Running From Abundance

"When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs." Numbers 13:23

The Israelites were moving. They had traveled far to reach the land that God had promised them. They had gone through all kinds of trials, but God had spoken true and led them to a land flowing with milk and honey. Just look at the description of the grapes here- one single cluster of grapes had to be carried by two men! To me, that sounds like complete heaven, and I have to say that one look at those grapes, and they would be in my thoughts constantly until I could have them as my own.

Yet, that didn't happen with the Israelite people. Instead, they looked at the inhabitants of the land God promised them and became afraid. There were giants dwelling there, and despite all that God had done for them, the Israelites cautioned against entering the land, for fear of their lives. God had delivered them from Pharaoh, had divided a sea and caused the sea bed to be dry for these people to walk across. God caused food to appear every morning with the morning dew, and caused water to spring forth from a rock. Yet these people forgot all that and chose to be afraid of a few giants.

"But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size." Numbers 13:31,32

The people complained and griped and completely forgot all that God had done for them. Reading on into Numbers 14, we see that God's first thought was to just kill the Israelites and begin again with Moses. God had finally had enough of their whining and complaining and decided that they would never learn, and should just wipe them out. Moses intervened though, and sought mercy from God for the people. And because Moses had great favor with God, God acquiesced and let the people live, but he gave them this promise instead:

"The LORD replied, "I have forgiven them, as you asked. 21 Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the LORD fills the whole earth, 22 not one of the men who saw my glory and the miraculous signs I performed in Egypt and in the desert but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times- 23 not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their forefathers. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it." Numbers 14:20-23

Of all the hundreds of thousands of people who had seen the miracles that God performed, only Caleb and Joshua would get to see the promised land. This is what began the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years.

And as I read through these chapters, I thought about these people running away from the abundance because of what they fear and I wonder how often we do that ourselves. Because I know that we forget the things that God has done for us. Sometimes we can forget in a matter of minutes. As we're entering cold and flu season here, there's been one part of me just watching and waiting for something to hit our household... shame on me for that attitude! God has the ability to keep the colds and the flu's out of our home this year. And in fact, the last two times we have seen a hint of colds in our house, we've turned to prayer and the colds have passed in a much more quicker than normal fashion, with no one feeling more than a tickle. The God who parted the Red Sea for His People to cross on dry land is the Very Same God who protects us today from colds and flu's. So I will not be afraid of germs and disease. And instead of cringing and scowling when someone around me sneezes when I'm out and about, instead I will ask God to bless them and take away that suffering. The God who WAS is the same God who IS and is the same God who WILL BE. We have a very mighty and powerful God, and I think it's time to remember that.