It’s important to note that when we’re going through difficult times, we put our focus on the things of God. We need to maintain a faithful perspective.
When God’s plan becomes too hard, keep trusting Him anyway rather than returning to your old life. The whole point of trust and faith is that it is only activated when there is distrust. Your faith is built up in times of hardship.
The book of Leviticus stresses worship and spiritual position while Numbers’ theme is about the walk and progress.
The issue with the Israelites and essentially us, is that we want to move swiftly from salvation, to victory over every area of our lives. Most often, we resemble the Israelites in complaining, backsliding and unbelief.
17Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? 20Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 21So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. 22 Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) 23 When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there. 25 After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned
Numbers 13:17-25 NLT
26 Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly [a]flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. 28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”
Numbers 13:26-29 NKJV
The message from most of the spies was, “The land is as wonderful as God promised, but we can’t conquer it.” Essentially they’re saying;
- Despite God’s faithful promise, the people who dwell in the land are strong.
- Despite God’s faithful promise, the cities are fortified and very large.
- Despite God’s faithful promise, we saw the descendants of Anak there.
When you start focusing on the opposition and everything wrong with it the further you grow away from God’s promise.
Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.”
Numbers 13:30 NKJV
This report recognised the faithfulness of God’s promise, and yet said, “despite all that we can’t conquer the land.” Eight spies compared themselves with the giants, whilst the two compared against God. We are not called to compare ourselves to giants. We are called to compare our giants to God.
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.”
Numbers 14:1-4 NKJV
The unbelief of the ten spies accurately represented the unbelieving heart of the nation. Their tearful grief had at least four distinct aspects.
-They mourned because God would not make it all “easy.”
-They mourned with resentment against God, putting the blame on Him.
-They mourned and gave in to the feeling of unbelief and fear.
-They mourned over a loss, believing the promise of Canaan had died.
We often expect things to be easy and reject adversity. God wanted them to “die” to their unbelief and trust in self. God is calling us to die unto self and our own abilities.
In essence, this generation of Israel rejected a life of faith. When we distrust and doubt God, we should ask which attribute of His we think will fail. Do we think God has lost His power? His goodness? His honesty? His faithfulness? His love?
If we start to doubt one of these things, we need to go back to the Word which backs-up/reminds us of His attributes.
We have a way of believing everything good about God except at the particular point we are being challenged. This is a place of testing.
17 And now, I pray, let the power of my Lord be great, just as You have spoken, saying, 18 ‘The Lord is longsuffering and abundant in mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He by no means clears the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 Pardon the iniquity of these people, I pray, according to the greatness of Your mercy, just as You have forgiven these people, from Egypt even until now.” 20 Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; 21 but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord— 22 because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, 23 they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.
Numbers 14:17-24 NKJV
God praised Caleb, who stood on the side of faith while almost all of Israel did not believe God’s promise or goodness. Let us not be a people that dies in the wilderness.
7 That is why the Holy Spirit says,
Hebrews 3:7-15 NLT
“Today when you hear his voice, 8 don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled, when they tested me in the wilderness. 9 There your ancestors tested and tried my patience, even though they saw my miracles for forty years. 10 So I was angry with them, and I said, ‘Their hearts always turn away from me. They refuse to do what I tell them.’ 11 So in my anger I took an oath: ‘They will never enter my place of rest.’” 12 Be careful then, dear brothers and sisters. Make sure that your own hearts are not evil and unbelieving, turning you away from the living God. 13 You must warn each other every day, while it is still “today,” so that none of you will be deceived by sin and hardened against God. 14 For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. 15 Remember what it says: “Today when you hear his voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.”
In a session of wilderness do not harden your heart against God. Go back to the Word and consume it, which will help you against unbelief.
