But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness.--1 Corinthians 10:5
To My Girls,
I have been studying this one verse for the past several days using The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge to cross reference each part. My study has taken me to Numbers, Deuteronomy, the Psalms, Hebrews and finally to the book of Jude.
Here is what I read in Numbers 14 that stopped me cold.
According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection. I the LORD have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who are gathered together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.' "
Now these verses were not new to me. I have read them many times before. As I draw nearer and nearer to God, however, I understand more and more the preciousness of His presence in my life. Truly...I cannot imagine living here on this earth for a nano second without Him anymore. The thought of His rejection is intolerable and immediately makes anything else I might face in this life light affliction. It reminds me of the last line from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness that I studied in high school. "The horror, the horror!"
Murmuring and complaining, stepping on God's mercy, and ultimately unbelief...Psalm 78 tells the story of the children of Israel. Here is a portion....it is easy reading.
They did not keep the covenant of God; They refused to walk in His law, And forgot His works And His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, In the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, And all the night with a light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them drink in abundance like the depths. He also brought streams out of the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers. But they sinned even more against Him By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart By asking for the food of their fancy. Yes, they spoke against God: They said, "Can God prepare a table in the wilderness? Behold, He struck the rock, So that the waters gushed out, And the streams overflowed. Can He give bread also? Can He provide meat for His people?" Therefore the LORD heard this and was furious; So a fire was kindled against Jacob, And anger also came up against Israel, Because they did not believe in God, And did not trust in His salvation. Yet He had commanded the clouds above, And opened the doors of heaven, Had rained down manna on them to eat, And given them of the bread of heaven. Men ate angels' food; He sent them food to the full. He caused an east wind to blow in the heavens; And by His power He brought in the south wind. He also rained meat on them like the dust, Feathered fowl like the sand of the seas; And He let them fall in the midst of their camp, All around their dwellings. So they ate and were well filled, For He gave them their own desire. They were not deprived of their craving; But while their food was still in their mouths,The wrath of God came against them, And slew the stoutest of them, And struck down the choice men of Israel. In spite of this they still sinned, And did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer. Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant. But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity, And did not destroy them. Yes, many a time He turned His anger away, And did not stir up all His wrath; For He remembered that they were but flesh, A breath that passes away and does not come again. How often they provoked Him in the wilderness, And grieved Him in the desert!
The Israelites repeatedly and willfully broke the law of the Lord their God. They forgot His wonderful works...they forgot His goodness and His kindness to them. They turned away to idols. They lusted after things of the world and were never satisfied. They turned back when He brought judgment upon them but it was all form and no substance..their hearts were not in it. God's response to them was always tempered with His mercy. He knew their frame...that they were dust. But in spite of all the proofs of His love their hearts were still cold to Him. Now the Lord heard their murmurings, just like He hears ours and was greatly displeased. Many of their hearts were so hard that they were not broken by his judgments nor softened by His mercies. It is important I think to note that God expressed His displeasure with them by giving them their own way. Numbers 14: 1-2 says this:
So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, "If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness!
and then 14:28-29
Say to them, 'As I live,' says the LORD, 'just as you have spoken in My hearing, so I will do to you: The carcasses of you who have complained against Me shall fall in this wilderness, all of you who were numbered, according to your entire number, from twenty years old and above.
This is the wrath of abandonment. Proverbs chapter 1 verses 24 to 31 says this:
Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, Because you disdained all my counsel, And would have none of my rebuke, I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your terror comes, When your terror comes like a storm, And your destruction comes like a whirlwind, When distress and anguish come upon you. "Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they will not find me. Because they hated knowledge And did not choose the fear of the LORD, They would have none of my counsel And despised my every rebuke. Therefore they shall eat the fruit of their own way, And be filled to the full with their own fancies.
Uh oh...They're going to get exactly what they wanted with no restraint. God is stepping back and leaving them to the consequences of their own sinful choices. They will be filled with their own way and their sin will be their ruin. Genesis 6:3 tells us that God's Spirit will not strive with us forever. The price for the Israelites as well as for us was/is staggering.
There are many times as I walk through the trials of this life that I feel that even with His presence it is all too much! But I can endure because He does the enduring. He performs all things for me and perfects all things that concern me. His plan for me here out of His heart of love. He works all together in my life for my good and His glory. I cannot fathom journeying through life here on earth without Him. He is my rock, my hope and my joy unending. It is in Him that I live and it is Him that I live unto. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Nothing can separate me from His love. Not even me.
I do not lose heart because He is always with me! My work is not in vain, and my hope is sure,
Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. --Isaiah 40:28-31
Love
Mom
