Move Forward!
This morning as I was reading my Bible, I came across the
story in Numbers where the people of Israel went to scout out the land of
Canaan- the Promised Land. You can read the whole story in the book of Numbers,
chapters 13-14 and I encourage you to check it out, but I’ll tell you the
shorter version here!
So God had previously brought the nation of Israel out of
slavery in Egypt, and He was bringing them to the land He had promised to give
them. A land of their very own, to be their home forever!
As the people were nearing the Promised Land, The Lord said
to Moses: “Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to
the Israelites.” (Num. 13:2) So Moses sent out 12 scouts to see the land and
what it was like. After exploring the land for 40 days, the men returned with
some of the fruit they found there (which, by the way, it took 2 men to carry a
single cluster of grapes!) and gave this report to Moses and to the whole
community of Israel:
“We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is
indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind
of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns
are large and fortified. We even saw giants there!”…
But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before
Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer
it!”
But the other men who had explored the land with him
disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So
they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we
traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All
the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak.
Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought,
too!” (Numbers 13:27-33)
Then all the people of Israel began to weep and cry all
night long saying, “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the
wilderness!” they complained. “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only
to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as
plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” Then they plotted
among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!” (Num.
14:1-4)
Can you believe that?! They were at the brink of entering
the very promise of God and they wanted to go back to slavery in Egypt?! It
sounds crazy, but this is oftentimes what you and I sound like when we fail to
see through the eyes of faith. When it looks like having what God has promised
us is impossible, and it’s too hard, we talk about going “back.” Going “back”
requires no faith at all, but moving forward does!
I love the response of Joshua and Caleb: “The land we
traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased
with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich
land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be
afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have
no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” (Num. 14:6-9)
Joshua and Caleb saw the situation in faith. They KNEW what
God had promised them, and they KNEW God was with them! It turns out that God
rewarded these two men for their loyalty to Him, and He brought them safely
into the land! As for the rest of the nation of Israel? They never did get to
enter the Promised Land.
What about you and I? We can either keep looking back and
never see the promise, OR we can grab ahold of God’s Word and move forward in
faith to possess ALL that He has promised!
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