Preparing For The Future

God's people will cross the river to the Promised Land despite our failures.

Numbers 27:12-14  One day the LORD said to Moses, "Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. 13 After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, 14 for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin.

When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters." (These are the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.)

In my study of the Torah, I have seen that God has given us plenty of overwhelming evidence of his majesty, power and his everlasting love for us, but I have also seen that it isn’t enough, we have all rejected the evidence and gone astray (Isaiah 53:6).

God's people drift so easily:

• The first generation that came out of Egypt saw God’s mighty acts before they left. They watched as He split the sea wide open, walked through it on dry ground, and still had the nerve to complain about lunch the next day (Exodus 14–16).
• The second generation of God’s people, almost 40 years later, were still reluctant to believe and commit to God’s ways. After the generation that worshiped the golden calf had died, the younger generation also broke the first commandment en masse by worshiping the Moabite gods—just a few months before entering the Promised Land.
• The second generation was still complaining about their situation. Life was harder now and the food was worse than it had been in Egypt. Even Aaron and Miriam complained. All of this was too much for Moses to handle (Numbers 11:1-15, 12:1-16).

Drifting away from God is what they did best. It is no wonder Moses was concerned about what would happen to God’s people after his departure. As God prepared Moses for his death, Moses became especially concerned about the nation and their future

God Prepares Moses

Numbers 27:16-17 "O LORD, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. 17 Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the LORD will not be like sheep without a shepherd."

God tells Moses that his ministry to God's people is almost over because of the incident at Meribah where Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it. God is going to keep his promise to Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land, a fact that is difficult for us to understand, Moses was a reliable leader that served Israel faithfully in many ways.

Moses served God's people as a picture of Jesus (Hebrews 3:1-6), he was a man that knew God intimately (Deuteronomy 34:10) and God came to his defense when Miriam and Aaron criticized him. (Numbers 12:5-9)

Moses tells God that his people need a replacement, something that God already knew and had been preparing for, the new guy was already being trained for almost 40 years even though it seems that nobody realized it. 

Moses Prepares Joshua

Numbers 27:18 The LORD replied, "Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him."

Moses did what God told him to do to transfer his power to Joshua, he laid hands on him and presented him to the priest in front of everyone so there would be no question about who the new leader is.

God has been preparing the new leader for a very long time, the smooth transition of power was easy to accomplish because Joshua had been serving under Moses beginning with the first military conflict with the Amalekites not long after the Red Sea crossing. (Exodus 17:8–16)

The Bible does not tell us how Moses knew that Joshua was the right man to lead that battle 40 years ago. Maybe Moses knew Joshua before they left Egypt, maybe Joshua served in slavery in Pharaoh's household or in some way that supported the military.

Joshua proved to be a man of God as he served under Moses, he relied on God for that first victory in battle, he was not in the camp when the people worshiped the gold calf and he was one of the two spies that gave a favorable report when the people refused to enter the Promised Land.

Moses Prepares the People

A new beginning is almost here with new leaders and a new generation of God's people that will enter the promised Land. Moses will remind the people before his death that they are on a mission from God despite their unfaithfulness to God.

It looks like a long goodbye when you look at how many chapters it spans from the last section of the book of Numbers through the entire book of Deuteronomy, that's 44 chapters, but it all happened rather quickly. (See the timeline here)

Moses goodbye message will be a reminder of God's goodness to them over the years as he chose them, redeemed them, protected them through the wilderness and now he can be trusted to take his people home. But all of this experience will not keep them faithful unless they wrestle with the natural tendency to drift.

To fight the urge to drift from God, remember:

• Obey God’s commands when they enter the Promised Land
• Don’t forget God when life becomes comfortable and easy
• Every moment presents a choice, choose life and blessing by following Him 
• Teach the next generation what God has done so they can know him

They had plenty of experience with God over the past 40 years but as the old hymn says "prone to wonder, Lord I feel it, prone to leave the God I love." 

God sought them and bought from their slavery as a picture of the truth found in that same hymn, "Jesus sought me when a stranger, wandering from the fold of God; he, to rescue me from danger, interposed his precious blood."

Grace To Start Over

Psalm 103:7-12 He revealed his character to Moses and his deeds to the people of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and merciful, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. 9 He will not constantly accuse us, nor remain angry forever. 10 He does not punish us for all our sins; he does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve. 11 For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. 12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.

There is hope for our drifting, unfaithful hearts! As sad as the history of God's people is in the wilderness (Psalms 78:1-72), God refused to curse them despite the fact that they were still the same people 40 years later, a truth that is still true for us thousands of years later.

Our fickle hearts still rebel against God as much as they did back in the Garden of Eden, the same as they did in Babylon as we built a tower to Heaven and the same as the multiple rebellions in the wilderness.

God's faithful heart to his people is greater than our fickle hearts! He has compassion and mercy that are new each day to forgive us that he has promised not to curse. We can be sure that he will bring us home to our Promised Land. (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Reluctant Prophets - Balaam and Jonah

Be willing to seek out God's plan and adopt it as your own.

Numbers 22:31 Then the LORD opened Balaam's eyes, and he saw the angel of the LORD standing in the roadway with a drawn sword in his hand. Balaam bowed his head and fell face down on the ground before him.

Jonah 4:11 But Nineveh has more than 120,000 people living in spiritual darkness, not to mention all the animals. Shouldn't I feel sorry for such a great city?"

One of the predominate themes that runs through the Bible is the contrast between something true and something that is false. There is true and false: worship, doctrine, believers, and as we have recently studied there are true teachers and prophets and there are also false teachers and prophets.  

In my study of Balaam I have learned that God used the ungodly prophet that had every intention of cursing God's people and preventing them from receiving the blessing that God swore to give them. That study made me think of another prophet that was unwilling to bless a people that he would rather curse. 

Reluctant Prophets

I started considering the contrast and similarities of Balaam and Jonah and how God worked through both of these men despite their desire to allow people to perish. God had much better plans for the people that they were called to bless that could not be stopped by man's free will.

It is interesting to notice that after sparing Nineveh from the punishment that Jonah prophesied they would be raised up against God's people to bring God's punishment to the Jews. The Jew and the Gentile were both used by God to bless and to punish their enemies.

God's undeserved mercy is available to everyone, the reluctant Jewish prophet and the reluctant Gentile prophet both saw God's undeserved mercy given across ethnic barriers to their most hated enemies.

We like to think that we are in control but Balaam and Jonah help to prove that man's free will isn't as powerful as we would like to think it is. Neither one of these men were willing and they both actively resisted God's will but that didn't stop God, he changed their plans, not his own.

Rebuked Prophets

A refusal to obey God isn't going to hinder his sovereignty, both of these men experienced life threatening situations with nature that were sent to correct them so that God could use them as a tool for his purposes and his glory. 

Saved by a donkey - Balaam had a visit on the road to King Balak that was probably God himself and Balaam suddenly finds out that he owns a talking donkey. (Numbers 22:20-22)

Saved by a fish - Jonah's intervention with God that also involved nature, he had an experience with a huge storm and a huge fish that ate something he didn't like. (Jonah 1:17-2:10)

In church circles we like to say that we need to be willing to be used by God, that' a great attitude to have, but Balaam and Jonah prove that God can use us and have great outcomes even when our hearts are not in it. 

God Is In Control

God's plans cannot be opposed successfully, he often works through human resistance or ignorance to bring about his will. (A few more examples: Genesis 50:20, Isaiah 10:5-10, Romans 9:17) 

God's control causes Balaam to bless Israel and he goes even further and includes a prophecy about King David and the victory that he would have over many nations including the people of Moab that Balaam was trying to help. (Numbers 24:15-19 // 2 Samuel 8:2) 

God's control causes Jonah to bless Nineveh as he reluctantly gives them God's message of repentance that brings a great revival that puts off their destruction. Jonah's short sermon brought about a greater response than the prophet ever saw from preaching to Israel but he didn't like the response. (Jonah 4:1-3)

God's control will bring a greater blessing, the ultimate fulfillment of these two prophets are seen in Jesus. Balaam and Jonah both give us a picture of who Jesus is and what he will do, Jonah gives us a picture of Jesus resurrection and Balaam tells us that we still have the reign of Jesus to look forward to.

Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. 

God's will takes over our story, even when we don't want it to, his will is causing everything to work together in harmony for his unstoppable purposes but we still think that we know better. Since it is all working out to God's good purpose, we should be more willing to seek out his plan and adopt it as our own.

Faithful Prophet

Jeremiah 10:23-24 I know, LORD, that our lives are not our own. We are not able to plan our own course. So correct me, LORD, but please be gentle. Do not correct me in anger, for I would die.

Jeremiah's willingness and faithful obedience despite suffering stands in contrast to Balaam and Jonah. His concern for the people really stands out as he is called the weeping prophet, Balaam and Jonah were never for the people.

I need to remember the prayer of the prophet Jeremiah, he knew that "If you want to make God laugh, tell Him your plans." In fact Jeremiah came from the Tribe of Levi so being a priest was probably his plan but God called him at a young age to become a prophet instead. (Jeremiah 1:4–10)

I need to remember that my life is not my own, I need to hold on loosly to my plans and be anxious to change when God shows me what his plan is. Thankfully he has bigger and better plans than I have ever made for myself so I need to trust and obey.

The Blessing Of Consequences

Sometimes God gives us what we want so we can learn from the results. 

Numbers 22:7-8 Balak's messengers, who were elders of Moab and Midian, set out with money to pay Balaam to place a curse upon Israel. They went to Balaam and delivered Balak's message to him. 8 "Stay here overnight," Balaam said. "In the morning I will tell you whatever the LORD directs me to say." So the officials from Moab stayed there with Balaam.

In the previous post we saw that God's people are almost home despite themselves, they have proven that they are not worthy to be God's people that will inherit the promises made to Abraham, but they will do so anyway. We saw that the blessing is the Lord's and nothing that they can do will change the blessing. God always knew that they would be undeserving so there isn't any reason to change his mind hundreds of years later.

As the story of Balaam continues to unfold we will see that it creates a lot of questions than it doesn't explain. We will see that God and Balaam will both say and do things that are surprising and confusing, they will both go against what we expect. If you disregard the other scriptures about Balaam and just focus on the next couple of chapters of Numbers it will seem like Balaam is a pretty good guy, doing the right thing most of the time, but don't forget that is how Satan always presents himself. 

God's people are probably unaware that King Balak is so afraid of them that he is planning to attack them, they are in their camp minding their own business, unaware that God is working to protect them in supernatural ways even though they are probably complaining about him while all of this is going on.

Balaam Has Visitors

Numbers 22:9-12 That night God came to Balaam and asked him, "Who are these men visiting you?" 10 Balaam said to God, "Balak son of Zippor, king of Moab, has sent me this message: 11 'Look, a vast horde of people has arrived from Egypt, and they cover the face of the earth. Come and curse these people for me. Then perhaps I will be able to stand up to them and drive them from the land.'" 12 But God told Balaam, "Do not go with them. You are not to curse these people, for they have been blessed!"

A delegation sent by King Balak visits Balaam to hire the false prophet to curse Israel. When Balaam receives the invite to curse God's people he seems to react the way that he should, you would think that he would not hesitate to make some quick money but Balaam responds wisely, stating he will seek God's will first and he would only do whatever God tells him to do. 

God takes the initiative and visits Balaam and opens the conversation with a question. When God begins a conversation, especially with a question, there is usually a very good reason to be afraid, but  Balaam seems very comfortable talking to God. It seems like he has probably done it before, instead of fear, the prophet seems to be acquainted with the idea of talking to God or possibly with other spiritual beings.

Balaam appears obedient and spiritually sensitive when he sends them away because God said no. We are not told that he felt disappointed about missing out on the large sum of money and fame that could be his. At this point, all we know is that Israel is a nation blessed by God, and Balaam’s role is to stay home and not interfere.

Balaam receives visitors again, this time it is another delegation from the king and also a return visit from God. The king sent more important people with bigger prizes, what a picture of how Satan works, he is the best at making his offer better and better to try and wear us down.

Numbers 22:18-19 But Balaam responded to Balak's messengers, "Even if Balak were to give me his palace filled with silver and gold, I would be powerless to do anything against the will of the LORD my God. 19 But stay here one more night, and I will see if the LORD has anything else to say to me." 

Balaam never sounded more spiritual than when he referred to God as “the LORD my God” but don't be fooled. Balaam wants a God he can manipulate and negotiate with, he knows God and he knows his will but he is pretending to love God more than money. He is constantly searching for a loophole that will let him have both God’s approval and Balak’s money. 

Balaam Gets What He Wants

Numbers 22:20-22 That night God came to Balaam and told him, "Since these men have come for you, get up and go with them. But do only what I tell you to do." 21 So the next morning Balaam got up, saddled his donkey, and started off with the Moabite officials. 22 But God was angry that Balaam was going, so he sent the angel of the LORD to stand in the road to block his way. As Balaam and two servants were riding along,

Imagine the delight Balaam had when God told him to go to King Balak, he was probably as delighted as we are surprised that God seems to make a complete turn around from what he said before without any explanation. And then surprise again, God is angry that he went. What's going on?

What looks like permission was actually God letting Balaam have exactly what his stubborn, money-loving heart insisted on. Balaam is going to learn that God's permission is not the same as God's approval. God is going to graciously give Balaam the opportunity to learn more about the God that he thinks he already knows.

It is difficult to understand that God’s sovereignty means nothing happens outside of his ultimate permission, but he permits things that are contrary to his perfect will that grieves Him. We have the freedom to choose to accept God's will or go our own way. (Matthew 23:37, Romans 1:24-28)

This not the first time that God allowed something outside of his will, we will see this concept play out after Israel was settled in the Promised Land, they will ask to have their heavenly king replaced by an earthly king, despite God's will. 

I always wondered why God chose Saul as their first king but now I think that God gave them exactly the type of king that he warned them about so that they would be blessed to learn from the consequences. (1 Samuel 8:1-22, Numbers 23:21)

Balaam did what we all do, we assume that the path of least resistance, with wide open doors, is the will of God but Balaam shows us that we need to be careful about that logic.We fail to see that God's permission is not the same as God's approval and he often permits things that he doesn't approve of.

Balaam Enters God's Classroom

Numbers 22:22b-23 As Balaam and two servants were riding along, 23 Balaam's donkey saw the angel of the LORD standing in the road with a drawn sword in his hand. The donkey bolted off the road into a field, but Balaam beat it and turned it back onto the road.

Balaam wasted no time getting on the road without any idea that he was entering God's classroom where the angel of the Lord stood ready to teach him, opposing his path with a drawn sword. It is amazing that Balaam is in this situation without any understanding of what is going on because it isn't until God allows himself to be seen that Balaam becomes aware of his presence. (Numbers 22:31-33)

Balaam's knowledge of God continues to show after he sees the angel of the Lord, he isn't afraid because he sees an angel with a sword, Balaam is afraid because he believes that the angel of the Lord is actually God. We know the angel is not an ordinary angel because he speaks in the first person as God and Balaam responds in fear with a confession and repents.

All of these encounters with God should have drawn Balaam to God but instead he is dangerously close to God's drawn sword. Ultimately Balaam chooses the path that leads to the sword, tragically he dies by the sword because he ignore God's kindness. (Numbers 31:8, Joshua 13:22) 

The “way of Balaam” proved to be the way of destruction, Balaam is proof that intellectual knowledge of God, spiritual experiences, the ability to speak true words about God, and even miraculous encounters with God does not guarantee your eternity with God. (2 Peter 2:15, Matthew 7:22–23)

Balaam Reminds Me Of The Prodigal Son

Let's compare the two, both men know the father, they know the fathers will and they both chose greed and lived to please themselves. God was merciful to both men and blessed them with a wake up call while they were in the middle of the consequences of their sin. (Luke 15:11-32)

Both men show us that getting our own way can be the severest judgment of all. However, they also offer a stark contrast in how to react to the consequences of rebellion. God's blessings were wasted on Balaam as he failed to learn his lesson, leading to an unhappy ending. The Prodigal Son, in contrast, repented and returned to the Father.

Their stories should make us think twice about our demands. Instead of demanding that God agree with us, we should ask God to help us agree with Him. We need His wisdom to discern which "open doors" are truly His will and which are paths He is merely allowing us to walk against His perfect plan.

These two men should make me think twice about what I ask for, instead of demanding that God agree with me I need to ask God to help me to agree with him. I need to remember that God might let me have my way and he may let doors be wide open that he may not want me to enter. 

I need to pray to discern God's will without asking for my own, I need to realize that he may have plans to use my will to teach me more about his will. (Romans 2:4)

Rejecting The Power Of God

Mediators are necessary because of God's power and our rebellion.

Numbers 16:1-2 One day Korah son of Izhar, a descendant of Kohath son of Levi, conspired with Dathan and Abiram, the sons of Eliab, and On son of Peleth, from the tribe of Reuben. 2 They incited a rebellion against Moses, along with 250 other leaders of the community, all prominent members of the assembly. 

Numbers 16:39-41 So Eleazar the priest collected the 250 bronze incense burners that had been used by the men who died in the fire, and the bronze was hammered into a thin sheet to overlay the altar. 

40 This would warn the Israelites that no unauthorized person-no one who was not a descendant of Aaron-should ever enter the LORD's presence to burn incense. If anyone did, the same thing would happen to him as happened to Korah and his followers. So the LORD's instructions to Moses were carried out. 

41 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!"

Over and over again, God's people have rejected his sovereign rule in their life. We have already seen that God's people have rejected the pleasures of God and they have rejected the promises of God and in the last post we saw that God's leaders rejected their ministry that God blessed them with and desired more than he allowed.

A small group of men were able to get 250 followers to united against Moses and Aaron and demand better positions. And now there are the 250 bronze incense burners that belong to nobody.

The men also demanded that there be consequences for a lack of leadership in Moses. Why did God give them a leader that couldn't get them to "a land flowing with milk and honey." Where is our new home? Where are the fields and vineyards? (16:13-14)

Everything that was wrong with their situation was somebody else's fault. The entire trip from Egypt to the edge of the Promised Land was full of signs and wonders to help them learn that God is in control and he loves and wants to bless his people. 

Being in this wilderness at this point isn't God's idea, they rejected God's exit strategy then they rejected God's leaders and now they are rejecting God's power. (14:1-4) 

God Shows His Power So They Will Know

Numbers 16:30 "But if the LORD does something entirely new and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them and all their belongings, and they go down alive into the grave, then you will know that these men have shown contempt for the LORD."

Moses shows great wisdom over and over again in Numbers 16, Moses says "the Lord will do something powerful and then they will know" over and over again. The Lord came through, he showed his power but sadly the people did not learn.

First God's people made Moses their excuse for not being in the Promised Land and now they blame him for the death of God's people. God's grace and mercy are coming dangerously close to an end

The power of God could not be more obvious and it couldn't be any more ignored. When you think they have learned their lesson, think again, it never took them very long to forget and lose their fear of God and his power.

Man Rebels Against God's Power

Numbers 16:41-42 But the very next morning the whole community of Israel began muttering again against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You have killed the LORD's people!" 

42 As the community gathered to protest against Moses and Aaron, they turned toward the Tabernacle and saw that the cloud had covered it, and the glorious presence of the LORD appeared.

43 Moses and Aaron came and stood in front of the Tabernacle, 44 and the LORD said to Moses, 45 "Get away from all these people so that I can instantly destroy them!" But Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground.

God’s people ignored His power to conquer the Canaanites and claim the Promised Land. They ignored His power again when He judged 250 rebels. Now, they seem blind to the danger of their own demise.

Moses and Aaron understand the situation, the power of God is coming against his people, Moses command to Aaron helped to affirm Aaron's role as the High Priest as God's wrath is turned away from his people.

It is difficult to understand that some people received the benefit of Aaron's work as High Priest while 14,700 people died before Aaron could get busy to save the rest. (Numbers 16:47-50)

Mediators Are Necessary

The Israelites stood at the edge of the Promised Land, yet they doubted God’s power to defeat the Canaanites. They rebelled again during Korah’s uprising, ignoring God’s authority, and now 14,700 more perish.

Yet, in His mercy, God used Aaron to intercede, as he rushed to offer incense. This act affirmed Aaron’s role as High Priest and revealed God’s heart to save. But Aaron’s work was only a shadow of something greater that was needed, something that could fully bridge the gap between sinful humanity and a holy God. 

That’s why we need Jesus, our perfect Prophet, Priest, and King. As our Prophet, he reveals God’s truth; as our Priest, he offers Himself as the ultimate sacrifice; as our King, he reigns over all creation (Hebrews 7:27).

Thankfully, God’s power to judge is matched by His power to forgive. The story of Numbers 16 points us to Christ, who saves us from our endless rebellion which started way back in Genesis 1. 

Today, reflect on this: Are you trusting in Jesus as your Mediator? Thank God for His grace, which provides a way to peace with Him!

RELATED ARTICLES

Mediators In The Old Testament (thegospelcoalition.org)

What does it mean that there is one mediator between God and man? (gotquestions.org)

Rejecting The Promises Of God

God's people still have trust issues that hold them back.

Numbers 13:28-31 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan Valley." 

30 But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. "Let's go at once to take the land," he said. "We can certainly conquer it!" 

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. "We can't go up against them! They are stronger than we are!"

One of the main points of God's story in the Bible is the promise of God to take a group of chosen people to a Promised Land. God took his people from the depths of despair in the dark kingdom of Egypt and treated them with great grace and mercy as he lovingly guided them to live in a better place.

God also taught them to live a better way that reflects his values, he paused the trip at Mount Sinai to prepare his people to live in that land in a way that is totally different from the nations around them. Their new kingdom should have been a reflection of God's future kingdom that we are all longing to see but they failed to complete their mission.

But their struggles and failures are very much like ours. We all have the tendency to doubt God's goodness as we focus on our immediate circumstances and we begin to compare ourselves to others and sometimes we even think that the people that are not God's people have a better life.

It seems logical from a human perspective to believe that God's people should be treated the best and have the easy life, but God didn't separate us from the troubles of this life, When the trouble comes we can be tempted to believe the lie that the joys and blessings that God has for his people are somehow inadequate and not worth the sacrifice.

There is a lot that we can learn from God's people in the Old Testament that will help us on our journey across this wilderness that is our temporary home as we move towards the amazing destination that God is preparing for his people.

Travel Tips For The Road To The Promised Land:

Do Not Doubt God's Word 

In Numbers 13:1-3 it looks like it was God's idea for his people to scout out the land and the people that are there but 40 years later when Moses gives final instructions to God's people, it seems like God was just giving the people what they had already asked for.

Deuteronomy 1:21-22 "Look! He has placed the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has promised you. Don't be afraid! Don't be discouraged! 22 But you all came to me and said, 'First, let's send out scouts to explore the land for us. They will advise us on the best route to take and which towns we should enter."

The Israelites lacked the courage, and faith to take the land that God told them is theirs. After all of the protection that God provided since the plagues way back in Egypt, especially that last one, and after all of the care and protection on the way through the wilderness, they still didn't put their faith in God's word.

Do Not Discourage God's People

Negative talk can be all in your head or it can come from someone around you, we have to remember that it is way too easy to be discouraged and the negative talk that we listen can keep us from listening to God's voice. 

It's bad enough when one person does it but in these verses there is a committee, that's usually a bad sign, this committee was reporting about their research. You could call it opposition research, they found that God was honest about the goodness of the land but, they had a very big "but."

Numbers 13:28 But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!

Deuteronomy 1:26-28 But you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, 'The LORD must hate us. That's why he has brought us here from Egypt-to hand us over to the Amorites to be slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have demoralized us with their report. They tell us, "The people of the land are taller and more powerful than we are, and their towns are large, with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw giants there-the descendants of Anak!"'

It only takes one negative voice to stop the work of God but this was the majority of voices in a committee so it would be almost impossible to overcome their recommendation. The negative voices set them back 40 years.

Certainly there must have been other travelers that they met along the way during those 40 years in the wilderness, those people must have been amazed that God didn't get his people to the place that he promised. But it wasn't God that failed, his people still had more to learn about how dependable he is.

Do Not Defy God's Will 

Numbers 14:1-4 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they complained. 3 "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!"

Everyday God's people are forced to make a choice, will we follow the leader that God has given us or will we elect a new leader and go back to Egypt. Negative people in the church discourage God's people and stir up a rebellion against God's leaders.

Do Not Disobey And Deserve God's Judgement

Numbers 14:10-11 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11 And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?"

God showed up with some serious questions for his people, and suddenly his people are concerned about the consequences of their sin. They have always strived to have the easiest life possible and now that they know how God is going to punish them they decide it is better to obey his first command. 

Numbers 14:40-42 Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. "Let's go," they said. "We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the LORD has promised us." 41 But Moses said, "Why are you now disobeying the LORD's orders to return to the wilderness? It won't work. 42 Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the LORD is not with you. 

Taking the land isn't an option any longer, since God isn't going with them, they will not have a victory over the Canaanites. They couldn't win no matter what they did, they were sentenced to death in the wilderness but if they rebelled and tried to defeat the Canaanites they would still experience death.

We love the Bible verse that says "If God is for you, who can be against you," but turn that around. If God is against you, it doesn't matter who is for you.

Reacting To God's Will

We need to know and understand God's will: Ephesians 5:17,20 Don't act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We need to find delight in his will: Psalm 40:8 I take joy in doing your will, my God, for your instructions are written on my heart." We need to whole heartly obey his will: Ephesians 6:6 As slaves of Christ, do the will of God with all your heart

I need to appreciate the promises of God and totally trust him to come through no matter what the evidence around me seems to be saying. God gave me the example of our ancestors found in the Bible to help me.

Numbers 23:19 God is not a man, so he does not lie. He is not human, so he does not change his mind. Has he ever spoken and failed to act? Has he ever promised and not carried it through?

Help me Lord to grow in faith and obedience to your will despite the fact that what I feel, what I see and what I think may be telling me to doubt your goodness. I want to trust and obey so that you will be glorified.

Your Ways Are Higher Than Mine

I want mountains to move, You want me to climb.

Video: Your Ways Are Higher Than Mine  | The Collingsworth Family

It's not what I prayed for

It's not what I wanted

It's not something I understand

My circumstances seem so confusing

I'm placing it all in Your hands

Your ways are higher than mine

I want mountains to move

You want me to climb

So I'm gonna trust Your work, 

Your will, and Your time

Your ways are higher than mine

One day I'm sure

I will look back and marvel

At how You knew best all along

You see from Heaven

You know it's the hard times

That make my face steady and strong

Psalm 131:1-3 LORD, my heart is not proud; my eyes are not haughty. I don’t concern myself with matters too great or too awesome for me to grasp. 2 Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself, like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk. Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me. 3 O Israel, put your hope in the LORD— now and always.