Faithlessness is Chastened

Transcript

GRS 2-30
Faithlessness is Chastened
Numbers 13-14
3/26/2006
Gil Rugh

We’re studying the Book of Numbers together on Sunday night, and before you go to numbers why don’t you turn to First Corinthians Chapter 10. First Corinthians Chapter 10; just as a reminder, we are studying something of the history of the nation Israel after God has brought them out of the land of Egypt in preparation for going into the land of Canaan which is the land that God has promised to the nation Israel. And in First Corinthians Chapter 10 Paul reminds the believers in the church at Corinth. I do not want you to be unaware brethren, that all our fathers passed under the cloud and so on they all experienced the same experiences as God brought the nation out of the land of Egypt.

And yet in verse 5 with most of them God was not well pleased for they would laid low in the wilderness. Now these things happened as examples for us. So as we are studying these historical events in the life of the nation Israel we are to learn from them and apply these things to our lives. We shouldn’t crave evil things in verse 6, not be idolaters in verse 7, not act immorally in verse 8, not try the Lord in verse 9, not grumble in verse 10. In verse 11 now these things happened to them as an example, they were written for our instruction upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore, let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. And as we study these things we don’t want to have the attitude of superiority, we would never do that; that could never happen to us. We want to learn and be careful and alert to the dangers that confront us as God’s people today.

Turn back to Numbers Chapter 13. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers the fourth book in the Old Testament. The Book of Exodus and the first part of the book was about events around the deliverance of the nation from Egypt, the plagues that God sent upon Egypt and so on. And then Egypt was brought to Mount Sinai and there they spent all most a year, remember and God gave the law to Moses. The Mosaic Law were the principles and laws that were given to govern the conduct of the nation Israel. All areas of their conduct religious life, social life, how the nation was to be governed and so on. We’re just following their history in the portions that move the history along. So we look through the Book of Genesis and the history there and then in the Book of Exodus up to the giving of the law then we skipped the last portion of the Book of Exodus and the Book of Leviticus which does not move the history forward but it’s all related the last part of Exodus and all of Leviticus to the details of the Mosaic Law. We picked up with numbers.

And Israel has moved now from Mount Sinai and they are moving in preparation for entering what is known as the Promised Land. Chapter 12 of numbers in verse 16 Chapter concludes. Afterward, however, the people move from Hazeroth and camped in the wilderness of Paran. And where we are if you think in your mind to the Dead Sea down in the south part of Israel on the eastern side and you move over about half way between the Dead Sea and the Mediterranean Sea and then drops straight south you’d be in the wilderness of Paran. So they are not in the Promised Land, they are not in Canaan they are down south of Canaan and roughly in the middle of Palestine between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

When the spies are sent into the land to check it out, as we will look at in Chapter 13 they are going to go the extent all the way from south to north and back down again. And we will see what they are to do. Chapter opens up in the first sixteen verses really layout the instructions and those who are to go representing the nation searching out the land. The Lord spoke to Moses saying end out for yourself men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan, which I am going to give to the sons of Israel; you shall send a man from each of their fathers' tribes, everyone a leader among them."

So here’s the plan, there are twelve tribes we are going to select out a leader from every tribe. Important to see these are important individuals everyone a leader among them so these are men of some position you expect they’re having this role of responsibility in their tribe they would be men of some spiritual character as well. But ten of the twelve you are aware going to fail miserably. So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran at the command of the Lord. All of them men who are heads of the sons of Israel.

Now you have their names. And only two names really stick with us. If we were going to say now we have a contest and the price is ten thousand dollars, we want to name eight of the twelve men I wonder how many of us would pass the test. And I am not going to say about myself but we all know Caleb and Joshua because they will be two men who are demonstrated to be faithful out of these twelve men. But the twelve men are identified you’ll note in verse 6 from the tribe of Judah Caleb and verse 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son on Nun, and that’s Joshua. And I know that because I read verse 16, the last part of the verse Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua.

We are not told why he gave Hoshea the name Joshua. Hoshea mean salvation, Joshua means Jehovah is salvation. But Hoshea is Joshua. Verses 17 to 20 give the details of their mission. We call them the spy’s because they are going into the land secretively to spy it out. Verse 17 when Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan he said to them "Go up there into the Negev; then go up into the hill country. See what the land is like, whether the people who live in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many,” remember they have spent four hundred years in Egypt.

They’ve been out now a little over a year having spent almost a year at Sinai and then several months in travelling, first to Sinai about three months and now appear to this location. But what will the land be like, how many people they will fortified, well harmed. How is the land in which they live, is it good or bad, how are the cities in which they live. Are they like open camps or with fortifications. How is the land, is it flat or lean or there are trees in it or not, make an effort then to get some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.

And that would be late July and so it’s been about two months since they left Mount Sinai after the receiving of the law. Now Deuteronomy Chapter 1 tells us that it’s in an eleven-day journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-barnea where they are. And it has taken them two months, but keep in mind that’s not a small group travelling lightly and quickly from Sinai. This is a group of some two million people, men women and children the elderly and the very young. So they’re travel here would have been much slower and they would have taken time adding encampments along the way that would have spread out over a couple of months’ period that we are late July as far as the time that’s the time of the first ripe grapes.

You have the going into the land then that will be recorded verse 21 they went up and spied out the land and some details of that and they cut down a cluster of grapes in verse 23 and it is evidently a very significant cluster because then they attach it to a pole so that’s two men carry it on their shoulders as an evidence of the lushness of the land. Then in verse 25 they returned at the end of forty days. So with a forty day trip their trip would have covered about two hundred and fifty miles each way so that’s reasonable for these men for a forty-day period twelve men, would have been younger men, healthy men, strong men I mean this is not something you send and old person like me to do.

These men have to be in good condition, they are going to be walking. They just can’t go as an entourage in the land because the people in Canaan are well aware of Israel’s movements, later events make that clear. They have heard of the miracles that God did in Egypt to deliver them. So these spies have to go in on a secretive mission without anything that would draw attention to themselves or make them known.

They are forty days on their mission. That becomes very important later, that forty days in the land of Canaan searching it out getting the lay of the land. What kind of people are here? What kind of fortification do they have? What kind of land is it? Lot of trees, huge trees, lush crops or not so that they can come back and report. Verses 25 to 27 picking up after verse 25 it’s exactly as God said it would be. They proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back word to all the congregation; they showed them the fruit of land, look at this fruit. Thus they told him and said "We went in to the land you sent us; it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit." In other words, it’s a lush land flowing with milk and honey.

Picture something of its abundance in the figure of speech here. Nevertheless, and now that’s the good part. It is a great place; it’s a lush land nevertheless strong contrast here. This is going to become the focus; the people who live in the land are strong. The cities are fortified very large. Moreover, we saw that descendants of Anak there and there will be more about them in a moment. But these are giants in the land and would make fierce opponents. Amalek is living in the land of the Negev, the Hittites, the Jebusites, the Amorites are living in the hill country, the Canaanites are living by the sea by the side of the Jordan."

You know all of the sudden the lushness of the land is somewhat irrelevant. I mean there is an overwhelming force there. A variety of kinds of people and they are not just timid shepherding people or farming people, these are people who know the ways of war and prepared for battle with fortified city. And you think well, no big deal. But think about it now you’ve got not an army as you did, you’ve got a whole entourage and people here.

And what’s it going to be like, we’ve numbered our men that can go to war but you understand these aren’t trained warriors in one sense because they’ve been races lays in Egypt. It’s been less than two years since they’ve been out of slavery. You can be sure the Egyptians didn’t train them primarily to be warriors, trained them to do slaves labor. They didn’t want them to be equipped to do battle that could be an uprising.

Now, here we are on the brink of going into a land and the opposition is awesome. That’s the report of the majority Caleb speaks up in verse 30. He quieted the people before Moses because this creates a stir. Imagine all of a sudden the rumblings going through all the people oh, no here we are, what do we do? Caleb quieted people before Moses and said "We should by all means go up and take procession of it for we will surely overcome it. Here’s a statement of faith. He doesn’t deny. No, he doesn’t say these men have exaggerated. These men aren’t telling the truth, it’s not as bad as they have said. In fact, his statement would indicate their report is been accurate but there’s something missing.

God has brought them here and God will give them the victory. But you can see the majority report, they’re not just giving a report, they are declaring their opinion. It’s not a realistic possibility for us to take the land. So verse 31 the men who had gone up with him said "We are not able to go up against the people for they are too strong for us." Now remember we only have the report of twelve men. Ten of them are in agreement; it would not be possible for us to take the land.

These are ten of key leaders one from each of the tribes giving this united opinion. They’re only two that would disagree and they don’t disagree about the facts regarding the formidable military opposition they will face. So they gave out verse 32 to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out saying "The land through which we have gone in spying it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people whom we saw in it are men of great size, there also we saw the Nephilim the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim.

So up at the end of verse 28 it says we saw the descendants of Anak there. Descendents of Anak came from the line of Nephilim. And the Nephilim go back to Genesis 6 in anticipation of the flood of Noah, the giants in the land the Nephilim. So these are men of unusual physical stature and we became like grasshoppers in our own side and so we were in their side. I mean you talk about men of average size whatever they were now you got the giants that I feel like a grasshopper. Not the kind of man I want to have to sword battle with. And now you add to that the fortified cities, you add to that the various nations it’s just not a possibility that we can take the land. And when you got ten of the twelve in agreements the nations unraveling now. All the desire to go forward has been swapped out.

So Chapter 14 opens up. Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried and the people wept. What a response, all the people. The whole nation now is crushed we’ve left Egypt; we’ve come through a wilderness region it is not geared to sustain people. Oh, it’s not enough the place we want to settle down, God had supernaturally provided the food remember Manna from heaven then he provided the quail and can we go into the land? Just not a feasibility you don’t know. Only Caleb here has spoken up Joshua is supportive of him as we find out in this Chapter but we have to do it by faith. I mean that’s what it will take, but the people are crushed by the reality of the obstacles.

Verse 2, all the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. It’s been a pattern, all the congregation grumbled against Moses and Aaron. They are the leaders, I mean who came and confronted Pharaoh. Who are the instruments that brought disaster on Egypt and then led the people out of Egypt, out of that beautiful lush comfortable situation and lifestyle in Egypt, you know it’s been less than two years, Short-term memory when you say.

These are the people when the Book of Exodus opens up, they are crying out to the Lord for help and deliverance from their slavery. Now all they can remember of how good it was in Egypt. Would we had died in the land of Egypt, or would we had died in this wilderness. And you remember this, be very careful what you ask God for, what you say you would like to have, because you know what God’s going to answer this request exactly. They didn’t die in Egypt, but they will die in the wilderness. Why is, now note this, they’re grumbling against Moses why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? I mean this is a direct attack against God. The Lord is bringing us into this land, everything that is happened all of the sudden has totally been forgotten.

What did God do to the mighty nation Egypt? The mighty army of Egypt, what happened to it? What has happened in their time in the wilderness up to this point, how has God cared for them. And now they would dare to say the Lord is bringing us into this land so we can die by the sword our wives our little ones will become plunder. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt, so they said to one another "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt." This is a serious matter, now you have a movement. These ten have carried the day and the people are ready to follow the ten rejecting Moses and Aaron, rejecting Caleb and Joshua. And let’s get back to Egypt. What did they have there, grinding slavery but somehow they have forgotten and they’ve forgotten all the blessings of God. All the way he is provided for them and protected them and kept them.

Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh of those who had spied out the land tore their cloths. I mean they are in distress here; they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel saying the land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. That’s what God said it would be, he never said there wouldn’t be opponents in the land. He said he would give them this land a land flowing with milk and honey and that’s exactly is God said it would be. If the Lord is pleased with us then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them. The Lord is with us, do not fear them.

I mean what a great message. I mean Joshua does not say they’re not giants. He does not say we’re not really like grasshoppers in their sight. Their cities aren’t as strong as it’s been made. He doesn’t say any of that. What he’s saying doesn’t matter, the Lord is with us. Their protection has been removed because the Lord has determined to give us the land, don’t feat them. You know how the congregation responds to that. Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. And they are serious about this, it takes the intervention of the Lord here.

Let me say here the people of God are ready to stone Moses and Aaron; they just left Sinai two months ago where God reveled his presence in such dramatic ways and gave them his law. Now they are ready to stone Moses and Aaron and head back to Egypt. Stone Joshua and Caleb. Then the glory of the Lord appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel, divine intervention here.

It’s the manifestation of God’s presence I mean we have the cloud by day and the fire by night and here it’s sends on the tabernacle and manifest his presence there in the tent of meeting and that gets everyone’s attention. Now think about it, God said his presence get manifest with him in the cloud and in the fire and they have this but all they can think about is the opposition, the greatness of the opponent, and the difficulty before them.

The Lord said to Moses, "How long will this people spurn me?" That means to treat me as nothing. Treat me with total disregard. I mean God has taken this personally because it’s been a personal attack on Him. They are treating me as nothing how long will this go on. "How long will they not believe in me, despite all the sign which I have performed in their midst?" Everything I have done and its nothing to them. "I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them. I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they" and that’s why Moses was Moses and I am not, because I would have said amen.

There’s nothing they can be done with this people, they are hopeless. But Moses said to the Lord "Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by your strength, you brought up this people from their midst, they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land they have heard that you, O Lord in the midst of this people," now see he knows the people of Canaan know what you did Lord in Egypt. They know you have declared that this is your people and you brought them out. "For you O Lord, are seen eye to eye while your cloud stands over them; you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night." I mean everywhere and all the nations around and the people of the land of Canaan they know about you Lord, they know you dwell in the midst of this nation. Now if you slay these people as one man and Moses has no doubt God can wipe them out just like it was just one person. All two million of them can be wiped out just like it was one person.

If you slay these people as one man then the nations who have heard of your fame will say 'Because the Lord could not bring this people into the land which he promised them by oath, therefore he slaughtered them in the wilderness.' You know the issue here is not whether Israel deserves to be destroyed; the issue is the honor of the Lord, the fame of the Lord, his name that’s what Moses appeals to. And on that basis Lord of your reputation among the nations I pray let the power of the Lord be great just as you have declared.

He appeals to him on the basis of his character; the Lord is slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness. Forgiving in equity and transgression but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the inequity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation. Pardon I pray the inequity of this people according to the greatness of your loving kindness just as you had also forgiven this people from Egypt even until now, what a prayer, what intercession. On the basis of the honor of the Lord his fame among the nations on the basis of his character as a God of great mercy, kindness a forgiving God. Even though their consequences for the guilty on behalf of who you are and your name and your reputation forgive them again not because they deserve it, not because they are worthy but because of who you are. We learn to pray for others on this basis. We have caught up with the way offend us or the wrong they do but we beseech the Lord on the behalf of who he is and he has called us to himself and we seek his forgiveness and his blessing, tremendous prayer.

To say if it wasn’t for Moses what were to happen well, you see here how God uses the prayers of his people. He has declared the nation Israel to be his own. Moses realizes that. So this becomes an occasion as God declares what he can do to Israel and would be justified in doing for him to use Moses intercession to do what he desires to do for the nation. So the Lord said "I have pardoned them according to your word." See the plays our prayers play what a privilege for Moses to be such an intercessor before God and so be used of God to spare Israel in the plan of God. That drives us to pray more often. I have pardoned them according to you word. This is the second time Moses has intervened.

In Exodus Chapter 32 as a result of the golden calf that Israel made while Moses was on the mountain receiving the tablets from the Lord, it was the intervention of Moses there. Again God used to bring about the deliverance of Israel from total destruction. Here again Moses does. Praying for a people who have just rejected Moses’ leadership, praying for a people that is ready to stone Moses, and here he is praying to God to be merciful, forgive them, not destroy them all even though the guilty may have to pay the price. You see something of the character of Moses.
I pardoned them but verse 21 "As I live all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Moses is interceded and appealed to God on by basis of his fame among the nations. Surely all the who have seen my glory and my signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, they have put me to the test, these ten times and have not listened to my voice shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers nor shall any of those who spurned me treated me as nothing see it.

All right, I will do what you have asked, I have forgiven the sin of the nation but the guilty have to pay and all of those the adults who had a chance to see my hand in brining deliverance with the plagues on Egypt have seen my deliverance through the wilderness these ten times and would take that as just emphasizing the multiple times some of you have a study bible and you have note at the listing the ten times, we’re not going to go through those ten but you see that God repeatedly act on Israel’s behalf and repeatedly they have challenged God, refused to submit to him, not to listen to his voice. They are not going into the land.

You know what this means, all the adults are going to die, all those twenty years old and up are going to die. That’s a lot of people. Remember the numbered men are six hundred thousand. Now if there are, the numbered men are twenty years old and upward they can be the army, the fighting men but then you have all the women above that and others so you add to that it could be, this is a serious matter. My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed me fully I will bring him to the land which he entered his descendent shall take possession later he’ll mention Joshua.

Faithfulness is rewarded, unfaithfulness is severely punished. Now the Amalekites and Canaanites live in the valleys, turned tomorrow set out to the wilderness by way of the sea. You’re afraid of the Amalekites, you’re afraid of the Canaanites you’re going back to the wilderness. The Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron saying "How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against me." It’s all personal Moses, they complain against Moses, Aaron really been amongst Moses ultimately it’s the God who has appointed Moses.

Say to them "Say to them, 'As I live,' says the Lord, 'just as you have spoken in my hearing, so I will surely do to you;" I heard what you said. "Your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me." I mean its serious matter. All six hundred thousand of the numbered men they are going to die in the wilderness. Only two Joshua and Caleb are going into the land. That is a real death sentence.

"Surely you will not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun." But there’s irony here your children however whom you said would become a pray I will bring them in. Remember they said O our children are going to die, your children are not going to die you are going to die. They will know the land which you have rejected but as for you your copses will fall in this wilderness.

Your sons shall be shepherds for forty years in the wilderness they will suffer for your unfaithfulness until your corpses lie in the wilderness. Your children, the six-year-old, the ten-year-old, the fifteen-year-old they are not going to die, they don’t have to spend a forty year shepherding the flocks. They don’t have to spend forty years living in the wilderness. Forty years watching the people die every day just the six hundred thousand over forty years, that’s over forty people a day dying out of the six hundred thousand wandering around, you know they are going to be able to talk about what are we doing, we are not going anywhere.

We wonder around through this wilderness. Why are we here for, we’re waiting for mom and dad to die. We are waiting for grandpop and grandmom to kick the bucket by. You know they sinned against God, rebelled against him. Ongoing reminder every day for the next forty years. Why are we just going no place, we just circle loops back and forth in a place not intended for people to live, not intended for Israel to live why, you talk about, constant every day. Kids asking why we don’t go on from here, why don’t we go into that land we can’t why, all of us who are twenty years old and upward when the spies went in, we have to die.

New children born, they are growing up, they have to ask why, what are we doing here? We’re waiting for that generation that sinned against the Lord to die. What a testimony, what a legacy to have to live. The children suffer, they can’t go either into the land. So in this sense the children suffer because of the sins of the parents. They are not receiving the punishment of the parents but there are consequences for them as children. Don’t our children suffer when we sin? Of course they do, just a consequence of life, and so suffer because of your sin. They will suffer for your unfaithfulness verse 33 says "Until your corpses lie in the wilderness."

The amount of time verse 34 "According to the number of days which you spied out the land, forty days, for every day you shall bear your guilt a year forty years, and you will know my opposition. This is a serious matter now. You set yourself against me now you know what is like to have me as your opponent. God is going to care for them in those forty years but he is a fierce opponent even for his people. One year for every day you were in the land that’s the punishment. Well, you say that’s too severe, you don’t get the vote on it, they don’t have a say God decides.

I, the Lord, have spoken, "Surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, there they will die." As for the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land and who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing out a bad report concerning the land, even those men who brought out the very bad report of the land died by a plague before the Lord. These unfaithful spies, they don’t have their time extended they die immediately under the judgment of God.

The congregation will pray the price for listening to those you should listen into and grumble over them. You would think there wouldn’t be a murmur of grumbling anywhere among God’s people today wouldn’t you? I mean, do we read in First Corinthians 10 one of the things we learned from this is not to grumble. You’d think one thing you never find in the Church of Jesus Christ is any grumblers, any complainers because one thing we have learned from the lessons of Israel is we never want found to grumble because God is a terrible opponent when we grumble against him.

Verse 38 but Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive out of those men who went to spy out the land. So, ten of the spies die in the plague immediately; but Joshua and Caleb. You know sometimes many things don’t change because we are fallen beings even though we are redeemed fallen beings, and sometimes when God brings chastening into our lives our first reaction is we’re going to undo what was done, and that’s what Israel does. Verse 39 when Moses spoke these words to all the sons of Israel the people mourned greatly.

You talk about how fickle people are, I mean here they go back and forth and in one minute they are stirred up by the report of the spies and they are grumbling against Moses and grumbling against God and crying and weeping now, they are told the consequences their action and now they are mourning greatly. But instead of just submitting to the Lord and saying oh, he’s a gracious God and at least we haven’t died in the plague and it’s a terrible but we’ve learned a lesson, they are going to do in the morning however they rose up early went up to the ridge of the hill country saying "Here we are, we have indeed sinned but we will go up to the place which the Lord has promised."

Now wait a minute what a contradiction of expressions. We have sinned but we will go up, wait a minute you’re right you have sinned now you are going to add sin to sin because what did the Lord say you can’t go up. Oh, we have sinned but we are going to undo the consequences of that. That’s just another active rebellion against God, you don’t tell God what’s you are going to do and so Moses said "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord when it will not succeed."

One part well it’s true you have sinned but this is not genuine repentance over sin, this is mourning over the consequences of sin. Not mourning over the sin, we all know what this is like I am so upset over my sin, I am really upset over the consequences. I have been found out there’s consequences of my sin, there is a price to be paid I don’t like that. They are not grieved over their sin because they’re just going to add sin to sin, they are going to add rebellion to rebellion. That’s what Moses asked them "Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the Lord" you won’t succeed.

I mean God has spoken do not go up you will be struck down before your enemies for the Lord is not among you. But they went up heedlessly. The ark didn’t go up, Moses then leave the camp and the opponents the Amalekites and the Canaanites struck them down. I mean they are right; you cannot defeat this enemy on your own. It would have taken the Lord to bring the Amalekites, the Canaanites, the Nephilim and so on to their knees but the Lords not going with you there’s no hope for you to have victory. So they paid the price for their disobedience.

Numbers 15 is an encouraging Chapter. Want you to know how it begins. Now the Lord spoke to Moses saying, speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, when you enter the land where you are to live which I am giving to you then make an offering by fire to the Lord. And that is a reminder the purpose and plan of God will be accomplished. And he has promised the Land to the children of this rebellious people. Still going to Israel, it’s just that adult generation is not going to have the privilege of going in because of their sin. But his promise that the children will go in is still good and so he tells them when you enter the land where you are to live which I am giving you here’s what you are to do.

What a gracious God, what a loving God. Those who have attempted, do march into Canaan at the end of Chapter 14 have died for their efforts. But you understand when it comes God’s time, and remember we know what the future events are, it’s always easy for us to look at Israel and shake our head at their rebellion, at their grumbling, at their lack of faith because we have read a ahead in the story the hard thing for us is when we are there, and we can’t read tomorrows chapter of our lives.

And now I have the difficulties and the trials and the pressures and I have to just trust the Lord will do what he says. And so I need to learn, yes I trust the Lord for my tomorrows. I can’t read because I know when Joshua takes the people in what’s going to happen to the mighty city of Jericho, how are they going to get over those walls? They are not, the walls are going to come down to them. No big problem. So they don’t have to learn how to conquer the wall, God will take care of the wall. Let’s say at least they should have trusted and these walled cities were nothing but I know that I read ahead of how God’s going to do it. Problem is I can’t get out of the book of my life and read about next month. Read about what God will do, how am I get out of this, what am I going to do. What about this, this is overwhelming we should have never done this, we should.

Now wait a minute, Israel had read tomorrows Chapter even, they just knew what God promised he would do and that was not good enough and so God would not been act on their behalf and they to bear the consequence but the promises of God still hold true. And there will be a generation that enters into the land and they will experience the fullness of blessing when they enter the land here’s the kind of the offering you are to offer. Here’s how you deal with strangers, here’s what you do for intentional sins, un-intentional sins. There is punishment meted out and we’ll look into in our next study.

I trust, we find these sections encouraging, disappointing, but encouraging, disappointing to see God’s people fail to trust him, disappointing to see God’s people grumble. You know, I don’t want to a have a grumbling tongue and I don’t want to have a ear that’s willing to listening to grumbling lips. Because that has an influence on me and when the people listened to the ten spies, pretty soon they thought like ten spies.

I will be careful I don’t need that, I don’t want that. I serve the same God Israel served. He is a mighty God. I don’t have all the answers to everything. I don’t know how he’s going to work it all out but I know he’s good to his word. I know I can trust him. I know I am safe in his hands. The obstacles that are overwhelming to me are overwhelming to me and I have to remind myself they are not overwhelming to my God and it’s in his strength that I will succeed and the lesson for me is the same here.

I just have the advantage to have all this history of God’s working recorded for me so I can learn from it. And there’s much less excuse and there is never any excuse for disobedience for me than for Israel because Israel had assured history compared to what I have and I have the written record of God’s faithfulness in dealing with his people and so all the promises to me whatever comes into my life I know I can trust him and he is faithful and will do as he is promised.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord, for your greatness and your goodness. It indeed is disappointing to see the continual rebellion of your people Israel. Disappointing to see time after time they challenged you, they refused to trust you, and Lord we would learn from these lessons of history. So easy for us to grumble, to complain, to become weak in our faith, to be overwhelmed by the challenge before us, the obstacles in front of us, the trials that we see. Lord, we need to focus on your greatness and you would do as you had promised. May we become giants in the faith.

Men like Caleb, Joshua who saw the same obstacles, who saw the same difficulties, but they saw them in light of your greatness, saw them in light of the promises that you had given; were confident that you would do as you had promised and that no one and nothing could stand before you. Lord, our hearts are strengthened and encouraged to trust you, to know that those things that are in our tomorrows, in the days before us are in your hands and you will bring us safely through to the appointed end and the glory that you have assured us will be ours someday in your presence. It will be a testimony to your grace as we walk faithfully before you in the days of the week ahead of us. We pray in Christ’s name, amen.