In yesterday’s lesson, Caleb was trying to persuade the people to set out to conquer the land of Canaan, but they weren’t having any of that. What a bunch of whiny ingrates! Here, God had brought them out of Egypt and shown them so many miracles and still they had no faith. There must have been some mob mentality involved here. And it wasn’t only a few people objecting, but “the whole community” who began weeping and cried all night. Not only were they throwing around the “if only’s,” but they were actually plotting to choose a new leader for themselves.
Moses and Aaron fall face down before the community and Joshua and Caleb tore their clothing. They tried to convince the Israelites that the land was wonderful and that the Lord IS able. They urged them not to rebel against the Lord.
You think the Israelites would have known they could not get away with rebelling against the Lord in this waybut they apparently didn’t. When the talk turned to stoning Caleb and Joshua, the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle and He asked Moses how long the people would treat Him with contempt. He threatened to disown them and destroy them with a plague, then make a great nation of Moses.
Moses intercedes for the peopleand asks the Lord, “in keeping with your magnificent, unfailing love, please pardon the sins of this people, just as you have forgiven them ever since they left Egypt.”
The Lord agrees to pardon them, but they pay dearly for their rebellion. Not a single one of those twenty years of age or older, except for Caleb and Joshua, would enter the Promised Land. For this act of disbelief and for their rebellion, they will wander in the wilderness until those who rebelled have all died. They were destined to wander forty years because they explored the land for forty days – a year for a day.
In addition, the ten men who explored the land and incited the rebellion against the Lord were struck with a plague and died. Only Caleb and Joshua remained alive.
In spite of this, the people defied the Lord and decided to go up into the land themselves, even though the Ark of the Covenant never left the camp. The Amalekites and Canaanites attacked them and chased them back.
Numbers 15 is a reiteration of the rules for offerings and the Sabbath day. The Lord also gave instructions regarding tassels for the hems of the clothing. These tassels, which were to be attached with a blue cord, were to be a reminder to “remember and obey all the commands of the Lord instead of following your own desires and defiling yourselves, as you are prone to do.”
Psalm 90 is a prayer of Moses, which I think is summarized in verse 12: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom.”
Tomorrow, it’s Numbers 16 – 17.
Until next time…
No comments:
Post a Comment