MARCH 3 READINGS…Numbers 14:1-15:41.
As we concluded yesterday’s readings we had the return of the twelve men who had spent forty days in the land of promise bring their reports. Of the twelve, only two, Joshua and Caleb, brought a good report and a call for the people to trust in the Lord and move immediately into the land. The other ten told the people that those who lived in the land were too great, and that they should not go in. The people listened to the ten, rather than the two…this should be a wake up call to us to understand that the majority is not always right, and some would say rarely right. Two men of faith…two men who remembered the power of God…two men who would not kowtow to the bad advice and decisions of the majority…two men who would honor God above all else. Where are these men today? The voice we as followers of Jesus should care about is Jesus’ voice. The majority will always move with the spirit of the age in which they live. It is those who have stood in the face of adversity, and in the face of what was popular and socially acceptable, that we remember as great people of faith. It’s too easy to just give into the pressure of the majority…but there is a high cost when we listen to men rather than God.
The Apostle Paul makes a great statement of the kind of faith we all need to walk in…”Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.”-Galatians 1:10 NLT. The people of Israel in our reading decided not to trust God, and the consequences of their choice was grave. I remind you all that there are always consequences for the choices we make…so we need to make sure our choices are inline with God’s will. For the Israelites the consequences of their choice was that the ten men who brought reports contrary to God died of a God sent pestilence…and all the people who chose not to follow God in the nation would die in the wilderness and never enter the promise land. When the people saw and heard of God’s judgment they decided to then enter the land, but it was too late. Previously God was going to go before them…now He would not go with them in their disobedience…they chose to go anyway. The inhabitants of the land killed many of them and sent the rest running back into the wilderness. The lesson for us is to obey God even if no one else is willing to obey Him. Also, we need to immediately obey God when God gives direction…another day may be too late, and place us in disobedience to the Lord. May God give us the faith to trust Him when He speaks to go where He tells us to go…to do what He tells us to do…and to do it when He tells us to do it.
Please share your thoughts and insights from today’s readings. Continue to let the Word speak to your heart, and by the power of the Holy Spirit enable and direct your walk.
TOMORROW’S READINGS…Numbers 16:1-18:32.
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