By Shirley Rosemarie Evans and Christopher Dryden
21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it.
28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
Numbers 14:21-23 and 28-30 (ESV)
“Ta-da!” The box that had the lovely assistant in it was now empty. The audience applauded politely. “Ta-da!” And from the seemingly small hat on the table, a rabbit was be pulled out. The audience again applauded politely. “Ta-da!” where there was no coin behind his ear, there appeared a coin. “Now can I get a volunteer from the audience?” No one stepped forward. “Oh, come on, you’ll be safe, I promise.” Still no response. “What is it? Nobody trusts me?” The eerie silence gave him that dreaded sense that for all he had done, his audience were just there for the polite applause.
The people of Israel clearly were not willing to volunteer when the Great I Am – who was not into cheap parlour tricks, but ten amazing signs of His power over Egypt – called them to possess the land promised. Look at that phrase – they have put me to the test these ten times – God wasn’t just giving second chances, or third. God had been extremely patient with His people for the faithlessness He got in return. This time, they had gone too far. Failure to receive the promise was one act of faithlessness too many.
God said He would destroy them, but as Moses pleaded, He relented and agreed to the appeal for pardon. However, the interesting point, the pardon did not remove consequences for this act of rebellion. God said – you will die in this wilderness. They would wander for forty years – a year for every day they had explored the land.
Years later the writer of Hebrews would use this salutary lesson to remind believers in Jesus to beware of the unbelieving heart that meant that generation of the children of Israel missed out on possessing the land.
So in my anger I took an oath:
‘They will never enter my place of rest.’”12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God.
Hebrews 3:11-13 (NLT)
This episode is still very pertinent to us. Are we persistently failing to believe God? Are we consistently refusing to take Him at His Word? Are we in danger of not possessing the land – not entering His rest? It could be in the area of relationships, it might be His instructions on health and finances, perhaps it’s how we even look at our role as His children. We need to be careful or else our confession with the lips and lack of profession in our lives could lead us to a similar place of missing out – death in the wilderness.
Ask – What is God’s reasoning for a generation of the Israelites missing out on the Promised Land?
Seek – Examine your life in the light of your relationship with God: Where do you need encouragement from brothers and sisters to address faithlessness today?
Knock – As you approach the great God of mercy and grace, ask for the strength and the faith to hold onto his promises and not suffer the consequences of faithlessness.
(Upper Photo by Matt Seymour on Unsplash)
(Lower Photo by Giulia May on Unsplash)
