What do you think would happen if we succeeded in getting God really, really mad? The Wilderness Wanderers did that when they got to the Promised Land but wouldn’t enter. This devotion looks at God’s and Moses’ responses.
Nuggets
- We generally don’t address our sin until God tells us it is time to weed it out.
- Joshua and Caleb told the Israelites that, whoever God was with, they would win the land.
- The Israelites didn’t believe God was Who He said He was so, they didn’t believe His promises.
- God intervened for Joshua and Caleb but wanted to destroy the Israelites.
- Moses intervened and reminded God what other nations would think.
There was one time when the Wilderness Wanderers really tried God’s patience. In fact, He got very angry at them and threatened to destroy them all. What stopped Him?
Let's Put It into Context
“All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, ‘If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness!’” (Num. 14: 2 CSB)
The Wilderness Wanderers were throwing a fit. Technically, this was before they officially became the Wilderness Wanderers. At this point, they have just arrived at the Promised Land — the first time.
God is the one who ordered the spies to check things out. “The Lord spoke to Moses: ‘Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.’” (Num. 13: 1-2 CSB).
Why did God go and do that? “I the Lord test the mind and search the heart to give all according to their ways according to the fruit of their doings” (Jer. 17: 10 NRS). We generally don’t address our sin until God tells us it is time to weed it out.
Twelve spies went out and surveyed the land. They came back and said, “… We went into the land where you sent us. Indeed it is flowing with milk and honey, and here is some of its fruit” (Num. 13: 27 CSB).
The problem was ten of the spies said the Israelites couldn’t take the country (Num. 13: 31). Not only that, they wanted to go back to Egypt under new leadership (Num. 14: 4)!
Voice of Reason
“Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite community: ‘The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!’ While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting” (Num. 5-10 CSB)
Moses and Aaron were no use. They just folded. But then, in a way, maybe it wasn’t their battle to fight.
Joshua and Caleb were the spies who voted to keep on God’s plan. They had seen the land.
So, Joshua and Caleb reiterated that, yes, it was as good as the others said. But they reminded the people that they were missing the point.
The point was, whoever God was with, they would win the land. They were looking at it through the lens of human perspective.
The Israelites needed to flip it and look at it from God’s viewpoint. “But Jesus looked at them and said to them, ‘With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible’” (Mt. 19: 26 NKJV).
Did you see that it was conditional? “If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us” (Num. 14: 8 CSB).
We’ve talked before about God delighting in us. God delights in us because we praise Him and sings a song of joy over us.
Oh, that is not what the crowd wanted to hear. They wanted to hear rainbows and unicorns. They wanted to hear a walk in the park.
The Israelites definitely were not trusting in God. They obviously were not obeying Him.
How does the crowd respond? “Death to the messengers!”
Now, I don’t ever remember reading this verse before. “While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting” (Num. 14: 10 CSB).
God intervened for Joshua and Caleb. He stood in the gap for them.
Justified Anger
“The Lord said to Moses, ‘How long will these people despise me? How long will they not trust in me despite all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them with a plague and destroy them. Then I will make you into a greater and mightier nation than they are’” (Num. 14: 11-12 CSB)
God vented to Moses. Yes, the Israelites may have wanted a new leader (Num. 14: 4), but they were probably talking as much God as they were Moses.
What was God’s beef with His people? He said that they rejected Him.
I know, I know. They saw all of the ten plagues. They saw the Red Sea part before them and then return to drown the Egyptians.
And now they don’t want to have anything to do with God? They don’t want to trust Him to take care of them???
Do they have some screws loose???????
Bottom line is the Israelites didn’t believe God was Who He said He was so they didn’t believe His promises. They didn’t believe His provision.
All they had to do is believe. The evidence should have been overwhelming. God had every right to be angry.
Moses Steps into the Gap
“But Moses replied to the Lord, ‘The Egyptians will hear about it, for by your strength you brought up this people from them. They will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, Lord, are among these people, how you, Lord, are seen face to face, how your cloud stands over them, and how you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. If you kill this people with a single blow, the nations that have heard of your fame will declare, ‘Since the Lord wasn’t able to bring this people into the land he swore to give them, he has slaughtered them in the wilderness.’ So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as you have spoken: The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in faithful love, forgiving iniquity and rebellion. But he will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generation. Please pardon the iniquity of this people, in keeping with the greatness of your faithful love, just as you have forgiven them from Egypt until now’” (Num. 14: 13-19 CSB)
Moses stepped in between them. I know. The Creator of the universe, mad at His creation, and Moses redirects His attention.
That is just what Jesus did. He redirected God’s wrath for our sin to Himself.
No, Moses didn’t have to talk God into — or out of — anything. But we have to pray the prayer and ask. We have to say we are sorry.
Relationships take two. We can’t expect it to be a one-way give-us-all-the-good-stuff deal.
Part of me wonders how Moses could step up and defend the Israelites as he did. We have several examples of when Moses just got so frustrated with the Wilderness Wanderers.
But here, Moses defended them. He loved his people.
Moses gave a valid point. If God said one thing, and it didn’t turn out that way, it was going to wreck God’s credibility with the surrounding nations.
Making the Connections
The people of Israel saw God lead them out of Egypt — and yet they didn’t believe. Did they change?
“Jesus told him, ‘Unless you people see signs and wonders, you will not believe’” (Jn. 4: 48 CSB).
When we demand proof that God exists or God is calling us to something — when we demand the miracle — we aren’t looking to increase our faith in Him. Faith is the belief that the doctrines stated in God’s Word are true, even if we do not understand all aspects of them. “Now faith is the reality of what is hoped for, the proof of what is not seen” (Heb. 11: 1 CSB).
Some try to say that God is a dictator because He won’t just validate our opinions and beliefs. Yet, God let Moses step into the gap. He didn’t chide Moses for saying, “Well, You might want to think about this a moment here.”
If God is the meany people try to make Him out to being, He would have just swatted Moses out of the way like he was a fly on the counter top.
Listen to these sentences by Breay. “Sin was the only giant that they had reason to fear. Happy would it have been for the people, had they listened to these arguments.”
Moses didn’t have to fear God. God will always allow us to come to Him in prayer — even when we have messed up. We have to come in belief that He is the Sovereign Lord.
How Do We Apply This?
God allows us to enter into His presence even when we have messed up. He allows us to plead for ourselves. God also wants us to intercede for others.
When God is calling us to do something – especially if it is a good something – we need to submit to His will. We need to put our faith and trust in Him, even if we can’t see the outcome at the present time.
When we see others disobey God, we need to love them back into obedience. We shouldn’t judge them. We should intercede for them.
Father. There are so many times that we look at our world or our current situation and feel overwhelmed. Lord, forgive us when we don’t see Your guiding and protecting hand over us. Forgive us when we are like the Israelites and choose this life over eternal life. Help us to grow in You. Amen.
What do you think?
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