"If the LORD Is Pleased with Us…"
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March 01, 2015 |
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 "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey" (Numbers 14:8).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
The Israelites reached the entrance of the Promised Land of Canaan one year after the Exodus from Egypt. Normally, from Egypt to Canaan, it would have taken only several days if they had taken the shortcut. But God guided them to a safer way, into the wilderness, though they had to go around. It was to avoid conflict with another people called the Philistines.
Also, the faith of the whole congregation of Israel was necessary for them to go into Canaan. God gave them the opportunities to gain faith by showing them His power through Moses whenever they faced difficult situations. Now let's look into the tests of faith given to the Israelites.
1. The ten spies and the Israelites did not pass the test of faith
Finally, the Israelites arrived at Kadesh-Barnea, just below the Land of Canaan. God had Moses select one leader from each of the twelve tribes to scout the land for forty days. This was the beginning of the test of faith to go into Canaan.
They scouted the Land of Canaan for forty days, and surely as God said, it was a land flowing with milk and honey. The soil was good and the fruits and crops were abundant. But there were several different peoples in the Canaan Land. They were very big and very strong. They were the sons of Anak, the part of the Nephilim.
They were so big that these spies thought they were like locusts compared to those people. As they were big, their cities and the fortifications were also big. Ten of the twelve spies were disheartened when they saw the reality of the situation. Hearing their negative reports, the Israelites began to complain against Moses and Aaron.
Numbers 14:2-3 reads, "All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, 'Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?'" As they said, they died in the wilderness.
We should understand how important confessions from our lips are, and nothing should be spoken recklessly.
2. Joshua and Caleb passed the test of faith with spiritual confession
God set the sons of Israel free from Egypt through the Ten Plagues. He let them cross the Red Sea like it was dry land. He gave them manna and quail; and guided them with a pillar of cloud by day and fire by night.
However, the Israelites just saw the reality and grumbled against God and Moses if things didn't agree with their benefits. They even came up with a plan to appoint another leader and return to Egypt. However there were Joshua and Caleb who began to plead with them and professed faith while rending their clothes.
They said, as written in Numbers 14:7-9, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." But the people were even going to stone the two men.
God sent the twelve spies to Canaan and tested their faith. As a result, only Joshua and Caleb passed the test. Men of faith do not look at the reality of things. They just understand what God's will is and know that they can do anything if God is with them. Then they act on their confessions to produce deeds of faith.
In fact, the Israelites experienced so many works of God, but except for Joshua and Caleb, they failed in the test of faith. They not only failed in the test but also stood against God with evil words and acts; in return they could not enter the Land of Canaan.
In the end, the promise of God for Canaan was moved to their descendants below twenty. And the ten spies who brought out the very bad reports of the land and made all the congregation grumble died by a plague before God.
3. The Israelites who didn't repent faced afflictions
As said in the following passages after Numbers 14:39, the Israelites regretted and they said they would attack the Canaan Land now.
Moses knew very well that God was not with them because it was already after they sinned, and he tried to stop them. He told them that God was not with them because they had turned back from following God. Despite Moses' advice, some people still went and attacked the hill country. The result was a terrible defeat.
Rather than going into Canaan Land like that, they had to repent of their evilness thoroughly and make up their minds to have spiritual faith. But this action of theirs was not done with an attitude of repentance. They just wanted to avoid punishment and tried to cover their fault. And, once again it resulted in disobedience.
Because of this, they had to face the pain of complete defeat, and finally, they began the forty-year life of wandering in the wilderness.
The first generation of the Exodus did not repent and turn back even after receiving the punishment of wandering around in the wilderness. Then one of the Levites named Korah tempted 250 influential leaders to join him and stood against Moses with them. Especially, Dathan and Abiram spoke in complete nonsense blaming Moses for their not being able to enter Canaan. Now God Himself resolved the problem. As Moses finished speaking about the death of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, the ground that was under them and their families split open. By now the people should have realized what God's will was. But instead they complained against Moses and Aaron.
The patient God planned something to let the people understand once again. God told Moses to get a rod from the leaders of each tribe, a total of twelve rods. God had him write the name of the leaders of each tribe on the rods, and then He had the rods be put in the tent of testimony. God wanted to show them evidence. He made the rod of Aaron bud overnight.
But even this sign was useless for them. Even after they had seen this, when they had no drinking water or became tired of eating manna every day, they complained in the same way as before. Time passed and young children during the Exodus grew up to play key roles. The forty years of time was almost up. The people were about to end their hardships in the wilderness and march into the Promised Land.
All of the first generation of the Exodus, except for two, died in the wilderness because of their having complained against God at the Kadesh-Barnea. Moses and Aaron also could not go into the Canaan Land because, as the leaders, they had the responsibility for it. Only Joshua and Caleb received the promise that they would go into the Land of Canaan with the next generation.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Joshua and Caleb were not afraid even at the sight of the big people in Canaan and their strong fortresses. They confessed, "If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey" (Numbers 14:8). This confession of Joshua and Caleb can also be applied to us today in the same way. If God is pleased with you, you can receive answers to whatever you ask for.
The thing which pleases God is spiritual faith. Joshua and Caleb pleased God with faith. I urge you to be strong and courageous with faith like Joshua and Caleb, and thereby to please God and receive answers to all your prayer titles. I pray in the name of the Lord that you will eventually join the glory of New Jerusalem.
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