The Children of Israel: Faith versus Doubt

     One of the stories of the Old Testament that I really enjoy takes place when the children of Israel are finally allowed to enter the Promised Land.  The Israelites had escaped the captivity of Egypt with the promise of returning to the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.  Unfortunately the land of their forefathers had become occupied with many other people, and the Israelites would be required to conquer the land in order to possess it.
     Their escape from Egypt had been miraculous.  The Lord God sent what has become known as the seven plagues of Egypt in order to convince Pharaoh to let the children of Israel go.  He finally did, but regretted it after they left.  So he pursued them to the banks of the Red Sea.  God parted the Red Sea and allowed the Israelites to cross on dry ground.  Then the armies of Egypt, who had foolishly tried to follow Israel through, were buried in the depths of the large sea.
     The children of Israel had not learned from these miracles unfortunately.  When they came to the borders of the land of Israel, they sent scouts into the land.  Two of the scouts, Joshua and Caleb, returned with wonderful news about the bounties of the land.  The other ten scouts, however, brought news of giants and great armies.  The people of Israel listened to the ten scouts and fear gripped their heart.  Though a few of the people, including Moses and the scouts, believed in God and knew they could take the land under His guidance, the majority turned aside in fear.
     So the people of Israel, because of their doubts and fears, were given a new course by God.  They would wander the wilderness until the entire population of doubting people had passed away.  Their children, and the two spies who brought good reports, would be allowed to see the bounties of the land of Israel, but the doubting parents never would.  So for forty years they wandered the wilderness as the old generation passed away and the new generation took their place.
     Moses was allowed to see the land promised to Israel, but he wasn’t allowed to enter.  He had made the mistake of taking credit for God’s work at one point while the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness.  As a consequence of his sin, Moses was told by God he would see the land but not enter it. 
     Moses did repent of this mistake, and God forgave him because of his faith and righteousness.  But the promised consequence of his mistake was not removed.  He came to the borders of the land, but didn’t enter.  Thus Joshua, one of the spies that brought good reports about the land to begin with, was given command over the people of Israel and would lead them in to possess it.
     The stories of faith I wish to speak of take place after this point in the story.  Before turning to these stories, however, I can’t pass up the opportunity to comment on the excellent lessons of faith we can learn from these events told above.  So the stories following these events will need to wait until next week.
     This series of events demonstrates a situation where people chose not to exercise faith in God.  The children of Israel who were brought out of the land of Egypt had spent many generations growing up in a land where false gods were worshipped.  Unfortunately their knowledge of the One True God was tainted by the Egyptian belief in these false gods.  These false gods, however, couldn’t perform miracles.
     Then Moses was sent by God to perform miracles to free the children of Israel.  There is no doubt He could have freed them through many more subtle methods than the ones He chose.  Yet the method used by God to free the children of Israel made a profound declaration to the people of Israel and the Egyptians. 
     God was quite literally declaring Himself the Alpha and Omega, the One Almighty God.  The plagues of Egypt were a demonstration of just how little power—none—the Egyptian gods carried.  Burying Pharaoh and his armies in the Egyptian sea destroyed the last god of the Egyptians.  God unequivocally declared Himself God.  None of the Israelites could deny it.
     Yet many of the children of Israel had to be slain shortly thereafter.  In foolish rebellion they chose to worship an idol, turning back to the false gods they had just seen destroyed.  Those who were spared were those who chose not to worship these false gods, but instead chose to wait for the One True God to command them.
     These are the people that came to the borders of the land of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob the first time.  They had learned of God.  They had seen Him destroy the most powerful army on the earth.  They had learned just how much could be done when He fought their battles for them.  This is why the scene we see at the borders of their land of promise is such a tragedy.
     God promised these people, through the mouth of His prophet, that He would go before them and fight their battles.  They knew He had the power because they had seen it.  Yet the majority of them baulked at the task before them.  They feared to enter the land of giants because they feared they couldn’t defeat these giants, even with God as their head.  Their fear conquered their faith.
    Is it any wonder why God denied them access to the land before them?  They had seen His power, but they refused to put their faith in Him.  As a consequence, they would not reap the rewards that only faith could have given them.  They would not receive the bounties of the land of Israel.  Instead they would wander through the trials of the wilderness so they could learn the faith they lacked.

     In contrast two men stood boldly before the people and declared the goodness of the land.  When ten spoke against the Lord and the majority of the people doubted, two men had the courage to stand with the prophet of God and declare their faith in the Almighty.  Those men were Joshua and Caleb.  Because of their faith they would get the opportunity to enter the bountiful land when Israel was allowed to return.  All the rest of Israel would pass away, but Joshua and Caleb would enter the beautiful land.

     We have wonderful witnesses of God around us.  He is always showing His power to those who have open eyes and hearts willing to watch for it.  I know He is often very subtle in the way He shows this power.  We rarely get the opportunity to see profound declarations He is the One True God from Him because He works through small and simple means most often. 

     Yet those small and simple miracles that testify of God are there.  We can see them if we chose to look for them in faith.  The question is will we have the faith to watch for them?  And when we see these witnesses of the power of God, what will we do with them.  Will we let this witness swell within us, helping our faith in God to grow?  Or will we allow fear and doubt to take command of our hearts, denying us the blessings He wishes to give us?

 

For a complete account of the stories represented here, turn to the books of Exodus, Numbers, Deuteronomy, and Joshua in the Old Testament portion of the Holy Bible.

Joseph of Bethlehem

     Throughout the mortal life of Jesus Christ, He touched the lives of many incredible men and women of faith.  Many of these people of faith probably had a good impact on His life as well.  His mother, Mary, and her husband, Joseph, were two excellent examples of faith and probably had a large impact on the faith of Jesus Christ.  Today I wish to focus on the faith of Joseph.

     Joseph was a man of God with incredible faith.  The simple fact he was chosen to be the father of the Only Begotten Son of God is enough to teach us this fact.  Jesus would come to earth with the same knowledge as the rest of us, meaning He would have to grow up learning by faith and trust.  It’s very obvious that He would only be entrusted to the care of parents with incredible faith.  This is why Mary and Joseph were chosen.

     Fortunately the scriptures give us more evidence of the fact Joseph was a man of faith than this reasoning.  The scriptures give us very little history from the life of Joseph.  Yet the stories found in the New Testament of the Holy Bible demonstrate the faith of this incredible man.  These stories help us understand why Heavenly Father would trust the Joseph to teach His Son the faith He would need to fulfill His mission in life.

     The first of these stories comes before Joseph and Mary were engaged.  Mary was betrothed to Joseph when she was visited by the angel and informed she would give birth to the Son of God.  Mary undoubtedly knew this could bring hardship to her life.  Many would mistakenly believe she was promiscuous and unfaithful to her betrothed when they found out she was with child.  She could be publicly humiliated and rejected by Joseph.  Yet she trusted Heavenly Father and chose to accept the privilege of being the mother of Jesus.

     When Joseph found out Mary was with child, he did mistakenly believe she had been unfaithful to him.  Any man betrothed to an unfaithful woman had the right to make a public example of her, and Joseph would have known this.  But this would have destroyed the life of Mary.  Joseph was a righteous man who loved God.  So he had no desire to ruin the life of Mary, even though he thought she had made a terrible choice and given up her morality and virtue.  So he decided to “put her away privily”.

     Then he had a dream.  In this dream an angel of God appeared to Joseph and told him what had happened with Mary.  He was commanded to take Mary as his wife, name the child Jesus, and raise Him as his own.  This is where we first see just how much faith Joseph had.  He wouldn’t have known for sure that this dream was from God. 

     But he knew the impressions this dream had left upon him.  And he believed they were from God.  So he acted with faith and did as he was instructed.  Joseph took Mary as his wife and refrained from consummating the marriage until after Jesus was born.  He then named the child as he had been instructed and raised Him as his own son.  He taught the Son of God to believe in Heavenly Father.  And from the lessons Jesus received from Joseph and Mary (and probably from angels of God, though this form likely started when He was a few years old), He learned how to be the chosen Messiah.

     At the time Jesus was born, a man named Herod was allowed by Rome to rule over the people of Jerusalem.  He learned from wise men who were seeking Jesus that the true King of Israel had been born.  He feared he would lose his kingdom to this child, so he sought to kill him.  He asked the wise men to bring him word of the location of Jesus so he could also go worship Him. 

     But the wise men figured out Herod’s wicked plan.  When they found Jesus, a couple years after his birth, they worshipped Him as they desired.  Then they departed without returning to Herod.  Herod decided to kill all the children old enough to be Jesus to eliminate the threat.

     Joseph was warned in a dream this was about to happen.  He probably again had a few doubts, but he knew the feeling he was left with again.  So he obeyed this dream just as he had the earlier dream.  He took Mary and Jesus to Egypt to await for the Lord’s command to return.  In this way he saved Jesus from death at the hands of the soldiers of Herod.

     Joseph obeyed dreams from God twice more that we have record of in the scriptures.  This is the pattern of faith we see from the life of the man chosen to be the father of Jesus.  Though he would have had doubts, he trusted the impressions given to him by dreams.  And he obeyed in faith.

     The Lord communicates to each of us differently.  At times some of us will have dreams like Joseph did.  Sometimes we receive communication from God through other people around us.  Most often communication from God comes from the Holy Spirit through small impressions. 

     No matter how God chooses to communicate to us, we will find there is room for doubt.  What matters is how we choose to look at these communications.  Will we act with faith as Joseph always did?  Or will we foolishly turn aside?  Will we trust that God loves us enough to communicate to us?  Or will we foolishly believe there has to be some scientific explanation to the feelings, dreams, or impressions we get and it couldn’t be from God?

     Joseph had the wisdom to follow the promptings given to him.  I hope I can learn from his example and always follow the promptings of God in my life.  And I hope you can as well.

Abraham

     One of the greatest examples of faith in the scriptures comes from Abraham.  Many different versions of scriptures carry the story of Abraham found in the Old Testament portion of the Holy Bible.  In the King James Version of the Holy Bible, and in many other versions, his story is contained in The Book of Genesis chapters 12 through 25.

     Members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints recognize another book of scripture that contains additional stories from the life of Abraham.  That book of scripture is called The Book of Abraham and is contained in The Pearl of Great Price.  Many of these stories help us know more about the faith of Abraham, and I want to share a little of this history before going into what I believe is the most famous example of faith Abraham gives us.

     Abraham, who was called Abram at the time, lived in Ur, the land of the Chaldeans, with his family.  He tells us his fathers turned from God and started worshipping false gods.  This included offering up human sacrifices upon altars.  Abraham knew the paths of God and decided to pursue them.  He sought for the birthright blessing of the Holy Priesthood (the power of God given to righteous men to serve the disciples of Christ).  He refused to worship the false gods of the land.

     Because of this Abram was taken to the altar to become a human sacrifice.  He tells us that three virgins were offered as sacrifices upon this altar at one time because they also refused to worship the false gods.  This alone shows the faith of Abraham (and the three virgins).  He was willing to die because he loved Christ and believed it would be better for him to die on the altar of false gods than to turn from Him.

     When Abram was bound and placed on the altar for sacrifice, he cried to God for help.  Abram probably didn’t know God would deliver him.  In fact, he probably thought chances were God wouldn’t deliver him, unless he had been given a blessing or some other indication he wouldn’t be slain at this time.  After all, for whatever wise purpose He had, God had allowed the three virgins to be slain.  Why should He preserve the life of Abram?

     But Abram knew God had the power to deliver him, and he undoubtedly hoped God would.  So he cried out in faith and hope to God.  This demonstrates great faith to me as well.  He wouldn’t deny God, but would instead call upon Him when bound by those who would harm him because of his faith.

     God had plans for Abram that didn’t include death, however.  So the heavens opened and Abram beheld a vision of Jehovah and the angels of God.  These angels released him, and God gave to Abram great promises and covenants.  Abram’s faith would carry him to even greater covenants with God, and God would rename him Abraham.

     If this was the only story of faith Abraham would have to teach us, it would be enough.  But Abraham lived a life of faith that gives us so much more.  He demonstrates faith as he travels to foreign lands and faces kings and rulers.  He demonstrates faith when he bargains with Lot for a place to dwell.  He demonstrates faith when he later delivers Lot from foreign rulers.  And he demonstrates faith when he pleads for any that might be righteous in the forsaken lands of Sodom and Gomorrah.

     But what appears to be the most famous story of faith from the life of Abraham comes after Sarah bears him her first child.    Abraham had longed to have children with Sarah, but none had been forthcoming.  God finally sent angels to Abraham and Sarah to promise them a son.  Sarah, in her old age, would give birth to that child and name him Isaac.

     Then God asked of Abraham the greatest sacrifice He could have asked.  He asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac.  Abraham had prayed, probably with a great deal of fasting and pleading, for children from Sarah.  God had finally given him one.  And then God asked Abraham to sacrifice that child.

     Keep in mind that we just talked about how Abraham was nearly offered to a false God as a human sacrifice.  He knew what it was like to lie on an altar contemplating your death at the hands of another person.  Now the One True God had asked Abraham to place his son in the same position.  But it would be worse for Isaac, for his own father would be the one performing the sacrifice! 

     Abraham would have known this.  He was no doubt torn with heartache by this terrible request.  And he no doubt didn’t understand it.  Our Heavenly Father was not a god of human sacrifice.  How could He ask for a human sacrifice now?  And why did it have to be his son Isaac while Abraham performed the terrible task?  This was the most difficult thing God could have asked from Abraham.

     Abraham knew God well, however.  He knew God wouldn’t ask this of him without a reason.  So there had to be a purpose.  This is why Abraham prepared to sacrifice his son, a son he loved very much.  He built the altar, bound Isaac, and lifted the knife to slay him.

     Now the truth is God didn’t want Abraham to sacrifice Isaac.  He has never been a god of human sacrifice, nor would He ever be.  All God was doing was giving Abraham an opportunity to prove to himself just how much he would give up for the Lord God.  God was building the character and faith of this great man. 

     So when Abraham had gone to the brink of slaying his son as commanded, God intervened and stopped him.  He commended Abraham’s faith and provided an animal sacrifice for him.  Then God blessed Abraham for his great faith.

     I can’t help but marvel at this incredible faith.  Abraham was willing to sacrifice that which he loved most, the son he had waited years for, because God asked him to do so.  He was also willing to do so in a manner he undoubtedly abhorred.  This was because of his faith in God.

     So this is the lesson for us to learn.  We should be willing to sacrifice anything the One True God asks of us.  Are you willing to give up that which you hold most dear should God ask it of you?  For that matter, are you willing to give up the things that don’t matter that much to you when God asks you to?  If the answer is no to either of these questions, what can be done to help your faith grow so the answer becomes yes?  It’s time for you to find out and make the change.

Brigham Young

     Another excellent example of faith from our time comes from Brigham Young.  Brigham Young was the second president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and was called by God to represent Him after the martyrdom of the prophet Joseph Smith. 

     One of the great lessons we can learn from Brigham Young is that faith doesn’t have to be a blind matter.  In fact it’s not meant to be.  We are supposed to exercise diligence in learning the matters of God (which includes all truth) to the best of our ability. 

     Then, after we’ve done all we can do to learn the truth of the matters we face, we make a decision and present it to the Lord.  Sometimes this time of preparation takes a long time after we’ve recognized we need instruction.  Sometimes the answer must be immediate and our previous preparation will have to suffice (which means we need to always be preparing ourselves by learning as much truth as possible).  But we do need to do all we can first.

     If we go to the Lord, present our decision, and are told it is incorrect, we are supposed to exercise faith at that time and do as the Lord commands.  If He tells us our choice is right, or even refrains from answering, it is up to us to proceed with the solution in faith. 

     This principle of faith applies to all aspects of our life.  (God is not likely to care what decision we make in several of our day-to-day decisions, such as what to eat for breakfast.  These are very unlikely to have an impact on our salvation or the salvation of others.)  It applies to marriage.  It applies to principles of truth we learn through religious leaders.  It applies to career choices, choices about attending religious organizations, and so many other important life choices.

     Brigham Young provides us with an excellent example of this principle of faith.  He demonstrated it when he received a copy of The Book of Mormon.  For three years Brigham studied the book, praying to God in faith to know if the written words were the words of God.  After three years he received a witness that The Book of Mormon was indeed scripture.

     After that Brigham plunged into the teachings found within the pages of The Book of Mormon.  He had received his witness and would never forsake the truths he learned. 

     At another time He received some instruction from the prophet, Joseph Smith.  The instruction was difficult.  Brigham knew Joseph was a prophet but he couldn’t understand the words given to him.  He expected direction from God on the matter, and the prophet promised him he would get it.  Before Joseph Smith had made it down the street, Brigham Young received his witness from God.  He again plunged into the matter and never turned back.  And this was the pattern he lived throughout his life.

     The faith of Brigham Young would lead him on to become one of the greatest advocates for God in this period of time.  He would follow God by leading the members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to a barren land, where the saints developed the beautiful Salt Lake valley under the hand of God.  And his faith would lead him to many other important accomplishments.  Through it all he practiced the principle of doing his part before coming to God in faith.  This was because Brigham Young knew our growth requires diligence and work coupled with faith.