Deuteronomy 1:29-30 Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes.
Friends, Moses spoke those uplifting and encouraging words thousand of years ago, to a disbelieving nation of Israel, and they paid the price for their disbelief; forty years of aimless wandering in the wilderness. But Friends, that promise of God, like all His others, has held true from then, even unto now. Our God doesn’t make idle promises; His word is His bond. And, unlike the Israelites, we ought to believe it without any reservations. We have numerous examples where disbelief in God’s promises brought much misfortune, so it’s real sad that many people today still doubt His word. Here, Moses is recounting to the faithless Israelites their problems at Kadesh-barnea, when they refused to go and possess the promised land as the Lord directed, and instead listened to ten of the twelve spies who claimed the people were formidable giants. But the other two, Joshua and Caleb, rent their clothes and enthusiastically told them that it was a good land, and if the Lord delighted in them, He’d surely give them the land that flowed with milk and honey. ‘Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.’ (Num.14:9) Oh Friends, Caleb and Joshua as much as guaranteed victory: ‘they are bread for us; their defence is departed…’ That certainly made them easy pickings. But the crowning statement was, ‘and the Lord is with us.’ Really, that should have been sufficient, cause they knew all about the Lord’s awesome power since most of them had experienced the exodus from Egypt, and also the wanderings in the wilderness, where He fed them with manna, and guided them by a light of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day, to the shores of the Jordan, with the Promised Land on the other side. But sadly Friends, they forgot all of that and wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua. This incensed the Lord so much, He was ready to annihilate them. But Moses prayed, possibly his mightiest praying ever, showing the Lord reasons why He should not destroy them. (Num.14:13-19) So the Lord relented, and instead decided that none of those who came up from Egypt, would ever see the Promised Land, except Caleb and Joshua, and Israel would wander aimlessly until all of that group died. Oh people, how senseless and stupid! Forty years wasted because of cowardice and lack of faith. And it wasn’t like they didn’t know God’s capabilities or experienced His fulfilled promises; they were a part of the greatest migration the world’s ever seen. And when they were literally between the devil and the deep blue sea, Moses told them: ‘Fear not; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again, no more, for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.’ (Ex.14:13-14) And what happened? They witnessed one of the world’s greatest miracles; the parting of the Red Sea. They walked over it, on dry ground, then saw Pharaoh’s mighty army drowned when they tried to follow them. So how could they doubt God’s promises after that eh Friends? Possibly because of the inherent fickle, stubborn nature of fallen man, a craving for the easy way, lusting for the pleasures of the flesh and a sad lack of true faith and trust in One they called their God. Unfortunately, all traits and behaviour we still exhibit today Friends, else our world would not be in such a sorry state. Greed, deceit, oppression, immorality, lust for power; all the enemy’s trademarks, are still rampant today. No wonder we’re still wandering in an evil morass! Friends, we’ve desperately got to change our style of living; right now, and reach out to those closest to us, trusting God’s promises and doing His Holy will. It’s our only hope, cause I doubt our world will stand forty more years of our evil, warlike nature. Much LOVE!…remember…He who promised…IS FAITHFUL.
Friends, Moses spoke those uplifting and encouraging words thousand of years ago, to a disbelieving nation of Israel, and they paid the price for their disbelief; forty years of aimless wandering in the wilderness. But Friends, that promise of God, like all His others, has held true from then, even unto now. Our God doesn’t make idle promises; His word is His bond. And, unlike the Israelites, we ought to believe it without any reservations. We have numerous examples where disbelief in God’s promises brought much misfortune, so it’s real sad that many people today still doubt His word. Here, Moses is recounting to the faithless Israelites their problems at Kadesh-barnea, when they refused to go and possess the promised land as the Lord directed, and instead listened to ten of the twelve spies who claimed the people were formidable giants. But the other two, Joshua and Caleb, rent their clothes and enthusiastically told them that it was a good land, and if the Lord delighted in them, He’d surely give them the land that flowed with milk and honey. ‘Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.’ (Num.14:9) Oh Friends, Caleb and Joshua as much as guaranteed victory: ‘they are bread for us; their defence is departed…’ That certainly made them easy pickings. But the crowning statement was, ‘and the Lord is with us.’ Really, that should have been sufficient, cause they knew all about the Lord’s awesome power since most of them had experienced the exodus from Egypt, and also the wanderings in the wilderness, where He fed them with manna, and guided them by a light of fire in the night, and a cloud in the day, to the shores of the Jordan, with the Promised Land on the other side. But sadly Friends, they forgot all of that and wanted to stone Caleb and Joshua. This incensed the Lord so much, He was ready to annihilate them. But Moses prayed, possibly his mightiest praying ever, showing the Lord reasons why He should not destroy them. (Num.14:13-19) So the Lord relented, and instead decided that none of those who came up from Egypt, would ever see the Promised Land, except Caleb and Joshua, and Israel would wander aimlessly until all of that group died. Oh people, how senseless and stupid! Forty years wasted because of cowardice and lack of faith. And it wasn’t like they didn’t know God’s capabilities or experienced His fulfilled promises; they were a part of the greatest migration the world’s ever seen. And when they were literally between the devil and the deep blue sea, Moses told them: ‘Fear not; stand still and see the salvation of the Lord which He will show you today. For the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again, no more, for ever. The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.’ (Ex.14:13-14) And what happened? They witnessed one of the world’s greatest miracles; the parting of the Red Sea. They walked over it, on dry ground, then saw Pharaoh’s mighty army drowned when they tried to follow them. So how could they doubt God’s promises after that eh Friends? Possibly because of the inherent fickle, stubborn nature of fallen man, a craving for the easy way, lusting for the pleasures of the flesh and a sad lack of true faith and trust in One they called their God. Unfortunately, all traits and behaviour we still exhibit today Friends, else our world would not be in such a sorry state. Greed, deceit, oppression, immorality, lust for power; all the enemy’s trademarks, are still rampant today. No wonder we’re still wandering in an evil morass! Friends, we’ve desperately got to change our style of living; right now, and reach out to those closest to us, trusting God’s promises and doing His Holy will. It’s our only hope, cause I doubt our world will stand forty more years of our evil, warlike nature. Much LOVE!…remember…He who promised…IS FAITHFUL.
SCRIP-BITS 