Day 11: Careful What You Ask For

Numbers 14:40-44

New Living Translation (NLT)

⁴⁰ Then they got up early the next morning and went to the top of the range of hills. “Let’s go,” they said. “We realize that we have sinned, but now we are ready to enter the land the Lordhas promised us.”
⁴¹ But Moses said, “Why are you now disobeying the Lord’s orders to return to the wilderness? It won’t work. ⁴² Do not go up into the land now. You will only be crushed by your enemies because the Lord is not with you.⁴³ When you face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, you will be slaughtered. The Lord will abandon you because you have abandoned the Lord.”
⁴⁴ But the people defiantly pushed ahead toward the hill country, even though neither Moses nor the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant left the camp.


I should back up just enough to paint the picture of what's taking place here. Moses had sent 12 men, one from each tribe, to spy out the Promised Land. It was everything they could hope for, of course, and they brought back some of the most amazing fruit to show off! But they were great big weenies when it came to wanting to go fight for the land God had given them. Despite the strength and numbers of their armies, and even worse, in spite of all that God had done for them, the spies chickened out. At least, most of them did.


They gave bad report of the land, convincing everyone that there is no way they could go to battle and win against the inhabitants. The cities were fortified, the warriors too strong, and of all things, the giants were in the land. I guess they thought the giants were bigger than God.


Caleb and Joshua were the only two who didn't want to turn tail and run. They tried to undo the damage that the reports from the other spies had done, and almost got stoned by the people for it. God appreciated their effort though. He was so angry that He decided all of that generation would wander in the desert til they died. That "generation" included everyone over the age of 20, with two exceptions. Caleb and Joshua.


When Moses told the people that they were doomed to wander and die like desert rats, they changed their minds. Just like we do today, really... When we realize how undesirable the consequences of our actions are going to be, we get apologetic real quick! It was too little, too late, in their case. Moses told them not to be any more foolish than they had been... The Lord had moved on. If the Israelites wanted to stay and fight, they'd be doing it all on their own. And without God, they'd fail. And that's exactly what happened. Those who went to battle anyway were slaughtered.


Oh, man, aren't we still like that all these thousands of years later? We want what God promises, then get scared because it looks so hard! Sometimes God says to us, "Fine, have it your way, then" and He takes away the blessing He had wanted to give.


And then we get a case of the guilts, we run back and say "ok, ok, let's go do this! You promised it, I can achieve it!" But God's already removed His hand from the situation, and we're running head-long into a hornet's nest without His protection. 


It doesn't work out so well, does it? If only we'd trusted God in the first place, our life would have been so much easier!

Day 6, Exodus 16-28

Moses, supported by Aaron and Hur, is praying for victory  Millais, 1923 

Scripture: Exodus 17:11-13 (New King James Version)

11 And so it was, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed; and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed. 12 But Moses’ hands became heavy; so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. And Aaron and Hur supported his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. 13 So Joshua defeated Amalek and his people with the edge of the sword. 

Observation: can a more perfect picture ever be painted? this is my new favorite passage in the whole bible! this isn't about what moses did, it's not about what israel did, it's about how the battle was won... with arms lifted up in praise to the Father.

moses and the israelites, their battle was physical. and as long as moses's hands were lifted up to God, the israelites were winning. but the enemy would begin overcoming them the second that moses would grow tired and let his arms fall. it was so obvious to him, and to aaron and hur, that aaron and hur got him something to sit on and they held his arms up!

Application: every day i go through some sort of battle... whether it's physical or emotional or psychological, it all comes back to spiritual battle, because somewhere or other (i'm not good at remembering chapter & verse) scripture tells us that our battle is not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and rulers of darkness. and unless i want to fall completely apart and let the enemy gain ground, i must keep praising God, no matter how bleak the situation looks.

and not only do i need to be like moses, i need to be like aaron and hur, holding up the arms of my friends and loved ones when they are too tired to keep praising God.

Prayer:

wow, God! i'm just really so much in awe right now, i don't even have the right words to say! so i'm going to quit typing and just sit here and meditate on you for a little bit...