God is calling us to trust Him! I ask myself sometimes, which was the greater miracle, the children of Israel crossing of the Red Sea on dry land, or the total destruction of the crack troops of the elite Egyptian army, chariots and horses that raced in after them – it was like drowning tanks! So here, in Numbers 14, God is saying, “I performed all these miracles and still these people don’t trust in Me.” God is always demonstrating His Power, always calling us to trust Him – and He never, ever fails!
To me, the story of the 12 spies sent to spy out the Promised Land is a tremendous challenge to my faith. The children of Israel were still in the wilderness, and it had taken them a long time to get to this place. Now the command of the Lord to Moses is to pick twelve representatives from each of the twelve tribes, and to send them to see for themselves what the future was. I find this very interesting, because they were actually sent out to see the future! - And the level of their trust in God would affect whether they received the promise or not.
I want to reveal faith to you in a unique way. I became very moved as I was reading, that some of the greatest illustrations of faith are not just in the New Testament, but in the Old. I want to look at the Book of Numbers, Chapters 13 and 14. To me, the story of the 12 spies sent to spy out the Promised Land is a tremendous challenge. The children of Israel were still in the wilderness, and it had taken them a long time to get to this place. Now the command of the Lord to Moses is to pick twelve representatives from each of the twelve tribes, and to send them to see for themselves what the future was. I find this very interesting, because they were actually sent out to see the future!
In Numbers 13:18-20 Moses sends them out to see the land and the people, whether they are strong or weak, few or many, to see whether the land is good or bad, what cities they dwell in, or tents, or strongholds, whether the land is productive or not, is there timber – but importantly – ‘to be of good courage’ and bring back the fruit of the land, as it was the time of the first grapes.
So in v20, the twelve went up and searched the land, from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob and to Hamath. They went to the south, to Hebron where the children of Anak were, (Hebron being built seven years earlier than Zoan in Egypt – and today Hebron is very important to the Jewish people), and they came to Eshcol, where they gathered grapes, pomegranates, and figs. And so, after searching the land for 40 days, they returned in vv25-26 to the wilderness of Padan where the children of Israel were waiting. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to the whole congregation. It’s important to note that they came back and spoke to the WHOLE congregation. And they told them that it ‘flows with milk and honey’, exactly as God had promised.
But in v28, ten of the spies continued, ‘“Nevertheless the people are strong that dwell in the land, the cities are walled and very great, and we saw the children of Anak there”’ – these were giants. They saw everything, those that dwelt in the land of the south and those in the mountains, those by the sea, and those by Jordan. The people must have been getting agitated as they listened to this report, because Caleb (one of the spies) stilled the people, saying, ‘“Let us go up at once and possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.”’
But the ten that went up with Caleb said, in v31, ‘“We are not able to go up against the people – we can’t overcome them – for they are stronger than we are!”’ And they brought an evil report of the land which they had searched out, saying, ‘“The land we have searched is a land which eats up its inhabitants, and all the people we saw are men of great stature, we saw giants, sons of Anak – and we were like grasshoppers in their sight!”’ So their recommendation to the congregation was, “Don’t go up. It’s too much of a struggle, we can’t succeed, don’t go!”
And the result was that, in Numbers 14:1, ‘the whole congregation lifted up their voices and cried out, and they wept all night’! There was a massive rebellion against Moses and Aaron, because the WHOLE congregation said, ‘“Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness! Why has God brought us to this land, to die by the sword and our wives and our children should fall prey? Isn’t it better for us to return to Egypt?”’ I find this absolutely appalling, after they had experienced the tremendous miracle of their release and the crossing of the Red Sea, after they have met and experienced the Lord, after they had commandment from Him at Sinai, after they have seen many miracles of provision, after they have many times seen the Power of God… Yet now they’re saying, it would be better to go back!!! What? Go back into Egypt? Into slavery? Deny all that God has done?!!!
In Numbers 14:5, we see the reaction of Moses and Aaron. They fall on their faces in front of the whole assembly. They’re shocked. Joshua and Caleb too, who had been with these other ten spies and had seen the land, they were so shocked, they tore their clothes in horror! In v7, they speak to the whole company of the children of Israel saying. ‘“The land we passed through is exceeding good…” – and note vv8-9 where they speak so strongly – “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land and give it to us – a land which we know is flowing with milk and honey! Only don’t rebel against the Lord, don’t be afraid of the people in the land, for they are bread for us – we will ‘eat’ them, they will not ‘eat’ us – for their defence is gone – the Lord is not with them – the Lord is with us, don’t be afraid!”’
“If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’ 9 Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they[c] are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.” (Numbers 14:8-9, NKJV)
This was a tremendous challenge of faith! Here you have a majority who are afraid and in rebellion, who want to go in a different direction and want a different leader. Unfortunately the majority so often rule, and in the Church today, so often it is the majority who are in the negative, and only a minority who actually step out in faith and believe God. So Joshua and Caleb said, “The Lord is with us, don’t be afraid!” I have preached on this so many times, but the Holy Spirit has made this come alive to me in a totally new way. Because, v10, what happened next? The congregation went to stone Joshua and Caleb! Here you are, we’ve got two men of faith saying, “If God is pleased with us, then God is with us, and nothing is impossible!” What an example of faith – going against the witness of the ten who had no faith at all but wanted to go back! And then the WHOLE of Israel rose up against the two men of faith and wanted to stone them to death! Thank God, His Glory appeared in that same verse, in the tabernacle of the congregation, before all the children of Israel! The Lord Himself stopped them in their rebellion! Because He showed and manifested His Glory!
Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before all the children of Israel. (Numbers 14:10, NKJV)
I like that! Scripture is very clear, there are times when the Lord reveals Himself in Glory! And now, in Numbers 14:11, the Lord speaks to Moses, ‘“How long will this people PROVOKE Me” – this rebellious, faithless people, amongst whom there’s only two in maybe more than two million, who are standing by faith, saying if God is for us, He will give us the land and we will ‘eat’ them – and God says, “How long will this people PROVOKE Me?!” – “How long will it be before they actually believe Me?!” What a challenge this is! God says, “How long does it take for people to have faith to believe and to trust Me?!!!”
I believe that, in this specific time in our nation, in the world, this is a strong challenge to us as Christians: HOW LONG DOES IT TAKE BEFORE GOD CAN CONVINCE US TO TRUST HIM?!!! Yes, God knows, this faith, this trust does not come easily, because He goes on to say to Moses, ‘“How long before they will believe in Me, for all the signs which I have shown among them?”’ In other words, God is saying, “Look, I’ve given so many proofs and demonstrations of My faithfulness and My Power, how much more do I have to do?!!!”
I love to preach on Deuteronomy 4 where Moses reminds the people that the greatest miracle ever seen on the face of the earth – from the beginning of time till now, from one side of the world to the other – the greatest miracle ever seen at that time was the crossing of the Red Sea! I ask myself sometimes, which was the greater miracle, the children of Israel crossing of the Red Sea on dry land, or the total destruction of the crack troops of the elite Egyptian army, chariots and horses that raced in after them – it was like drowning tanks! So here, in Numbers 14, God is saying, “I performed all these miracles and still these people don’t trust in Me.” God is always demonstrating His Power, always calling us to trust Him – and He never, ever fails!
It hurts me – God is calling us to trust Him! I love what Balaam later said to Balak when he was paid to curse Israel as they were wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and approaching his territory, Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man who lies – God does what He says! God has blessed and I cannot reverse it!”
If YOU need faith, ASK GOD! Because here God says to Moses, if they will not believe in Me at this point, I will destroy them, v12, “I will smite them with pestilence, I will disinherit them, and Moses, I’ll make a greater nation out of you than this lot!”
Moses now says something which I believe is unique in the Bible, it has always moved and impressed me: in v13, Moses speaks and answers God back! There HAS to be an answer, and sometimes spiritually, we as God’s people, have to give an answer! And what Moses says is this, “You can’t destroy them! Sorry, Lord, You can’t!” I’m reading vv13-16, where Moses says to the Lord, “You can’t, because then the Egyptians will hear it (for You brought Your people out from them by Your Power), and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land who have also heard that You are with Your people!” Moses is saying to God in effect, “Look, Israel is already such a powerful demonstration to the Egyptians that are in fear, because You destroyed their crack troops, their chariots, their infantry, the whole lot, in the sea, but You brought Your people through on dry land – Egypt’s told it to all the nations around! And if You destroy this people – this is such a good argument, Moses would have made a good lawyer – if You destroy this people, then the Egyptians whose armies were destroyed in the Red Sea will tell a different story, how You let Your people down and failed them, because YOU could NOT bring them into the land!”
Moses is saying,vv14-16, “The inhabitants of the land have heard You are among these people, that they have seen You face to face, that You go before them by day time in a pillar of cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. If You kill all these people as one man, then the nations, which have heard of Your fame – come on, the ungodly, sinful unbelieving nations have already heard of the Power and the Glory of God – this is what the nations will say: Because THE LORD WAS NOT ABLE to bring this people into the land which he promised them, therefore He has slain them in the wilderness!” WOW!
We as believers, as Christians are very much like the children of Israel, in this sense, that we are the only witness to the world! We are! We’ve crossed the Red Sea, we have crossed from death to life! God, You have shown Your Power, and still today, through Christians You demonstrate, You show Your Power through miracles! I’ll never forget what happened in Caesarea in Israel in 2016, when all the forces of the enemy were against us, trying to destroy us and stop us from having 4000 unbelieving Jews in that stadium! Having tried everything and failed, the last thing the devil threw at me, on the day, was the biggest storm they had ever seen on the Mediterranean, whipping up a sandstorm so strong, it made the gantry holding our sound system and cameras sway one metre each way until it was in danger of collapsing so that the police wouldn’t let the people in! I jumped up on that platform and said, “O God, You’ve never ever been defeated in battle and You’re not going to be defeated now. In Jesus’ Name I command the storm to stop!” And the storm stopped! In front of 4000 unbelieving Jews! God is still demonstrating His Power today!!!
So Moses pleaded with God, “If You destroy this people, unless You deliver them, the whole world will see!” It’s the same today. We are the only evidence of God! Who else is there? We’re living in a world filled with ungodliness, in a world controlled by Satan – yes, it is. But WE ARE the living EVIDENCE, we are the witness of the Power of God! YOUR life, my life is the witness, the evidence. If God can deliver me from sin, if God can deliver you from sin – God can put before you an inheritance! Come on! We’ve got to go in and POSSESS THAT LAND! Don’t stand back… So many do… But we’ve got to cross the Jordan INTO the Promised Land!
So in vv18-19, Moses says, ‘“The Lord is longsuffering, of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation – pardon, I beseech You, the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of Your mercy!”’ And the Lord said, ‘“I have pardoned according to your word”’ v20.
Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” (Numbers 14:20, NKJV)
There is pardon for whatever may have happened in the past, for any mistakes, for any failures – it can be forgiven. BUT that pardon comes on condition we move across the Jordan! I love v21 where God says, ‘“As truly as I live ALL the earth will be FILLED with the GLORY OF GOD!”’ – BUT, He says, ‘“all those men who saw My Glory, and my miracles which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness”’ – but have not believed – ‘“They shall NOT see the land which I promised to their fathers, nor any who provoked Me, they shall NOT see it!”’
ALL the earth will see the Glory – in us who have believed – WE are to be the Glory of God! We are the witness, we are the evidence! Come on! You and I have to cross that Jordan, you and I must not look at the difficulties, we must go in faith. Look, the problems exist, I don’t deny the problems, God doesn’t deny the problems. But as Joshua and Caleb believed, it doesn’t matter how big the problem, how great the armies are – they have no power over you – God will always give the victory! Come on, rise up in the Name of the Lord!
In Numbers 14:24, this is what God says, ‘“Caleb, My servant, because he had another spirit with him and has followed me fully – him will I bring into the land and his seed shall possess it.”’ So though God pardoned the people, this is what He said, ‘“How long shall I bear with this evil generation which murmur against Me”’ – and He turned them all back into the wilderness for 40 years – one year for every day that the spies were in the land and saw it with their own eyes – until that whole generation, all those over 20 years old, which did not believe, had died. But, God said, v33, “Your little ones that you said would be a prey and ‘eaten up by the enemy’ are the only ones who will go in to experience and demonstrate My Power and My Glory.” And of course, Joshua and Caleb who had believed. Numbers 14:27-38. What a challenge to faith this is!