Today’s scripture reading is part of a speech which Moses delivered to Israel in which he reminded them of their failure to believe in God’s ability to conquer the Promised Land for them. This prompts us to examine our willingness to believe God’s promises. Are we willing to believe and trust God, even when everyone around us does not?
At the end of the book of Numbers, Israel was on the east bank of the Jordan River, across from Jericho, poised to enter the Promised Land. Joshua had been appointed to succeed Moses as leader of Israel. Moses knew he was going to die and not enter the land of Canaan. His last act before dying was to review Israel’s history and remind them of the statutes that had been given to them at Mount Sinai.
When we stopped reading yesterday, Moses had recounted their journey from Mount Sinai to Kadesh-Barnea, at which point Israel was to enter the land of Canaan and conquer it.
Deut. 1:22 ¶ “Then all of you came near to me and said, ‘Let us send men before us, that they may search out the land for us and bring back to us word of the way by which we should go up and the cities which we shall enter.’
This incident is recorded in Numbers 13.
Deut. 1:23 And the thing was good in my sight, and I took twelve of your men, one man for each tribe.
Deut. 1:24 Then they turned and went up into the hill country and came to the valley of Eshcol and spied it out.
Deut. 1:25 Then they took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought word back to us and said, ‘It is a good land which Yahweh our God is about to give us.’
Notice the word “good”. The spies saw that the land was a good land. Less than two years earlier, Yahweh had brought the plagues upon Egypt and delivered Israel out of slavery; therefore, Israel should have been excited that Yahweh was about to use His power to give them the land of Canaan.
Deut. 1:26 ¶ “Yet you were not willing to go up, but rebelled against the command of Yahweh your God;
Look at the word “rebelled”. Israel disobeyed Yahweh.
Deut. 1:27 and you grumbled in your tents and said, ‘Because Yahweh hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to give us into the hand of the Amorites to destroy us.
Take note of the word “grumbled”. Don’t miss the pessimism, and the false accusation that Yahweh hated Israel. Again, within the past two years, Yahweh had destroyed Egypt with the ten plagues and defeated the army of Egypt at the Red Sea while Israel crossed on dry land. Israel had no reason to doubt Yahweh. They certainly had no reason to accuse Him of hating them.
Deut. 1:28 Where can we go up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, “The people are bigger and taller than we; the cities are large and fortified to heaven. And moreover, we saw the sons of the Anakim there.”’
Yes, Israel faced a powerful foe in the Promised Land, but Egypt had been very powerful also.
Deut. 1:29 Then I said to you, ‘Do not be in dread, nor fear them.
Deut. 1:30 Yahweh your God, who goes before you, will Himself fight on your behalf, just as He did for you in Egypt before your eyes,
Deut. 1:31 and in the wilderness where you saw how Yahweh your God carried you, just as a man carries his son, in all the way which you have walked until you came to this place.’
Deut. 1:32 But for all this, you did not believe Yahweh your God,
Don’t miss the phrase “you did not believe Yahweh”. Israel failed to believe Yahweh even though they had plenty of experience proving that He would fight for them and fulfill His promises.
As we live our lives, there are times we can’t see how God is going to provide. However, God promised that He will supply all our needs (see Philippians 4:19). Are we willing to believe that God will do so, even when it appears to be impossible for Him to do so? Are we willing to trust God no matter how strong His enemies appear to be?
Deut. 1:33 who goes before you on your way, to spy out a place for you to encamp, in fire by night and cloud by day, to show you the way in which you should go.
Deut. 1:34 ¶ “Then Yahweh heard the sound of your words, and He was angry and swore an oath, saying,
Look at the word “angry”. Many people think God is only love, sweetness, and grace. God is those things, but He also gets angry.
Deut. 1:35 ‘Not one of these men, this evil generation, shall see the good land which I swore to give your fathers,
Deut. 1:36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and to his sons I will give the land on which he has set foot, because he has followed Yahweh fully.’
Don’t miss the word “except”. There were 600,000 men who left Mount Sinai to enter the Promised Land. All of them died in the wilderness except Caleb and Joshua. Caleb and Joshua entered the Promised Land because they were willing to be different than the other 600,000 men.
Humans naturally want to go along with the crowd. We want to fit in and be like everyone else. However, we need to love and fear God more than man. Even when everyone around us doubts God, we need to believe in Him and trust Him to fulfill His promises.
Deut. 1:37 Yahweh was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.
This is a reference to when Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it (see Numbers 20).
Deut. 1:38 Joshua the son of Nun, who stands before you, he shall enter there; strengthen him, for he will cause Israel to inherit it.
Deut. 1:39 Moreover, your little ones who you said would become plunder, and your sons, who this day have no knowledge of good or evil, shall enter there, and I will give it to them, and they shall possess it.
Deut. 1:40 But as for you, turn around and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.’
Tomorrow, we will read how Israel reacted after they were told to turn around and wander in the wilderness for forty years.
There are times in our lives when we can’t see how God will provide. There are times when the majority of Christians around us fail to believe God’s promises. However, we should always trust God. We must be willing to break with the crowd, trust God, and serve Him faithfully, regardless of what people around us are doing. If we are willing to be the only human who trusts God and follows Him, we may be rewarded, just as Caleb and Joshua were rewarded for going against the majority.
Thanks for visiting Bible Mountain. If you have already joined my email list, thank you and please tell others about Bible Mountain. If you have not joined my email list yet, please do so now. In order to join, go to Bible Mountain dotcom, click on subscribe, and that will take you to a page where you can sign up. Your email address will not be sold nor given away. Once again, thanks for visiting Bible Mountain.
“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”