FRIDAY, 22 SEPTEMBER 2023
TEXT:
Numbers 14:1-25
1:
That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud.
2:
All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly
said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness!
3:
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?”
4:
And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5:
Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly
gathered there.
6:
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had
explored the land, tore their clothes
7:
and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and
explored is exceedingly good.
8:
If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing
with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
9:
Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the
land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is
with us. Do not be afraid of them.”
10:
But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the Lord
appeared at the tent of meeting to all the Israelites.
11:
The Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How
long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have
performed among them?
12:
I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you
into a nation greater and stronger than they.”
13:
Moses said to the Lord, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power
you brought these people up from among them.
14:
And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already
heard that you, Lord, are with these people and that you, Lord, have been seen
face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a
pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.
15:
If
you put all these people to death, leaving none alive, the nations who have
heard this report about you will say,
16:
‘The Lord was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on
oath, so he slaughtered them in the wilderness.’
17:
“Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared:
18:
‘The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.
Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the
sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.’
19:
In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as
you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20:
The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.
21:
Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills
the whole earth,
22:
not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the
wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—
23:
not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors.
No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it.
24:
But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me
wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants
will inherit it.
25:
Since the Amalekites and the Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back
tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea.”
(New
International Version Holy Bible)
TOPIC:
FEAR OF THE UNKNOWN
The
monster of the fear of the unknown crept into the camp on the return of those
who travelled to spy the land of Canaan.
The
entire community raised their voices and wept aloud, grumbling and wishing that
they had died in Egypt instead of falling by the sword in the wilderness. They
even wanted to stone Moses and Aaron (vs 10). Only Joshua and Caleb saw the
situation differently.
Moses
gathered courage and gave reasons why God should reconsider His decision of
wiping out the entire community. God forgave their actions, but with a penalty
(vs 26-35). All of these happened because of their fear of the unknown.
QUESTION:
Why must we not grumble when challenges stop us from understanding God's
direction?
PRAYER:
Oh Lord, today we are just like the children of Israel in the wilderness.
Please give us the faith of Joshua and Caleb to see You in all of the problems
we are facing without losing focus on You. Amen.
Remain
Blessed
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