This section has so many good topics that it addresses and brought to my attention that I don't know if I'm going to mention them all! First, I want to mention signs that the Lord gives us and how my life has been influenced by them. In this section, the mention of signs coming through faith is quite dominant, and those who try to seek signs without faith are pointlessly searching and anger God (v9-12). In my experience, I am terrible at determining signs that are sent. Even now, I have no idea how to tell what I am supposed to be doing with my life now that I'm graduated, but I do have faith that the Lord will guide me! If only I knew how to interpret His signs...
I noticed that some of the wording in this section scares me because of the harshness towards the wicked and the anger that is mentioned towards those that are unfaithful to The Lord (v2,6,17-19,etc.). A comforting thought, is that I don't ever plan on being in that category so I don't have to worry about the anger of God being kindled against me. I plan to always keep the commandments of God to the best of my abilities and repenting as soon as I have made a mistake!
So, I don't know if anyone else notices this, but the Lord doesn't want to rush the saints in their moving process because he says, "assemble themselves together unto the land of Zion, not in haste, lest there should be confusion" (v24). I'm sure there are certain times when haste is encouraged, such as hastening the work of the Lord in this day, but the Lord knows when that would apparently cause confusion and lead to unnecessary strife. Such strife is hinted at when the Lord tells the saints that they need to buy the land for Zion so that the people of the world have no reason to shed their blood and take away Zion (v27-29). If the saints didn't take the time to buy the land, the people would have had cause to be angry and scourge them from city to city (v31).
It is true that the wicked shall slay the wicked (v33) and sometimes the saints are caught up in the cross fires (v34), but "blessed are the dead that die in the Lord" because they shal receive an inheritance before the Lord (v49). The Lord protects His people by warning them of wars and challenges that will come to them, and promises their protection when they follow His commandments and guidance. In this day that many mock the Lord, the righteous should stand stronger than ever to stand up for what is right and remember the sacred word that are from the Spirit to guide us to salvation (v64).
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