Day 69

Numbers 14:1–15:16; Mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4

THE REPERCUSSIONS OF the spies’ report from the Promised Land were clear in our Old Testament reading today. The go-to response for these former slaves was to complain —and complain they did. They had no view of the larger story taking place. They didn’t take into consideration the intricate plan that had taken centuries to bring them to the very border of their inheritance.

“Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt,” they said (Numbers 14:4)! There was even talk of stoning the two spies who had brought an encouraging report.

Moses and Aaron fell on their faces, and God responded: “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them?” (Numbers 14:11).

Had it not been for the intercession of Moses and Aaron, this story may have ended with the destruction of this stiff-necked people, but Israel’s leaders begged God’s pardon.

“I will pardon them as you have requested,” God said. “But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the LORD’s glory, not one of these people will ever enter that land” (Numbers 14:20-22).

At the very precipice of laying hold of their promise and inheritance, the children of Israel failed once again. God’s exasperation was clear after all the meticulous care and time He’d given to their cause, and rather than entering the Promised Land, the people were forced to head back into the wilderness —their identity, trust, and faith needed more work. Unfortunately, this choice doomed an entire generation. All of those over the age of twenty would never enter the land. The children of Israel would wander for another forty years.

This didn’t only affect those who would die in the wilderness —it also affected the coming generation. Children who were supposed to grow up free, in a land flowing with milk and honey, would have to grow up in the desert. And one day, they would do what their parents would not —cross over into the Promised Land and take it as their own.

There are so many parallels for our lives here that we must spend some time today considering our actions. Walking to the threshold of our own promises, we, too, may turn back in fear. But following and knowing God is not just about us. The way we follow and know God is the way our children and others around us will learn to do the same. It took centuries and millions of tiny choices over our own generations to bring us to this place. Let’s not squander it in fear and go back into the wilderness. Our promise awaits us —and those who follow us.

MEDITATION:

God looks down from heaven on the entire human race; he looks to see if anyone is truly wise, if anyone seeks God.