January 23, 2021 – Numbers 13-19

One of the biggies, it seems to me. That is, there are moments and decisions we make that seem to impact everything else so profoundly that nothing can ever be the same. Moses sent the spies into Canaan, and they returned to report that it was a land that “flows with milk and honey” (13:27). But there were men in the land, big men! And the people were afraid. Just think, with God on their side, still they were afraid of those big, bad men. And, so, they rebelled against Moses and against the God who had delivered them from much worse predicaments. In fact, they wanted to return to the place where their babies were being killed! “And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt’” (14:4). What’s the old saying? “There’s no accounting for taste.” A variant on the theme might be “There’s no accounting for folly.” It was folly for Israel to turn away from Canaan.

One question jumps out at me. The Lord asks it: “And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them?” (14:11) The Lord threatened, Moses interceded, and the Lord relented. But, now, 40 years in the wilderness! Wow, just wow! There’s just no accounting for folly. The question stands and applies to us as well as Israel: The Lord has done so much for us. Will we trust him? There’s an old hymn:

Have faith in God though all else fall about you;

Have faith in God, He provides for His own:

He cannot fail though all kingdoms shall perish.

He rules. He reigns upon His throne.

Refrain:

Have faith in God, He's on His throne,

Have faith in God, He watches over His own;

He cannot fail, He must prevail,

Have faith in God, Have faith in God.