Last week, we took a break from the weekly blogs to celebrate our country’s 250th birthday. Today, we return to what was going on with Israel as recorded in the fourteenth chapter of Numbers. Many of the Israelite leaders have crossed a forbidden line with God and sealed their fate concerning ever being able to enter the Promised Land. https://www.cosdavis.com/the-danger-of-forfeiting-gods-promises/ will refresh your memory of the tragedy they have brought upon themselves.
Today, I want to remind each of us of the importance of faith and how God responds to our faith or faithlessness. The faith of Joshua and Caleb stands in stark contrast to the cowardly, faithless actions of the other ten spies and those who bought into their negative report.
When the Israelites reached the edge of the land God promised them, Moses selected one man from each of the twelve tribes to sneak into and spy on their future home. They were to see what the land was like, the fortifications of the cities, and the strength of the people, to determine plans to take what God had given them. Numbers 13:1-20.
God’s response to rebellion.
The report of the ten spies and the subsequent actions of many of the people were an outright rebellion against God. What they did pointed to one thing: a lack of faith or trust in Him. In their arrogance and pride, they had a better plan than God; they knew more than He did, and openly criticized Him and His leader, Moses.
How many times had God heard such complaints like this, “Would that we had died in Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!” Despite all of His mercies and miracles, God had heard this evil refrain several times and was tired of it. Their rejection of His plan to possess the Promised Land was the clincher; He could never trust them to obey and work with His plan. Listen to God’s mournful conclusion to the matter:
“How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against me.” Numbers 14:26.
What these people were doing was a direct assault on God’s character. He had done good things for them, but they accused Him of evil, wanting to kill them in the wilderness. They had lied about Him so much that they had begun to believe He was evil. They had crossed the line and could not distinguish between good and evil.
Is this the spiritual issue Jesus referred to as “the sin against the Holy Spirit” in Matthew 12:32? I think this is likely the situation; they had persisted so long in these lies about God that all hope of repentance and change was lost. Do you recognize this spiritual degradation in the conduct and speech of some of our elected officials and others today? It seems that some cannot open their mouth without a lie or distortion of the truth coming out.
God’s response to their rebellion is what some call “poetic justice.” In other words, their rhetoric about dying in the wilderness would become their reality. They would indeed die in the wilderness! “As I live,’ says the Lord, ‘just as you have spoken in my hearing, so I will surely do to you. Your corpses shall fall in this wilderness.” Numbers 14:28-29.
There is a price to pay for rebellion against God.
God rewards faithfulness.
God rewarded Joshua and Caleb for their faithful attitudes and actions. They were singled out as exceptions to God’s verdict against the faithless spies and others who had sided against the Lord. In Numbers 14:24, God says this concerning Caleb, ” But my servant Caleb, because he had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring him into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it.”
What a great reward! He would be eighty years old when he and his family inherited the land! Hebrews 11:6 tells us that God “is a rewarder of those who seek Him.” Caleb’s life is a great reminder of what awaits those of us who remain faithful to the Lord! Be faithful to the Lord; you’ll be glad you were.
What about Joshua? No, the Lord didn’t forget about him. God will actually give him the honor of leading the faithful Israelites into the Promised Land. I’m sure Joshua must have been glad to have his name added to the list of those who would enter into God’s promise.
“Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.” Numbers 14:30.
Grace admin suffering
As a result of the rebellion of the older generation, Joshua, Caleb, and the Israelites under the age of twenty would not be allowed to enter the Promised Land for forty years! Look at what God said to the rebellious parents about their children. “Your children, however, whom you said would become a prey–I will bring them in, and they shall know the land which you rejected.” Numbers 14:31.
Although they were located near the border of the Promised Land, they would be delayed for 40 years. Here’s what the Bible says about why that would be. “According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year, even forty years, and you shall know my opposition.”
While this punishment was directed at the faithless generation, the younger generation would have to endure what their parents had done. But, there would be grace in the midst of the suffering, and they could learn from their parents’ disastrous unbelief and prepare to receive what their parents had thrown away.
The sins of parents and grandparents can set disastrous examples for younger people. Younger generations can choose to build on the foundations of faith left to them. It’s not impossible to live faithfully, but it can be more difficult for those who have been left a legacy of faithlessness. What do you think about this?