The vast multitude of the children of Israel stood at the edge of Canaan. Only the Jordan river stood between them and the land God had promised them. Or was it only the Jordan? Maybe in the physical sense it was, but there was much more holding them back than what met the eye. There they stood, gazing towards the land God had promised them, the land of freedom from slavery, the land they had been looking forward to entering for so long. How their hearts must have beat rapidly in anticipation.
Tearing away from Egypt had been hard. The journey through the wilderness had been hard. But finally Canaan was in sight! They had faced obstacles. In the beginning of their journey they had stood by the Red Sea, a formidable barrier, with the enemy closing in from behind them. Then God had parted the waters and they crossed over on dry land while the enemy was destroyed in that very sea. After it was all over, the children of Israel sang a song of praise.
But as their journey continued the obstacles continued, though they no longer all come from the outside but from within. Their hearts had begun to yearn for the ease of Egypt, forgetting the oppression in light of what their flesh wanted.
Still God had gone with them and guided them. He had sent them manna for food. He had provided water. He kept His promises to them and continued to guide them and to reveal His plans for them even while many times their hearts were drawn away, provoking judgement and punishment. Yet God had always shown mercy to the repentant and they had moved on.
Now finally they stood on the bank of the promised land. Canaan was in sight! Grapes were so large it took two men to carry the bunches. It was a land where milk and honey flowed.
Abundance!
How that must have thrilled those waiting to enter in. How the abundance must have looked even better, after the long journey in the wilderness.
But wait.
What were the spies saying? Twelve spies had been sent into the land to check out this land they were about to enter. Twelve men were entrusted to go on ahead and to bring back a report. They came back with evidence of all that God had promised but the report was frightening. There was abundance and it was a beautiful land. But there were also giants there. Formidable giants that made them feel like grasshoppers in comparison.
They had just come through the wilderness and witnessed God’s great miracles, but on the brink of the Jordan River, just outside of Canaan, they forgot that the same God who had led them miraculously across the wilderness would lead them miraculously into Canaan. They looked at themselves and their own small size in comparison with the giants and said, “There’s no way. We can’t go on, the foe is too big.” This was the report of ten of the spies.
Two men who knew and trusted God said, “Yes, we can go in. We are well able to possess the land!” But the other men said “no” and spoke evil of the land. “We can’t do it. We’ll be consumed.”
And the people wept. (Numbers 13 & 14) They wanted to return to Egypt. They wished they had died in the wilderness.
Joshua spoke to the people. He said it’s a good land and if the Lord delight in us He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. A land of abundance. “Only rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, the Lord is with us, fear them not.” (Numbers 14:9) But the people reacted in fear and became angry at the men who said they could do it, wanting to kill them.
Doubt. Unbelief.
Because of their rebellion and because they chose fear instead of trusting God they had to turn back into the wilderness. For forty long years they wandered in the desert, suffering exceedingly. Not because God did not want to take them into Canaan, nor that God wasn’t able to take them into Canaan, but because they refused to believe Him. Thousands of people never got to experience the promised land, the land of abundance they had journeyed so far for. All those who were 20 years and older died in the wilderness.
All except the two men who trusted God. Joshua and Caleb were able to enter Canaan with the rest when they finally went in. Those who had been 19 years old on that fateful day when they chose to turn back were now 59 years old these forty years later. So other than Joshua and Caleb, it was a relatively young group of people who entered Canaan.
This is a story of sadness and also of triumph. The part that twists deeply into my heart is thinking of the children who were trustingly innocent. They, too, had to turn back into the wilderness with their parents. They, along with Joshua and Caleb, suffered in the wilderness through no fault of their own. Instead of entering into the land of abundance, they suffered and watched their families and loved ones die.
Yet there is also an element of hope that runs through this story. Although man makes his own way hard God always offers HOPE. God made a way for repentance even for those who had sinned in ignorance. (Numbers 15) Those who realized their sin could come to God and bring a sacrifice. They could repent even though they had forfeited their entrance into the promised land.
And then we think of Joshua and Caleb. How hard it must have been for them to return to the wilderness when they had been so close. They had been in Canaan. They had seen first-hand what was there and what they could’ve had. They trusted God but had to walk through the wilderness with those who did not believe. But here, also, is a thread of hope. They were faithful and they were rewarded. While all the others their age died in the wilderness, Joshua and Caleb did get to enter the promised land, they did get to experience God’s mighty works and to be part of the great entry. Because they never stopped trusting. They never lost hope. And they stood in that trust and hope even in the face of extreme opposition from the surrounding crowds.
When we find ourselves in the wilderness, when we find progress being stopped by the unbelief of those around us, when we struggle to not become discouraged, when we know that God can, and yet we must suffer with our fellowman because of unbelief, keep trusting God. Sometimes we must walk through the wilderness with our loved ones, sometimes it’s only through the wilderness that they can come to believe.
But trust God and hold on to His promises every step of the way. You WILL be rewarded. You WILL enter Canaan.
God, Who cannot lie, keeps His promises.
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