Shall Ye Sit Here? – Stepping in the Light

“And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here? And wherefore discourage ye the heart of the children of Israel from going over into the land which the LORD hath given them?” Numbers 32:6-7

God had promised to give the whole land of Canaan to the Israelites. In the years before they crossed the Jordan River, they conquered several lands whose kings had made war against them. The tribes of Gad and Reuben asked if these lands could be their possession. Moses assumed that they were asking permission to stay and settle their land instead of going to war with the rest of the Israelites as they conquered Canaan. Moses saw this as presumptuous, selfish, and cowardly, He cautioned them that they might cause the other Israelites to falter and consequently fail to conquer the land that God had promised them. Moses warned them that if they sinned in shirking their responsibility, their sin would surely find them out. He made them promise that they would go to battle and do their part to help subdue the whole land. The tribes of Gad and Reuben responded by solemnly promising that they would cross the Jordan, go to battle, and completely conquer the land before they returned home to their families.

This situation raises a good question for us. We sign the songs “Stand Up for Jesus” and “Onward Christian Soldiers,” but are we really willing to stand for Jesus, or would we prefer to sit by and watch others shoulder the burden themselves?

Morning: Numbers 32-34

Evening: Mark 9:30-50

About This Site

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

If you were to find yourself walking down a path in the dark of night with only an old-fashioned lantern to light the way, you wouldn’t be able to see very far ahead. You would be able to see just enough of the pathway to know which direction to take your next step and enough of the ground to choose the best place for your feet. When it comes to our daily lives, God’s Word is a lot like that lantern. It will not show us the whole path at once, but it is exactly what we need to help us decide how to take the next step.

The Bible is our source of spiritual light, and if we consistently seek God’s direction as we read from its pages, we will always have enough light for our next step along the pathway of life. It is then that we are, in the words of an old gospel song, “stepping in the light.”

The goal of this devotional guide is to encourage you to spend time in the Word of God each day. Reading the passages listed at the bottom of the page will take you all the way through the Bible in one year. The devotional thought for each day is taken from a text within that day’s reading, so even that small daily portion of reading will take you on a journey through God’s Word. It is my prayer that this guide would help you to walk closer to the Lord and that you will find yourself taking each step in the light of His Word.