Numbers 14 - Are You Someone God Can Work With?

This chapter compares two types of people. First we have most of the Israelite community:

¹ Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. ² Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. ³ “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” ⁴ Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

³⁹ When Moses reported the Lord’s words to all the Israelites, the people were filled with grief. ⁴⁰ Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lord has promised us.”

As you can see, the people are afraid and lack trust in God. They fear the people of the land and won't accept the blessing God has offered them.  Then there is a change of heart and they are ready to trust. But why does this change of heart come about. Not because of repentance, no, because they don't like the consequences of their choice. The people are just flitting from one fear to another, trying to find the easy and safe path, rather than the path of trust. Now maybe they were so internally hurt by the Egyptians and being slaves that they don't posses the ability to step forward in faith and be courageous. But the bottom line is, that the feasrs of the moment dictate their decisions. God is not willing to work with this kind of person. God wants a person who trusts and will listen to God's voice and be obedient.

The other personalitry we see is that of Caleb and Joshua:

⁶ Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. ⁷ They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! ⁸ And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. ⁹ Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

These two have trusted the promises of God and know that God is mightier than the people of the land. They have seen God's miracles and remember God's strength over their fears. These tow alone, God promises to bring into the land when all the others have died.  This is the type of person that God can use and work with and in fact when they finally do enter the Promised Land, these men are instruments of God used to lead the people.

So where are you? If I am honest, i fall into both camps. Just six months ago, I picked up my life and moved in spite of many fears but believing this was God's plan for me. I trusted that God would take care of me and provide and God has been very faithful. But if I step back a few months earlier, I thought God had different plans and one could say I was just going to where things looked best at the moment. I honestly can't really say what was or wasn't in that particular situation, maybe God prepared me to move by sending me down another path that would start me thinking of leaving home, so that I would take that step when it came, or maybe I was very like the Israelites heading for the easy and safe road. but the truth is that isn't the only time that I possibly was like a wisp in the wind. In fact, for many years, I was not very assertive for myself or willing to take a lot of risks. I was more interested in trying to please others. Fortunately, the others I wanted to please walked with God and that didn't head me in horrible directions, but it did cause me to deny myself some of what I wanted and needed and that did come back to bite me.

So where are you? Are you like Caleb and Joshua, the Israelites, or like me who spends time in both camps. I hope I am becoming more like Caleb and Joshua and if you aren't already there, I pray that you also will become more like these two men.