Numbers 12-14. ‘I have pardoned according to thy word; But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord’.
God is no fool. My head is just exploding over these next two three chapters, Numbers 12-14. I can’t even share all my thoughts.
People are up and down, all over the place. Say one thing, do another. One minute praise him, the next minute blaming him.
But Moses… ahh.. that man is an inspiration.
LEADERSHIP INSPIRATION, LIFE INSPIRATION
He always walked with GOD. Not the circumstances.
And now we see Joshua, the same.
And Caleb emerges, the same.
Why? Why are they different?
The whole congregation of people have witnessed all the same things. They’ve all heard ‘the word of God’. They’ve all been there for the miracles, and wonders.
So why do the people consistently fail, but these men emerge?
And my decision is: I am like them, I will not be overcome, God is the God of the whole earth.
But…Oh boy, it seems some people just never learn. They are the ones that tell you ‘it’s just who am I’, ‘my father was like this too’, ‘I had a bad experience and now…’… they have all the reasons. They mess up over and over and over again.
And I’m wondering, how many Christians die never seeing the ‘promise’ of God in their life? How many fall sick because of what they have said against anointed people? (We know that if you have communion wrongly there’s trouble according to the New Testament). How many have had their lives, or their families lives, destroyed, because they messed up against God and his word?
Scary…scary… to think about.
Do we understand these things?
GOD’S APPOINTED LEADERS, HE WILL DEFEND
Numbers 12, Miriam and Aaron, two people you would think would know to shut their mouth – but no. They get jealous..
‘Doesn’t God speak to us as well? Does he only speak to you?’
Can I tell you something about those people who God has called, and anointed, and speaks to? Those ones you might call the ‘man/woman of God’?
You will know them by the signs and wonders. You will know them by the word of God in them. You will know them by the anointing. They are meek.
The majority of the rest are self-appointed or ‘group-think’ appointed. They go to bible school to get a job ‘in the ministry’. They get hired. They run things like a business, they are practical with their spread sheets and growth plans.
God’s called and anointed leader, will go by the Spirit. They don’t need fame, they don’t need endorsement. They don’t bow to the favour of men. They obey God. They will lose all, and pay a heavy heavy price that no one really knows. They will bleed in their heart in service to God, because of the people…
THOSE kind are so rare, you can’t find them.
Most people these days ‘feel a call’… what a load of rubbish. The call of God to this thing is clear, it’s not a feeling. But that ‘call’ you might feel is that of service to God, to bowing the knee to the Christ, doing whatever it takes to serve in His Kingdom. Again… a truly rare thing.
NUMBERS 12 – God himself came to deal with this illegitimate question of leadership and authority.
“With him will I speak mouth to mouth, even apparently, and not in dark speeches….” V 8
He goes on to ask the question ‘WHY WEREN’T YOU AFRAID TO SPEAK AGAINST MY SERVANT MOSES?
Oh dear God. I would have been falling in terror.
When God’s anointing is upon a person. When he has appointed them, like he did Paul, Apostle, when you speak against them, saying you’re as good as them, you’re entering into this territory. You are undermining God’s appointments. And he doesn’t let that go unnoticed, even if you think you’ve got away with it.
Just saying….🤐
Chapter 12 we see how God reacts to this treachery, and it isn’t pretty.
NUMBERS 13 – and now we have the unbelief in people manifesting at epic proportions.
Who believes God?
Who believes the promises of God?
Can we believe the person who has heard from God mouth to mouth, and trust where they lead?
We know the promise was given to Abraham – about the land flowing with milk and honey. He also said he was going to deal with the Amorites (Gen 15) and the Amalakites.
The people have been delivered from Egypt, heading toward that promise.
They’ve been prepared, organised as an army, ready to go.
God has proven himself with food, with all the things.
Can they still not believe the promise? Apparently not.
The promise of God requires faith. To believe HIM.
But most people love to be ‘practical’ or use ‘common-sense’, or ‘keep the unity’ not disturbing others, not drawing attention, they like to be ‘reasonable’ and ‘safe’. For example, ‘God couldn’t possibly have told you to hire the biggest stadium to preach the gospel to the sinners, that’s too expensive, we’re better off helping the poor in our community and just loving them, using our money ‘wisely’……’🤭
These 12 men were sent to confirm that God had kept his promise, and will keep it.
10 of those men failed. But we cannot judge them as though we are innocent. God requires faith of us all the time, and how many times do we look in our bank account, look around us and say, it’s not possible right now.
“We are not able to go up against the people. For they are stronger than we’ And they brought up an Evil Report. (V31)
2 men looked at the God who made the promise. They remembered the land, they remembered that He had declared himself an enemy of those in that land.
‘Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (v 30)
WHAT IS YOUR REPORT? GOOD? OR EVIL?
Trust me. You do not want to be one of those with an evil report.
WHEN THE FEAR TURNS TO REBELLION
The people cried and wept, and turned on the leaders. The fear overtook them.
To the end that they wanted to pick another leader from among them, and go back to Egypt.
And not just that, they wanted to STONE Moses and the others.
….(so, as a thought, how many leaders have been run out of things, ‘stoned’ if you will, by the people.)
God, I’ve seen this happen in some churches. It’s horrendous.
God wants to destroy them all.
He says to Moses AGAIN let me make a new nation out of thee, I’ll get rid of these people and start again.
But Moses, even though he was tired of being abused by these people, reminds God of WHO HE IS;
Remember, Exodus 34? When God walks past Moses, and he sees his back? What were the words he said?
Moses now reminds him in Numbers 14:18…..(don’t you just love the bible!!!!!!!)
THE LORD IS LONGSUFFERING
AND OF GREAT MERCY
FORGIVING INIQUITY AND TRANSGRESSION
AND BY NO MEANS CLEARING THE GUILTY,
VISITING THE INIQUITY OF THE FATHERS
UPON THE CHILDREN UNTO THE THIRD AND FOURTH GENERATION
Pardon them Lord.. of your names sake.
And God says ‘I have pardoned according to thy word, But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord’ v21.
But, the people will die never getting the promises. Except Caleb, he is absolutely going to get it.
And not just that, I’m prepared to delay you getting that promise, by 40 years, so they all die off.
TAKING MATTERS IN TO YOUR OWN HANDS
So, the evil report givers, that had derailed the things of God, they died. It was probably hideously painful.
The rest of them, went to the top of the mountain, look down and say ‘Let’s go get this promise’.
Moses said, are you mad? You’re going against what God just told you.
But again, they didn’t listen. They wanted to ‘make things right’.
‘But they presumed to go….” (V 44).
Let’s just say it did not end well.
Will we, as a people, learn from these stories? Learn from these things? Fear God? Fear whom he has anointed with power? Believe his promises.
His promises are eternal. They are the ones that fit his purposes.
It’s not about you getting everything you want.
It’s about HIM seeing the whole world saved.
When we will see we are called into fulfilling THAT?
The harvest is ripe, the labourers are few.
Many are called, few are chosen.
For the just shall live by faith…
By faith……
Without faith it is impossible to please God…
Thank God for the Holy Spirit. Ask him. Cry out to him. Pray earnestly, for the Holy Spirit. Live your life in the Spirit, obeying the voice of God.
Do not cease.
THAT is what you need to do better, and better, and better!
And the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord! Amen!
