Verse of the day: Numbers 14:11 Then the LORD said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?”
This account of Israel’s failure to enter the Promise Land, their place of rest, is tragic. However, not nearly as tragic as those who miss their opportunity to enter their Place of eternal rest in Christ. The Israelites missed a great opportunity to enter the land that God had promised them. Why? Well, let us begin back in Egypt. God sends Moses to deliver His people from Egypt and sends plagues that demonstrate His great power (Exodus 7 thru Exodus 11). He leads Moses and the Israelites out of Egypt and then parts the Red Sea for them (Exodus 14). God turns bitter water sweet for them to drink (Exodus 15). He feeds them with manna from Heaven (Exodus 16). He gives them water from a rock and victory over Amalek (Exodus 17). All the while, the Israelites see the Pillar of Fire and the Pillar of Cloud that leads them and is present with them. Now, God tells them to go on a recon mission and bring a report back to the people. Although it may seem as if God initiated this recon mission, let us go to Deuteronomy 1 to see the rest of the story. Deuteronomy 1:20-22 Moses is recounting what really happened before the Israelites went on their mission, “And I said to you, ‘You have come to the mountains of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us. 21 Look, the LORD your God has set the land before you; go up and possess it, as the LORD God of your fathers has spoken to you; do not fear or be discouraged. 22 And every one of you came near to me and said, Let us send men before us, and let them search out the land for us, and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up, and of the cities into which we shall come.’” In reality, it was not God’s idea for them to go and survey the land before entering it, but He wanted them to trust Him and just enter the land as He had spoken to them. Their failure to enter the land was not that God failed to keep His promise, but that they failed to trust Him, even after seeing Him perform miracle after miracle on their behalf. Like Israel, what will it take, for us, to trust God? What caused their faith to waiver once again? Why did they not just go in and possess the land God had already promised was theirs? If we were to truly take inventory of all God has done in our lives thus far, each and every one of us would have to admit that we have allowed what we have seen of our circumstances and situations override our faith at one time or another. Israel took their eyes off God, and forgot what He had already done, and focused on what the people of land looked like in comparison to themselves. In Deuteronomy 13:31-33, a false report was given to discourage the Israelites from going forward, “But the men who had gone up with him said, ‘We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.’ 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, ‘The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. 33 There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.’” They compared what they saw to themselves, rather than compare it to how big God is. How often do we do the same in our lives? God allows circumstances to enter our lives, or sends us on a mission to witness to someone or sacrifice something for His glory, and instead of keeping our eyes on Him, and remembering how often He has seen us through difficult times, we put our eyes on the situation, and we falter in our faith. In response to their lack of faith, God told Moses that He was going to send pestilence and disinherit them (v. 12). Today, it is just as displeasing to God when we show a lack of faith in Him. Hebrews 11:6 tell us, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” The sad result of their lack of faith was death (v. 26-29). What could have been a short trip to their place of rest ended up being a death march until all those who gave a bad report and disbelieved God died in the wilderness, except for Joshua and Caleb who gave a favorable report and tried to encourage them to go forward and take the land (v. 6-9). Today, far too many people are perishing. They are choosing eternal punishment and unrest because of their unbelief. Sadly, there are also many Christians who live a life of unrest because we put our eyes on our circumstances and compare them to what we are capable of, humanly speaking, rather than compare them to God, who is bigger. We must remember all the times that God has seen us through difficulties, and move forward in faith. Will we continue in unrest because of unbelief?
Today, God extends an invitation to you to accept His gift of salvation (Rom 6:23). Will you accept it? Anyone who calls on Jesus, by faith, in repentance, confessing your sins, will receive eternal life. Do not put off calling on Him, and receive Him and His gift of salvation today (Rom 10:13).
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