By Christopher Dryden
34 “‘Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins. Then you will discover what it is like to have me for an enemy.’ 35 I, the Lord, have spoken! I will certainly do these things to every member of the community who has conspired against me. They will be destroyed here in this wilderness, and here they will die!”
Numbers 14:34-35 (NLT)
When athletes are tested and found to be using performance-enhancing drugs their efforts and wins can be tarnished forever in the sporting community. When a financier is found to have indulged in insider trading and particularly capitalised as others have lost, their reputation can be irretrievably smeared.
The generation of the Israelites had witnessed God move powerfully to deliver them from slavery and overcome the enemy at the Red Sea proving Himself to be nothing but faithful. The Israelites had not exercised anything like the same degree of faith in response. Indeed, they were consistent in their moaning, complaining, negatively questioning and openly rebelling against the faithful God. The God of mercy is a God of justice.
At the cusp of reaching the land of promise, their faithlessness reaped its tragic rewards. The nature of the consequences is particularly tough because their fate would be stretched out over four decades. Decades where people would not rest in the land of promise but find their resting place in the wilderness. They stepped out, but they would never step in – all because of persistent acts of faithlessness to God.
When Jesus returns what He will be looking for is what God didn’t find in that generation of Israel: faith. The question for those who make a claim to follow Jesus is: Will our lives be a record of growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus? Will our story be about learning from these tragedies and committing ourselves to living by faith in the one who has delivered us from slavery to sin?
Is the hope we have in Jesus propelling us to purify ourselves as He is pure? Is the trust we have in Jesus leading us to be mindful of His discipline and everything He’s given us to not just step out, but to step in? In Christ we have been given everything we need to live the kind of life that is pleasing to God. One that stimulates and leads us to avoid those perils that can lead to consequences even worse than what that generation of Israel faced.
The God of mercy is still a God of justice and righteousness. He will do what is right in terms of the response to what we have done with everything He has given us. Jesus records on a number of occasions the consequences there will be for those who hear God speak through the Son and choose to do their own thing instead. These words are not there to scare people into obedience, these are here to warn, so we can turn away from the possible consequences of not trusting God. We can turn from them and turn towards the grace extended to us in the gospel of Jesus Christ. We can turn now, rather than face consequences far more serious in nature than those faced by cheating athletes or financiers.
Ask – Why does God emphasise the action He is taking in verse 35?
Seek – Identify an episode in your life where you chose not to trust God. What were the factors that led you astray?
Knock – Offer up a prayer of contrition to the Lord for the areas where you (individually and collectively) may have neglected the real consequence of sin. And look for ways to encourage yourself and those around you to turn in faith to God and His promises.
(Upper Photo by Matt Artz on Unsplash)
(Inner Photo by Agê Barros on Unsplash)
