Imagine this story. A committed follower of Jesus experienced a grave lapse in judgment, leading to a night of heavy drinking at a bar. While driving home intoxicated, he was involved in a horrific car wreck. Though he survived, he lost an arm in the accident.
After his recovery, he earnestly sought God’s forgiveness, which was mercifully granted. However, his arm was not restored. For the rest of his life, he carried the physical and emotional reminder of that single, regrettable choice.
Something similar happened to the Israelites. God listened to Moses and forgave them; however, He decreed they would not enter the Promised Land.
Then the Lord said, “I do forgive, just as you have asked; nevertheless, as I live and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord
None of the people who have seen my glory and the signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness and yet have tested me these ten times and have not obeyed my voice
Shall see the land that I swore to give to their ancestors; none of those who despised me shall see it” (Numbers 14:20-23).
The two exceptions God made to this decree were the faithful men, Caleb and Joshua.
You will remember Jesus’ words to Satan when tempted in the wilderness. Jesus said to him, “Again it is written, You shall not put the Lord your God to the test” (Matthew 4:7).
The Israelites had tested God ten times by not obeying His voice (Numbers 14:22). Even after witnessing God’s miracles during the Exodus from Egypt, experiencing the daily provision of manna, and seeing His presence in the cloud and pillar of fire, the Israelites still refused to trust Him.
Now, they would face their greatest fear: dying in the wilderness. According to the census, everyone aged 20 and older would perish during their wandering (Numbers 14:29).
Despite having already tested God ten times, some leaders decided they needed to enter the land anyway. They believed they were strong enough without God’s help and ignored Moses’s advice. When they ventured into the hill country, they were defeated by the Amalekites and Canaanites.
This defeat proved once again that testing God is absolutely the wrong choice.
Reflections
How can we avoid the kind of behavior that was exhibited by the Israelites? This is not an exhaustive list, but I hope it will spur some thought.
(1) Henry Blackaby’s book Experiencing God has a subtitle, Knowing and Doing the Will of God. We can’t do the will of God if we don’t know what it is.
A regular reading of the Bible will enable us to better know God’s will, so we can adjust our lives to follow His direction.
(2) Once God’s will becomes clear to us, we need to agree in our minds that it is the correct course of action. Then, we need to follow our heart with the proper action. Isaiah instructed his listeners with these words.
If you consent and obey,
you shall eat the good of the land,
but if you refuse and rebel,
you shall be devoured by the sword,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken. (Isaiah 1:19-20)
(3) Blackaby writes that we must find out where God is working and join Him in His work.
Instead of planning our work and asking God to bless our plans, we learn where God is at work and in faith join Him.
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 