Lack Of Faith

Lack of Faith

Q: What punishment was given to the Israelites for their wickedness and complaints?

• a. They would wander in the wilderness for 40 years.
• b. They would be slaves in Canaan.
• c. Everyone over 20 years old would be killed in battle.

Kaylee Ann walked to the entrance of her new school. It was much larger than her old school. She hesitated at the entrance. She was glad her dad was with her to fill out the paperwork. Kaylee Ann wanted to seem independent, but she felt anything but grown up at the moment.

All 12 Israelite scouts saw the same thing in Canaan: plentiful food, strong people, and strong cities (see yesterday’s devotion). What was the difference? Why did the 10 scouts react so differently than Joshua and Caleb? Joshua and Caleb knew the land belonged to them. The Israelites were on the doorstep of the land God had promised them, yet they wouldn’t go in. But just as Kaylee Ann’s father went into the new school with her, the Israelites’ heavenly Father was waiting to enter the land with them.

What was their punishment for failing to trust God? They had to wander in the wilderness one year for each day the scouts were in the land. That meant they’d be wandering for 40 years. Everyone age 20 and older who had complained against the Lord would die in the wilderness. The next generation, those who were children when they left Egypt, would be the ones to enter the land.

The people missed out on God’s blessings because of their lack of faith, their disobedience in not taking the land, and their complaints against God. Joshua and Caleb were the only exceptions and would enter the land at the end of the 40 years.

For You

Sometimes it seems that if the majority of people agree about something, it must be right. But that’s not always true. When people disagree, don’t just follow the larger group. Ask God to help you decide what is right, and then do it.

Answer: a

[The Lord said to Moses and Aaron,] “Because your men explored the land for forty days, you must wander in the wilderness for forty years—a year for each day, suffering the consequences of your sins.”   Numbers 14:34

(The Whole Story: Numbers 14)