As we have seen last week, the
Israelites took vengeance on the Midianites and killed all 5 their
kings as well as all their men. They totally demolished the tribe,
because God was with Israel. Afterward with the division of the
spoils the military commanders noticed something:
"Then all the military commanders
came to Moses and said, "Sir, we have accounted for all the men who
went out to battle under our command; not one of them is missing!"
Numbers 31:48, 49
How amazing is that? I don't think
we see many battles now or in the past without even one casualty.
It is a miracle in itself and clear to see that God was with them
and helped them in this battle. And what did the commanders do?
"We are therefore presenting the
items of gold we captured as an offering to the Lord from our share
of the plunder - armbands, bracelets, rings, earrings, and
necklaces. This will make atonement for our lives before the Lord."
Numbers 31:50
How beautiful as that? They didn't
take the glory and the honor for themselves, but they recognised
God's hand in it all and gave glory to Him. And they gave glory to
Him in a tangible form through giving their gold to Him. They
praised Him for His help.
When I read this I immediately
thought of all the times that I prayed over something and God
listened to my prayers and I never went back and thanked Him for
the wonderful way that things turned out. We are so inclined to go
on and think that the way things turn out is just the way it is
supposed to be and we never consider God's hand in it. Or even
worse, afterward we take credit for the smooth way things
turned out. We credit the turn of events to our talents or the hard
work that we put in that paid off, or to fate. But God is ever
present turning events into His and our favour. He is always there
to help His children and gratitude on our parts would be well
received.
Only one of the ten lepers that
were healed returned to thank Jesus for what He had done for them.
And Jesus immediately asked where the other nine were. Why didn't
they return to thank Him? We shouldn't be like the other nine cured
lepers. We should be like the one that came back and thanked God.
And even more than that we should be like the military commanders
that physically did something to thank God for His provision. We
shouldn't just sit back and receive, but we should reach out to
others and bless them and thereby live a life of gratitude towards
God.
Remember next time to thank God for
listening to your prayers and acting on your behalf. Maybe even
keep a prayer journal if you are worried that you forget. We tend
to forget so easily in our rushed lives. And when you page through
your prayer journal praise and thank God for the way He looks after
you.
Father please forgive us if we take
all that You do for us for granted. We appreciate the fact that we
do have a Father that is always there for us. We love You and thank
You for Your ever present provision and kindness towards us. In
Jesus Name. Amen