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When Moses was with the Lord on Mount Sinai and the rest of Israel had crafted the golden calf as their new object of worship, God expressed His desire to destroy the people and to make a new nation from Moses and his descendants. Moses pleaded with the Lord to relent, citing the negative image it would leave in the minds of foreign nations and recalling His promises to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 32). God had mercy on His rebellious children.
A little over a year later, Moses found himself in an almost identical situation. We read yesterday about Israel's mutinous reaction to the plan for entering Canaan. Today's passage begins with God's furious response, renewing His intentions to destroy the rebellious people and start anew with Moses. Once again, Moses asked forgiveness for His people, and once again the Lord answered his request. However, Israel would not go unpunished.
All the Israelites who were at least twenty years old were sentenced to die in the wilderness, a result of protracted wandering over forty years. The spies who had given bad reports because they were more afraid of the Canaanites than of God were all killed immediately with a plague. Of the adults, only Caleb and Joshua were permitted to enter the Promised Land, but even they had to wait forty years before it happened. The punishment for Israel's crime this time came directly from God. He withheld the benefits of His special promise from those who refused to trust Him.
Ironically, Moses' pleas for mercy may have indirectly prevented him from entering the Promised Land. Many leaders would have seized the opportunity to become the father of a new nation, but Moses acted unselfishly. Yet later in the book of Numbers, Moses' frustrations with these same people incited him to disrespect God's commands, and his penalty was God's ban on leading the people into Canaan (20:9-12). A wicked people can create the conditions for the downfall of their own leaders.
TODAY ALONG THE WAY
Failure to trust in God will always lead us to miss out on blessings He intends for us. You might not see your rebellion or the cost as specifically as Israel did in the wilderness, but you may very well spend decades wandering aimlessly with little reward. When God asks you to trust in Him, obey without hesitation—though you should take the time to ensure you are acting on faith in His true will and not selfish impulse. Be willing today to do what is right, no matter how difficult it may seem.
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