A BETTER WAY

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

“Now Moses said to Hobab son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, "We are setting out for the place about which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel." He answered, "No, I will not go; I am going back to my own land and my own people." But Moses said, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes. If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us." So they set out from the mountain of the Lord and traveled for three days." Numbers 10:29-33
You’ll recall that Moses, born of a Levite man and woman, was raised by Pharaoh’s daughter in the Egyptian culture. Still, Moses deep in his heart had a place for the Hebrew people, so much so that he killed an Egyptian who was beating a Hebrew, burying him in the sand. Remember how Moses thought his act had gone undetected until he attempted to break up a fight between two Hebrews with one of them asking Moses if he would kill him as he had killed the Egyptian. Obviously the word was out and when it reached Pharoah, he wanted Moses killed. But Moses got away and fled to Midian. (Exodus 2:11-15)

In Midian, scripture tells us that Moses had “sat down by a well” when seven daughters of a Midianite priest came to draw water for their father’s flock. While trying to get the water, they were harassed by some shepherds but Moses came to their rescue and ensured the flock got watered. The daughters returned home to tell their father what had happened and were immediately asked why they hadn’t extended hospitality and appreciation toward Moses for what he had done. So they did and Moses agreed to stay with the priest, taking the hand of one of his daughters, Zipporah, in marriage. The name of the Midianite priest was Reuel. (Exodus 2:16-21)

In the passage from numbers, Chapter 10, we see Moses speaking to Hobab who we’re told is the “son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law”. This would also make him Zipporah’s brother and thus Moses’ brother-in-law.

In order to fully understand what is going on, we need to examine the Midianites and what they believed in.

Easton’s Bible Dictionary has this to say about the Midianites:

“An Arabian tribe descended from Midian. They inhabited principally the desert north of the peninsula of Arabia. The peninsula of Sinai was the pasture-ground for their flocks. They were virtually the rulers of Arabia, being the dominant tribe. Like all Arabians, they were a nomad people. They early engaged in commercial pursuits. It was to one of their caravans that Joseph was sold (Genesis 37:28,36) The next notice of them is in connection with Moses' flight from Egypt (Exodus 2:15-21) Here in Midian Moses became the servant and afterwards the son-in-law of Reuel or Jethro, the priest. After the Exodus, the Midianites were friendly to the Israelites so long as they traversed only their outlying pasture-ground on the west of the Arabah; but when, having passed the southern end of Edom, they entered into the land of Midian proper, they joined with Balak, the king of Moab, in a conspiracy against them (Numbers 22:4-7) Balaam, who had been sent for to curse Israel, having utterly failed to do so, was dismissed by the king of Moab; nevertheless he still tarried among the Midianites, and induced them to enter into correspondence with the Israelites, so as to bring them into association with them in the licentious orgies connected with the worship of Baal-Peor. This crafty counsel prevailed. The Israelites took part in the heathen festival, and so brought upon themselves a curse indeed. Their apostasy brought upon them a severe punishment. A plague broke out amongst them, and more than twenty-four thousand of the people perished (Numbers 25:9)

So the Midianites definitely did not share in the lifestyle of the Israelites except that they were nomadic. The people of Israel had one and only one God while Midian worshipped multiple gods. And although the people of Israel were nomadic at this moment in the scriptures, they knew where they were heading…to a land full of milk and honey…a land promised to them by the Lord.

Back to our scripture passage for today. The Israelites have set out for Canaan, organized in their tribes as God had commanded. Hobab, Moses’ brother-in-law, who has been staying with Moses wishes to leave and is trying to leave and go “back to my own land and my own people”. But Moses does what the Lord would expect him to do. Knowing that a far better life under God awaited Hobab if he would join the Israelites, Moses tries to convince Hobab to stay for Israel was “setting out for the place about which the Lord said, 'I will give it to you.' Come with us and we will treat you well, for the Lord has promised good things to Israel." Still, Hobab resisted.

At that point, Moses could have given up and just said goodbye to his brother-in-law. But the Lord teaches us an important lesson through Moses: ministering and evangelizing to others requires dogged perseverance and patience.

For Moses tells Hobab, "Please do not leave us. You know where we should camp in the desert, and you can be our eyes.” In other words, Hobab could be a real blessing for Israel as they traveled through what would be uncharted territory for them but not for a Midianite like Hobab. And what was in it for Hobab? Well, Moses tells him that “If you come with us, we will share with you whatever good things the Lord gives us." And that was what convinced Hobab to remain with Israel vice return home, accepting a lifestyle and people drastically different from his family and tribe.

Question: As you minister and evangelize to others, do you exercise the proper patience and perseverance in dealing with others who might hold a drastically different belief system from your Christian view? Are you sensitive to the feelings of someone who is facing the decision to leave their past life behind in exchange for a life that requires them to surrender their own will for the will of God?

Friends, we need to understand that change is not easy for many of us. In fact, we are, by nature, creatures of habit…and many time bad habits. Change requires us to get out of our present comfort zone with the hope that things will be better than they were before we changed. This is what Moses had to convince Hobab of and it’s the same thing we need to convince others of today. For our world is one where everyone wants to know what’s in it for me. If a person is going to change themselves, then there had better be a big payoff.

Well, what better bigger payoff could there be than gaining the promise of eternal life and the kind of peace and hope it brings? And the good news is that we only need to commit to change. For once we make that commitment, the Holy Spirit will teach and guide us toward living our lives as Jesus did which incidentally is only means by which we can truly call ourselves Christians. Not living like Christ lived only makes us like everyone else…making our desires a higher priority than His.

So who is your Hobab today? Who do you need to encourage and offer promise to…and not just any promise but the blessed promise found in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

My prayer is that we will learn from Moses and remain persistent and loving in our dealings with everyone who Jesus calls us to bring to Him…and I pray we will likewise be as successful as he was in convincing Hobab that a better way awaited him…the Way of the Lord. Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

http://www.faithhopeandlove.info/

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com