I have mentioned before that I have The Narrated Bible, that is written in chronological order. It has suggested daily readings so that I can read through the Bible in a year. As always, as I have been reading the books of Exodus, Deuteronomy and Numbers, I am again amazed.
F. LaGard Smith is the Narrator for this Bible. In Exodus 15 after the Israelites have made it through the Red Sea and the Egyptians have been destroyed his narrative is this: “The thrill of victory and the praising of God for salvation have hardly subsided when fear, doubt and murmuring set in among the Israelites. As they face the wilderness without food and water, they quickly forget the miracles which have brought them out of Egypt and begin to complain that Moses has brought them out of Egypt only to face certain death in the desert. But they have overlooked the possibility that God is able to miraculously provide for their needs…”
The attitude of the Israelites seems rather shocking at first read. Then on the other hand, if you really think about their circumstances and the conditions they were living in, do we really believe that we’d be any better? When difficult times strike us, we sometimes tend to easily forget our blessings and God’s promises. Most of us probably have no idea how it feels to be desperately hungry or thirsty as they were. We would probably be grumbling too.
But their discontent with these issues caused some setbacks. They had the promises of God in Exodus 23 that He would be their Protector, their Guide and their Commander; and, they repeatedly said they would do everything the Lord commanded them to do (Exodus 19:8 & 24:3 & 7, for example.) Yet, when their #1 leader – Moses – leaves them for a time to meet with God, they quickly fall into sin with the help of Aaron – their second in command. They create an idol – a golden calf – which they begin to worship and fall into all kinds of debauchery. God is ready to give up on them and destroy them all; however, Moses intercedes for them and God relents. But there was still a setback as a result of their sin – 3,000 of them ended up being killed by the sword and the rest were struck with a plague. (Exodus 32:25-35)
14 months after the Israelites had left Egypt and they were very near their promised land of Canaan, Moses sent out 12 men to spy out the land. They were gone for about 40 days and upon their return, 10 of the men gave reports that frightened the people, then the grumbling started again. Joshua and Caleb tried to encourage the people, reminding them of God’s promises to be with them to defeat their enemies. But it did no good. As a result, once again God wanted to destroy them and once again Moses interceded for them. God agreed not to send a plague to destroy the general population, but they still would have to experience a major set back. (Numbers 14:36-38 (CEV) tells us those 10 unbelieving men paid the ultimate price: “Ten of the men sent to explore the land had brought back bad news and had made the people complain against the Lord. So he sent a deadly disease that killed those men, but he let Joshua and Caleb live.”)
Numbers 14:26-30 (GNT) says: “The Lord said to Moses and Aaron, ‘How much longer are these wicked people going to complain against me? I have heard enough of these complaints! Now give them this answer: ‘I swear that as surely as I live, I will do to you just what you have asked. I, the Lord, have spoken. You will die and your corpses will be scattered across this wilderness. Because you have complained against me, none of you over twenty years of age will enter that land. I promised to let you live there, but not one of you will, except Caleb and Joshua.’”
The Israelites had lived through hundreds of years of slavery, they had witnessed the miracles God used to deliver them from the Egyptian slavery and now, on the brink of their goal, as a result of their own actions (their unbelief and lack of courage) they’re experiencing a major setback – many of them will never see that promised land.
Let’s face it – life is full of setbacks. Sometimes those setbacks are the result of situations outside of our control. But there are many times that they are the result of our own decisions and/or actions. Do we, like the Israelites, grumble because things don’t go our way? Do we push Him aside to worship things in our lives rather than Him? Do we tend to discount the promises He’s given us? Do we lack the courage to move forward with our goals out of fear of the unknown? We’re asking for set backs when we do these things.
We need to take seriously God’s call to obey His laws; to never forget that our strength comes from Him – our divine source; and not allow things to become too important to us. In order to prevent at least some of the setbacks in life, it would be much easier if we will just remember – “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and mind and with all your soul and with all your strength [your entire being].” Deuteronomy 6:5 (AMP)
Written by Karran Martin – February 17, 2024
Karran's Korner 