Negative news is infectious and so the pessimism of the ten spies devastated the spirit of the community. The spirit of the people was shattered. Their future looked grim and hopeless so the whole congregation groaned, moaned, and wept inconsolably. They then turned against Moses and Aaron. Like a huge choir singing in unison, the entire congregation grumbled at Moses and Aaron and said, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or even if we had died in this wilderness! So why is the Lord bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder! Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?”
How
pitiful they had become! They were actually blaming the LORD for their
“seeming” plight. Even before they could embark on the challenge they were
already defeated by their own attitude. Their outlook of things depressed them
till they entertained negative thoughts and indulged in depressing talks. So dismayed
were they that they even wanted to appoint themselves new leaders to
replace Moses and Aaron. They wanted to turn back and return to Egypt.
Unwittingly, they were rejecting God and His glorious plan for their lives.
Their unbelief had made them totally irrational. To think that they even
preferred bondage to freedom just because of some challenges ahead.
Both
Moses and Aaron were driven to their wits’ end. So verse 6 tells us that they
fell flat on their face on the ground before the whole threatening mob. But
Caleb and Joshua whom we mentioned briefly in our last reflection came forward
to offer their take of what they saw. They tore their clothes and appealed to
the people to look at the positive side of things. Using faith language, Joshua
appealed to the people to look from God’s angle. The land he insisted was
indeed a good land. His take was that what they needed was to factor the LORD into
the equation. What they truly needed was the favor of God. Joshua knew that
with God we will always form the majority. To him, the issue was never
about the seeming huge problems but the presence of the Living God with them.
To borrow Paul’s words, “…if God is for us who can be against us?”
Wisely
and courageously Joshua urged the people, “Only do not rebel against
the Lord; and do
not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey.
Their protection is gone from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” Here Joshua was
looking at the whole situation with the eye of faith. Like Joshua, the issue
for us should not be about the possibility of losing but the impossibility of
not winning when we have the favor of God. Unfortunately, the people were too
steep in unbelief. Verse 10 tells us that the people intended to stone the four
of them. It was halted by the appearance of the glory of God in the tent of
meeting.
Faith
always looks up to God. Fear always generates unbelief. We can choose faith
over fear, and trust over doubt. This passage underscores the importance of
building faith in God. It is a call to nurture faith and trust in God. How can
we build a faith-filled life? We do so by setting aside regular times to be
with God to know Him better. We also make time for prayer, praise, and worship.
Since the Word of God is our final authority, take time to feed on it. Be sure
to read, study and meditate on it. Most importantly we must act on it. Soli Deo
gloria – to God be the glory!
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