The Peril of Refusing God's Promise: Grumblings, Part 3 (Num. 13-14)

At the heart of Israel’s rebellion is unbelief.

Whenever we sin, we are failing to believe God’s promises. That’s why when someone asks my advice regarding how to deal with sin, I often start by asking, “what lie are you believing?” Israel plainly does not believe that God will give them the Land. They believe that the nations are too strong – and that God’s promises are insufficient as a foundation for action.

You and I – we need to believe God’s promises. We need to believe that God will do what he has promised, and so trust him to accomplish his Word.

And this is hard!

The modern world says that we are just wasting our time.
There is no God.
There is only matter and energy.
There is only chance and time.

Or, as H. L. Mencken said:

"To sum up:

1. The cosmos is gigantic fly wheel making 10,000 revolutions a minute.

2. Man is a sick fly taking a dizzy ride on it.

3. Religion is the theory that the wheel was designed and set spinning to give him the ride."
   [Smart Set, Dec. 1920, p45].

This is essentially the same temptation as that faced by Israel in the wilderness. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had called them out of Egypt – and now he calls them to believe his promise and act on that belief! The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ has called you out of darkness – and now he calls you to believe his promise and act on that belief!