Defying God's Will (Num. 14:1-10)

12/31/2008 10:15 AM

SPIRITUAL DIARY

My Worship Time                                        Focus:  Defying God’s will

Bible Reading & Meditation                        Reference:  Numbers 14:1-10

            Message of the verses:  “1 ¶  Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night.  2  All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness!  3  "Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?"  4  So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."

            5 ¶  Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel.  6  Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes;

7  and 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.  8  "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us—a land which flows with milk and honey.  9  "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, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."  10  But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.”

            I would think that it was very difficult for Moses to write the words that he wrote in this section of Numbers, for Numbers fourteen is a very difficult chapter to read let alone write.  Here is found the children of Israel trying to stone Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb because they had their fear in the wrong place for they feared the inhabitants of the land instead of the Lord whom should be feared at all times.  The were bring discipline upon themselves because they were not following the will of God, which was made very plain to them for they had heard from being a child that the Lord was going to bring a deliverer to them and then they would be brought out of Egypt and brought into the Promised Land, and yet because of their fear of the inhabitants of the land they were never going to be allowed into the Promised Land.  Joshua and Caleb told the people that the protection had been removed from the inhabitants of the land for the Lord had removed it an would have caused them to be defeated by the children of Israel without a problem, but the children of Israel did not believe Joshua and Caleb, but believed the other ten spies.

            I believe that Satan had a lot to do with those ten spies and also with those who came along with the children of Israel who caused a lot of these problems, but in the end it was the people who would be disciplined for their unbelief.  I read the twelfth chapter of Hebrews which follows the great faith chapter and in verses one and two this is what it says, “Therefore, since we have so great a cloud of witnesses surrounding us, let us also lay aside every encumbrance and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

2  fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”  I believe that the writer of Hebrews is saying that the sin which so easily entangles us is unbelief, a lack of the kind of faith that he had just written about in chapter eleven was the sin that causes the most problem for a believer.  That was certainly the sin that caused the most trouble for those in chapter fourteen of Numbers. 

            Dr. Wiersbe speaks of the sin of this section as defying the will of God, and that is what these people were doing, but the reason that they were defying the will of God was because they did not have the faith in God, or His Word, that would have caused them to believe in the will of God for them, which was going into the Promised Land as God had promised them.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I kind of see a parallel with a lot of the Church today that goes along with the unbelief that the children of Israel had in their wilderness walk.  It is not a perfect parallel, but as I wrote earlier these people knew that God had promised to send them a deliverer and once that deliverer came they would not listen to him.  There are a lot of the Church today who does not believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will come again as He has promised so many times in the Scriptures that He would.  “3 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, 4 and saying, "Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was from the beginning of creation." (2 Peter 3:3-4)  I do not think that the Lord is very happy with many members of the Church today who says similar things that are written if 2 Peter, just as He wasn’t happy with the children of Israel who did not believe His promise of leading them into the Promised Land. I do believe that the Lord Jesus is going to return, and I believe that the signs of the times show that it will be soon, and I am ready for His return, looking forward to it.

My Steps of Faith for Today:

1. I want to trust the Lord to guide my path each day.
2. I want to trust the Lord to give me grace each day to do His will.
3. I want to trust the Lord to teach me, and for me to learn contentment.
4. I want to trust the Lord to give me wisdom to write a letter to our neighbors inviting them to a Bible Study on the end times.

Memory verses for the week:                                              Romans 6:14-18

14.    For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

15.    What then?  Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?  May it never be!

16.    Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either sin leading to death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?

17.    But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which your were committed,

18.    and have been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.

12/31/2008 11:11 AM