Crisis of Faith and Obedience

In the book of Numbers chapter 13 the Israelites have reached the borders of the land of Canaan. God instructed them to send spies into the land to see that it really was as good as He had promised (verse 19). They were also instructed to see how the people of the land lived, whether in the open, in tents, or in fortified cities.

The spies stayed in the land forty days and discovered that is was a prosperous land just as God had promised. They were able to cut such a large and heavy cluster of grapes that two men carried it on a pole between them.

Verses 27-29 record the report the spies gave to the congregation of Israel. Only Joshua and Caleb insisted that by obeying the Lord they could take the land. Unfortunately the people listened to the ten spies who said that it was an impossible task that God had asked them to do.

How many times have you failed to follow God’s plan or will for your life because you thought it was too difficult? History is dotted with the stories or ordinary people who did extraordinary things with their lives because they allowed God to do through them the things that were impossible for them to do on their own.

However history is full of ordinary men and women who remained ordinary because they did not have the faith to be obedient to God in the face of difficulty.

In the next chapter (14) we find the people of Israel are angry at Moses and at God because God is testing their faith and obedience. They became determined to appoint another leader and return to Egypt (verse 4). They were willing to go back and be slaves instead of show absolute faith in the God that had led them to this point without fail.

As idiotic as that sounds to you and I are often no different when we decided not to follow God for various reasons. We return to the slavery of ourselves and selfish desires every time we turn away from God.

God was ready to destroy the Israelites for their lack of faith and disobedience but Moses interceded for them. Because of Moses’ intercession God pardoned the people. You and I also have someone who intercedes on our behalf when we are disobedient. Jesus Christ becomes our advocate. His death on the cross made pardon for our sins which is all the more reason to be obedient.

Because of his love for us and the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross we do have forgiveness and redemption for our spiritual failures but there will still be consequences to our disobedience.

Because of the people’s lack of faith none of those twenty years old and up, who had complained against the Lord, would not see the promised land (verses 29-32).

The numbered men were 600,000. Over the next thirty-eight years and a half, which is 14,508 days in the wilderness, the Israelites would see the death of forty-two or forty-three men a day, three to four men an hour. The next thirty-eight and a half years in the wilderness would be a constant funeral, a sad reminder of their lack of faith and obedience.

What is your crisis of faith? I pray that it leads you to strength and obedience instead of disobedience. Have the faith to cross the river and understand that God will not send you anywhere alone nor will he lead you to failure.