When my mother-in-law lay dying in her hospital bed, she repeatedly told her children and grandchildren to stay on ‘the gospel train’. Just prior to her death one conference talk was centred on this life being like a train journey and we think she connected this in her mind to the gospel. She died a dignified death with her testimony on her lips. I hope to go like that.
In his farewell address, Moses admonished the children of Israel, repeatedly, to worship the one true and living God and that they should have no other gods before Him. This farewell constitutes the entire book of Deuteronomy with strong emphasis on dangers of idol worship. This farewell address was not only instructional but also the legacy of his testimony and faith.
Moses' farewell coincided with the children of Israel's entry into the promised land. Because the inhabitants of Canaan were ripe in iniquity and idol worship (1 Nephi 17:32-35) they presented a very real threat to the covenant people. As the Israelites conquered cities before them, lands were appropriated to them for their settlement. Among the first to receive land were the tribes of Reuben, Gad and half of Manasseh. They settled in the land of Gilead which divided them from the rest of Israel by the river Jordan (Numbers 34:14,15; Deuteronomy 3:12,13; Joshua 22:9).
After these three tribes had assisted in further conquest of the land, Joshua sent them back to Gilead to live peacefully in their newly appointed inheritance. Upon their return home, these tribes built an altar by the river Jordan. When the rest of Israel heard of it they were outraged presuming the altar was built for idol worship. They sent Phineas, the son of Eleazor the priest, with the heads of the remaining tribes, to call these two and a half tribes to repentance.
In their defence, these tribes explained that the altar was not made for any worship but was meant to stand as a witness to the rest of Israel, for generations to come, that the tribe of Reuben, Gad and Manasseh were united with the rest of Israel in the worship of one true and living God, that they would not be the downfall of Israel. They said the altar was to be "a witness between us that the Lord is God" (Joshua 22:34). These three tribes recognised that even though they were geographically divided from the rest, they were still a link in the chain. They knew that if they turned to the worship of other gods, the ripple effect would be detrimental to the whole House of Israel.
So it is with us. We of modern Israel are individual links in a great chain which binds the covenant people. How we live our lives and how we worship God has great impact upon not only us personally but upon the body of Christ as a whole because "no one sins in isolation. We cannot say that our actions influence only ourselves for even if we do something sinful that is completely personal, our individual loss of spiritual power means a lessening of power for all mankind and contributes to the withdrawal of the Lord's spirit, and that is damaging to all......". (Old Testament Student Manual Genesis-2 Samuel, p 243).
Today the
chain, being the Church of Jesus Christ, spreads across the globe. It unites me,
who am an Australian, with you who are an American, European or African. It
unites us through our faith in Him who is the Saviour of all, regardless of
nationality, colour or culture. Our faith in Christ and our commitment to that
faith is our commonality. He creates a spiritual umbilical cord that makes us
one and strengthens us even though we are miles apart. I depend on you and you
depend on me to keep the chain unbroken because one day this chain will bring
us together to live with Him forever.
- CATHRYNE ALLEN
(Art: The Light of the World by Eva Koleva Timothy)
