Then the second lot fell to Simeon, to the tribe of the sons of Simeon according to their families, and their inheritance was in the midst of the inheritance of the sons of Judah.The tribe of Simeon, who was the second of the twelve sons of Jacob, was chosen second. What is interesting is that the territory that was given to the tribe of Simeon was actually located in the middle of the land that had been previously settled and occupied by the tribe of Judah. Instead of receiving an independent portion of land in the Promised Land, Simeon was given land that was surrounded by the tribe of Judah. Now you may be thinking “why is that so interesting”? Why this is so interesting is that this development was actually fulfillment of a statement made by a man named Jacob, who was the father of the twelve sons that would eventually become the twelve tribes that formed the Jewish people. Some 500 years earlier, in Genesis 49:7, as a result of the sinful actions of Simeon and Levi that resulted in the deaths of an entire adult male population of a village, Jacob predicted that these two tribes would end up dispersed and scattered among the Jewish people after arriving in the Promised Land.
The tribe of Simeon’s procrastination was predicted over 500 years earlier. In addition to fulfilling this amazing prediction, this tribe’s procrastination would eventually result in the loss of their identity as a tribe. The seventeen cities that are described in verses 1-8, over time, would eventually come to be identified as being a part of the tribe of Judah. We see this reality reinforced to us in Joshua 19:9:
The inheritance of the sons of Simeon was taken from the portion of the sons of Judah, for the share of the sons of Judah was too large for them; so the sons of Simeon received an inheritance in the midst of Judah's inheritance.Unlike Simeon, who had procrastinated in following God’s command to come and receive the territory that they were to occupy and settle, Judah faithfully showed up and followed up on their desire to restart their lives in the Promised Land. And as a result of faithfully following God’s commands, the tribe of Judah was in a position where they had more land than they had people to occupy the land. And the tribe of Simeon’s procrastination did not stop here. Over time, this tribe’s persistent procrastination resulted in the tribe of Judah having to assist in occupying and settling this territory. And eventually, the tribe of Simeon became absorbed by the tribe of Judah to the point that their possession of the land was lost.
And in the same way today, persistent procrastination can result in missed opportunities and a loss of identity. When we persistently procrastinate when it comes to our relationship with God and one another, we can miss out on opportunities to experience God’s activity in and through us. In addition, when we persistently procrastinate, we can lose the opportunity to experience the identity that we were created and called to live with Christ and one another. We can fail to live our lives in the identity as the husband, wife, father, mother, son, or daughter we were created for. Instead, we can find ourselves having an identity crisis. You see, procrastination can often cause a failure to understand and embrace our identity that flows out of a growing and maturing relationship with Christ.
So are you missing opportunities to be a part of what God is doing in the world as a result of procrastination? Are you experiencing an identity crisis as a result of procrastinating when it comes to pursuing a growing and maturing relationship with Christ?
Tomorrow, we will see a second consequence that can occur as a result of our failure to resist the temptation toward procrastination.
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