16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Exhortation
Testing will come. May we trust what God has said over what we see!
The Sermon Continues: A Meditation on Testing
The Sermon Continues: A Meditation on Testing
Reading of Scripture
Numbers 14:4 ESV
4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
Choose a leader...Go back…to Egypt?
Why did God’s people make such a rebellious statement?
Because of what they saw.
After forty days of spying out the land of Canaan, ten spies returned with this report:
“the people who dwell in the land are strong” (Num 13:28)
“the cities are fortified and very large” (Num 13:28)
“we saw the descendants of Anak there” (Num 13:28)
“they are stronger than we are” (Num 13:31)
“the land…is a land that devours its inhabitants” (Num 13:32)
“all the people that we saw in it are of great height” (Num 13:32)
“we saw the Nephilim ...and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers...” (Num 13:33)
Two spies returned with a different report.
Because of what God said.
The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel.” (Num 13:1-2)
Notice that Joshua and Caleb saw the same land as the other two spies. But their report was this:
Numbers 14:8 ESV
8 If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey.
Said another way:
“If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom 8:31)
What did the people do?
“Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones” (Num 14:10)
Hebrews 3:16–19 ESV
16 For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? 17 And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but to those who were disobedient? 19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief.
Exhortation
Testing will come. May we trust what God has said over what we see!