'll get too comfortable to believe and obey what the Lord is calling His people to. Already I'm afraid to really let loose and obey what I see Jesus and Paul doing; I don't want to rock the boat too much, just a little so that I'm still comfortable. But to really go at it could cost me even what little I do have, and already that scares me. Lord, help me understand how to do what You're asking, and give me the courage to do it.