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 "And
all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the
people wept that night." (Num. 14:1) God's people have come
to the threshold of the promised land. A little earlier, while
giving Moses instructions concerning the sending of men to spy
out Canaan, the Lord had reaffirmed His promise to give this
great land to the children of Israel (13:2). You'd expect great
rejoicing, yet we hear weeping. Why? Have they suffered defeat
at the hands of enemies? Has the Lord just chastised them? Has
He forsaken them? No, none of these. They have just heard the
report of the spies returning from Canaan. They ignore the
encouraging report from Caleb but are much impressed with what
the fearful spies have to say about the enemies' strength,
giants and grasshoppers. It truly was a sad time for God's
people. But they were sad for the wrong reasons. Their weeping
should have been over their own wretched condition and lack of
faith.
It
is a sad time when the people of God lose their faith; when they
no longer trust the Lord. It is a sad time when men place more
confidence in what men say than what God says. "And we see
that they were not able to enter in because of unbelief."
(Heb. 3:19). What kept these Israelites out of the promised land
can keep us out! "Take heed, brethren, lest haply there
shall be in any one of you an evil heart of unbelief, in falling
away from the living God...." (Heb. 3:12). Incredible as it
may seem, many still do not believe what God says about many
things--such as obedience, baptism, worship, the church, hell
and other subjects. It is truly
a time for weeping in Kadesh - Barnea, in our home towns or
anywhere else when God's people
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don't care what He says; when they won't
trust Him nor obey His will.
Also,
it is a sad time when God's people despise faithful brethren. As
they had done before, the Israelites began to murmur against
Moses (14:2). When Joshua and Caleb sought to admonish their
brethren, the were threatened with stoning (14:10. They learned
what Moses already knew: that those who turn their backs on God
may have little regard for those who will not. How deceitful is
-sin when the sinner only despises those who want to help. Paul
evidently recognizes this disposition when he asks, "am I
become your enemy by telling you the truth?" (Gal. 4:16).
It is a time for weeping when false teachers are honored and
faithful preachers resented. We need to know what can keep us
out of the promised land! Faithful men who will tell us our sins
deserve our appreciation, not our wrath.
It
is a sad time when God's people are overcome with
discouragement. In hearing of the enemy as being greater and
taller and having walled cities, the Israelites confessed,
"our brethren have discouraged our heart" (Deut.
1:28). They had what some have called a "grasshopper"
complex. Like their modern counterparts, they concluded, .,we
can't succeed"; "we can't do it"; ..not
even with God on our side." In many ways, we stand where
they stood. We cannot be more than a few heartbeats from the
promised land. Let's not be discouraged and turn back now!
"If God be for us..." Dan S. Shipley
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