I think one of the most interesting things that occurred to me as I read this chapter came with this verse: "...there shall none come into this land save they shall be brought by the hand of the Lord." This makes it perfectly clear that the African slaves were brought here by the hand of the Lord. It in no way justifies the means by which they were brought here. Nor does it justify the manner in which they were treated upon their arrival. The ancestors of most "Gentiles" who came here did so with great sacrifice. None greater than the sacrifice of slavery. While great progress has been made, I think too many still resist giving their posterity a place at the table in this land of hope and prosperity.
Some of us see the promise of prosperity being taken away. This chapter makes it plain that there is but one way to prosper in this land. We must keep the commandments and remain faithful to the God of the land. The promise is unto all who God brings, by whatever means, to this land. But the curse also applies to any who are unwilling to follow him. The good news in that is that it is God who gets to make the distinction, not us.
2 comments:
This wonderful land has been a land of prosperity and peace for me and mine during my sojourn. I am so very grateful to live here and to be born of goodly parents and to enjoy freedom and the gospel. I am so very blessed.
I remember a true ancedote of an African American who visited the country in Africa from which his ancestors were taken. After visiting that country, he kissed the ground when he returned home to America. Even with the cruelty his ancestors had experienced, he was that grateful that their being forced to come to this country as slaves had brought him the blessings he enjoyed as a citizen of this wonderful country.
I realize that not all African Americans with slave ancestry may feel as this person did, but I thought his reaction to his visit to Africa was worth thinking about.
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