September 22, 2025
God Brings Judgment with Consequences on the Disobedient
Numbers 14:1-10 (HCSB)
Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan
14 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
David Bale
Nine years ago, I had the opportunity of serving on a jury in Robertson County involving a criminal homicide case. For the majority of a week, we 12 jurors listened to testimony given by several witnesses. When the time came for deliberating “the facts” of the case, I’ll never forget how bizarre and completely flabbergasted I was. After listening to the same exact evidence for a whole week, I couldn’t believe the wide-ranging difference of opinions we twelve jurors shared! Two of us, Cindy Williams, (who is also a Temple Baptist member) and I saw the evidence one way, while the other ten jurors saw it completely different. Let’s just say that I was in total disagreement with the final verdict. The voice of the minority is not often given a hearing; nevertheless, truth cannot be measured by numbers. The events in Numbers chapter 14 are some of the saddest in Israel’s history. This story teaches us a powerful lesson about faith versus fear. Joshua, Caleb and the other 10 spies saw the same giants and fortified cities; but they responded in two very different ways. Fear kept an entire generation from seeing the Promised Land. Faith brought two men into the land. Their choices changed their lives forever. Will we focus on the obstacles and let fear keep us from what God has planned, or will we trust Him, even when the path seems impossible?
Numbers 14:1-10 (HCSB)
Israel’s Refusal to Enter Canaan
14 Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night. 2 All the Israelites complained about Moses and Aaron, and the whole community told them, “If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and little children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 So they said to one another, “Let’s appoint a leader and go back to Egypt.”
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell down with their faces to the ground in front of the whole assembly of the Israelite community. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who scouted out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite community: “The land we passed through and explored is an extremely good land. 8 If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into this land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and give it to us. 9 Only don’t rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land, for we will devour them. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us. Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 While the whole community threatened to stone them, the glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the tent of meeting.
David Bale
Nine years ago, I had the opportunity of serving on a jury in Robertson County involving a criminal homicide case. For the majority of a week, we 12 jurors listened to testimony given by several witnesses. When the time came for deliberating “the facts” of the case, I’ll never forget how bizarre and completely flabbergasted I was. After listening to the same exact evidence for a whole week, I couldn’t believe the wide-ranging difference of opinions we twelve jurors shared! Two of us, Cindy Williams, (who is also a Temple Baptist member) and I saw the evidence one way, while the other ten jurors saw it completely different. Let’s just say that I was in total disagreement with the final verdict. The voice of the minority is not often given a hearing; nevertheless, truth cannot be measured by numbers. The events in Numbers chapter 14 are some of the saddest in Israel’s history. This story teaches us a powerful lesson about faith versus fear. Joshua, Caleb and the other 10 spies saw the same giants and fortified cities; but they responded in two very different ways. Fear kept an entire generation from seeing the Promised Land. Faith brought two men into the land. Their choices changed their lives forever. Will we focus on the obstacles and let fear keep us from what God has planned, or will we trust Him, even when the path seems impossible?
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