When the Israelites reached Canaan,
the Promised Land, Moses sent spies or explorers into the land to see what it
was like. Here follow a few extractions from Numbers thirteen and fourteen
where it was recorded. “23 When they reached the
Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two
of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and
figs.” When they returned “27 they gave Moses this account: ‘We
went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!
Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the
cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.’
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, ‘We should
go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.’ 31 But
the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We can’t attack those people; they are
stronger than we are.’ 32
And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had
explored. They said, ‘The land we explored devours those living in it. All the
people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak
come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we
looked the same to them,’” (Numbers 13).
In Numbers 14 we read how Israel
reacted in fear and what the Lord’s reaction was http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Numbers+14&version=NIV1984. If you have time
you may read it. I will extract a few relevant passages though. Joshua and
Caleb tried to remedy the situation by saying in verses 7-9: “The land we passed through
and explored is exceedingly good. If the Lord
is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk
and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people
of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the
Lord is with us. Do not be afraid
of them.”
Israel had the opportunity to
repent and believe Joshua and Caleb, supporting them, but instead they actually
anticipated killing them. Note that the Lord waited with His reaction to the
situation until He saw what Israel’s decision would be, before He gave His
verdict. Once again he wanted to destroy Israel. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people treat me
with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the
miraculous signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague
and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than
they,’” (Numbers 14:11-12) and once again Moses had to remind the Lord of the
consequences of such a decision (see verses 13-19). The Lord forgave them, but
they had to bear the consequences of their decision as we see in the remainder
of the chapter.
Where do we stand in this
regard? The reason why Israel was punished is because they didn’t believe and
trust the Lord. They chose to believe what men said about the circumstances
rather than challenging the circumstances together with their God who was
greater than their circumstances. Note that Joshua and Caleb never said that
they will have a ball of a time when they entered the land. They admitted that they
had to deal with the inhabitants, but that the Lord would be with them as they
do it.
The giants we have to slay today
are our carnal nature and the spiritual forces, and these giants make every
effort to create unbelief in us. We are constantly tempted to follow human
guidance to solve our problems, rather than relying on the Lord – to make for
instance money (Mammon) our security instead of faith that the Lord will be our
provider. We should be busy taking the land the Lord has given us – His Kingdom
and all the souls that should enter it, looking unto Him who is all sufficient.
To be continued.
Lord, please help me to trust
you.
Thank you Lord that your Word went
out from your mouth, via your servant’s pen, and it will not return to you
empty, but will accomplish what you desire and achieve the purpose for which
you sent it.
Please pass this on if you think others may
benefit by it.
No comments:
Post a Comment