Remember: Justice

The Israelites were let straight to the Promised Land, yet they are terrified.  They see the power of their enemy more than they see the power of their God.

Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. "If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!" they complained. "Why is the LORD taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn't it be better for us to return to Egypt?" Then they plotted among themselves, "Let's choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!" (Numbers 14:1-4 NLT)

Remember Egypt?  Egypt is where they were held in slavery.  Egypt is the place God performed miraculous signs and wonders to break them free.  Egypt has a Pharaoh who’s oldest son is dead, who’s army is drowned in the Red Sea, and who stubbornly fought God until these disasters came down upon him.  Egypt is not the place you want to be at this point in the story.  You want to be with God.

Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, "The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the LORD is pleased with us, He will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the LORD, and don't be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the LORD is with us! Don't be afraid of them!" (Numbers 14:5-9 NLT)

Joshua and Caleb got it.  They wanted to be with God.  They wanted the whole Israelite community to walk with God.  They wanted to go into the land promised to them by God.

But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the LORD appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. And the LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat Me with contempt? Will they never believe Me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!" (Numbers 14:10-12 NLT)

How about you?   Have you ever seen the power of your “enemy” as greater than the power of your God?  Have you ever tried to run back into the arms of your “enemy,” only to find yourself running away from God?  Have you ever fought against God?  How did it turn out?  Did you find out that God, being the gentleman that he is, gives you what you ask for AND the results (consequences) for your actions?  Have you encountered the God of justice?

Remember: Power

On Tuesday, we left the story of the twelve spies returning from their job scouting out the Promised Land.  They reminded us of the Goodness of God.

They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 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. (Numbers 13:26-27 NIV)

The story would have continued down a great path had they kept going in that direction.  Unfortunately, though, they didn’t.

But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan." (Numbers 13:28-29 NIV)

Ten of the spies returned to the Israelites scared.  They saw the people who were living in the Promised Land already and got frightened by their size, strength, and fortifications.

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)

Joshua and Caleb, however, weren’t frightened by these things, though.  They didn’t think about the power of the people who lived in that land.  They thought about the power of their God.

But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 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. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." (Numbers 13:31-33 NIV)

How about you?  When you face people, challenges, or problems that are powerful, are you frightened by the power you face?  Or, do you trust in the power of your God?

Remember: Goodness

Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: "Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see." (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai--all descendants of Anak--lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) (Numbers 13:17-22 NLT)

When the Israelites reached the land that was promised to their ancestors, beginning with Abraham, the LORD commanded them to send people in to scout out the land.  God wanted them to see what God had in store for them.

When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means "cluster"), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there. After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: "We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country--a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. (Numbers 13:23-27 NLT)

God often gives us a picture of the good things God desires for our lives.  The Garden of Eden gives us a picture of God’s ideal design and desire for our lives.  Noah was given a fresh start and a rainbow to remind him that God will never wipe out the earth with a flood again.  Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were all given a vision of the Promised Land that God wanted to give His people.  Even today, we Christ-followers are given a picture of what God has in store for us with the new heaven and new earth.  God’s goodness is evident all around us and points us to the goodness He wants to pour out on us.  We just need to open our eyes and look around to see it.

How about you?  Do you see God’s goodness in the world?  Do you see it all around you?  Do you see it in your life?

Remember: The LORD

IN CONGRESS, July 4, 1776.

The unanimous Declaration of the thirteen united States of America,

When in the Course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

Today is a great day in the history of the United States of America.  On this day, 240 years ago, we declared our independence and assumed our place “among the powers of the earth” as separate and equal nation.  It is important as citizens of this country to pause and remember one of the most significant events that brought us here.  We should also take the time to remember, and thank, the One who brought us here as well.

The LORD now said to Moses, "Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes." So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. (Numbers 13:1-3 NLT)

In many ways, we are like the ancient Israelites who were set free from their slavery in Egypt.  God brought them out of Egypt and led them to the Promised Land.  Now I know that it is becoming less and less popular to mix faith and government these days, but our founding fathers were not nearly as afraid to cross that line as we are.  In fact, to them no line seemed to exist.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Self-evident truths lay the foundation of our reasoning for breaking the bond with England.  We are created equal and are endowed by our Creator with Rights that cannot be taken away.  Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness lead the list.

How, though, can we be created and endowed by that Creator if no Creator exists; a “scientific fact” taught to our children in the public schools?  How can Life be the first Right listed, yet millions of babies are not afforded that Right before they are born; yet alone old enough to defend themselves?  How can we tell the world that we are justified in our separation because Nature’s God demands it, yet deny that Natural Laws or Nature’s God exists?

It is good to remember this historic day that changed the course of human events.  We must also remember, however, that God played a significant role in this day as well.  We invited Him.  In the same way the Israelites had the LORD to thank for their freedom, we have the LORD to thank for ours as well.  Let’s remember the LORD, celebrate God, and thank Him this Independence Day.  After all, He is the only one who was there and remains alive today to thank.  Thank you, LORD.  God bless America.