April 6-8

If the Lord is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us – a land flowing with milk and honey.
Numbers 14:8


Although this week our journey is shorter than normal due to the events we will celebrate, the territory we cover is of major importance. Here we are, standing with Moses and the Israelites, on the brink of seeing God fulfill His promise to His people. The land God promised them is in our view and the first step, spying out the land, has commenced. God’s instruction to the 12 spies sent into the land was to get a good look at six things - the land, the people living in the land, the towns, the soil, the trees and the produce. God wanted them to see that the land was worth the fight. He also wanted them to see that they could not do it without Him. To take the land was going to require faith in God’s ability to drive out the inhabitants, which He had already promised them He would do!

You can only stop and ask, “How could they have seen so much of God’s power and provision, and still fail to believe He was able to perform His word and keep His promise?” And yet as we walk within the confines of the camp on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, it is not too difficult to put your finger on a large portion of the problem. Almost as soon as the Israelites leave Mt Sinai, we hear the murmurings of the mixed multitude. Egyptians, who had married Israelites and those who came along with them for other reasons, now longed for “home.” If they were that homesick, why didn’t they just gather together and head back to where they came from? They were ready to get rid of Moses anyway. Why not just appoint a leader and leave? But that wouldn’t do. They had to spread their discontent to everyone who would give them an ear. They complained about anything and everything. They complained about the food, they complained about the leadership. Manna satisfied man’s hunger, but it could not satisfy a greedy appetite! They had come along for the journey because they desired the comforts of life, not because they wanted to know the God who had delivered them. Their constant complaining made Moses’ burden so heavy that he cried out, “Either help me or kill me!!!”

Moses hardly gets a chance to breathe after that crisis, when his brother and sister decide it’s their turn to take a jab at him. I mean, they haven’t even gotten to Canaan yet, for goodness sakes!!!!!!! Here Moses is doing everything God instructs him; he elevates Aaron as high priest and his sons to the priesthood. He and his sons are given the greatest distinction of anyone in the camp, and yet Aaron is swayed by a discontented sister. Miriam and Aaron look on Moses as inferior because he had not married an Israelite. It is obvious that Miriam was the ring leader of this discontented duo; she was the one who bore the mark of God’s displeasure. When Moses intercedes for her, God says, “If her father had but spit in her face, would she not bear her shame for seven days?” Unfortunately, we know that Aaron was a man who could be swayed. All we need to do is go back to Mt. Sinai and remember the golden calf.

It is not difficult to see why Miriam was so frustrated. She was a leader in her own right. Micah 6:4 says, “Indeed, I brought you up from the land of Egypt and ransomed you from the house of slavery, and I sent before you Moses, Aaron, and Miriam,” but her realm of authority was significantly less than both Aaron’s and Moses’.

There is an odd connection between the events of the murmuring multitude, the critical sister, and the way God dealt with them. With the multitude, God fed them flesh until it came out their nostrils. With Miriam her flesh was eaten up with leprosy. In both cases, flesh was the end result. Those who craved the flesh gorged themselves on it and died. Miriam, on the other hand, dealt with the shame of her flesh, the leprosy, and was restored.

On Tuesday we once again see the power of the tongue. Ten men, who cannot see with the eye of faith, and have quickly forgotten the power of their God, are able to sway the whole army with the exception of two. Do you remember how many fighting men were counted in census?!?!? And if that isn’t enough, wait until you get to Wednesday!!!!!!!!! The only thing that saved the Israelites was that Moses was more concerned with what the nations would think about God and His abilities, than he was about making a name for himself. Every time I read the account of Moses’ life, I have greater respect for the man.

I pray that as we enter this week of remembering Passover, the cross, and the Resurrection, we will consider the deliverance of the Israelites and their lack of faith to enter into the promises God had for them. May we be reminded that we can short-circuit God’s plans in our lives as well, if we get caught in the trap of murmuring, complaining, and reaching beyond our God-given realm of authority. Flesh must die, so how about if we willingly place it on the altar and deal with it ourselves. It’s a whole lot better than God having to deal with it!!!

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Trail Stops

Monday

Moses' wife had a brother. What was his name?

Tuesday

1. What was Joshua's other name?

2. When the people grumbled, they said that something would happen. God said that their words would come to pass. What had they said?

3. When the people grumbled, they said that something would happen. God said that it would NOT be as they said. What had they said?

Wednesday

Who took part in the rebellion of Korah and what tribes were they from?