Wanderings

So tell them, ‘As surely as I live, declares the LORD, I will do to you the very thing I heard you say: In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. (Numbers 14:28-30 NIV)

At Kadesh Barnea, on the south edge of the Promised Land, the Israelites take a major wrong turn. God intends to take them into the land and begin to deliver it to them. Moses sends 12 spies into the land to check out its fruitfulness and its fortifications. They bring back a mixed report.

They bring back with them a single cluster of grapes so big it has to be carried by two men, suspended on a pole. The land, indeed, is fruitful. But ten of the spies are driven by fear. They report that the cities are well fortified and the inhabitants are formidable - they seem like giants, and by comparison, the Israelites seem like grasshoppers. Only Caleb and Joshua see the land through the eyes of faith. They speaks up:

Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, “The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them.” (Numbers 14:6-9 NIV)

But the people call another meeting of the Back to Egypt Committee and actually think about stoning Moses and Aaron, choosing new leaders, and heading back to slavery rather than follow their God into danger.

God calls Israel to take a left turn into the land He has promised them. They choose to make a hard right into the wilderness. At this, God has had enough of their rebellion and complaining. They will wander in the wilderness for 40 years - one year for each of the 40 days the spies spent investigating the land. All of the fighting men, 20 years old or older, will die in the wilderness. None of them will inherit the land except Joshua and Caleb. Instead, their children will enter the land and conquer it.

Some advice if we are going to pass our spiritual driving test: First, ask for directions. We need to make sure our lives are going in the right direction, and that means aligning the story of our lives with the great Story of God. We must become thoroughly familiar with the Scriptures and follow the leading of the Holy Spirit to remain inside His will. I believe this means beginning each new day by asking God, "What is your will for my life today?"

Second, don't be driven by fear. The Israelites were afraid of the well-fortified enemies in the land. They have reason to be if taking the land is a matter of their own military might. They forgot an important principle they had seen demonstrated over and over in their journey out of Egypt so far: If God is leading you, He will provide for you. If God calls you to it, He will see you through it. If we will just step into God's will, He will take care of the rest. Of course this doesn't mean things won't be difficult or challenging. It does mean things will not be impossible, because the Living God leads us.

Thirdly, remember that others are in the car with you. Their children inherited the consequences of their disobedience and wandered with them for 40 years in the wilderness. Our decisions do not only affect us. They affect everybody in the car with us. I don't want to wander in the wilderness, and I don't want to drag others there with me. For our children and grandchildren and for our neighborhood and community, let's follow where God leads, believing He is bigger than the giants we face and He is able to deliver us from them.

If we fail to make the left turn at our Kadesh Barnea, we put ourselves in danger of wandering in the wilderness. I don't want to spend one day in the wilderness unless it is God's will for me. (The Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness to face His temptations, so sometimes it is God's will that we spend time in the wilderness.) Even though it was a consequence of their lack of faith and obedience, God did not waste the 40 years in the wilderness. He continued to lead them by the pillar of cloud and fire. He provided for them every day. In the wilderness, they learned to trust Him at new levels.

So if we find ourselves wandering in the wilderness in our lives, let's keep trusting Jesus and following God. A promised land awaits. The One who calls us to it will be faithful to bring us in and give us what He has promised. We walk by faith, not by sight and not by fear. And God is able...