S) "64 But among these there was not a man of those who were numbered by Moses and Aaron the priest, who numbered the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai. 65 For the Lord had said of them, 'They shall surely die in the wilderness.' And not a man was left of them, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun."
Numbers 26:64-65 (NASB)
O) When Joshua and Caleb went as spies into the Promised Land, they were accompanied by ten other men. Ten out of twelve agreed: the inhabitants of the Land were too great, and God was not great enough. Because of that final lack of faith (the people had certainly shown many examples of their lack of faith up to that point), God said none of them would receive the blessing of the Promised Land. This is the root of their wandering in the desert for forty years. By the time of this second great census, none of the people in the original census were alive, still, except the two who disagreed with the ten.
A) This is the eventuality of what was already learned. In reading through Numbers from the beginning (and indeed the Bible, from the beginning), then this end is no surprise. It is a reminder to me of a few important facts, though. First, that God does what He says He will do. He told the people they would not reach the Promised Land, because they refused to believe His words. That is exactly what happened. Second, that it is vital to be counter-cultural, when the culture has turned away from believing the Word of God. There can be no peer pressure great enough to stop me from believing the words of God. Third, that it is a great help, a very great help, to have a second person believe with me. This is the beauty of a God-centered marriage. This is the beauty of mutual ministries in small groups.
P) Father, Your faithfulness is beyond me. It is bigger than what I want personally. It is bigger than my life, my story. Your faithfulness is beyond my ability to fully comprehend, and it is beyond my ability to repeat fully. This faithfulness You displayed to the Israelites, and throughout Your history to Your people, all the way through this present day, this faithfulness I want to proclaim. There is a grave warning in this story, that I must cling to the truth of Your Word. There is also encouragement in this story, that with other faithful believers, my devotion to You is easier. Help me to strengthen my relationships with other believers, God. I want to be an encouragement to believe You, in the lives of others. Let that begin with my wife, and children, and family, and then extend to other friends and relationships You give me. Let Your will continue to be done. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.
No comments:
Post a Comment