Day 60 – Numbers 14-15, Psalm 90

Talking Points

• Hearing the negative report of the ten spies, the people cried and wept. Instead of trusting God, they are easily swayed into disbelief. The Israelites begin to grumble against Moses and Aaron and even question God. It seems seeds of disbelief grow quickly.
• Joshua and Caleb plead with the people, making a clear case for obedience to God and begging the people not to rebel against God. Hating the conviction, the people become even more obstinate and aim to stone them.
• God becomes angry and tells Moses He’s going to destroy the nation and build an even greater nation through him. In a great, character-revealing act, Moses pleads for the people. Instead of seizing the opportunity to be exalted himself, he seeks the best for the people. The center of his case is that the lost world is watching God’s response and would say God could not fulfill His promise. He tells God it is for His glory that He would deliver His people to the Promised Land. He did not want God’s name slandered.
• Upon hearing the consequence of their disbelief, the Israelites regret their rebellion. In the morning, they line up to go into the Promised Land, hoping to make it right. Moses tells them that if they go, it will be without God. The lesson is this — delayed obedience is still disobedience. True obedience is quick and complete.

• There is a record of a man who breaks the sabbath by gathering wood. We might not consider this a vile act. It’s not what we consider a grievous sin — he gathers wood. Yet, under God’s direction and very publicly, he is stoned to death. God is showing that any sin is to disregard Him. Deliberate, defiant disobedience is actually incredibly arrogant and is presuming upon God’s mercy. He shows the penalty is steep for such dishonor.

Thoughts

Why trust God? Why listen to what He says? Why obey Him? Should we do it because He commands it of us? I mean, it is right that we should obey Him. So, is that why? Should we do it because it is best for us? His way truly is best, so is that why? Or, maybe we do it because it honors Him. That would be an admirable ambition, so is that why? Why should we trust God?

While all of the above reasons are great, there is one that is greater. We trust God because of who He is. To say it another way, when we know who God is, we will trust Him! In this account, when Joshua and Caleb plead with the people to trust God, they are confident of the outcome because they have confidence in God. “…He will bring us into this land” (14:8). They were sure of His character and His nature. They knew Him to be trustworthy and dependable, no matter the circumstance. Good grief! Remember the Red Sea? They knew God was faithful, no matter the opinion of the majority. They knew God. So, they trusted God.

As we make this trip through God’s Word, remember that through it, God is revealing Himself to us, that we might know Him, and that we might trust Him. Lord, let us grow in our knowledge of You, and let our trust be great.