Gratitude

My ancestor was Reuben. Well he is well known for his act of compassion to his brother Joseph when his other brothers including Judah had plotted to kill him. It was Reuben who secretly planned to rescue him.

Today we are on our way back to our homeland after the victories the Lord has given us. The land to the west side of Jordan was the first to be claimed in the  the promised land. Our children were small, our livestock too. So we Reubenites, Gadites and a part of Manasseh requested Moses to grant us permission to settle in the west side of Jordan river. Moses only had one condition. That we would go out for war against the enemy countries to help the rest of the tribe to claim their homeland in the promised land. We would leave back our families and our possessions on this side of the river and go help our brothers. As the leader of the Reuben tribe, I Behalel was the first to say yes. And others joined too. We thought, it's our responsibility. It's not right to sit in our couches and be with our families when our own dear brothers would be in war. Actually it's good to be part of God's great plan. He has already given the land to us. No worries. We would definitely win the rest of the wars. After what we saw from Jericho onwards. Rahab the living example is still with us.

So here we are, after the wars against different kings, winning them all, under the able leadership of Joshua, the rightful successor to Moses, we are on our way back home. There is peace amongst our brothers on the other side of the river.

Now because we had helped our brothers, Joshua had thanked us too. Gratitude was ebbing from his words. But I told, there is no need to thank. Because the Lord has given the land for us all and it's our responsibility to be with the rest of the nation to claim what God has promised us. Out of gratitude they had shared among us too the plunder we had from the wars. Now with all the gold and riches and livestock we are going back.

As we crossed the river, we were filled with so much of gratitude to the Lord, for bringing us back to our own home. First of all, He heard our cries when we were toiling in Egypt. And He promised to take us to a land that is flowing with milk and honey. And miraculously He turned the tables for our sake and we set out. Though we had disappointed Him often, He continued to remain faithful to what He had promised and brought us here. And now after the war we all are again back home. There is rest. There is peace. There is happines and joy and gratefulness to Him who led us. Immediately as I set my foot 👣 on the west banks of Jordan, I was filled with tears of gratitude and I could do nothing but worship the Lord, thanking Him with tear filled eyes. Seeing me almost all of the others joined too. Our families who were just waiting to greet us in the banks also joined in worshipping the Lord. Our children too were dancing with joy.

Yes the Lord has been good to us. He is an amazing God. He has been a wonderful Father for us. 

He has blessed us when we were undeserving. He has chosen us and placed us in His palm when we were worthless. He remembered His covenant to our forefathers and He continued to be faithful.

My friend Habeel had a proposition. He was the head of Gad tribe. "Why don't we build an altar for the Lord and worship. As a token of gratitude to God. He has done great things and His faithfulness is great. Moreover there is this discussion among others. What if their descendants ultimately say to our descendants, that they are not part of them and they cannot have a portion of the Lord Jehovah, because they are on the west side of the river. What if our descendants would not be able to worship their Lord with same freedom. What if the tide turns against them?"

The initial part I totally agree. We should worship the Lord in the way the Lord wants Him to be worshipped. That's what our forefathers did. Abel's sacrifice, Noah, immediately after the flood. Our Father Abraham, wherever he went built an altar to worship the Lord. Joshua did that. We should all the more do it. But couldn't agree to the second part. No what ifs. If the Lord has led thus far, he will continue to be with our children too. If we faithfully follow this God he will be near us he will bless us. That's what he has promised. That's what he hath promised from the times of Abraham. If we wholeheartedly follow Him, He is our very great reward. We built the altar in the right way and continued to worship. Oh what a wonderful time it was. There were songs, there was music, there was rejoicing, there was tears of joy, there was thankfulness and feasting, for the Lord has been good.

Two days later we get news that Phineas the chief priest is on his way to meet us. He is the son of Eleazar who is the son of Aaron himself. We were excited to meet some of our friends and brothers who fought shoulder to shoulder with us.

Phineas came with a cloud of uneasiness with him though. Our brothers were upset because we set up the altar and worshipped on this side. They had thought we had deserted the Lord quiet fast. They reminded us of Achan and the sin of Peor. There was unrest everywhere. My brothers here in this side of the river was so disheartened. I could see it in their eyes. How could our own dear brothers misunderstand us?

We have never deserted our Lord. We are worshipping Him alone. I had to make our point clear as the leader of our tribe. We have never sinned like Achan or at Peor. I told them, this God Jehovah is my personal God too and I worshipped Him the right way in which He wants, out of gratitude. No matter what others tell me about me or my family, the fact remains the same, my Lord loves me and I love Him. Nothing can take me away from His love. Nothing forged against me or my family will stand against the love I have for my Jehovah. My own brothers may misunderstand me. Even if my family points their fingers against me, i will not be shaken as long as the Lord is for me. The same God who loved Abraham, Issac, Jacob and Moses loves me too and I don't need to prove to anyone my love to Him. And I don't need to prove to anyone His love to me. He is mine and I'm His. There is no doubt about that fact. Though the whole world turns against me I'm fully assured that I'm in His bosom and nothing will prompt me from believing anything contrary to that.

To that Phineas said Amen and so did the entire people around me. And am glad that the situation ended in a positive note. Moreover, I felt more assured and my family, my clan and tribe also felt assured that nothing can seperate us from His love.