The Message of Numbers (Part Four)

The contrast between
believing the promise of God and giving in to the dangers around us is
brought out clearly in the story told in chapter 13. The twelve spies
are sent into the land
of Canaan. They are to spy out the land. The majority report was
negative. It was only the minority –the believing minority
– who came back with a stirring message which called the people
on to greater heights of faith and obedience.
The
majority gave a true report: ‘The people who dwell in the land
are strong, and the cities are fortified, and very large’
(13:28). The problem with their report was that it had a great deal to
say about the difficulties and very little to say about the
possibilities. This is always the way with unbelief. The focus of their
attention was on the dangers. They should have paying more attention to
the promise of God. The more we talk about the difficulties, the more
we line up excuses for our own unbelief. If we are to move forward with
God, we must learn to eliminate negative thinking. We must learn to be
possibility thinkers. We must look beyond the difficulties to the God
who has given His promise – ‘The Lord bless you and keep
you’.
We
learn the positive attitude of faith from Caleb and Joshua. Following
the negative report of the majority, ‘Caleb quietened the people
before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for
we are well able to overcome it’ (13:30).
As
we read of the contrast between the unbelieving majority report and the
believing report given by Caleb and Joshua, we must ask ourselves the
question: ‘Am I going with the crowd or am I taking my stand
alongside ‘the faithful few who fought bravely to guard the
nation’s life?’
The
contrast between the unbelieving majority of ten and the believing
testimony of two faithful men became the contrast between the older
generation, whose heart was still in Egypt, and the new generation, who
were looking forward to the new life in Canaan. Concerning the old
generation and the new generation, God says, in 4:29-31, ‘Of all
your number, numbered from twenty years old and upward, who have
murmured against Me, not one shall come into the land where I swore
that I would make you dwell, except Caleb … and Joshua …
But your little ones … I will bring in, and they shall know the
land which you have despised.’
This
is the contrast between the old life and the new life. Before the new
life can begin, the old life must die. The little ones, uncorrupted by
Egyptian influences, had grown up under the nurture of God in the
wilderness. They were to enter the land. They did not carry with them
the corruption of the old life. They carried with them the promise of
the new life.
If
we are preoccupied with the old life, we will echo the complaining
words of Israel: ‘Why have You made us come up out of Egypt, to
bring us to this evil place?’ (20:5). If, on the other hand, we
are rejoicing in the gift of new life in Christ, new life in the
Spirit, we will read the words of 21:9 concerning looking to the bronze
serpent for healing and life, and we will rejoice in the words of John
3:14-15: ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so
must the Son of man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him may have
eternal life.’ If we are truly seeking to live the new life of
the Spirit, we will read the words of 21:17 – ‘Spring up, o
well!’ – and we will pray for a deeper experience of the
‘rivers of living water’ of which Jesus speaks in John 7:38.
The
importance of continuing to live the new life and refusing to go back
to the old life is highlighted in the exclusion of Moses and Aaron from
the Promised Land. At Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin, Moses and Aaron
sinned against the Lord at the waters of Meribah (Contention). There
was ‘strife’ among the congregation who were rebelling
against the Lord (20:10; 27:14). Moses and Aaron failed to believe God
and they failed to obey God. At the time of this incident, God drew
attention to their unbelief – ‘You did not believe in
Me’ (20:12). Later on, in 27:14, God focuses our attention on
their disobedience – ‘You rebelled against My Word.’
The leaders of God’s people – Moses and Aaron – were
guilty of unbelief and disobedience. This emphasizes for us that there
is never any room for resting on our laurels. As we read of the
exclusion of Moses and Aaron from the Promised Land, we must hear and
heed the challenge of God’s Word when He says to us,
‘Having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending with the
flesh?’ (Galatians 3:3). The way of blessing is not the way of
the flesh. It is the way of the Spirit.
The words of Don
Francisco's song, 'Holiness' (from the album of the same name, 1984)
bring out well the lessons God was teaching His people, Israel, while
they were in the wilderness. He was teaching them about holiness. He
was showing them the way of blessing.
"When God took His people to
the promised land, He gave them their freedom and He gave a command. He
said, west of the Jordan you can have all you see, but beware of their
idols and be holy to me.
Holiness, holiness. It’s the only
life that the Lord can bless. Holiness, holiness. It’s the
Lord’s command, not the the Lord’s request.
They
heard the commandment but did not obey. They hardened their hearts and
wandered away from the goodness of God and the blessings He gave to the
traditions of men and the yoke of a slave.
Holiness, holiness.
It’s the only life that the Lord can bless. Holiness, holiness.
It’s the life apart from the world's excess. For the people of
God there remains a rest. Holiness, holiness.
Jesus is calling you.
Come, take My hand. I’ll lead you away from the wilderness land
to a place full of goodness as far as you can see, but remember who
brought you and be holy to Me.
Holiness, holiness. It’s not
your food or drink. It’s not the way you dress. Holiness,
holiness. It’s to hear the Lord and to answer Yes. Holiness,
holiness. It’s the only life that the Lord can bless. For the
people of God there remains a rest. Holiness, holiness."
The
importance of following the way of the Spirit is highlighted for us in
the description of the new leader, Joshua. He is described as "a man in
whom is the Spirit" (27:18). As we read, in the Book of Joshua, of
Joshua's leadership, we may be tempted to think that it was primarily a
military leadership. This would, however, be a mistaken impression.
Joshua was a spiritual leader, a man empowered by the Spirit of God, a
man who led the people forward in the ways of God.
The spiritual character
of Israel's military exploits in the land of Canaan is made clear in
33:52. At the heart of Israel's warfare was this holy purpose of giving
worship to the one true God: "you shall drive out all the inhabitants
of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and
destroy all their molten images, and demolish all their high places."
Why
were the inhabitants of the land to be driven out? Their whole life was
bound up with idolatry. Why were the figured stones, molten images and
high places to be destroyed? Worship was to be given to the Lord alone.
Joshua was a military leader because, first and foremost, he was a spiritual leader.
Numbers is a kind of "Old Testament in miniature". It is a story of glorious victory - God leading His people into the promised Land. It is also a story of sad failure - God's people preferring the old worldly way of life rather than the new life of the Spirit.
Here,
we learn of the continuing conflict between the flesh and the Spirit -
"the desires of the flesh are aginst the pirit, and the desires of the
Spirit are against the flesh" (Galatians 5:17).
This is the
conflict from which we are never free. To our dying day, we will face
this conflict. If, however, we have begun to walk in the way of the
Spirit, there will always be, within us, a longing for our promised
future, our final deliverance from the world, the flesh and the devil.
Numbers
is incomplete. There is a looking forward to the Promised Land. The Old
Testament is incomplete. There is a looking forward to the promised
Saviour. Our earthly life is incomplete. There is a looking forward to
our promised "eternal redemption".
-----

This is the fourth part of an article which was published in Evangel.