May 16, 2023

Don't Forget Who Our God Is

Numbers 14

Caleb Malone
Tuesday's Devo

May 16, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

May 16, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

May 16, 2023

Tuesday's Devo

May 16, 2023

Big Idea

God's instruction can always be trusted.

Key Verse | Numbers 14:3-4

"Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to one another, "Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Numbers 14

The People Rebel

1 Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. 2 And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” 4 And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. 6 And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” 10 Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

11 And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? 12 I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

Moses Intercedes for the People

13 But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, 14 and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. 15 Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, 16 ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ 17 And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, 18 ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ 19 Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

God Promises Judgment

20 Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. 25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

26 And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, 27 “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. 28 Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: 29 your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, 30 not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. 31 But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. 32 But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. 33 And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. 34 According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ 35 I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

36 And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land— 37 the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the LORD. 38 Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

Israel Defeated in Battle

39 When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. 40 And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.” 41 But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? 42 Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. 43 For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” 44 But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. 45 Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

Numbers 14:18 - "How does our sin impact others?"

Listen Now

Dive Deeper | Numbers 14

Chapter 14 begins with ten scouts giving a fearful report about the land. The negative thinking spreads rapidly (a solid reminder of how negative attitude can influence everyone we encounter). Numbers 14:1-2a says, "Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron."  The people's fears, however, were unwarranted and sinful.  They were crying because of their own unbelief and were refusing to listen to and obey God's will for them.  

Instead of trusting in God's faithfulness and His promises to them, they literally preferred death in the land of bondage and slavery. In Numbers 14:3-4, they had the audacity to accuse God of delivering them from slavery, only to let them die in the wilderness without His protection. At this point, the Israelites had rejected God's deliverance, God's leader, and God's provision for them. 

Moses, Joshua, and Caleb pleaded with the people to repent of their rebellion and press on toward God's promised land.  Once the community threatened to stone them for it, God had enough of the nonsense. The glory of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites. "But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them . . . .'" (Numbers 14:10b-12a) God threatens judgment on Israel for their rebellion, as He did back in Exodus 32.

 Moses prayed to God to spare the people in order that He might be glorified among the nations.  Moses was human, like any of us. But God heard and answered Moses's prayer. We can often feel like our prayers aren't being answered. Moses prayed for outcomes consistent with God's character and nature. Moses knew God's Word and had righteous motives.  Are we following Moses' wise example of how and what to pray?

This month's memory verse

3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

– Philippians 2:3-4

Discussion Questions

1. What does this passage teach you about the character and nature of God?  

 2. Caleb and Joshua had faith that the Lord was with Israel and that He would give the land into Israel's hands. The people considered stoning Caleb and Joshua for their report. How are you doing at both listening for guidance from the Lord and then sharing it, even if it means you'll face persecution? 

3. Numbers 14:18 says the Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children for the sin of their fathers to the third and fourth generation. Have you ever considered the weight of your sin and decisions—that it might affect your children's grandchildren? How can you break the cycles of sin so that generations after you aren't suffering from you making things in your life more important than God and His glory?

4. Moses' earnest prayer led God to pardon the people.  James 5:16 reminds us that the prayer of a righteous person has great power. Does your prayer life reflect a deep conviction of how powerful and fruitful it is to spend time in prayer?

5. The Israelites had quickly forgotten how God protected them against the Egyptians and vanquished Pharoah's army in the Red Sea. They questioned God's goodness. When your life isn't going as you planned, when times get tough, what can you do to remember all God has done for you? Isaiah 25:1 says, "O LORD, you are my God; I will exalt you; I will praise your name, for you have done wonderful things, plans formed of old, faithful and sure." Because God is faithful, you can always rely on and trust in Him. Do not forget how He loves you, remains faithful even when you aren't, and has promised to deliver you.

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Hugh Stephenson

Good morning Caleb! So awesome to see you writing today’s devo for all of us. Q1. This is a really great question to ask, especially for this passage. I’m reminded of God’s essential character and nature. He loves me and wants to dwell with me. He sends Jesus so I can be reconciled to Him in perfect unity. He shows me how to abide in Jesus and in Him alone. He sends the Holy Spirit to dwell in the temple of my body. He gives me a purpose, a plan for that purpose, the gifts and skills that I need, and the passion to purse my purpose relentlessly. He provides everything I need. The key is my response. Q2. I’m thankful for the teaching to ask good questions that are open-ended, i.e., not “YES/NO questions. As noted earlier, Greg Koukl has a great method; Tactics Video Study, Session 1: The Columbo Tactic, by Gregory Koukl https://youtu.be/csrSA3nPP7I via @YouTube Q3. Amy and I are incredibly blessed to have had parents that were “burn-the-ships” committed. Even so, the difficulty and challenge of growing up in the Great Depression gave us a flawed model of parenting. Early on we used marriage workshops, books and other resources to better understand the issues we inherited and how to have the dysfunction stop with us. This is one of my continuing struggles with prodigal children. Importantly, it’s been a blessing to have them as I have learned critically important lessons I would not have learned otherwise. If I could go back and avoid the entirety of the experiences…I wouldn’t. That’s how valuable these lessons are. Q4. I have seen the power work in ways that cannot be explained other than by God’s direct intervention. All time favorite prayer is John 17. Q5. What a beautiful reminder Caleb. Thank you for the energy and commitment you’ve put into blessing us today.
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Hugh Stephenson

Lots of interesting elements in chapters 13-14. Again, I’m reminded to compare these chapters with those on the golden calf in chapters 32-34. And, in fact, the notes point to 13-19 as containing a number of significant episodes. -Kadesh-barnea was on the edge of the Promised Land and was an oasis. Being led out of slavery and through a desert to an...OASIS? This would cause me to be…ungrateful? To want to go…back to slavery? -Being led through innumerable hardships by a God who promises to dwell with me, and then does so- and who conveys Himself in one stunning supernatural event after another makes me…not believe Him? To doubt in His Power, Promises and Provision? To doubt His most faithful people and desire to stone them as of they were apostates? Yes, apparently. “Doubt which led to depression, despondency, disbelief, and despair is now seen to go on to disobedience and disaster."
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Hugh Stephenson

Yet it has always been His power that determines outcomes, not ours. “God had just proved His supernatural power to the Israelites—three times since the nation had left Sinai (chs. 11—12). There was no excuse now for this failure to trust Him to lead them victoriously into Canaan.” "The will of God will never lead us where the grace of God can't provide for us or the power of God protect us”. ‘Whenever we choose to do something that is contrary to God's will, we say, in effect, "I want to go back to Egypt." ‘ Just as in the golden calf episode God plans to “…strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them.” Just as in the golden calf episode Moses intercedes- Which conveys a huge truth about the importance of intercessory prayer, https://www.gotquestions.org/intercessory-prayer.html Here’s a link to a search on intercessions by Oswald Chambers and others- https://duckduckgo.com/?q=oswald+chambers+on+intercessory+prayer&t=iphone&ia=web Throughout Scripture I’m taught that God hears all prayers. In His sovereignty, He may relent on the full judgement of sin but He seems to just about always love me enough to let the consequences refine me by fire- Zechariah 13:9, 1 Peter 1:6-7, Malachi 3:3
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Michael Sisson

Re: Num 14:1-45 In our reading of the Bible together thus far, we’ve already documented a chain of examples throughout the Torah where G-d and His Messiah, types of His coming Messiah, and the Messiah’s progenitors are repeatedly unrecognized, dishonored, mistreated, and generally despised. In this one chapter, we see a cross-section of the many ways mankind despises G-d by: - (Num 14:2,27,29) grumbling against Him and against those He’s placed in authority - (Num 14:3,16) questioning and rejecting His provision and doubting His ability to deliver on His promises - (Num 14:4,35,36) fomenting mutiny and insurrection against Him and those He’s placed in authority - (Num 14:10) running to shed blood - (Num 14:11,23,33) spurning Him out of unbelief, ingratitude, forgetfulness, and faithlessness - (Num 14:44) ignoring and defying the Word of the L-rd Re: Num 14:13-19 As he did in Ex 32:11-13 following Israel’s sin with the golden calf, in Num 14:13-19 Moses foregoes G-d’s offer of greater personal glory; instead seeking to assuage G-d’s anger against the Israelites by appealing to G-d’s greatness, His character, and His reputation among the Egyptians and the rest of nations. Num 14:15 (NASB) “Now if You slay this >>>people as one man,<<< then the nations who have heard of Your fame will say... one = Heb. “echad” Num 14:15 gives us another example of “echad” being used to express a compound unity of persons, as seen more importantly in Dt 6:4 when describing the G-dhead. Re: Num 14:41 Num 14:41 (NASB) But Moses said, >>>“Why then are you transgressing the commandment of the LORD,<<< when it will not succeed? Like children slow to realize they’ve pushed their parent too far, Israel is ready to accept the original offer, but it’s too late. Moreover, they fail to recognize once judgement has been pronounced (Num 14:28-35), it MUST be fulfilled.
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Sue Bohlin

Hey Caleb! Thanks so much! The contrast between the Israelites' stubborn unbelief, and Joshua and Caleb's faith-filled, visionary response reminded me of the insight of one of my favorite theologians, J.P. Moreland, who has said that our faith is not built by studying doctrine (as important as that is), but by hearing "God stories." Joshua and Caleb made three references to Yahweh, reminding them of God's goodness, His mighty promises, and His presence. But the stiff-necked people would have none of it, picking up stones to kill these godly men. I hope there's a video in heaven of how the Lord's shekinah glory showed up at the tent of meeting in response to the people's stubborn unbelief. One of the things I am most grateful for is how God has given me several front-row seats to see Him change lives, which builds my faith and encourages me to pray bigger and bolder prayers. I see that same dynamic in Joshua and Caleb, who were clearly paying attention to the amazing ten plagues and God's supernatural rescue of HIs people out of Egypt. They said, "Hey, these enemies are like bread to us--we'll eat 'em up! And they have NO protection, so we can roll right over them with Yahweh's power! He is WITH US (an early signpost pointing to the coming Messiah, Immanuel, "God with us"), so LET'S GOOOOOOO!" It was a wonderful rally cry. Too bad the unbelieving, stubborn-hearted people refused to follow them. How it must have broken the Lord's heart. As well as Joshua, Caleb, Moses and Aaron.
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Michael Scaman

"But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, " The earth will be filled with God's glory here, a prophesy., despite the failure of man The earth is full of God's glory in Isiah 6, a reality angels speak of, despite national crisis of the king dying. May the earth be filled with God's glory in Psalm 72, a prayer, in fulfillment of David of Bethlehem's prayers Glory here and not yet, the journey is as remarkable as God's glory and man's fallenness. After all they went through .... the sin of man is remarkable.. "Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel. And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me?"
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JOHN CIMMERMAN

Caleb awesome devo. Thank you! Could you send us the 3 quotes you used today in the podcast? This chapter should never have happened! One of the best study methods we can use is studying scripture by scripture. Therefore, Deuteronomy 1-2 covers Numbers 13-14. The Deuteronomy passage adds more details to today’s passage. In verses 21, God tells Moses to go take possession of the land. Instead, Moses wanting to be a good leader. Speaks to them. They tell him to send out scouts to check out the land and accepts their suggestion.(Vs 22). The rest is history.
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Amy Lowther

1. This passage shows God is with us in everything we do. We need to work with the gifts within us He has given us. God never does the work for us though He loves us in everything we do. 2. I am doing good. I find it is important to communicate ideas with others in language they will understand and that will help them succeed. 3. Yes. If sin occurs, pray about it and quickly correct it using God's ways and values. Be honest about what has happened and what should happen. These steps can prevent an accumulation of sins. 4. Yes. 5. I read in the Bible on my phone.