Take a moment to read Deuteronomy 3 before reading the devotional below.
“Did you know he would be eligible to get a Super Bowl ring, if they won?” Considering my total lack of interest in football, this is normally the moment when I check out of a conversation. But this conversation caught my attention. Apparently a player was being traded, and he would only be on the team officially for a week or so. Apparently, however, that’s enough. Even if he doesn’t play in the Super Bowl. Even if he isn’t even on the team anymore when they go to the Super Bowl. None of that matters. If the team wins the Super Bowl, he’s getting a Super Bowl ring. The team’s win is his win.
That is a major part of the point that Moses is making in today’s chapter of Deuteronomy. As Moses continues to rehearse Israel’s history from the previous generation, he is trying to cement important lessons into the minds of the current generation. In this case, one story is about a win for everyone – the battle against Og. The next story is even more powerful, though. The promised land was divided by the Jordan river. Some of the tribes were getting land on the East side of the Jordan where the Israelites were currently staying. The men of those tribes, however, were expected to go with the other tribes to conquer the rest of the land. This is the opposite of “every man for himself.” It is reminiscent of the three musketeers: all for one, and one for all.
The spiritual life isn’t fought alone. It isn’t won or lost alone. The local gathering of Jesus’ followers – the church – is like Israel. We are gathered together because we come under God’s leadership. When the church wins, rejoice. When a fellow Jesus-follower wins, celebrate. Allow those wins to inspire and inform your hope for your own story. What God is doing among us, God can do for any of us. More importantly, the greatest things God is planning will not be done through any one of us, but through all of us together.