The Profitable Journey

We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel. Numbers 10:29

This morning we will turn our attention to a Profitable Journey. The one offered in our text which is Numbers 10:29: We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.

Interaction with the people around us cannot but produce some effect upon us, either good or bad; its influence is very considerable; and much, therefore, depends on the choice we make of our associates. The constitution of our nature is such, that we readily, and often subconsciously, imitate our companions; and are strengthened either in good or in evil by those we spend our time with. As the wisest of men long ago said, "Whoever walks with the wise becomes wise, but the companion of fools will suffer harm."(Proverbs 13:20)

Wicked men are very eager to induce others to follow them; they also say, "Come with us, and we will do you good;" but they deceive and betray. On the contrary, good men earnestly wish, and would gladly persuade others to walk with them in the ways of God; and with great truth they may say, "We will do you good." Thus, in the passage before us, Moses entreats Hobab (elsewhere called Jethro) his father-in-law, to accompany him, his family, and the children of Israel under his care, to the land of Canaan, the place which God had promised to give them; assuring him that it would be to his great advantage so to do.

Now, this is also the language of pious persons to their relatives, friends, and neighbors; they are fully persuaded that "it shall be well with the righteous;"(Isaiah 3:10)---that "in the Lord their labor is not in vain;"(1 Corinthians 15:58) and that a life of faith and holiness will certainly be crowned with eternal happiness. They wish, therefore, that their friends and connections may pursue the same course with them, and obtain the same happiness.

Accommodating the words to this purpose, we may derive from them the following three observations:

I. God has spoken great and good things concerning the future state of his people.

II. They are now on their journey to take possession of the promised blessings.

III. They should invite and encourage others to accompany them.

I. We observe that God has spoken great and good things concerning the future and eternal state of his people.

We are not to consider this world as our rest, or final home. Good men, in all ages, have acknowledged they were mere travelers. The patriarch Jacob, when asked by the king of Egypt how old he was, replied, "The days of the years of my sojourning are 130 years. Few and evil have been the days of the years of my life, and they have not attained to the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their sojourning."(Genesis 47:9) In like manner, David, though a king upon the throne, surrounded with all the honors and luxuries of royalty, confesses himself a stranger and a pilgrim, as all his fathers were."(1 Chronicles 29:15) And the apostle Peter uses the same language when writing to the Christians of his time, whom he exhorts, as "sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against their soul."(1 Peter 2:11)

And so it is that men of religion have always looked forward to another and a better state. The patriarchs, to whom life and immortality were not so fully and clearly revealed as to us, possessed that faith which is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen;"(Hebrews 11:1) they lived and died in faith; confessing that they were "strangers and exiles on the earth" from which the apostle Paul infers that they "desired a better country, that is, a heavenly one."(Hebrews 11:13, 16) Hence also it is that the primitive believers said---"Our citizenship is in heaven."(Philippians 3:30) Our chief business is with that heavenly country to which we belong, and to which we are traveling.

This blessed expectation is grounded on the faithfulness of God:---"The Lord has promised good to Israel."(Numbers 10:29) He had said of Canaan---the land that flowed with milk and honey, "I will give it you." This promise he had made to Abraham 400 years before; and renewed it again and again to his posterity. Moses, therefore, speaks of it as absolutely certain; and promises Hobab a share in the good inheritance; and thus, to all believers, God has made the promise of eternal life. Not only will all their sins be pardoned, but there is a rest prepared for them; God intends to make them happy forever in his own presence, where there is "fullness of joy; and at his right hand, where there are pleasures forevermore."(Psalm 16:11)

The country promised to Israel was extremely beautiful and fertile. It is thus described, "the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water; a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land in which you will eat bread without scarcity, in which you will lack nothing."(Deuteronomy 8:7-9) Wasn't this delightful country a type of the heavenly world, an emblem of Immanuel's land? Yes; but the type is faint; it does not yet fully appear what we will be, or what we will enjoy; it is enough to know that we will be with Christ,(1 Thessalonians 4:17) and that "we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is."(1 John 3:2)

II. Let us pass on to a second observation. Believers are now on their journey, to take possession of this heavenly country: "We are setting out (said Moses to Hobab) to the promised place."

These persons believed the promise. Of old, a promise of rest was given; given generally; given to Israel at large; but the word of promise did not profit them, not being mixed with faith. Many of them disbelieved the promise; they denied the power and the faithfulness of God to fulfill it: and God, provoked by their unbelief, swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest. The apostle, therefore, warns us against imitating their example, lest, "a promise being left us of entering into his rest, we also should seem to come short of it."(Hebrews 4:1)

These travelers to the heavenly Canaan, like those of old, have left Egypt. Once they were in bondage to sin, and Satan, and the world. They were "foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing their days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another;"(Titus 3:3) but since "the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,"(Titus 3:3) they have actually been "ransomed from their futile ways," (1 Peter 1:18) their "soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; The snare is broken, and they have escaped."(Psalm 124:7 NKJV)

Delivered from Egypt, they are now in the wilderness. Such, indeed, is this "present evil age,"(Galatians 1:4) barren of good, fruitful only with respect to sin, and infested by ferocious beasts; there, freely roams their deadly adversary the Devil, who "prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour;"(1 Peter 5:8) there, creeps the subtle serpent, who, with his malignant and undetected ploys, deceives the whole world.

Yet here, even here, the manna falls all around their tents: "he commands the skies above and opened the doors of heaven, and he rains down on them manna to eat and gives them the grain of heaven. Man eats of the bread of the angels; he sends them food in abundance."(Psalm 78:23-25) Indeed, their "Heavenly Father gives them the true bread from heaven; even his flesh which is true food, and his blood which is true drink:" and partaking of which, they "will live forever."(John 6:32, 55, 51)

Here, too, they enjoy divine direction. Of old, when Israel was passing through the wilderness, a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night, directed their march, and conducted them, by a right way, towards their dwelling places; and thus the Lord still "creates upon every dwelling-place of Mount Zion (the Christian church) and upon her assemblies, a cloud and smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by night:"---or, in other words, Jesus Christ is the constant, gentle, unerring guide of his people; directing them by his word, his example, his Spirit, to avoid the dangers which surround them, and to persevere in the path to glory.

Like ancient Israel, they have a sovereign and almighty Protector. "He looked down" from the bright cloud that directed their way, "and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic,"(Exodus 14:24)---their warlike and enraged pursuers were so disconcerted, that they abandoned their chase, and in vain sought to flee for their own safety: and thus believers may still say, "The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress;"(Psalm 46:7) and they may therefore safely infer, "If God is for us, who can be against us?"(Romans 8:31)

The pillar of smoke also served the purpose of a spacious umbrella, or helpful screen from the burning rays of the sun in a sandy desert; and thus also the Christian finds a cool retreat, "like the shade of a great rock in a weary land,"(Isaiah 32:2) when he casts his burdens on the Lord; and, satisfied that "all things work together for good,"(Romans 8:28) resigns himself to the disposal of his all-wise and all-gracious Savior.

Such being the privileges, and such the expectations of the Christian Israel, they cannot but wish their relations, their friends, and their neighbors to enjoy the same; which leads us to the third part of our discourse.

III. Travelers to Zion should invite and encourage others to accompany them;---as Moses said to Hobab---"Come with us, and we will do good to you."

Moses was related to Hobab; and certainly our relations have the first claim to our pious attention. Hear how the apostle Paul expressed his earnest desires for the salvation of his kindred---"I have great sorrow (said he) and unceasing anguish in my heart for my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh;" and the reason he gives is, that formerly, in his unconverted state, he did wish himself "accursed and cut off from Christ:"(Romans 9:2,3)---he was once like them, and desired to have nothing to do with Christ; he could, therefore, feel for them and pity them; and his "heart's desire and prayer to God for them was that they would be saved."(Romans 10:1) Thus should we pity and pray for those who are still walking in the wide road to destruction, and tenderly invite and entreat them to walk with us in the narrow way that leads to everlasting life. And there are several methods in which we may try to do this.

1. By inviting them to hear the gospel faithfully preached. "Faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ."(Romans 10:17) The gospel of Christ is "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes."(Romans 1:16) It is the ordinance of God for that purpose. He qualifies his ministers by spiritual gifts to preach the word; and has promised to be always with them, in their labors; it is good, therefore, to be found in the right way: this is how the first disciples of Christ acted. When our Lord had called Andrew, Andrew brought his brother Peter to Jesus; and the day after, when he called Philip, Philip invited Nathaniel to come and see the Messiah, whom he had found. Similarly, when the Samaritan woman had found the Savior, she went into the city where she lived, and said to the men, "Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"(John 4:29) and in consequence of this, many came, heard, and believed, to the saving of their souls. Kindly invite, therefore, your relations, friends, and neighbors, to come and hear the gospel of Christ, which has been so useful to yourselves, and it may be that God will make it an equal blessing to them.

2. We may promote the salvation of others by serious and affectionate conversation. We readily speak with our neighbors on the news of the day, whether it is good or evil. Why should we be backward to tell them the best news that ever reached our ears?---the good news of the gospel---"that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!"(1 Timothy 1:12) Why should we cruelly refrain from warning them against the wrath to come, and exhorting them to flee for refuge to the great Deliverer? We are too often sinfully silent: but "a word in season, how good it is!"(Proverbs 15:23) and "a gentle tongue is a tree of life."(Proverbs 15:4) A single sentence wisely and kindly spoken, has often been made the means of conversion. Only let us take care to make it evident that we desire to do good, and not to gratify our pride or our anger; let it be done in the spirit of our text---"Come with us, and we will do good to you."

3. The heads of families must endeavor to do good to their households by maintaining family worship. This is the indispensable duty of a Christian father; and he criminally disregards the souls of his family who neglects it. Reading the Scriptures, and offering up prayers every morning and evening (and not on the Lord's Day only) is one of the most effectual means of doing good; and it is what God has eminently blessed to the salvation of multitudes. Let it be engaged in, in the fear of God, and you may confidently expect his blessing.

4. The distribution of religious tracts is another method in which we easily invite many around us to come and unite with us, that we may do them good. There a great variety of these available free or for purchase suited to every class and character of people, old and young, rich and poor; and which may be dispersed with great ease, and in many directions. God has been pleased to often bless this humble means of doing good, and so we ought to make use of it ourselves as extensively as we can.

5. But all these means must be accompanied with prayer. The blessing of the Lord alone can render them effectual. Let every effort then be begun, continued, and ended with prayer. Then may we reasonably hope to prevail with others to go with us; and then by the blessed aid of the Holy Spirit, we will do them real good.

6. Above all, and together with all, let our holy, blameless, and useful lives, recommend the ways of religion to men. Many, perhaps, will be too much prejudiced against serious religion to listen to our advice, to go with us to the house of God; or even to accept or read our tracts; still, let us endeavor to win them by our lives: and in this way, let us "hold fast to the word of life."(Philippians 2:16) Let our meekness, our patience, our benevolence, our strict and uniform morality, recommend our religion, that so, as the apostle Peter directs, "even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by our conduct;"(1 Peter 3:1) and be constrained by the glow of divine grace displayed in our holy and useful lives, to say "We will go with you, for God is with you."

"We will do good to you." This is the argument we are to use; and truly, association with godly persons will be of great advantage. We must associate with some persons---good or bad: and what will be the result? The wisest of men, as before observed, declares, that "he who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed"(Proverbs 13:20 NKJV)---Those who would be good, must keep good company; this shows that they really do want to be good, and it is one of the best means of becoming so.

The company of good men will prevent much evil; it will prevent many temptations to it, or at least compliance with temptation: it will greatly promote our religious knowledge, for much may be learned from good men, as well as from good books and good sermons; not to the neglect of these, but in addition to them; and the example of good men will strengthen the inclination to good: while, on the contrary, "the companion of fools" (and all wicked men are fools) "will be destroyed."(Proverbs 13:20 NKJV) Multitudes are brought to ruin by bad company. "Bad company ruins good morals."(1 Corinthians 15:33) Beware, then, young people, beware; and, "if sinners entice you, do not consent. Do not walk in the way with them; hold back your foot from their paths."(Proverbs 1:10, 15)

In closing,

Let us ask ourselves What influence have all the good things which God has promised in his gospel had upon us? He has set before us his well-beloved Son; and in him pardon and peace, holiness and heaven---all we can want to make us happy in time, happy in death, happy to all eternity. And are we drawn by these cords of love? Are we induced to forsake the sins and vanities of the world? Have we set out on our journey towards heaven, determined to be fellow travellers with the people of God?---Or do we hesitate? Are we like unbelieving Israel, many of whom turned back again in their hearts towards Egypt---and to whom God "swore in his wrath that they should not enter into his rest?"(Hebrews 3:11) Let conscience answer; and O "while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of us should seem to have failed to reach it."(Hebrews 4:1)

But let the humble and sincere traveler rest assured that he will not be disappointed. "He who promised is faithful."(Hebrews 10:23) He who promised all this good, will assuredly bestow it. So Joshua found it; and when Israel was put into full possession of the promised inheritance, he made the following appeal to the people:---"and now I am about to go the way of all the earth, and you know in your hearts and souls, all of you, that not one word has failed of all the good things that the Lord your God promised concerning you. All have come to pass for you; not one of them has failed"(Joshua 23:14)---What an encouragement is this to go on! Believe then his word, and take courage; and go on your way rejoicing.

Christians, be excited by what you have heard, to imitate Moses the man of God; and say, as he in our text says, to your relations, your friends, and your neighbors, "Come with us, and we will do you good." Are there none in your family, are there none among your acquaintances, whom you may invite in this way? Think, inquire, try. You do not know what good you may do: try the experiment. Should you, by the blessing of God, convert one sinner from the error of his ways, you will save an immortal soul from eternal death; and hide, forever, the multitude of his sins. O! what a blessing would this be, both to him and to you!

And now, how would it crown the subject, if any, not before religious, should say, in the language of some persons of old, "Let us go with you!"---and for this good reason, "we have heard that God is with you."(Zechariah 8:23) God is indeed with his people; it is, therefore, good to go with them. Go with them to the house of God, to "set forth his most worthy praise, to hear his most holy word; and to ask for those things which are necessary, as well for the body as the soul."(Book Of Common Prayer 1662) Join the people of God in their sincere and fervent devotions; unite with them in the faith and hope of the gospel; and walk with them in all the ordinances and commandments of the Lord blamelessly.

Indeed, say as the pious Ruth said to her mother-in-law Naomi, "Where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. Where you die I will die, and there will I be buried. May the Lord do so to me and more also if anything but death parts me from you."(Ruth 1:16)