Protected From God?

There are many passages of Scripture that speak to parents and children, yet are often misunderstood, misinterpreted, or just outright misused.  These twists to what God has said make all the difference in the world for the life and well being of our children and grandchildren.  So, we’re going to investigate the context of a set of these passages so we won’t miss the point.

We start out with a little history.  Abraham was promised, by God, to be given land as an inheritance for himself and all of his descendants.  Abraham’s son, Isaac, had that promised renewed by God and it happened again with Isaac's son, Jacob.  Jacob was renamed by God.  His new name was Israel.  Israel had twelve boys who became the twelve tribes of Israel.  They ended up in Egypt at one point because there was a great famine in the land and Egypt had the food.  Things went well until a new Pharaoh decided he didn’t like the Israelites and put them in slavery.

God sent Moses to set the Israelites free.  God did this by sending Moses, bringing ten plagues on Israel, and, finally, helping the Israelites escape through the Red Sea.  They walked through the sea on dry ground with water like walls on either side of them.  The water crashed down on Pharaoh’s army and they were free.  The Israelites were in the desert and needed water, so God gave them water out of a rock.  They needed food, so God provided manna (bread) on the desert floor each morning and quail for meat in the evening.  God provided for their needs, and they worshipped God at Mt. Sinai.

God told them that it was time to inherit the land promised to their ancestor, Abraham.  So, they travelled to this land – a land flowing with milk and honey.  In other words, there was plenty of water, greenery, and food to eat.  They selected twelve men, one from each of the twelve tribes, to go into the land and find out what was there.  They came back with their report.

They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. (Numbers 13:27-28 NIV)

Ten of the twelve men were terrified.  They didn’t want to go into the promised land, even though it was beautiful, filled with food, and had everything God had promised.  They didn’t want to go in because they were afraid of the large, powerful people who lived there.  They were afraid that they would die.

Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it." (Numbers 13:30 NIV)

Two of the twelve men, Joshua and Caleb, were not afraid.  They did not look at the size of the enemy.  They reminded themselves of the size of their God.  God had set them free from slavery in Egypt.  God brought the ten plagues.  God opened the Red Sea.  God provided water, manna, and quail.  God was far more powerful than any enemy they would face.  “Let’s go,” was essentially what they were saying.  “Let us go into the land with the LORD.”

That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt." (Numbers 14:1-4 NIV)

Here’s where we get to the point about parents, children, and families.  As parents, we need to decide what is best for our children who are too young to decide.  We need to decide who we trust.  We need to decide how to protect them, how to raise them, and how to teach them.  This is what the Israelites faced.   Most of them chose NOT to trust God.

They wanted to go back to the land where they lived in slavery.  They were not willing to trust God in battle.  They were afraid that they would be killed and their children would be taken away as plunder.

Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will devour them. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them." (Numbers 14:5-9 NIV)

All of the arguing back and forth would be to no avail.  The majority of the Israelites chose to go back.  They wanted to protect their children from the people of the promised land.  What they were really saying was that they wanted to protect their children from God.  This was the land God had promised.  This was the battle God would fight.  This was the plan God had laid before them.  They would have been protected with God.  But instead, they tried to protect them from God.

I know this is a long devotion, and many of you are thinking, “Get to the point, Pete.”  Well, here’s the point.  Do we protect our children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren WITH God or FROM God? 

We make it illegal to teach about, learn from, or pray to God in our schools.  We continually change our laws to make it ok to do things God says we should not do, and make it harder and harder to do the things God says we should do.  We say, “I’m not going to force any religion on my children so they can decide for themselves when they grow up.”  We tell one another that religion is one of the two taboo subjects never to bring up in social settings. 

I’ve had parents tell me not to pray for their children, not to tell them the truth, and even to tell their children that rebellion against God is not rebellion at all.  I’ve had to watch what my children watch, listen to what they listen to, and participate on computer forums where they participate – all to understand where other people try to pull them away from God.  God is not the one to be protected from.  God is the one we are protected with.  The Israelites learned this the hard way.  Because they did not trust God, they were sentenced to death in the desert.

As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But as for you, your bodies will fall in this wilderness. Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the wilderness. For forty years--one year for each of the forty days you explored the land--you will suffer for your sins and know what it is like to have me against you.' (Numbers 14:31-34 NIV)

How about you?  Do you protect your children from God?  Or, do you join Him together with your children and seek protection with God?