Numbers14:44-45
Numbers 13 and 14 are among the saddest chapters in the history of Israel. They sent 12 spies into the land. The spies reported that the land was good but filled with fierce tribes and giants. Only Joshua and Caleb believed that God's presence would win the battle for them. The rest of the spies persuaded the people to rebel against God.
God is angry but Moses intercedes for the people. The ten spies continue to sow seeds of rebellion and doubt and are struck down by plague. God decrees that their desert wanderings will continue until the current generation are gone and their children will be ready to enter the promised land.
The Israelites make the mistake of thinking that God doesn't really mean what He has said and so they decide to pretend that the whole rebellion hadn't happened and go about entering into the promised land. This means attacking the Amalekites in the hill country even though Moses urgently warns them against this action. Their presumption results in them being trounced by the enemy.
There is a very sobering warning in all of this. We are often guilty of making our own plans and then asking God to bless them. There are many times that we are convinced that we know what God wants to do and we simply charge ahead.
The Israelites, so filled with misplaced religious fervour were doing things in their own strength and did not even notice that the signs of God's presence (Moses and the Ark) had not accompanied them.
We don't have the ark of the covenant anymore, but we still have our fellow-believers and wise counsellors. When we doggedly pursue our own plans and the wise fellow-believers in our lives are hesitant, we should be very careful.
Presumption is a trap easily fallen into.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
