WHO IS ON THE LORD SIDE?
“Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him” (Exodus 32:26).
While Moses was in the mount, receiving the law from God, the people had time to meditate upon what had been delivered, and prepare themselves for what was further to be revealed, and forty days was little enough for that work; but, instead of that, there were those among them that were contriving how to break the laws they had already received. On the thirty-ninth day of the forty, those people prevailed on Aaron-the assistance of Moses to make a god for them that would lead them further in their journey. They were wearied of waiting for Moses who had brought them thus far in the journey. This was their wicked, unbelieving, ungrateful reason: “We don’t know what happened to this fellow Moses, who brought us here from the land of Egypt” (Ex 32:1). Thus ungrateful they were to Moses, who had shown such a tender concern for them.
So the Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Ex 32:7-8)
When Moses eventually came to the camp of the Israelites, and saw the golden image which they had made for themselves, he became extremely angry, broke the table of stones in his hands and grinded the idol in pieces. Thereafter, Moses gave a call of separation to those who have not joined in the general sin to move out of the rest of the people and come to his side. This group of people had a most difficult task before them-to execute judgment on their fellow Israelites by killing! The judgment was to be done by the sword of their own brethren. The Levites particularly were employed in doing this execution; for, it should seem, there were more of them than of any other tribe that had kept themselves free from the contagion of idolatry.
Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, who is on the Lord’s side? Let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him. And he said unto them, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Put every man his sword by his side, and go in and out from gate to gate throughout the camp, and slay every man his brother, and every man his companion, and every man his neighbour. Ex 32:26-27 KJV
In other words, the Levites were to demonstrate a love for JEHOVAH which was far more than any love they could hold for their fathers, mothers, spouses, friends and children. It is surprising to note that the same thing Jesus presented as the condition for followership and discipleship in the New Testament!
And there went great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them, If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:25-27 KJV
Those that undertake to follow Christ must count upon the worst, and prepare accordingly. They must be willing to quit that which is very dear, and therefore must come to him thoroughly weaned from all their creature-comforts, and be dead to them. They must be ready to cheerfully part with them rather than quit their interest in Christ. A man cannot be Christ’s disciple if he cannot hate father, and mother, and his own life. The implication of this is to love Christ better than anything in this world, and be willing to part with that which he may and must leave, either as a sacrifice, when Christ may be glorified by our parting with it (so did the martyrs, who loved not their lives to death), or as a temptation, when by our parting with it we are put into a better capacity of serving Christ. Thus Abraham parted with his own country, and Moses with Pharaoh’s court.
Who is on the Lord’s side?
At this perilous time in the history of the world, God needs men and women who will pick side with him and take a stand for him. In time like this when the time worship of God has been polluted in false teachers- peddlers of false gospel who preach ‘’health and wealth’’ messages. They tell people what they want to hear, even when the nation is not following God as it should.
God is in need of men and women, who with total commitment and courageous abandon will arise to defend and fight for the truth of God’s word. God needs men like Phineas the son of Eliezer, who dealt ruthlessly with the rebels by slaying his brethren with a javelin when Israelite men brought God’s judgment upon themselves through their immorality with foreign women (number 25:1-8).
Today, more than ever before, God is in dare need of men on His side. Men like Elijah, who will rise in the strength and power of the Lord to challenge the idolatry going on in the religious houses of worship today. The chief purpose for which God raised up Elijah was to preserve in Israel the worship of Yahweh, Israel’s covenant God. Elijah’s single-minded commitment to God shocks us and challenges us. He was sent to confront, not comfort, and he spoke God’s word fearlessly to a king who led God’s people into idolatry. Elijah chose to carry out his ministry for God alone and paid for that decision by isolation from others who were also faithful to God.
Who is on the Lord’s side? God is seeking for a fearless man like Nathan who will take a stand with God even when kings and governors and leaders chose to take a different stand. Nathan was required to confront sin, even the sin of the prominent king as David. He served as God’s spoke man to David and proved himself a fearless friend and counsellor, always willing to speak the truth, even when he knew great pain would result. Can God use you for your friend like this?
Who is on the Lord’s side? Today more than ever, there is an urgent need of men like John the Baptist. God had called him, to be a prophet and he remained faithful and loyal to that call. He was a prophet of God who preached after the order of Elijah. He was not like the political prophets who were people oriented. John fearlessly and courageously denounce the greed, corruption and injustice of Israelite society. He confronted the soldiers of their oppressive lifestyles. He reproved the wicked king Herod Antipas for marrying the wife of his brother, Herod Philip. Antipas replied by throwing John into prison. There was nothing weak or uncertain about John. He did not look for comfort or prestige, but like a true prophet, he endured a life of hardship for the sake of God.
Who is on the Lord’s side? God needs men like the three Hebrew children in the land of Babylon who refused to bow down to the image set up for worship by king Nebuchadnezzar. Together, the trio of Shedrack, Meshack and Abednego had determined never to bow to and worship the idol which King Nebuchadnezzar had made of himself and ordered everybody to worship. This was the moment to stand for the truth. Death was about to end their friendship. A small compromise would have allowed them to live and go on enjoying each other, serving God, and serving their people while in this foreign land. But they were wise enough to see that compromise would have poisoned the very conviction that bound them so closely-each had a higher allegiance to God. So they did not hesitate to place their lives in the hands of God. The rest was victory! Note, when we take a stand for God, He also take a stand for us.
Are you on the Lord’s side?
Can you speak up against the commercialization of the gospel on in our religious houses? Are you on the Lord side? Will you rise to a few then however and the integrity of the name of Christ admits the great riot going on in our citadel of learning? Are you on the Lord side? Will you dare to be different like Daniel in your work place by standing for God and godly principles in this world of many evil comprises? Are you on the Lord side? No other side guarantees hope and victory. To be on any other side apart from the Lord side is to be a loser in the long run.
Who is on the Lord’s side? To be on the Lord’s side is to stand for what God stands for. To be on the Lord’s side is to value his word over and above the words of men. To be on the Lord’s side is to esteem divine instructions above public opinion. To be on the Lord’s side is to hold on to God more than we do father, mother, brother, sister, wife, husband, children, friend and even life. To be on the Lord’s side is to uphold his word in the face of strong contradiction and veracious opposition from the enemies of God.
Who is on the Lord’s side? To be on the Lord’s side is to be ready to deny yourself of the fake and fleeting honour, association, money, popularity, and position in the church system of today in order to effectively take a stand for the LORD of the Church.
To be on the Lord’s side is to earnestly contend for the faith that is once-for- all delivered unto the saints. To be on the Lord’s side is to be ready to stand alone with God and men of like-precious conviction. At this perilous and dark hour in the history of the world, God needs men and women who will pick side with him and take a stand for him. I have picked a side. I am taking a stand. I am on the Lord’s side! Are you on the Lord side?