Numbers
The Wandering: Learning to Live Like God’s People
Numbers 11-13
Memory Verse: Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 NIV
Main Takeaway: God’s people had to learn to live like God’s people.
Introduction:
Back before the GPS, I remember going on trips with my dad trying to get to our destination, but half the time ending up lost for a bit. I vividly remember my dad in the driver’s seat and my brother flipping through a paper map (yes that’s right, we had a paper map) telling him where to go. We would drive in circles for what felt like hours trying to find our way out of the mess we were in. We would eventually reach our destination but not without having lots of tension in the car for a while. I am sure you may have a story similar to that when you were growing up or maybe even something more recent. With all phones having a GPS now, getting physically lost is a whole lot harder. Being physically lost is no fun, but what is even worse is being spiritually lost. If we are all honest with ourselves, I bet most of us would say we have had a period in our life where we have experienced this sense of being spiritually adrift.
In the story of the Israelites that we have been studying, we have already witnessed them being freed from slavery. We read about the instructions God gave them on how to live holy lives so they could be representatives for Him. We now find them in the wilderness headed toward the promised land, but it turns out, they got lost. Not physically lost as they had God as their GPS. They were lost spiritually. God had witnessed their struggles, and so He needed more time with the Israelites to get them back on track before they entered the promised land. From the outside, it looked like the Israelites were wandering around in the desert aimlessly, but what we will see, it was actually God training and preparing them to enter the promised land. They were not ready at first. God knew that. God may have taken the Israelites out of slavery but had to take the slavery out of the Israelites. Let’s look at the book of Numbers to see the work God needed to do with the Israelites.
Background and Context:
The Israelites were free from the grip of the Egyptians which you would think would flood them with joy and gratitude, yet they were struggling. They struggled in several ways, and I will highlight three of those with this devotion. However, all their issues boiled down to the fact that they needed to learn how to live like God’s people. By this point, God had revealed Himself to the Israelites, led them through the wilderness by a cloud and pillar of fire, gave them the Ten Commandments, provided water from a rock, and manna from heaven. The Israelites should have known who was with them. The God of the universe was in their midst, yet they were missing Him.
One of the struggles the Israelites faced was their lack of dependence on God to provide. Despite what God had provided them so far, they were still unhappy and wanted more. God was providing them with daily food in something they called manna. No one knows exactly what it was, but God made it appear on the ground every morning for the Israelites to round up and eat. They ate this every day, but eventually they got tired of it. I mean, that seems understandable given the circumstances, but it’s how they responded that was the problem. Numbers 11:4-6 says, “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”” Here is the problem. Not only were they ungrateful and complaining about the manna, they were also essentially wishing they were back in chains in Egypt. Their view was that even though they were slaves, at least they were eating good food.
This was a slap in the face to God. They were telling God that what He has done for them so far was not good enough. They didn’t like the way God was providing for them, and they felt that they could not depend on God to meet their needs and wants. As you can imagine, God did not think too highly of this response from His people. He sent them quail for them to eat. He told Moses that He would send so much quail meat that the Israelites would be grossed out because of it. The quail started to arrive, but before the Israelites could consume it, He sent a plaque across the camp and many people lost their lives because His anger burned so hot. Sounds harsh, but God needed His people to fully trust in Him to provide and not idolize the slavery in Egypt because of the food there. This was just one of the difficult lessons that God needed to teach His people. He needed them to depend on Him for everything. If they would only do that, they would see how He would always meet their needs.
Another issue that the Israelites struggled with was pride. Numbers 12 describes an incident that occurred between Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. In this chapter, we see Aaron and Miram, the brother and sister of Moses, question his leadership. They felt as if they could do a better job of leading the people than him. At the heart of this matter was pride and distrust. God appointed Moses to lead the Israelites, not them. Pridefully, they believed they knew better than God about who should lead. They distrusted the Lord’s appointee. They were not alone in this. There was plenty of seconding guessing Moses from the Israelites while they were in the wilderness. Nevertheless, God did not think too highly of this either. After a bit of a tongue lashing at the Tabernacle, He cursed Miram with leprosy because of their pride.
A third issue that plagued the Israelites was fear. In Numbers 13, the Israelites were camped close to the promised land that God was leading them to. In verse 2, God advised Moses to send a group of men to explore the land of Canaan (the same land that God had already promised to Abraham and his ancestors long ago). Moses appointed twelve men to go check it out and bring back a report. The men explored the land, and they all agreed that the land was beautiful and full of opportunity. But for ten of them, there was a big problem. They reported that the men of the land were like giants and believed that they could not defeat them to conquer the land. They even spread this report around to all the people so they would fear entering the land, as well. Keep in mind that God had already promised this land to them, but instead of trusting God, they feared the people and did not want to enter the land. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for God. Because of their lack of trust and fear, God would not allow this generation to ever enter the promised land. They would wander in the desert for forty years until everyone of the adults who witnessed the glory of God in Egypt passed away.
The Israelites were free from the Egyptians, but because of their lack of trust in God for provision, their pride, and their fear, they were just as bound as they were in Egypt. They were not in physical chains anymore, but they were enslaved to sin because of their lack of trust. God would use the next forty years to challenge His people to trust and depend solely on Him. That’s part of what it means to be God’s people—to fully trust and depend on Him. God’s people needed to learn to live like God’s people, and so the training commenced.
Application:
These three areas that the Israelites struggled with are not unique to them. All of us struggle with them as well from time to time. When times are tough, we may wonder where God is and if He will truly provide for our needs. This shows our lack of trust and unwillingness to truly depend solely on God. We are also guilty of choosing our own way instead of God’s way when faced with decisions or trying circumstances. This shows our pride as we think we know better than God in determining what is best for us. Finally, fear is a big one. We all fear something. Maybe we fear starting something new. Or maybe God has called you to step out and do something that seems crazy, but you are scared to attempt it. Or perhaps we are just scared we are not going to make it through the month due to a ton of expenses. Whatever it is, fear can have a paralyzing grip if we are not careful.
All three of these struggles have one thing in common. They all reveal our lack of trust in God. That was the problem with the Israelites. They didn’t trust God to get them through the wilderness. They appeared lost physically to the outside world as they wandered in the desert for forty years. But in actuality, they were lost spiritually, and God was using this time to get them back on track. He needed to rebuild their trust in Him. Maybe that is what God needs to do in you. Perhaps that’s why you are struggling right now. Perhaps God is using this time to build your faith and trust in Him. He sees you lost and wandering through life. He is trying to get you to put your focus on Him and just trust Him. If you can do that, better yet, if we all can do that, God can do a wonderful work in us and through us. Let’s throw off the pride, let’s stop trying to do everything on our own, and let’s let go of the fear and trust God fully with our lives. That’s what God needed the Israelites to do. That’s what He wants us to do too.
One last thing before we go. The Israelites were blessed to see the glory of God in their camp. They saw a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day leading them. The cloud would come rest on the Tabernacle from time to time when He met with Moses. They could physically see God’s glory. He was in their midst, yet they missed Him. They still struggled being God’s people even in His very presence. We can’t see a pillar of fire or cloud of glory today, but we have something better. God’s presence lives inside all of us that believe in Him. Despite that, we can miss Him too. If we can remember God’s presence is always with us, I guarantee some of the things we struggle with like provision, pride, and fear will become obsolete. Let’s make it a focus in the coming weeks to remember God’s presence within us, and then let’s see how our faith and trust in Him will grow.
Questions and Further Exploration:
Have you ever felt spiritually lost? Have you ever felt as if you had no direction in your life? If so, talk with your son or daughter about this period in your life, and what you did or are doing to overcome it.
Have you ever struggled with trusting God with His provision, pride, or fear like the Israelites did? Discuss this with your children and what God did or is currently doing in your life to help you with these struggles.
Numbers 11-13
Memory Verse: Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Psalm 62:8 NIV
Main Takeaway: God’s people had to learn to live like God’s people.
Introduction:
Back before the GPS, I remember going on trips with my dad trying to get to our destination, but half the time ending up lost for a bit. I vividly remember my dad in the driver’s seat and my brother flipping through a paper map (yes that’s right, we had a paper map) telling him where to go. We would drive in circles for what felt like hours trying to find our way out of the mess we were in. We would eventually reach our destination but not without having lots of tension in the car for a while. I am sure you may have a story similar to that when you were growing up or maybe even something more recent. With all phones having a GPS now, getting physically lost is a whole lot harder. Being physically lost is no fun, but what is even worse is being spiritually lost. If we are all honest with ourselves, I bet most of us would say we have had a period in our life where we have experienced this sense of being spiritually adrift.
In the story of the Israelites that we have been studying, we have already witnessed them being freed from slavery. We read about the instructions God gave them on how to live holy lives so they could be representatives for Him. We now find them in the wilderness headed toward the promised land, but it turns out, they got lost. Not physically lost as they had God as their GPS. They were lost spiritually. God had witnessed their struggles, and so He needed more time with the Israelites to get them back on track before they entered the promised land. From the outside, it looked like the Israelites were wandering around in the desert aimlessly, but what we will see, it was actually God training and preparing them to enter the promised land. They were not ready at first. God knew that. God may have taken the Israelites out of slavery but had to take the slavery out of the Israelites. Let’s look at the book of Numbers to see the work God needed to do with the Israelites.
Background and Context:
The Israelites were free from the grip of the Egyptians which you would think would flood them with joy and gratitude, yet they were struggling. They struggled in several ways, and I will highlight three of those with this devotion. However, all their issues boiled down to the fact that they needed to learn how to live like God’s people. By this point, God had revealed Himself to the Israelites, led them through the wilderness by a cloud and pillar of fire, gave them the Ten Commandments, provided water from a rock, and manna from heaven. The Israelites should have known who was with them. The God of the universe was in their midst, yet they were missing Him.
One of the struggles the Israelites faced was their lack of dependence on God to provide. Despite what God had provided them so far, they were still unhappy and wanted more. God was providing them with daily food in something they called manna. No one knows exactly what it was, but God made it appear on the ground every morning for the Israelites to round up and eat. They ate this every day, but eventually they got tired of it. I mean, that seems understandable given the circumstances, but it’s how they responded that was the problem. Numbers 11:4-6 says, “The rabble with them began to crave other food, and again the Israelites started wailing and said, “If only we had meat to eat! 5 We remember the fish we ate in Egypt at no cost—also the cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions and garlic. 6 But now we have lost our appetite; we never see anything but this manna!”” Here is the problem. Not only were they ungrateful and complaining about the manna, they were also essentially wishing they were back in chains in Egypt. Their view was that even though they were slaves, at least they were eating good food.
This was a slap in the face to God. They were telling God that what He has done for them so far was not good enough. They didn’t like the way God was providing for them, and they felt that they could not depend on God to meet their needs and wants. As you can imagine, God did not think too highly of this response from His people. He sent them quail for them to eat. He told Moses that He would send so much quail meat that the Israelites would be grossed out because of it. The quail started to arrive, but before the Israelites could consume it, He sent a plaque across the camp and many people lost their lives because His anger burned so hot. Sounds harsh, but God needed His people to fully trust in Him to provide and not idolize the slavery in Egypt because of the food there. This was just one of the difficult lessons that God needed to teach His people. He needed them to depend on Him for everything. If they would only do that, they would see how He would always meet their needs.
Another issue that the Israelites struggled with was pride. Numbers 12 describes an incident that occurred between Aaron, Miriam, and Moses. In this chapter, we see Aaron and Miram, the brother and sister of Moses, question his leadership. They felt as if they could do a better job of leading the people than him. At the heart of this matter was pride and distrust. God appointed Moses to lead the Israelites, not them. Pridefully, they believed they knew better than God about who should lead. They distrusted the Lord’s appointee. They were not alone in this. There was plenty of seconding guessing Moses from the Israelites while they were in the wilderness. Nevertheless, God did not think too highly of this either. After a bit of a tongue lashing at the Tabernacle, He cursed Miram with leprosy because of their pride.
A third issue that plagued the Israelites was fear. In Numbers 13, the Israelites were camped close to the promised land that God was leading them to. In verse 2, God advised Moses to send a group of men to explore the land of Canaan (the same land that God had already promised to Abraham and his ancestors long ago). Moses appointed twelve men to go check it out and bring back a report. The men explored the land, and they all agreed that the land was beautiful and full of opportunity. But for ten of them, there was a big problem. They reported that the men of the land were like giants and believed that they could not defeat them to conquer the land. They even spread this report around to all the people so they would fear entering the land, as well. Keep in mind that God had already promised this land to them, but instead of trusting God, they feared the people and did not want to enter the land. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back for God. Because of their lack of trust and fear, God would not allow this generation to ever enter the promised land. They would wander in the desert for forty years until everyone of the adults who witnessed the glory of God in Egypt passed away.
The Israelites were free from the Egyptians, but because of their lack of trust in God for provision, their pride, and their fear, they were just as bound as they were in Egypt. They were not in physical chains anymore, but they were enslaved to sin because of their lack of trust. God would use the next forty years to challenge His people to trust and depend solely on Him. That’s part of what it means to be God’s people—to fully trust and depend on Him. God’s people needed to learn to live like God’s people, and so the training commenced.
Application:
These three areas that the Israelites struggled with are not unique to them. All of us struggle with them as well from time to time. When times are tough, we may wonder where God is and if He will truly provide for our needs. This shows our lack of trust and unwillingness to truly depend solely on God. We are also guilty of choosing our own way instead of God’s way when faced with decisions or trying circumstances. This shows our pride as we think we know better than God in determining what is best for us. Finally, fear is a big one. We all fear something. Maybe we fear starting something new. Or maybe God has called you to step out and do something that seems crazy, but you are scared to attempt it. Or perhaps we are just scared we are not going to make it through the month due to a ton of expenses. Whatever it is, fear can have a paralyzing grip if we are not careful.
All three of these struggles have one thing in common. They all reveal our lack of trust in God. That was the problem with the Israelites. They didn’t trust God to get them through the wilderness. They appeared lost physically to the outside world as they wandered in the desert for forty years. But in actuality, they were lost spiritually, and God was using this time to get them back on track. He needed to rebuild their trust in Him. Maybe that is what God needs to do in you. Perhaps that’s why you are struggling right now. Perhaps God is using this time to build your faith and trust in Him. He sees you lost and wandering through life. He is trying to get you to put your focus on Him and just trust Him. If you can do that, better yet, if we all can do that, God can do a wonderful work in us and through us. Let’s throw off the pride, let’s stop trying to do everything on our own, and let’s let go of the fear and trust God fully with our lives. That’s what God needed the Israelites to do. That’s what He wants us to do too.
One last thing before we go. The Israelites were blessed to see the glory of God in their camp. They saw a pillar of fire by night and a cloud by day leading them. The cloud would come rest on the Tabernacle from time to time when He met with Moses. They could physically see God’s glory. He was in their midst, yet they missed Him. They still struggled being God’s people even in His very presence. We can’t see a pillar of fire or cloud of glory today, but we have something better. God’s presence lives inside all of us that believe in Him. Despite that, we can miss Him too. If we can remember God’s presence is always with us, I guarantee some of the things we struggle with like provision, pride, and fear will become obsolete. Let’s make it a focus in the coming weeks to remember God’s presence within us, and then let’s see how our faith and trust in Him will grow.
Questions and Further Exploration:
Have you ever felt spiritually lost? Have you ever felt as if you had no direction in your life? If so, talk with your son or daughter about this period in your life, and what you did or are doing to overcome it.
Have you ever struggled with trusting God with His provision, pride, or fear like the Israelites did? Discuss this with your children and what God did or is currently doing in your life to help you with these struggles.