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.