Wed.’s Devo - The Result of Unbelief

Read: Numbers 14:1-15:16; mark 14:53-72; Psalm 53:1-6; Proverbs 11:4 The people chose to believe the bad report of the 8 spies and not listen to the good report of Joshua and Caleb. They were so distressed they plotted to choose another leader and go back to Egypt. Joshua and Caleb begged the people to see the good things about the land and to have courage to take the land. God had promised it to them and had done unbelievable miracles to get them there. Instead, the community wanted to stone Joshua and Caleb also. God came down in his cloud and told Moses that he wanted to bring a plague and kill them all. He would raise up a new family through Moses. Moses interceded for the people and told God that the Egyptians would find out and it would ruin God’s reputation. Moses kept telling God who he was: he was slow to anger and filled with unfailing love, forgiveness and a god who pardons sins. He begged him to prove that his power was as great as he had claimed. God told him that he would pardon them but they would not enter into his land. They had seen his power but had chosen not to believe. Only Caleb and Joshua would live to enter his land. Moses was to tell the people this and the next day they were to turn back and go the way they had come. The people had complained that their children would be carried off as plunder but God said he would bring them safely into the land. But as for the adults, they would die in the wilderness. The spies had spied out the land for 40 days so their punishment would be 40 years of wandering. They would see what it was like to have God as their enemy. The eight spies who had brought back the bad report and influenced the people to doubt died in a plague. Joshua and Caleb remained alive. When the people heard what God said about them, they wanted to take back their words and go take the land, but it was too late. God had already given his word and he would not go with them. They decided to go anyway and were attacked by the Amelekites and the Canaanites but were ran out of town. Immediately, God started talking about redemption and the future generations who would go into the land. He gave instructions about gifts they could give to please Him. These would be voluntary gifts and even the foreigners could participate, in fact, they were equal before the Lord and subject to the same laws the Jews were. This was a foretaste of the Gentiles being grafted in. In Mark, Jesus was led to Caiaphas’ house to be tried all night. All the leading priests and the entire council was there trying to find something to accuse Jesus of. They brought and false testimonies but the only thing they could nail him on was the truth. Jesus had said that he would destroy this Temple made of human hands and in three days he would build another, made without human hands. Caiaphas, the high priest stood up and asked Jesus if he wasn’t going to defend himself but he remained silent. When he asked Jesus if he was the Messiah, he said, “I AM.” Then he told them that they would see the Son of Man seated in the place of power at God’s right hand and coming on the clouds of heaven. That did it for the high priest. He tore his clothes and cried, “Guilty!” They began to spit on Jesus and blindfolded him and beat him with their fists mocking him. Peter then denied Jesus three times just like Jesus said he would. Lord, if there is anything we can learn from these two stories is that man is very frail and we need You and your Holy Spirit. We are nothing of ourselves but mighty through your Spirit. You are truly slow to anger and filled with unfailing love and forgiveness. Thank you.