It has probably happened to all of us at one time or another. We believe we know God’s will for us in a given situation – we know that saying “yes” will launch us on a great adventure of faith, giving us an opportunity to experience the Lord’s power, presence and provision as never before. But moving ahead scares the life out of us.
That was my experience in Bible Study Fellowship when our teaching leader decided to retire and asked me to replace her. I knew that the Lord had prepared me for the job and I was excited about it. But saying “yes” was the easy part! Doing the job, trying to keep my eyes on the Lord, despite the incredible fear I felt week after week was the hard part!
All of those unknowns, and “what ifs”, and potential change we face in saying “yes” to God can sabotage our faith, and fill us with fear. We’re afraid to take that first step of faith, but the only alternatives are to stand still, or turn back in fear! We’re in a “desert of doubt”, afraid to move ahead, and afraid to turn back.
And then there are the times when God clearly says, “Do this”, but this resistance and rebellion wells up in our hearts because we just don’t want to do what he’s asking us!.
· He says, “Love your neighbor as yourself”, and we think about our nasty mother in law, or boss, or co-worker, or relative
· He says, “Respect your husband”, but we think, when he earns it, then I’ll respect him
· He says, “Be content in your circumstances”, but being home all day with toddlers makes us long for a job, or a greater mental challenge.
· He says, “The church needs a Sunday school teacher”, but we want the freedom to go away on the weekends, or we think the younger women should step up and do it.
· He says, “Do you love me enough to give up your dream for mine?”, but we’re not sure we do.
· He says, “Do you see that struggling young woman? I want you to be her mentor and friend”, but we don’t want to commit our time.
We might have some very reasonable excuses for refusing to obey, but we know in our hearts that they are only excuses, not legitimate reasons.
We’re not afraid of the outcome, we just don’t want to do what the Lord is asking of us. We’re in a “desert of disobedience”, a desert of our own making!
We’ll see both these reactions in the people of Israel in this blog and learn some lessons for us when we find ourselves in a similar situation.
In my last blog we left nation of Israel about 2 months out from deliverance from slavery in Egypt. God has demonstrated His power, provision and protection all along the way as He led them through desert regions to Mt. Sinai at the foot of the Arabian Peninsula. They remained there for more than a year while God gave them His law, including the 10 Commandments.
There they also received instructions regarding festivals, as well as the design and instructions for building the Tabernacle and its furnishings. All of that was included in the book of Exodus.
Remember, God has a purpose in the desert wanderings of this people. On the way to fulfilling His promises to Abraham, including giving them the land of Canaan, God has been testing Israel’s obedience, growing Israel’s faith in Him – so that when they arrive in the Promised Land, they will be a nation so obedient, so set apart for Him, and so different from their neighbors that it will create in them a longing to know the God of Israel.
After the book of Exodus, comes the book of Leviticus which picks up where Exodus leaves off. Its main message is the holiness of God.
· Lev. 19:2 “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy”.
Because unholy, sinful people can’t approach a holy God, the book of Leviticus gives God’s detailed instructions for offering sacrifices in the Tabernacle. These sacrifices, which God ordained, were symbols of repentance for the forgiveness of the sins of the people but they offered temporary relief. Because they could not do away with the guilt of sin, they needed to be repeated over and over.
They were pictures of the ultimate sacrifice of the Lord Jesus whose sacrificial life and death would be the ONCE AND FOR ALL sacrifice that would make the system of Old Testament sacrifices no longer necessary.
It’s when we get to the book of Numbers that the history of the movements of the nation toward the Promised Land begins again.
Israel was still a nation that had a lot to learn about obeying God and trusting in His faithfulness. The grumbling and complaining we saw in Exodus 16 last week continued through the time of their sojourn at Mt. Sinai, and on again through their journey toward the land of Canaan.
The first thing we read about in the book of Numbers is a census, which is the reason the book is called “Numbers”. Since the Promised Land was already occupied by a number of different people groups, conquering it would require going into battle, so in preparation for going into the land, God instructed Moses to count the number of fighting men from each tribe.
Before we get to chapter 14, which we’re going to look at in more detail, let's summarize chapter 13 where Moses gives instructions about a variety of things and he faces some interesting challenges in the opening chapters of the book that you might want to read about on your own.
It will probably be a familiar story to many of you – although there’s always something new to learn from God’s Word, right?
It has been about 2 years since the Israelites have left Egypt. God has now led them near the border of the Promised Land in preparation for going in.
Moses records over in Deuteronomy 1 that at that time the people came to him and suggested they send men ahead to spy out the land first and report back. The Lord allowed their plan to go ahead, so Moses told the people to select one man from each of the 12 tribes.
Numbers 13:17-33
Moses sent the 12 spies out to explore Canaan, with these instructions: see what the land is like:
- Whether the people are strong or weak, few or many?
- What kind of land do they live in – is it good or bad?
- What kind of towns are there – unwalled or fortified?
- Is the soil fertile or poor?
- Do your best to bring back some fruit (it was the season of the first ripe grapes)
So they went up and explored.
- They found a single cluster of grapes on one branch. It was so big they had to carry it on a pole between two men!
- There were pomegranates and figs too.
Aft 40 days they returned and reported to Moses, Aaron and the whole Israelite community.
o They showed them the fruit of the land and
o Reported that the land DID flow with milk and honey
o BUT the people who lived there were powerful, the cities very large and fortified; and other people groups were already occupying land
Caleb, one of the 12 spies, silenced everyone and spoke up, saying:
- We SHOULD GO UP and take possession of the land for we CAN CERTAINLY do it!
BUT men who had gone with him said:
- We can’t attack those people, they are stronger than we are!
They spread among the Israelites a BAD report about land, saying:
- The land devours those living in it.
- All the people we saw are of great size. We seemed like grasshoppers (in comparison!)
- And descendants of Anak are there (These were a very tall race – Goliath may have descendant of Anak)
God had made a promise and now it was time to claim it – but when God said, “GO”, fear and unbelief kept the Israelites from moving ahead. The people and circumstances they faced seemed BIGGER than the God who made the promise that the land was theirs.
Fear reigned in the camp of Israel – Numbers, chapter 14
v. 1 That night the whole community raised their voices and wept aloud
We can hear their fear and unbelief in their grumbling words (V. 2-4):
- It would have been better for us if we had just died in Egypt!
- Why would the Lord bring us here and then let us die fighting the people of the land?
- Our wives/children will end up as slaves!
- We should turn back to Egypt!
· Their fear even caused them to reject God’s leader – Moses – to find another and go back.
- v. 5 When Moses and Aaron heard this, they fell face down before the whole assembly!
· That’s an interesting reaction, isn’t it?
- ·v. 6 Joshua and Caleb, two of those who explored the land, tore their clothes
· That’s another interesting reaction.
Joshua and Caleb said:
- The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good
- v. 8 IF Lord is pleased with us, He WILL lead us into that land, land flowing with milk and honey and He WILL give it to us
- v. 9 Only DO NOT REBEL against Lord.
- Do not be afraid of the people of the land because we will swallow them up
- Their protection is gone, but Lord is with us.
- Do not be afraid of them!
While the people of Israel were trembling in fear and doubt, Joshua and Caleb were walking by faith in God & His promises – so confident that the Lord would be faithful that they encouraged their fellow Israelites to believe God and move in to take the land!
· The actions of Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb in these verses show that they were also afraid – but not of moving into the Promised land.
o They had a holy fear of God Himself – a fear of the consequences of rebelling against Him and His will for them.
o They tried to encourage the people that IF they were doing as the Lord asked, they had no need to fear, He would be with them!
· BUT they also issued a warning! Rebelling against God was a serious offense against Him!
v. 10- BUT there was no convincing them! The whole assembly talked about stoning Moses and Aaron
· Then the glory of the Lord appeared at Tent of Meeting to ALL the Israelites.
· I wonder what went through the minds of those standing in the crowd when they saw this visible evidence of God’s presence in the form of the pillar of cloud hovering over the tent of meeting.
The Lord, reacting to the lack of faith among the people, said to Moses (v.11):
- How long will these people treat me with contempt?
- How long will they refuse to believe in me in spite of all miraculous signs I have performed among them?
- I will strike THEM down with a plague and destroy them, but will make YOU into a nation greater and stronger than they
What follows in v. 13 is one of several prayers Moses offers to God on behalf of the people. If you’re looking for something new and fresh to study from the Bible, you might consider looking at the various prayers God’s people prayed.
Moses proves himself to be a great and humble intercessor on behalf of Israel – as well as one who loves the Lord and desires to uphold the faithfulness of God’s name to those looking on. He prayed:
- (If you destroy this people you chose to be your own) then Egypt will hear (and what will they think?)!
- By your power you brought these people up from among the Egyptians
- The Egyptians will tell the inhabitants of Canaan about it
-
- They have already heard that you are WITH these people and that you have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them and you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night
- If you put them to death all at once, nations who have heard about you will say:
o (What kind of God is HE!)
o The Lord WAS NOT ABLE to bring them into the land He promised, so he slaughtered them in the desert
- v. 17 (No Lord! You can’t do this! On the contrary) may your strength be displayed as you declared (THESE are your strong points, Lord!)
- You are slow to anger, abounding in love, forgiving sin, and rebellion
- Yet, he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of fathers to the 3rd and 4th generation.
- In accordance with your great love, (because you are a God of great LOVE) forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt till now.
V. 20 See how quickly the Lord responds to Moses’ prayer with mercy. . He will not destroy the people of Israel, He will actually forgive them, BUT there will be consequences to their disobedience.
- I have surely forgiven them, as you asked,
- Nevertheless, as sure as I live and as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth
- Not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert, but disobeyed me and tested me
- Not one will ever see the land I promised to their forefathers
- No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it
- BUT because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land and his descendants will inherit it
The consequence would be that that generation would never get to enter the land God had promised them and they, AND their children would spend the next 40 years wandering in the desert instead of occupying the land.
v. 26 The Lord said to to Moses and Aaron:
- How long w this wicked community grumble against me?
- I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites.
· Tell them:
- As surely as I live, I will do to you the very things I heard you say
- In this desert your bodies will fall – everyone of you 20 years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me
- Not one of you will enter the land, except Caleb and Joshua
- As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring THEM in to enjoy the land you have rejected
- But you – your bodies will fall in this desert
- Your children will be shepherds here for 40 years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert
- For 40 years, one for each of the 40 days you explored the land – you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you
- I, the Lord, have spoken and I will surely do these things to this whole wicked community, which has banded against me.
- They will meet their end in this desert; here they will die
What a high price their disobedience cost them – and their children!
Unbeknownst to me, at the time I was writing this blog, our pastor would preach a sermon about the importance of keeping God’s commandments.
· He said, “Belief in God, loyalty to God, and love for God, are the secret to success in life, but disregarding God and His commands guarantees destruction”.
This is a very sobering lesson isn’t it?
There are lots of lessons we could apply to our own lives from this passage. Here are a couple:
When God says “go, or do this”, we can’t let fear or “what if’s” hold us back, or we miss the blessing of knowing God better and fulfilling His plans for us and the next generation.
What if Abraham had said “no” when God called him out of Ur?
· What if fear of the reliability of this God he didn’t know very well stopped him?
· What if he thought about all the things he was leaving behind and decided the cost was too high?
· What if when drought hit in Canaan, he decided to just go back to Ur?
· Look at what he would have missed:
o This amazing plan God had, not only for his life, but for Isaac’s life, and Jacob’s life, and Joseph’s life, and for the nation of Israel that would come from them?
o They may have missed out on the honor God bestowed upon that nation to be HIS people and be THEIR GOD and carry on His plan of redemption through Jesus Christ through them!
What about Moses?
· What if when God called him at the burning bush to be his instrument to deliver Israel from slavery, Moses had said no?
· He made lots of excuses and tried God’s patience, but God persisted until He agreed.
· What if he had never interceded with God for the nation?
What if Jesus had said “no” to the cross? We would still be lost in our sins!
Some time ago, I watched a program on the life of Oswald Chambers, author of “My Utmost for His Highest”. He lived in the early years of the 20th century and was a gifted artist. He had enrolled in Edinburgh University to study art, but sensed the call of God on His life. When his freelance art opportunities dried up, he decided to transfer to a Bible college and spent 4 years struggling with God’s will for his life. In the end, he surrendered completely to whatever the Lord had for him. He ended up founding a school for pastors.
His wife faithfully recorded all the sermons he ever preached and after his death at the age of 41, began publishing them. She died in 1966. Christians are still using his book today for their devotional readings. Wow, what an impact he had long after his death! And all because he said “yes” to God’s plan for him and “no” to his own.
How do we know that it’s God speaking His “go” to our hearts and not just our own desires?
#1 CHECK THE BIBLE:
God would never ask us to do anything inconsistent with His Word or character.
· Is what we think we’re hearing consistent with the Word and character of God? God would never ask us to do something that was contrary to His Word.
o Do you think the God who says in the book of Exodus, “You shall not commit adultery” would ever approve of our falling for another man or woman when we are already married?
o Do you think the God who says: As far as it depends on you, live at peace with all men, would ever approve of our deliberately being a peace breaker with another family member?
o Do you think the God who says: “Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of fine jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight”, would have us spend a fortune on botox and cosmetic surgery but spend no time getting to know Him better so we might be beautiful on the INSIDE?
#2 EXAMINE YOUR MOTIVES.
· When we think the Lord is leading us to say “yes” or “no” to something, we have to ask: Is it my desire to obey and glorify God that causes me to want to say yes, or is this something I just WANT for my own reasons? Am I more interested in building MY kingdom, or God's?
· Is it fear that’s keeping me from saying yes?
· If God is calling me to say yes to His desire for me, then I might just have to take that first step AFRAID, and let God prove His faithfulness to me.
Ask yourself: Is my “yes” or “no” to God’s direction due to something I want or don’t want – or is it a willingness to surrender my will to what God really wants, no matter what that is?
#3 PRAY
· Jesus prayed all night before choosing His disciples.
· In Acts 1, the Apostles were praying when they were led to seek a replacement for Judas. They made a list of the qualifications they wanted this person to have, chose two men who filled them, and they prayed again. And the Lord answered by giving them the direction they needed.
#4 DON’T UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT: to speak to your heart and mind giving confirmation of God’s direction and the courage to take the first step.
· The book of Acts records that the Apostle Paul had planned to preach the gospel in Asia but was prevented from doing so by the Holy Spirit. They were getting ready to set off in a different direction when the Spirit, through a dream Paul had during the night, showed them that they were to go instead to Macedonia to preach the gospel there.
· When in doubt, don’t. Sometimes doubt is caused by fear, and fear can be overcome by the Spirit. But sometimes doubt is that sense of hesitation that you shouldn’t make a decision yet. When you’re not sure, give it time and continue to pray.
#5 SEEK GODLY COUNSEL:
· Sometimes it’s good to share your struggle with a godly friend who knows you well and isn’t afraid to ask you the hard questions! Someone who will pray with and for you.
· They can help you examine your motives.
So, how about some thought provoking questions?
What will you do the next time you face a desert of doubt or disobedience?
Will you allow fear of the unknown to stop you in your tracks?
Will you make excuses for not doing what you know God is directing you to do?
If you're sure He's leading, will you take the next step to follow God, even if you have to do it afraid?
When the Lord clearly tells you to do something - but you just don't want to - will you examine your motives to see if there is any rebellion, or anger, or self will there - and confess it?
How willing are you to surrender your will and embrace God's will for you?
Remember, God had a plan for the people of Israel. IF they participated in His plan by obeying His commands, they would be blessed. But if they insisted on their own way, they would miss out on His blessings themselves and lose the ability to impact the world for Him. And the suffered some pretty serious consequences for deliberate disobedience!
When God says, "go", we can't let fear or self will hold us back. And when God says, "do this, or don't do that", we dare not disobey!
Which would YOU rather do?
Have and do what you want, but miss out on the blessing God has for you in obedience?
Or will you take the risk, even if you have to take the first step AFRAID, in order to experience the faith stretching challenge of doing things God's way, and reaping the reward of knowing Him in a deeper, more intimate way than ever before so that the world sees God's glory?
