July 17th 2008
10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. Then the glory of the LORD appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. 11 The LORD said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the miraculous signs I have performed among them? 12 I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they.” 13 Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear about it! By your power you brought these people up from among them. 14 And they will tell the inhabitants of this land about it. They have already heard that you, O LORD, are with these people and that you, O LORD, have been seen face to face, that your cloud stays over them, and that you go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. 15 If you put these people to death all at one time, the nations who have heard this report about you will say, 16 ‘The LORD was not able to bring these people into the land he promised them on oath; so he slaughtered them in the desert.’ 17 “Now may the Lord’s strength be displayed, just as you have declared: 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.’ 19 In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left
Egypt until now.”
20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the valleys, turn back tomorrow and set out toward the desert along the route to the
Red Sea. [a] ”
Dear God, I am still over two weeks away from our prospective doctor visiting us with her husband. So it will be at least that long, probably longer, until I know if she is the person or not. I found myself being discouraged as I came to work this morning simply because I probably won’t communicate with her much over the next couple of weeks. What if she and her husband have a change of heart? What if they decide this isn’t the way to go? What if I lose her as a candidate and have to start back at square one? These are the thoughts that ran through my mind as I got ready for work this morning. Not much faith in there. Just a lot of fear.
Then when I got to work there was a man waiting to meet with me about business. After we finished conducting our business he said, “Would you mind if I pray with you? I have a feeling that you could use it.” I don’t know what he read in my countenance, or what he might have heard from you, that told him I needed that, but it was really nice. I found that I needed a brother in Christ to pray for me.
Father, I suppose all of this fits with this passage because their faith failed them and it frustrated you for the last time. Please don’t be frustrated with me. I do believe. I just need help with my unbelief. Right now, I definitely believe. Two hours from now I might not. But you are good, and you are benevolent. Thank you for all that you do.
July 16th 2008
1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in
Egypt! Or in this desert!
3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to
Egypt?”
4 And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to
Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” 10 But the whole assembly talked about stoning them.
Dear God, I love the line at the end of verse 9: “Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us.” I love the confidence that “their protection is gone”. That is really a beautiful thought.
It is interesting to be able to go back and witness what they will realize later is a turning point in their lives. A time when they allowed their sin and lack of faith to lead them away from your best for them. Yes, we try to minimize those times in our lives, but we all end up doing it. Some of us do it early in our lives. In middle school and high school we might hang out with the wrong people. Perhaps we marry the wrong person. We might take a job that is safe but not your best for us. Perhaps we quit a job that we can’t stand anymore, but you are not ready for us to leave. Maybe it’s an unplanned pregnancy, drugs, allowing ourselves to fall into addictions to alcohol or pornography. Maybe an affair. It could be any number of things that I haven’t even thought of here, but the fact is that it is easy to get off of the track.
So then there is the process of looking back on our lives and seeing how much damage we have done to ourselves and possibly those around us. In this case, the Israelites will look back on this time for the next forty years and wonder what might have been if they hadn’t been unfaithful to you and your plan.
Father, help me to see your plans for me immediately and help me to understand your plans for me now. Forgive me for the times I have gotten off of your path. Help me to understand the damage I have done with my sin and to make amends where I can. I don’t want to look back and see a wasted life because I was too obtuse to see how you were trying to direct me and I ignored you out of fear and selfishness.
July 15th 2008
26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the
Desert of
Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land.
27 They gave Moses this account: “We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit.
28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there.
29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the
Jordan.”
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.”
Dear God, what were they expecting? As they loaded up in Egypt, headed across the
Red Sea, and marched through the desert, what exactly were they expecting to find when they got there? Could they have been surprised that there were people already living there? Could they have been surprised that the cities were strong and fortified? Could they have been surprised that the people already living there would be resistant to being displaced by the Israelites?
It is so easy to judge them, but I do the exact same thing. We all do. For example, I just wrote that we are looking for a doctor, and I think I might have found a great one in another city. But there are obstacles in the way. Initially I was discouraged by the obstacles, but the obstacles make sense. Her husband needs to know that he will be able to live a vital life here. Fair enough. They will need to sell their home. Fair enough. They will need to find a place here to live. Fair enough. She will need to find another part-time job because our offer is only part-time. Fair enough. Did I really expect for this to go with no obstacles? Did I really expect to have someone accept the job and then just show up to work the next day? Apparently, because the discouragements seem to have caught me off guard.
Father, I pray for my own faith. I pray for my wife’s faith too. We are facing the first day of summer for her and the kids. We are facing our center’s need for a doctor. We are facing illness in our extended family. We are facing different kinds of needs that can seem overwhelming. Help us to first, count the cost and live by faith. Help us to take our frustrations and our fears and submit them to you. Help us to answer Caleb’s and Joshua’s call and believe that you will do it through us. You can provide for any of our needs. You know the plans you have for us, and we worship you for being so good and so faithful.
July 14th 2008
17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the
Negev and on into the hill country.
18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many.
19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified?
20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
21 So they went up and explored the land from the
Desert of
Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo [a] Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to
Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in
Egypt.) 23 When they reached the
Valley of
Eshcol, [b] they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the
Valley of
Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.
Dear God, I am on a scouting trip today. I happen to be in
Dallas interviewing a candidate to be our center’s medical director. Verses 18-20 line up with what I am doing. I am finding out if she will be a good doctor. Would she have a vision for the clinic and be willing to take ownership of its performance and growth? Would she have a good bedside manner? Would she work well with the staff and volunteers?
What I have found is really good. I think she lines up in every way. Frankly, what I found is similar to what they found. Just like they found the stuff in verse 23, I found a nice woman who has vision, drive, and ability. And she seems to love you without being self-righteous about her love for you.
But as I leave here I have a foreshadowing for tomorrow’s verses. There are some potential hang-ups that could keep this from getting done. Will I go home and be discouraged or encouraged? Will I be like Joshua and Caleb, or will I be like the other ten?
Father, I’ll talk more about that question tomorrow. Right now I want to worship you for what I found. Even if this isn’t the course you have for us, you are growing us as an organization and me as an individual during this time. Thank you. Thank you for encouraging me by even letting me know that there are people like her out here and that you do have someone for us. Thank you that you introduced me to another charitable clinic that is doing good work. Thank you that you always encourage me. I trust you, and simply ask that you will continue to give us our daily bread (manna).
July 13th 2008
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 “Send some men to explore the
land of
Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders.”
3 So at the LORD’s command Moses sent them out from the
Desert of
Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names:
Dear God, I never thought of this before, but why send the spies? Were you testing their faith? Did you know that this generation wasn’t ready to go into the Promised Land and therefore the situation needed to play out like this? If you had really wanted them to go into the Promised Land immediately, it seems that you would have kept them from knowing how big of a challenge it would be. I always tell people that you keep me on a need-to-know basis, and I very rarely “need to know”. In this case, however, it seems like you almost gave the Israelites too much information. Sure, two of the spies proved themselves worthy of your support through their faith, but the others held everyone else back. Was it intentional?
I have just about decided that things are going to happen the way you want them to happen whether I like it or not. Frankly, that is a very liberating and comforting thought. There are times when I put a lot of pressure on myself to be “the one” who does something for you, but you are going to get it done one way or another. If David had refused the anointing you would have found someone else. The same with Mary and Joseph. In fact, in their case you did reveal a little of the plan to them up front and their faith proved them worthy of the task.
Father, I don’t know what you are trying to get me to do or not do. I don’t know what you are showing to me that will guide me in the direction you want me to go. But you know me better than I know myself. You understand what moves me in one way or another. So I am going to do my best to focus on you, and I’ll trust that you will push me in the direction I need to go. Frankly, if I try to take my eyes off of you and look for my own direction, I will end up lost anyway.
