What s God s view of our doubt? Numbers 14:11-45 June 24, 2012 (All scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible) When we lived in Chile, women greeted women and men greeted women by touching the right cheek and kissing the air, then touching the left cheek and kissing the air. As an American, I was uncomfortable with this greeting. I prefer a handshake or, in close relationship, a hug. So I would have liked to greet my way. Initially, I thought, No big deal, I ll go with what is comfortable for me. But when Americans neglected the cultural greeting in Latin America, the nationals considered us Muy frio, very cold. And that perception hurt our Gospel witness. So I learned to greet in the culturally appropriate way. Many of us might think our doubt is no big deal. But just as the Latin American people had a dim view of a handshake for a greeting, so the Lord has a dim view on our doubt. Understanding the Latin perspective motivated me to reconsider my greeting, in the same way understanding God s perspective will cause us to reconsider our doubt. So what s God s view of our doubt? We ll consider that topic this morning. If you have a Bible please open it to Numbers 14:11-45. We ll look at this passage and consider the question, What s God s view of our doubt? As we open our passage, Israel is on the verge of entering the Promised Land. But after spying out the land, 10 of the 12 spies returned with a bad report. They thought the inhabitants of the land were too strong for Israel. Even though the Lord had guaranteed Israel this land, the spies doubted His Word. But two spies, Joshua and Caleb thought Israel should proceed with God s plan to take the land. Upon hearing the conflicting reports, the people of Israel sided with the 10 spies who doubted God. They didn t believe God could deliver on His guarantee. The people concluded that God would just let them die in the desert. They figured that they would be better off returning to Egypt. Starting in verse 11, we get God s response to the people s doubt. 11 The LORD said to Moses, How long will this people spurn Me? And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst In verse 11, God says, How long will these people spurn Me? Other translations read, How long will these people despise me? Or, How long will these people treat me with contempt? Or, how long will these people treat Me like dirt? God has proven Himself over and over again. He unleashed 10 plagues on Egypt to gain Israel s release from Pharaoh. He parted the Red Sea to save Israel from the Egyptian army. He provided food and water and shelter in the desert as Israel traveled to the Promised Land. And after all that, the people of Israel still won t trust Him. They prefer trying to manage their situation in their own power. They will not relinquish control of their lives to God, even though God has shown Himself more than capable of providing for them. So, what is God s solution? Let s read verse 12. 12 I will smite them with pestilence and dispossess them, and I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they. 1
God is ready to start over. He ll destroy Israel and start over with Moses descendants. God planned to bless Israel and make His name great through them. But they have rejected God. They have despised Him. They have treated God like dirt. Why does God draw these conclusions about Israel? It seems like Israel would rather trust anyone but the Lord. How does Moses react to the Lord s plan? Let s read verses 13-16. 13 But Moses said to the LORD, Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for by Your strength You brought up this people from their midst, 14 and they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that You, O LORD, are in the midst of this people, for You, O LORD, are seen eye to eye, while Your cloud stands over them; and You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if You slay this people as one man, then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say, 16 Because the LORD could not bring this people into the land which He promised them by oath, therefore He slaughtered them in the wilderness. Moses plea is: What will the other nations think of You? You showed Your power in delivering them from Egypt, but they will conclude you weren t strong enough to bring them into the Promised Land. Moses asks God not to annihilate Israel for the sake of His own name and reputation. Moses isn t finished beseeching God. He asks God to lessen the severity of the consequences for Israel s doubt. This time Moses bases his request in the character of God. Let s read verses 17-19. 17 But now, I pray, let the power of the Lord be great, just as You have declared, 18 The LORD is slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, forgiving iniquity and transgression; but He will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generations. 19 Pardon, I pray, the iniquity of this people according to the greatness of Your lovingkindness, just as You also have forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. Moses says, Look You are patient and forgiving, slow to anger. But You are also just. You can t let sin go unpunished. Let your forgiveness and loving kindness mitigate Your judgment. If God is not just, we have no hope for justice in our world. So we expect God to judge sin. Yet, we don t want Him to come down too hard in His justice. How do we settle these conflicting ideas? They are settled in the perfect nature of God. God s justice and forgiveness meet in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. So, Moses appeals to God s prefect nature. How does the Lord answer Moses request? Let s read verses 20-23. 2
20 So the LORD said, I have pardoned them according to your word; 21 but indeed, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the LORD. 22 Surely all the men who have seen My glory and My signs which I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, yet have put Me to the test these ten times and have not listened to My voice, 23 shall by no means see the land which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who spurned Me see it. God says these adults will not enter the Promised Land. In verse 2, the people cried out in protest, Would that we had died in this wilderness. The Lord says, Fine, you will die in the wilderness. The Lord s frustration is that these people saw His power and miracles. Yet, they tested Him over and over again with their doubts and complaints. But they never learned. They never changed. They never repented of their lack of faith. Now, they will suffer the consequences of their choice not to trust God. They will wander in the desert until all the unbelieving generation dies and they will never enter the Promised Land. Only two adults will enter the Promised Land, Caleb and Joshua. They are the two spies that advocated that Israel trust the Lord. In verse 24, the Lord speaks of Caleb. 24 But My servant Caleb, because he has had a different spirit and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land which he entered, and his descendants shall take possession of it. Caleb is different than all the rest. He followed God fully. Caleb advocated letting go of control and trusting God. As a result Caleb will enter the land. He won t die in the wilderness. And Caleb s descendants will own a piece of property in the Promised Land. In verse 25, God gives Moses instructions on Israel s direction. 25 Now the Amalekites and the Canaanites live in the valleys; turn tomorrow and set out to the wilderness by the way of the Red Sea. They will turn away from the Promised Land. They will head in the direction of the Red Sea where God showed His power to the nation. In verse 4, the people said they wanted to return to Egypt. They won t get to Egypt, but God sends them in that direction. In verses 26-27, the Lord reiterates His frustration with the people s complaining. 26 The LORD spoke to Moses and Aaron, saying, 27 How long shall I bear with this evil congregation who are grumbling against Me? I have heard the complaints of the sons of Israel, which they are making against Me. In verses 28-30, he restates the consequences of the people s doubt. 28 Say to them, As I live, says the LORD, just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will surely do to you; 29 your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men, according to your complete number from 3
twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me. 30 Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. Everyone 20 years or older will die in the desert, except for Joshua and Caleb. They are the two spies that had encouraged the people to trust the Lord and take the land. In verses 30-34, God says that 40 years will pass before the last of the adults dies off. Then the children will take the land. In verse 35, the Lord closes His thoughts on their punishment. 35 I, the LORD, have spoken, surely this I will do to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be destroyed, and there they will die. Because of their doubt, the Lord views the congregation as evil. Why would the Lord draw that conclusion? Our doubt says to God that we d rather trust someone else besides Him. Our doubt says to God that we think someone or something is more reliable than He is. But He is the Creator of anyone or anything that we substitute for God. That s offensive to God. That s insulting to God. Why does God take our doubt seriously? God views our doubt as contempt and disdain for Him. God views our doubt as contempt and disdain for Him. In verses 36-38, God sends a plague on the ten spies who gave the bad report. They die, so the congregation would know that the Lord will follow through on His Word. But they don t get the message. In verses 39-45, they decide they now want to take the Promised Land. Moses warns them that their opportunity has passed. God s favor is not with them. But these people still trust themselves. They are still living under their authority. So they disregard the Lord s Word again. What do you think happens? Let s read verse 45. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down, and struck them and beat them down as far as Hormah. They get routed, surprise, surprise. In Hebrews 11:6, a book in the New Testament, the author wrote Without faith it is impossible to please God. Our passage gives us a better understanding of why faith is the only way to please God and, conversely, why God finds our doubt so displeasing. Romans 10:8-10 tells us that faith in Jesus is the only way to have a relationship with God. All of us have offended God with our self-directed lives. We are like the people in this passage. We ve said, God thanks for the offer of a relationship, but I ll run my life. God views that attitude as disdain and contempt for Him. Jesus dies to forgive our sinful, self-centered living, and restore our hearts. If you have never trusted Christ, I invite you to do that right now. But faith isn t a one-time event for a Christian. Faith is a lifestyle. God expects us to walk in faith. He expects us to live a life of dependence on Him. I don t like that idea. I want control of my life. What I say with my attitude is, Nobody is going to take care of Andy like Andy. That s not true. God will take better care of Andy than Andy. When the Lord called me to 4
vocational Christian work, He used this passage. Specifically, He used Numbers 14:24. He told me, Andy, I want you to be like Caleb and follow me fully. Have I lived up to Caleb s example? No, not close. But when I face faith barriers, I always come back to this verse and say, Lord, make me like Caleb. You empowered him with faith. Please empower me. Most of the time, I m not like Caleb. I don t follow God fully. I mentioned going into vocational work. The hardest part of that experience was telling my dad. I feared his disapproval. God gave me the grace to tell my dad of my decision. But I didn t tell my dad that I would have to raise support because I was afraid I wouldn t get my support raised. That s weak faith. That s doubt. Finally, a year later, after I had raised my support, I told my dad about my need to raise support. I missed a great opportunity to put the Lord s power on display to my parents because of my doubt. If you are like me, prone to doubt, what s our hope? Our hope is in One who did follow the Father fully. Jesus baptism signaled the start of His public ministry. In Matthew 3:17, at the end of Jesus baptism, the Father spoke these words about Jesus, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. What did the Father find so pleasing about Jesus? Jesus trusted the Father fully, right up to His death on the cross. If we want to please the Father, let s look to the One who has pleased the Father. Let s ask Jesus to reproduce His character in us, so we can be like Caleb, but ultimately we can be like Jesus in our trust of God. What s your faith issue? Do you have to have a boyfriend or a better job or a new phone? If you can t trust God to provide or not provide those desires, you are saying they have more worth than God. Are you turning your back on God because of illness or infertility? That decision says that you value your health or loved one s health or a baby more than God. But God is the Creator of the baby or our health or a phone or a job. We value the creation more than the Creator. Do you see why your lack of faith is offensive to God? Ask Jesus who trusted the Father right up to His death on the cross to empower you with faith to trust the Lord whatever your circumstances. One of my college roommates went to the campus hospital with pain in his back. The doctors did a quick check and assured him he just had an infection. So they gave him antibiotics and said he d be fine in a couple weeks. But he wasn t fine. So a month later he went to Houston to find out he had cancer in the lymph node system of his back that had spread to his lungs. Five months later he died. The back pain was a lot more serious than we thought. I wish the doctors had taken that initial pain more seriously. Like my friend and his back pain, we can think our doubt of God is no big deal. But our doubt shows us that something is wrong with our heart, values and passions. Why does God take our doubt seriously? God views our doubt as contempt and disdain for Him. God views our doubt as contempt and disdain for Him. 5