JU5-23: Sooner Or Later The Land Of Israel Is Going To Affect EVERY Person On The Planet

“From Efrayim came those rooted in ‘Amalek.
Behind you, Binyamin is with your peoples.
From Makhir the commanders marched down,
and from Z’vulun those holding the musterer’s staff.”
-Judges 5:14

Yesterday I talked about how the Tribe of Manasseh also went by the name Makhir because Manasseh’s firstborn and only son was also called Makhir.

Now do you recall something very interesting about the Tribe of Manasseh? 

I’m talking about when Moses led Israel up to the Jordan River.

Do you remember there were 2 1/2 tribes who wanted stay on the east side of the water and NOT cross over into the Promised Land?

Those tribes were Reuben, Gad AND…

…one-half of Manasseh.

What’s fascinating is that Makhir, Manasseh’s only son who became the tribal chief of Manasseh, also wanted to stay on the east side of the Jordan River.

But Makhir was okay with the other clans doing what they wanted.

If they wanted stay and plant roots in the Trans-Jordan, fine.

Or if they wanted to join their brothers who were going into the Promised Land, that was also cool.

Either way, from Makhir’s perspective, it was a HUGE win-win because he would be ruling over 2 humongous territories all under the authority of his tribe, Manasseh.

Now you would think that as time went on, one of the clan leaders living INSIDE Promised Land territory would have risen up and proclaimed himself as the new tribal leader of the western territorial area of Manasseh (inside Canaan).

Which meant, Makhir and his descendants would be left to rule over the eastern territory of Manasseh in the Trans-Jordan.

Well, we can see here from the Song of Devorah that never happened.

In fact, not only did that never happen but we see that the name of Makhir became GREATER than Manasseh.

Because even the western clans (those in Promised Land territory) decided to go by the name of “Makhir”.

And it was these western clans who decided to fight the good fight against Sisra.

Yes, that means, unfortunately, the tribes who stayed on the eastern side of the Jordan River lost interest in fighting alongside their brothers who went to battle the Canaanites inside the Promised Land.

To me, this is a sad testimony of how geography can sometimes have a negative impact on our lives.

Which leads me to today’s takeaway.

Whether you’re Jewish or not, if you’re a believer, do you truly understand that you are connected to the physical land of Israel in a very special way?

Or do you not pay much attention to what’s going on in the Holy Land simply because you don’t live there and think to yourself “it has nothing to do with me”.

If you have that attitude, I can understand.

Because it’s difficult to care about a place that’s possibly located on the other side of the planet from where you’re living now.

Especially when you’ve got your own family, daily chores and other worries to deal with.

However, consider this to be a friendly reminder.

Israel, and I mean physical, geographical Israel, is literally (NOT metaphorically) the CENTER of God’s universe.

It’s where Messiah is gonna return when he comes back.

And it’s where Messiah is going to set up his kingdom and rule from when his rulership over the whole world is established.