“The rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, ‘Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at’” [NUMBERS 11:4-6].” [1]
Exodus the twelfth chapter records the exciting account describing how God freed His people from slavery. Though they had been slaves in Egypt for over four hundred years, God had never forgotten His people. The people may have felt as if they had been forgotten, but God never forgets His own. His people may suffer, but He notes every indignity, every slight, every vile act meant to degrade those whom He loves. In His time and according to His will, God acts to deliver His people from their servitude.
Israel had gone to Egypt at the invitation of the Pharaoh himself. Egypt was seen as a refuge at a time when Israel was threatened by famine. But what had at first appeared to be a refuge had become a prison for God’s chosen people. In the more than four centuries Israel had been living in Egypt, the Israelites had become slaves rather than guests. Now, in the account of their deliverance from Egypt, we read that there were about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children who gathered to leave behind the land in which they had been long imprisoned. In addition to God’s beloved people, many other people chose to flee Egypt with them [see EXODUS 12:37-38].
These other people are identified as a mixed multitude in older translations of the Bible. In the text chosen for this message, this group is identified as “the rabble.” Soon, the rabble, those many other people who accompanied the people of Israel, began to complain. Stature and deliverance from the hard tasks that had been their lot was one thing, but trusting an unseen God to provide for them was quite another thing. Complaining against a gracious God was bad enough, but we discover that their complaining served to create dissatisfaction among the Israelites whom God delivered. The recently freed people of God were swept along by the cries of discontent until even they were willing to return to slavery, especially if they could garnish and flavour their meagre meals with cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic grown in the Nile delta. Thus, the rabble served not only as a distraction for Israel, but also a snare since God’s people were drawn into their distrust of the LORD Who had delivered them.
Throughout the Word of God is found a group, whether known as “the rabble” or as a mixed multitude, that seek to affiliate with the people of God. Saved and lost are together even in the Great Babylon at the end of this present dispensation. Man is incurably religious, but he is by nature in rebellion against the God of Heaven. There is inevitably pressure to unite into great religious endeavours, lowering the criteria for union to the least offensive unit, to the lowest common denominator. The consequence of unity without the Spirit of God is disastrous. Let’s explore this thought now.
THE RABBLE IDENTIFIED — “The rabble that was among them had a strong craving” [NUMBERS 11:4]. The text informs readers that the rabble that travelled with the people of Israel during the journey to the Promised Land had a strong craving. The craving that marked the rabble was a desire neither to know nor to follow the Lord GOD. The statement Moses provides is straight forward enough, designed as it is to simply give readers a background to understand what is about to happen. And what is about to happen is highly significant, especially for conscientious followers of the Son of God.
Before we ever explore what this craving might have been and why that craving was important to our understanding of the account, we might be well advised to ask who these people are who are designated as ‘the rabble.’” They are not Israelites, so we might question why they are integrated into Israel. We first meet these particular people in what Moses wrote when he described Israel’s exodus from Egyptian bondage. You will recall that Moses, in EXODUS 12:37-39, informs the reader, “The people of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, besides women and children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, and very much livestock, both flocks and herds. And they baked unleavened cakes of the dough that they had brought out of Egypt, for it was not leavened, because they were thrust out of Egypt and could not wait, nor had they prepared any provisions for themselves.”
We might have imagined that all among the large group that comprised the slaves delivered from Egypt were Hebrews. However, this was not the case. Our text provides our first introduction to the information that accompanying Israel as they fled Egypt were many people who were not Jewish. These people who associated with the people of Israel likely knew who the Jews were; both groups had been slaves to the Egyptians. Perhaps these individuals we know as “the rabble” even admired the Jews, but they weren’t Jews. The people known as the rabble didn’t share the heritage that identified the Jews as Jews. And though these non-Jews may have admired worshipping the LORD from a distance, they assuredly were not worshippers of the Living God. Perhaps they had a casual acquaintance with the LORD, performing rites that they supposed would make them acceptable to God, but they did not worship the LORD as God over their lives.
Again, I note that the people who accompanied God’s people during the exodus from Egypt are identified as a “mixed multitude.” This is an appropriate designation since the group is composed of people who at best had a very loose attachment to Israel. The one thing they had in common was that they, as was true with Israel, had been slaves. The Jews were delivered from slavery and brought into the freedom of walking with the Living God, whilst the mixed multitude was no longer physically enslaved, though they were still enslaved in their minds. Later, translators will refer to these people as “the rabble.” They did not know the LORD; they seem only to have been eager to be freed from their enforced servitude, even if it meant being identified with the people whom the LORD rescued. They had been slaves themselves, but they had no identity as a people who either knew the LORD or sought to know Him.
I suppose it would be appropriate to say that these people whom we now identify as “the rabble” knew about the LORD, but they did not know the LORD. It seems probable that they wanted the benefits that accompany being identified with the LORD, but they weren’t particularly interested in being committed to service for the LORD. In this, they were not unlike some in this day who see joining the church as socially beneficial, though they have no desire to live as followers of the Risen Lord of Glory.
We need to discover what the craving was that impelled the rabble to complain. Our complaints will often reveal what we deem essential in each situation. We can accommodate ourselves to mere inconveniences, but that which we deem essential will drive us to open complaints and refusal to seek accommodation. During doctoral studies, I learned that populations suffering starvation in some nations would continue to starve even when grain was supplied from western countries. The people weren’t used to eating the grains provided, and thus chose to starve rather than accommodate themselves to the new foodstuffs that were not part of their cultural heritage.
Earlier, I alluded to the one great distinction between Israel and the rabble. That great distinction was what the Bible identifies as “a strong craving.” So, it behooves us to understand what either group craved. And as a general statement, we will discover a significant difference between Israel and the rabble.
Israel craved freedom to worship and to serve God. I’m not suggesting that their desire was perfect, but they did long for freedom. And they had long cried out for deliverance. Before God ever acted to deliver His people, we read, “The people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. God saw the people of Israel—and God knew” [EXODUS 2:23b-25].
In contrast with Israel, the rabble appear to have had a strong craving for fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic. I don’t doubt that these people identified as the rabble wanted to be free. They had been slaves just as Israel had been slaves. However, their personal cravings were even greater than their desire for freedom. What I find interesting is the observation that a people may want freedom, and yet their cravings for something else are even greater than the longing for freedom. For most non-worshippers of the Living God, freedom means the absence of restriction. Taking that thought a step further, this means that freedom in the popular concept could be defined as the ability to live without accountability to an unseen God. Thus, freedom for most people is defined as being seated on the throne of one’s own life.
When seeking to control our own life without accountability to the unseen God, our cravings are much more basic—food, shelter, clothing, companionship, sexual gratification. Those identified with the rabble have no longing to know God, or even to be known by God. The thought of God complicates their life because it means they will need to dethrone themselves and allow God to ascend to the reign over their life!
However, for those who have enthroned the Lord as Master over their life, they have a desire to know Him. Though some may think of Paul as an exception, I am prepared to argue that the mature man was an example of the goal of all who are known by the Lord God. To verify this truth, you only need to recall the way Paul spoke of his pursuit in life as he wrote the Philippian Christians. We read what Paul wrote: “The real believers are the ones the Spirit of God leads to work away at this ministry, filling the air with Christ’s praise as we do it. We couldn’t carry this off by our own efforts, and we know it—even though we can list what many might think are impressive credentials. You know my pedigree: a legitimate birth, circumcised on the eighth day; an Israelite from the elite tribe of Ben-jamin; a strict and devout adherent to God’s law; a fiery defender of the purity of my religion, even to the point of persecuting the church; a meticulous observer of everything set down in God’s law Book.
“The very credentials these people are waving around as something special, I’m tearing up and throwing out with the trash—along with everything else I used to take credit for. And why? Because of Christ. Yes, all the things I once thought were so important are gone from my life. Compared to the high privilege of knowing Christ Jesus as my Master, firsthand, everything I once thought I had going for me is insignificant—dog dung. I’ve dumped it all in the trash so that I could embrace Christ and be embraced by him. I didn’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ—God’s righteousness.
“I gave up all that inferior stuff so I could know Christ personally, experience his resurrection power, be a partner in his suffering, and go all the way with him to death itself” [PHILIPPIANS 3:3-10 THE MESSAGE]. That’s telling us how the cow ate the cabbage! There is no misunderstanding concerning what the Apostle is saying in this passage. He is pointing to his own life as a means of encouraging those who read what he has written. What Paul has written should serve to challenge each of us to take inventory of our own life. Those elements of our life that get between us and the goal of serving Christ must be ruthlessly seen for what they are and drive us as followers of the Saviour to remove such items as stumbling blocks meant only to trip us up.
Ask yourself this one significant question: Who controls your life? Before answering, you need to consider this: your desires always reveal who controls your life. If your concerns with life leave no room for the Risen Saviour, you need to be honest enough to confess that Christ is not a factor in your life. In fact, if you have no desire to pursue the Saviour, you need to be honest enough to admit, if only to yourself, that you are not a Christian! If your desires can all be identified as part of the normal course of physical life, you need to reassess your claimed relationship with the Lord Jesus.
Christians want to know Christ; He is the desire of their life. I’m not prepared to say that we who follow Christ are perfect in our longing for Christ and His glory, but I am confident that we do want Him to reign. I’m very much aware that the old nature is still very much a part of our life; but I am equally confident that we are miserable when the old nature has taken over and we are incapable of enjoying the fruits of our self-life.
You will recall how the Apostle has warned all who follow the Master, “Now this I say and testify in the Lord, that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, due to their hardness of heart. They have become callous and have given themselves up to sensuality, greedy to practice every kind of impurity. But that is not the way you learned Christ!—assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” [EPHESIANS 4:17-24].
There would be no need to admonish Christians to put off the old self if that old nature were not such a significant part of our being even after we have received God’s salvation. Though we are twice born, the physical aspect of our being is dying. God has saved our soul. He has given us His Spirit. And we have received the promise of a new body. However, the old nature with all its desires is still a part of our being to this moment! That is why we need to count it as dead, though we are alive to Christ.
In light of the message this day, it is important to note that at a superficial level, the rabble was indistinguishable from Israel. The rabble adopted the external actions that allowed them to identify as one with Israel. The rabble appeared to be the same as Israel, except they were not the same. Though eager to enjoy the benefits of being God’s possession, the rabble had no desire to walk with the Lord. It seems evident that as soon as the opportunity presented itself, the rabble would separate from Israel and rush to create their own community where they could be in control of their own destiny.
How often have the people of God been confused at how people who were thought to be part of the assembly of the faithful could walk away from serving God. John, the Apostle of Love, cuts to the chase when he writes of such people, “Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore, we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us” [1 JOHN 2:18-19].
While some may complain that such assessment doesn’t appear very loving, it does compel us to ask who is loved more—those who depart service of the Saviour or the Saviour. If we are deeply concerned about how others may view us and our choices, is it possible that we love the praise of people more than we long for the approval of the Master? John is confronting the professed people of God at a critical point. Do we love Christ? And are we revealing that love through adherence to His Word? Or are we more concerned about how others may see us?
THE RABBLE ISOLATED — Recall a parable Jesus delivered that speaks to the issue of how the people of God are to react to the presence of the rabble among the faithful. The parable Jesus told is as follows. “The kingdom of heaven may be compared to a man who sowed good seed in his field, but while his men were sleeping, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat and went away. So, when the plants came up and bore grain, then the weeds appeared also. And the servants of the master of the house came and said to him, ‘Master, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have weeds?’ He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ So, the servants said to him, ‘Then do you want us to go and gather them?’ But he said, ‘No, lest in gathering the weeds you root up the wheat along with them. Let both grow together until the harvest, and at harvest time I will tell the reapers, “Gather the weeds first and bind them in bundles to be burned, but gather the wheat into my barn”’” [MATTHEW 13:24a-30].
Every congregation will always have some identified as rabble seated in the pews. Jesus spoke of these people as “the weeds.” I suppose this situation shouldn’t be overly surprising. The justly noted Brethren preacher, Harry Ironsides, is quoted as saying, “The brightest light draws the most moths.” We welcome all to share our services, but we are under no illusion that all who enter through our doors have a desire to follow Christ with their whole heart. If we shine in our labours for the Master, we will always attract some individuals who are drawn to the excitement generated by the message we proclaim, though the Spirit of Christ has not drawn them. While some who are drawn to our services will come to faith in the Son of God, we understand that others will unite with the Fellowship of the Rabble. Though they are seated in the assembly, they will have scant sympathy with the message we present. They have a focus, and that focus does not always match with what we seek to accomplish for Christ and His glory.
Our responsibility as a congregation of the righteous does not consist of attempting to impose a purity test on those among us whom we suspect of being counted as “rabble.” In His time, our Lord will demonstrate who belongs to Him and who belongs to this world. We must always remember that we are servants of Christ and not judges of the wicked. I’m not suggesting that we are to ignore individuals who disseminate what is obviously errant and thus destructive to the welfare of the faithful. We are to expose the error, but we are still to be wise as serpents and innocent as doves [see MATTHEW 10:16].
We who are gathered as the assembly of the righteous are not to ignore error, nor are we to refuse to rebuke openly sinful individuals who publicly identify as members of the congregation. Those united with us have willingly placed themselves under the discipline of the congregation; and one mark of a true church is discipline of the membership. One sure piece of evidence that the churches today are dysfunctional is the absence of discipline of erring members. Our churches are more concerned about being nice than they are about honouring God. The preachers have all read that singular verse, that says, “Be nice, for I, the LORD your God am nice.” Is that in the Book of Collisions? Tragically, contemporary churches have higher regard for the feelings of people who despise God than they have concern that their disobedience offends God’s holiness.
Many years ago, the noted Southern Baptist theologian, John Leadly Dagg, wrote, “It has been remarked, that when discipline leaves a church, Christ goes with it.” [2] Advocating for the exercise of church discipline in this day, and having just cited Dagg, Doctor Albert Mohler, Jr. declared, “If [Dagg is correct], and I fear it is so, Christ has abandoned many churches who are blissfully unaware of His departure.” [3] That stunning assessment should be a matter of deep concern for all Christians. And we of this church are not immune to succumbing to the constant temptation to embrace the rabble as our spiritual equals though they give no evidence of having been born from above.
In this day, people flee from one congregation only to be immediately received into another congregation. Commitment to one congregation has become sadly rare. Years ago, one writer charged that we Christians have ceased to be fishers of men and become keepers of the fishbowl [cf. MARK 1:17]. It was an accurate assessment fifty years ago; tragically, it is an accurate description of the condition among the churches today. Holding one another accountable for faithfulness to the assembly wherein the Spirit has settled us is almost unheard of in this day. And that should not be the case.
I am fully aware that I’m about to venture down a rabbit trail at this point, but I deem it a necessary path that must be addressed. Until recent decades, it was a courtesy based upon biblical precept that those seeking to unite with a congregation and who had previously held membership in another assembly, would seek a letter of recommendation. The two congregations would correspond so the sending church would be able to adjust the membership rolls and to permit the receiving church to enroll the new member. In recent days, churches ignore showing this courtesy to one another, thus dishonouring the brotherhood of the churches, and dishonouring the Head of the Church.
This near universal lack of ecclesiastical courtesy that is observed in this day late in the Church Age flows out of a ubiquitous failure to hold one another accountable as members within the various congregations of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are given church membership to distinguish ourselves as Christians from the world. By failing to show this biblical courtesy as sister congregations we show ourselves to be guilty of nullifying church discipline. What is often forgotten is that letters exchanged by the assemblies permitted the earliest churches to provide a spiritual assessment of the character of the person moving from one congregation to another. The exchange of church letters provided a means by which the churches could give assurance that the one coming into a new fellowship was not under discipline from the prior fellowship and that the individual was walking with the Saviour as would be expected of a Christian. Therefore, it was the common practise until very recently that churches would grant letters of dismissal and receive the same from sister churches. However, contemporary churches have allowed themselves to function as mini fiefdoms. We don’t value the assessment of sister congregations. And we are the poorer for our position.
I was shocked the first time I observed this arrogant attitude in a church which is no longer in existence. A lady had come into our fellowship, requesting that we receive her as a member since she had moved nearby. I asked the church clerk to request a transfer of membership from her previous congregation, only to be told that the church neither received letters of transfer nor sent letters of transfer. The statement the clerk made, which was later verified by the chairman of the deacons, was that you couldn’t trust those other churches. It was an arrogant statement, indicating that these “leaders” considered themselves as the only trustworthy arbiters among all the churches situated in our province, and especially within the Lower Mainland! Arrogance, plain and simple!
Consequently, it is quite possible today for a professed Christian to journey through life flitting from one congregation to another without ever openly professing Christ as Master or revealing evidence of a transformed life. Worse still, it is possible to openly unite with a congregation, ghosting them at some later point. Then, having ceased attendance, the disgruntled member will accuse the church, whining, “No one called to see why I was not attending.” We who profess to follow Christ exalt ourselves so that we occupy the centre of our universe, all the while using the Holy Bride of Christ as though she was a tawdry trollop meant only for our personal amusement. It is as though we who claim to know the Risen Lord have scant respect for His Holy Bride!
The prevailing situation in this day is that the professed followers of the Saviour are unconcerned that people are allowed to treat the local congregation as optional. The rabble among us, who have in effect assumed control over the churches, live as though there is somewhere a great unseen assembly to which they belong, and everyone should just chill, accepting that the rabble have just as much right to the church as anyone. It is nothing less than the democratisation of the churches of our Lord. It is a situation that was never imagined in the Word of God or in the mind of Christ the Lord. Though they have scant time for the assembly of the righteous, these same individuals who belong to the rabble are quick to demand that the churches provide what the recalcitrant have concluded is their due, availability of the church for a wedding and provision of funerary rites. In contemporary Canada, churches exist to hatch, match, and dispatch the citizenry. This is the presumed right of all Canadians because the government “gives” the churches a tax break. I fear that we modern Christians have sold ourselves far too cheaply.
THE REMNANT IDENTIFIED — We have seen that some who claim to follow the Christ should be identified as belonging to the rabble. The Bible often treats those who follow the Saviour as a small group within the larger group identifying as Christians. In other words, there are professed Christians, which account for most of the Christendom, and there are twice-born followers of Christ; and the latter are far less in number than the former. I suppose we could view those within the visible Zion of Christ as the superficial and the significant. There are those who have little or no real connection to the Head of the church, and there are those who are alive in Christ. The former may or may not have been born from above—we are incapable of determining the reality of their life, but the latter are those who assuredly are twice-born.
As an example of the distinction between these two groups, note the tenderness with which Jesus addresses those who are destined to receive the Kingdom of God. Recall how Jesus comforted His people, saying, “Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” [LUKE 12:32]. Addressing those who followed Him, Jesus spoke of those who follow Him as His “little flock.” I enjoy witnessing a crowd engaged in worship as much as anyone, but it is humbling to realise that those who are destined for the Kingdom of God are identified as a “little flock.” Often, those worshipping in a large crowd are anything but worshippers of the Christ!
In another passage of the Word, I invite you to carefully note the way the Master spoke of those who find the path of righteousness. The Master urged those who heard Him speaking, “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few” [MATTHEW 7:13-14]. Jesus warned followers that there is no easy path for entering into the Kingdom of God. How this flies in the face of common expectations concerning our service to the Lord!
I will cite one further instance when the Master addressed the fact that only a small number of those who seek life will find it. The passage I ask you to consider reads, “Someone said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, will those who are saved be few?’ And he said to them, ‘Strive to enter through the narrow door. For many, I tell you, will seek to enter and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, “Lord, open to us,” then he will answer you, “I do not know where you come from.” Then you will begin to say, “We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.” But he will say, “I tell you, I do not know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of evil!” In that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth when you see Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets in the kingdom of God but you yourselves cast out. And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God. And behold, some are last who will be first, and some are first who will be last’” [LUKE 13:23-30].
These various statements by the Master should cause us to be humble before Him. If we are part of the Remnant, that is those who serve the Risen Saviour in this wicked day, it is not because we are better than earth dwellers; we serve the Master because of His grace revealed through His redemption provided to us. We received mercy when we deserved no mercy. It is evidence of God’s character that He provided for our salvation and did not condemn us. We have nothing of which we can boast.
My prayer is that this brief excursus in which we have together explored the challenge raised concerning entering the Kingdom of God will have raised the question in your mind, “Am I included among the remnant?” Each person who hears the message this day is encouraged to make a valiant effort to assure himself or herself that they are now accepted as God’s child through faith in Christ the Lord. Writing the followers of Christ worshipping in the assembly at Corinth, the Apostle to the Gentiles challenged them, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test” [2 CORINTHIANS 13:5]! Examine yourselves, indeed!
As a young Christian on occasion, I was deeply disturbed at the preaching I heard. A preacher would challenge the congregation to ensure that they were saved. And the concern I felt was intense at times when I heard that challenge. It seemed as if I was hearing, “If you aren’t perfect, you are lost.” At other times, I would focus on the wickedness that I knew lay hidden within my heart. I struggled with a violent temper, I wanted to hurt anyone who had injured me, and I still longed to act wickedly. Therefore, the challenge that I would hear disquieted me. At least that was the situation until I realised that if my salvation can be taken from me, I never possessed it in the first place.
Candidly, the challenge to examine oneself is one that is not heard often enough among the faithful. This confrontation should recall the challenge heard each time the Lord’s Table is observed. You will no doubt recall that after establishing the criteria we are to impose on ourselves when participating in the Communion Meal, Paul cautions us, “Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment on himself. That is why many of you are weak and ill, and some have died. But if we judged ourselves truly, we would not be judged. But when we are judged by the Lord, we are disciplined so that we may not be condemned along with the world” [1 CORINTHIANS 11:27-32].
Throughout the Word of God, we witness people associating themselves with God’s people, though God did not specifically invite them to associate with His people. Here is an example for you to consider. God had called Abram to leave his homeland to travel to a land to which he had never been. Abram obeyed the Lord, but we read, “And Lot went with him” [see GENESIS 12:4]. There came a time when famine compelled Abram to journey into Egypt to sojourn. God was watching over his servant, as God always watches over His child, at last directing Abram to leave Egypt to return to Canaan. Again, we encounter the phrase, “and Lot went with him” [see GENESIS 13:1]. Now, here is the point you need to acknowledge—the LORD appointed Abram to go into Canaan; God did not appoint Lot to go with Abram. This point must be stressed for us as Christians.
The called of God sometimes are compelled to walk away from those with whom we have been in relationship. That is what happened between Abram and his nephew Lot. Back in chapter twelve, we read, “Abram went, as the LORD had told him, and Lot went with him” [GENESIS 12:4a]. Did you catch that? God spoke to Abram, but he did not speak to Lot. Here is the crux of what we just read: Lot was never appointed to be in Abram’s life; Abram allowed Lot to be with him. And here is why this is so important. All that Lot could offer Abram was companionship, but he could not offer partnership. That is the situation between the rabble and the remnant.
We see Lot hanging out with Abram, but Lot was not the recipient of God’s promise. Lot was enjoying the benefits of being with the one whom God was blessing, but the promise of blessing was never given to Lot. When conflict comes, and conflict inevitably comes, Lot will leave for greener pastures as he considers his possibilities. When an opportunity appears that seems to promise something better, because there is no conviction in the relationship, there will be an inevitable parting of the ways between those who are merely associated with the remnant and those who are committed. The rabble appear committed so long as they believe the relationship will benefit them, but the remnant is committed because they are serving the Lord GOD. I am not being mean-spirited when I point out that the commitment of the rabble is to their own advancement. But the commitment of the redeemed is to the Lord and to His cause.
This raises the question for each one sharing the service this day: to whom are you committed? Can you say with confidence that you are here because of the promise of God? Are you assured that God has appointed you to serve Him in this place? Or are your motives more focused on yourself and advancing your own interests? Those who are walking with the Lord will demonstrate their commitment to Him and to His cause by seeking out His people and by serving according to the direction of His Spirit. And that is the cause to which we invite all who are appointed to life in the Son of God.
During the first missionary journey Paul and Barnabas testified to the Gentiles who listened in Antioch of Pisidia. We read in the account that Doctor Luke has provided, “When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed” [ACTS 13:48]. I deliver the Word of the Risen Lord in the full knowledge that those who are appointed to eternal life will believe. And surely, that includes some who hear what I say even in this day. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] J. L. Dagg, Manual of Theology, Second Part: A Treatise on Church Order (Southern Baptist Publication Society; S. S. & Publication Board; B & Colporteur Society; B. B. & Book Depository; B. B. Depository; Charleston, SC; Richmond, VA; Macon, GA; Selma, AL; New Orleans, 1859) 274
[3] R. Albert Mohler, Jr., “Church Discipline: The Missing Mark,” Southern Baptist Journal of Theology, Volume 4, no. 4 (2000), 26
