Yesterday Moses talked about how the generation of Israelites that came out of Egypt believed the negative report of ten of the spies who were sent to look into the land of Canaan. He spoke of how he encouraged the people to trust the Lord because the Lord would fight for them. Today we pick up there with the reaction that generation had to his words and with the reaction the Lord had to the people's words.
"In spite of this, you did not trust in the Lord your God, who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go. When the Lord heard what you said, He was angry and solemnly swore: 'No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the Lord wholeheartedly.'" (Dueteronomy 1:34-36) Caleb wasn't the only one of that generation to see the promised land, as we'll see in a minute, but above we see that the Lord was angry when He heard what the Israelites said. What did they say? They said, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?...We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:2-4)
They said, "It would have been better if we'd all perished together in Egypt without ever experiencing freedom from slavery. Tasting freedom only makes our coming defeat in Canaan more bitter. Or if only we'd died of hunger or thirst in this barren wilderness. That would have been more merciful than having our sons fall by the sword and our women and children taken captive by the enemy. We mustn't go any further. We cannot take Canaan. The best thing to do is get rid of Moses and Aaron and elect a leader who will take us back to Egypt. We'll submit ourselves to Pharaoh and take whatever abuse he chooses to dish out. At least in Egypt we won't lose our families. Whatever fate befalls one of us there will befall us all."
Have you ever heard the expression, "Better the devil you know than the devil you don't"? I'll paraphrase it like this: "Better to stick with what you're used to, even if it's bad, than trade it for something else that may end up being worse". The Israelites have something bad in their past: slavery in Egypt. But when they heard the report ten of the spies gave, they viewed moving on into Canaan as being worse than slavery. Why? Because their confidence failed them when they listened to the words of man instead of to the words of the Lord. After hearing the discouraging report about the large fortified cities and the men of giant stature in Canaan, the people felt their odds of survival were better in Egypt than in the promised land. They said, "We'd rather go back to Egypt and spend our lives under the yoke of slavery, and consign our descendants to slavery, than have our men wiped out in battle and our women and children taken by heathen foreigners." That would have been a valid point if indeed they were going to face defeat in Canaan. If these bad things were truly going to happen to them there, then going back to Egypt with their families was the better choice, even if that meant they would never be free. At least they'd be alive. At least they'd keep their families together. Slavery in Egypt was a bad thing, but if defeat was certain in Canaan, Egypt was preferable.
As we said earlier in the week, when we take God out of the equation, the difficulties of this life can appear pretty hopeless. But God is part of the equation of taking over the promised land; in fact, He's the biggest part of the equation. Could the people have taken the land on their own? I think not. If it had not been the Lord's will to uproot the pagan tribes and plant Israel in their place, Israel could not have been successful on her own in driving the tribes out of the land. Israel couldn't even have rescued herself from Egypt without the Lord, much less have survived in the wilderness long enough to reach the borders of Canaan and then attempt to take it over. Pharaoh and his people were too strong for the Israelites to face down. The Israelites could not have risen up against the Egyptians and won their freedom in battle. Freedom from Egypt was the Lord's doing, just as winning the land of Canaan will be the Lord's doing. With Him in the equation, victory is assured.
This is why it's so important that we study and learn the word of God. Then, when we hear negative words from our fellow man, we won't falter in our faith. We won't lose our confidence. Has the Lord ever told you to do something in particular and then someone expressed doubts about the success of the plan? I can recall a time of major distress in my life when almost everything that could go wrong was going wrong. Someone I am required to deal with on a very regular basis kept telling me to give up. She kept saying my circumstances would never change. She kept saying people would never change and that it's impossible for people to change. It was a near-daily assault, those negative words. But you know what else was happening daily? I was immersing myself in God's word, not because I'm some great "super Christian" but because I literally had nowhere else to turn. It was the only place, in that season of life, where I could find words to lift my spirits. If it had not been for memorizing and clinging to certain Bible verses at that time, I probably would have agreed with the person who kept telling me things were hopeless. I would have been defeated. But I knew God was part of the equation and I could not accept that He might not turn things around. I'll admit, I only gave my situation a 10% chance of turning around. I was 90% certain some aspects of my circumstances were not salvageable. But I wasn't 100% certain of that because I didn't know what God might do. I knew He was capable of parting seas and moving mountains. I knew He could open up springs in the desert and supply nourishment for a hungry soul, and my point is that if I'd done nothing but listen to the negative words of my fellow man I'd have given up. That's why so many of the Israelites gave up at Kadesh: they listened only to the negative words of ten of the spies and not to the promises of the Lord.
Not all of them gave up. Joshua and Caleb, two of the spies, firmly believed the Lord would do for Israel in the promised land exactly what He said He would do. Moses and Aaron also believed this. Why? Because they placed more emphasis on what the Lord says than what on man says. Because they kept the Lord in the equation, and as we said yesterday, when the Lord is on our side we are in the majority. It doesn't matter who disagrees; if the Lord says a thing can be done, it can be done.
What happened to the person who kept telling me my circumstances were hopeless, that I needed to give up, and that I wasn't going to receive a miracle? Well, I guess she had to eat her words because the Lord performed a miracle. The change He brought about in my circumstances was as dramatic as the difference between night and day. He suddenly started moving the mountains and parting the seas. Things that should have taken years to straighten out, by human standards, made a complete turnaround within a few short months. But what if I'd given up and given in because of the negativity of someone around me? Maybe I'd have never experienced this miracle. Maybe I wouldn't have learned things about the Lord I never knew before. Maybe my faith would have weakened instead of growing. But one thing I know for sure: it was the word of God that kept me from giving in. It wasn't due to any inner human strength of my own. It wasn't because I'm a person who never doubts or makes mistakes. It wasn't because I'm anything special at all. It was because God's word can be counted on. It was because God's word is a firm foundation under our feet when it seems like the whole world is falling down around us. If we don't fill our minds with the truth we will fall for lies. I guarantee it. We will fall into discouragement and turn back, just like the Israelites fell into discouragement at the borders of Canaan and wanted to turn back. We can't fill our minds with the garbage of lies and have victory in this fallen world. Even if studying and memorizing God's word only enables us to give our circumstances 10% odds of working out, that may be all we need to see God do great things for us.
What giants are you facing today? What circumstances would you like to see changed? Turn all those things over to the One who has never lost a battle. Allow His words to sink deep into your minds and don't give heed to anyone who tries to tell you the Lord isn't going to do anything for you. That's the kind of words the devil speaks. No matter who is giving us a negative report, behind every negative report about God is the slimy voice of the enemy of our souls. This enemy is the one who says, "You should just give up. God isn't going to change your circumstances. Who do you think you are that the Lord would do anything for you? Look how weak and frail you are. Look how often you fall into doubts and fears. Why should He reward your pitiful faith with miracles? You're a nobody. Your prayers are falling on deaf ears. The Lord isn't going to do a thing to help you." But, in contrast, what does the Redeemer of our souls say? He says that we are worth dying for. Does Someone who thinks we're worth dying for not have any interest in our prayers? Does Someone who thinks we're worth dying for not want to help us in our times of trouble? The next time a negative report comes to your ears and someone (or even your own mind) asks who you think you are that the Lord would come to your rescue, on the authority of God's word you may answer, "I am the child of the living God through the Lord Jesus Christ. My Father loves me. My Father wants good things for me. My Father hears me when I call to Him."
We'll close today with a link to a song that has been my theme song so far this year. It talks about how the Lord makes a way when it looks like there is no way. Every time I've needed encouragement this year, the words of this song which are based on God's holy word have encouraged me. I hope they have the same effect on you.
"Graves Into Gardens" by Elevation Worship
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