July 17, 2024

Numbers 14:17-25  (HCSB)
17 “So now, may my Lord’s power be magnified just as You have spoken: 18 The Lord is slow to anger and rich in faithful love, forgiving wrongdoing and rebellion. But He will not leave the guilty unpunished, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ wrongdoing on the children to the third and fourth generation. 19 Please pardon the wrongdoing of this people, in keeping with the greatness of Your faithful love, just as You have forgiven them from Egypt until now.” 20 The Lord responded, “I have pardoned them as you requested. 21 Yet as surely as I live and as the whole earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, 22 none of the men who have seen My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tested Me these 10 times and did not obey Me, 23 will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers. None of those who have despised Me will see it. 24 But since My servant Caleb has a different spirit and has followed Me completely, I will bring him into the land where he has gone, and his descendants will inherit it. 25 Since the Amalekites and Canaanites are living in the lowlands, turn back tomorrow and head for the wilderness in the direction of the Red Sea.”

Jenny Morton
Fear over faith can not only delay blessings but can bring disaster. Israel's doubt in God's abilities brought them more hardship. I remind myself when reading these accounts that the people of Israel were real living people, with their own little lives just like us. How often do we doubt, or second guess, what the Holy Spirit is clearly telling us to do? It's scary to read God's reaction to those doubts and lack of trust in Him in these scriptures. I am so thankful for Jesus interceding for us much like what Moses did for Israel here. God tells Moses He will forgive Israel per Moses’ request. But forgiveness doesn't erase consequences. In the Old Testament, God delivered justice for disobedience over and over. Through Jesus we have "once saved, always saved." But still that is not a license to disobey. Disobedience can lead to missed opportunities and missed blessings. As believers, God won't cast us out of His presence but He will make us give an account for our actions. Today, trust God with something you've been struggling with. Your obedience will show to others.