God is faithful, his word is never failing. We can stake 0ur lives on it. If he said it, he will surely do it. While God had promised the people of Israel that he would take them to a land flowing with milk and honey, they didn't find it in their hearts to believe him.
I made a decision early this year to follow a one-year Bible Reading Plan, I am currently in the book of numbers (I know right). If you are like me, I am one of those people who just love New Testament books, I constantly find myself engrossed in those last pages of my bible. To combat my habit of rushing through the bible just so I can tick it off my 2021 New Year’s Resolution List by December. I have decided to write this post and share what the Spirit of God shared with me as I read Numbers 14.
6 Lessons I learnt as I looked more carefully at Numbers 14
1) God is not a fan of negative energy
Moses had sent out Caleb and Joshua along with 10 other leaders of the tribes of Israel to go and scout the land God had promised them, Canaan. Out of all the twelve only Caleb and Joshua returned with a good report, a report filled with positive energy. The other ten scouts acknowledged how good the land was, but failed to acknowledge just how much greater God is. How much God loved them as his special people. They spoke highly about the giants staying in the land already and voiced their fears. They spoke of how risky and dangerous taking the land was, their report was such that it spread fear throughout the community.
But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. ~Numbers 13:31 NLT
2) God is all about courage, risk-taking and stepping outside the comfort zone
To this day I look at Caleb and Joshua's feedback to Moses and I am astonished! The boldness they voiced, the full trust they had in God's power is refreshing. The fact that they trusted God so much they weren't moved by what they saw (the giants) but they were moved by God's promise, the promise that he will give them that land. A land that was delightsome and fruitful! To them nothing could stand against them getting that land successfully. God was impressed with the trust and confidence they demonstrated.
Of the twelve who had explored the land, only Joshua and Caleb remained alive. ~Numbers 14:37 NLT
3) Negativity kills
Negativity is dangerous. When voiced it's even more dangerous. Negative speech, complaints, ungratefulness... God hears! The complaints we make don't fall on deaf ears. The community of Israel consistently murmured against God, professing how they wish to just die in the wilderness.
Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. ~ Numbers 14: 2 NLT
The bible does warn us, that those who love to talk shall reap the consequences of their words. God did grant them the fruit of their lips.
God informed Moses to tell them that just as they said, so shall it be unto then. God declared that they will indeed die in the wilderness.
Be careful what you say. During this pandemic refuse to acknowledge the power of COVID-19 more than the Word of God in Psalm 91 and other scriptures. Refuse to complain about God, if anything, praise him for his protection against first strain. If he can protect you from variant delta, won't he also do so against variant Lambda? He will.
Things like, "Where is God is this pandemic?" ,"God is sleeping", "God isn't going to help us..." your words produce your reality, so be mindful of them. The 10 scouts were killed along with their families and possessions. Why? Negative spirit and thus negative confessions.
Now tell them this: ‘As surely as I live, declares the Lord, I will do to you the very things I heard you say. You will all drop dead in this wilderness! Because you complained against me, every one of you who is twenty years old or older and was included in the registration will die. ~ Numbers 14: 29 & 29 NLT
Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. Fill your heart with God's Word, meditate on it day and night, so that in the evil day your faith will shine fourth and not fear, doubt or unbelief.
Invest in your human spirit, God's word is food for our Spirit man, as we indulge in it, we grow strong and bold on the inside. I like how King James Bible version puts it, it says, "But my servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me fully," (Numbers 14:24 KJV) unlike all the other scouts. I believe that was the Spirit of faith. The Spirit of Knowledge and Understanding. He understood who was on their side, God.