Peace & Blessings Beloved,
TGBTG for allowing us to see another day. I pray all is well with you and yours, and that your week has been fruitful & blessed thus far.
In the fourteenth post of our new Humble Servant Blog Series, Stories of the Bible, we're going to review Wandering in the Wilderness, which can be found in the book of Numbers, as chronicled in chapters 13 & 14.
We pick up our story with God telling the Israelites about all of the laws they had to follow because of His Covenant with them. Afterwards He led them away from Mt. Sinai, towards the Promised Land, also called Canaan.
The LORD went ahead of them in a cloud and the Israelites followed Him. God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob that He would give the Promised Land to their descendants. At this point and time, however, there were many people groups living in that land, called Canaanites , and these people did not worship or obey God. Rather, they worshipped false gods engaged in wickedness.
The LORD told the Israelites to get rid of all of the Canaanites, not to marry or make peace with them in any way. Their idols had to be completely destroyed. He warned them that if they failed to do so they would fall into the same sin and wickedness the Canaanites had, worshipping idols and not Him. When the Israelites reached the border of Canaan Moses chose twelve men, one from each tribe of Israel. He gave the men instructions to go and spy on the Canaanites to se if they were weak or strong. The twelve men traveled through Canaan for 40 days and then returned.
Upon their return, they told the Israelites that the land of Canaan was very fertile and the crops were abundant. Ten of the spies said that the cities were very strong, and filled with giants. They also warned that upon any attempted attack against them would be defeated. The other two spies, Caleb and Joshua, confirmed, which caused outrage among the rest of the Israelites, who then turned their anger towards Moses and Aaron for bringing them there. The men were fearful of dying in battle, while their wives and children would be enslaved.
As a result of this discovery, the Israelites wanted to choose a new leader to guide them back to Egypt. This greatly angered God, who came to the Tent of Meeting and admonished them for their rebellion, banishing them to the wilderness. Everyone who was 20 years or older would die there, with only Joshua and Caleb entering the Promised Land. Upon hearing this ominous news, the people expressed their regret, and decided to attack the Canaanites after all.
Moses warned them that they should not go, as God would not be with them, but they failed to listen and went ahead. Because of God's absence from their side the Canaanites killed many Israelites. Those who remained returned back to the wilderness, where thy would wander for the next forty years. Because of His love, grace, & mercy, God still chose to provide for these disobedient and rebellious people, giving them daily manna from heaven, as well as flocks of quail for them to eat. Our LORD even kept their garments and sandals from wearing out. He even produced water from a rock for them to drink.
Yet, despite all of this, Israel still complained and against both God and Moses. In the face of all of that continued ungratefulness God was still faithful, and did everything He promised would be done for the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. To add to the overall rebellion against God that the Israelites had more than demonstrated for decades, Moses chose to further disobey God when after He told Moses to speak to the rock so he could draw water from it. Instead, Moses chose to strike the rock twice with a stick. This dishonor angered God, and he informed Moses that he would not enter the Promised Land because of his disobedience.
After the Israelites had wandered in the wilderness for 40 years all of those who had rebelled were dead. God led the remaining to the edge of the Promised Land. Because of Moses' age, God chose Joshua to lead the people. God also told Moses that one day He would send Israel another prophet like him. Then, the LORD told Moses to go to the top of a mountain so he could see the Promised Land. After Moses' death the Israelites mourned for 30 days.
Their new leader, Joshua, obeyed and fully trusted God.
I pray you receive this with the love intended, and apply it to wisdom.
May the joy of the Lord continue to be your strength.
Love you much.
Stay Safe, Stay Healthy, Stay Blessed!
-Humble Servant
P.S- If you have not given your life to Jesus Christ, I implore you to take the time to do so right now. Use John 3:16 & Romans 10:9-10 as a foundation for making your confession of faith. And use Ephesians 2:1-10 to provide proper context for your salvation.