Day 59 – Numbers 11-13

Talking Points

• Three action-packed chapters!
• Very quickly after starting the journey, God’s people are found dissatisfied. The grumbling and complaining begins again. But, before you get too frustrated with the Israelites, consider how often we do this very thing. Seeing God’s great power, grace, and provision, they complain about what they do not have and long for the way things used to be. Ungrateful. How quickly we all forget God’s great mercies.
• Moses is caught in the middle again. He hears the complaining of the people and wonders why God has placed him in this tough position. Leadership is a tough place to navigate.
• Moses’ own sister and brother become jealous of him and speak out against him. God becomes angry with them and chastises them. Moses intercedes on their behalf. That is the type of love we are commanded to have – compassionate and self-sacrificial.
• In a profound event, 12 spies are sent out to bring back a scouting report of the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb are two of the spies. The report comes back and fear leads the majority to say the land is not able to be taken. Even their knowledge of God is not enough to change their opinions. Caleb and Joshua have confidence that God will fulfill His promise to bring them safely into the Promised Land.

Thoughts

There was absolutely every reason for the spies to fear and give the bad scouting report that they gave. Except… God had told them exactly what to expect when they came to this land. In Exodus 3:8, He told Moses it would be “a good and spacious land…flowing with milk and honey…[a] place of the Canaanite and the Hittite and the Amorite and the Perizzite and the Hivite and the Jebusite.” Do you see? God had given them everything they needed to have the faith to be obedient. He gave them His Word. The difference between the ten spies who feared and the two spies who were confident was their faith — would they take God at His Word? Would they remember that not one word of His has ever failed? That’s where we get confidence. That’s where we find faith.

Today, if you look in admiration at the two faithful men who had a confidence that could not be shaken, take heart! In committing to read God’s Word, you will know His character, His power, His promises for yourself. Then, when the time comes to step in faith, you won’t worry about what others think. You won’t look to the right or the left. You’ll step in faithful confidence in who God is. And, God will bless you. “…by all means…”