“A Land For Which Ye Did Not Labour” – Sunday, November 2, 1952
In the history of ancient Israel there are some sobering sentences from Joshua for the solemn consideration of his people and for us also: “And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel . . . I brought your fathers out of Egypt … and the Egyptians pursued after your fathers with chariots and horsemen unto the Red sea. And when they cried unto the Lord, he put darkness between you and the Egyptians, and brought the sea upon them, and covered them; and your eyes have seen what I have done in Egypt …and I brought you into the land of the Amorites,… and they fought with you: and I gave them into your hand,… Then … the king of Moab, arose and warred against Israel, . ..And ye went over Jordan, and came unto Jericho: and the men of Jericho fought against you . . . and I delivered them into your hand … And I have given you a land for which ye did not labour, and cities which ye built not, and ye dwell in them; of the vineyards and olive yards which ye planted not do ye eat. Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in truth.”1
This is a sobering statement, not only anciently but also unto us—for in a sense the Lord God has given unto us a land for which we did not labor. In a sense we have inherited liberty for which we did not labor. We have a heritage of freedom and plenty and opportunity which seemingly no people of record ever before have had—and with so much handed us as a heritage it is sobering to suggest what might be expected of us in preserving and passing it on; and it is sobering to think what penalties might be imposed if indifferently we were to waste it away.
We aren’t responsible for any history that reaches back before our own day. But we are responsible for what happens here and now so far as our influence and opportunities are concerned. And the Lord God who gave us what we have will not hold us guiltless if indifferently we fail to enter in to all that is expected of us—if indifferently we let the issues of the day be decided by default.
1Joshua 24.2-14
“The Spoken Word,” heard over Radio Station KS L and the nationwide Columbia Broadcasting System, from the Tabernacle, Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Sunday, November 2, 1952, 11:00 to 11.30 a.m., Eastern Time. Copyright, 1952
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November 2, 1952
Broadcast Number 1,211