Return the Favor

“But to the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, Joshua said, “Remember the command that Moses the servant of the Lord gave you after he said, ‘The Lord your God will give you rest by giving you this land.’ Your wives, your children and your livestock may stay in the land that Moses gave you east of the Jordan, but all your fighting men, ready for battle, must cross over ahead of your fellow Israelites. You are to help them until the Lord gives them rest, as he has done for you, and until they too have taken possession of the land the Lord your God is giving them. After that, you may go back and occupy your own land, which Moses the servant of the Lord gave you east of the Jordan toward the sunrise.”
Joshua 1:12-15

I can only imagine how exciting it was for all of the people of Israel to look forward to crossing the Jordan to take possession of the new land of Canaan that God had promised them.  However, for the Reubenites, the Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh, were reminded by Joshua, that they had requested of Moses that they be given the land east of the Jordan, rather continuing on to Canaan; and God had provided as they asked.  Furthermore, Moses had mandated that they would need to help the rest of the tribes to conquer and secure Canaan before they could settle in their new land.  Thus, the Reubenite, Gadite, and half-tribe of Manasseh men had to make good on their oath to leave their women and children in their new land east of the Jordan, and first go forth to fight and help Israel conquer Canaan.

Our words of vows and oaths are so important.  Often times we make vows and oaths; but as time passes, we have a propensity to focus on the things that pertain to and matter to ourselves.  We may make excuses or cite potential conflict of timing. However, a vow and oath should always be kept.  Our word must always be kept as the promise it was meant to be; not only to people who we make vows or oaths to, but most importantly the Lord.  When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior and vow to live by and in His will for what He has done on the cross for our sins; may we be mindful of keeping our vow and oath to the Lord in our word and promise to live the lives He’s called us to.  When we vow to help people who have helped us, may we be mindful that there shouldn’t be an expiration date on returning the favor or deed.  And for sure, there is not an expiration date on our returning to Jesus our vows to live according to His example, will, and plan that He laid out for us.