Can you imagine what Moses was thinking as he returned to the people with God’s final answer after they had refused to enter the Promised Land because of fear?
Surely it was a sad day.
THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF GODLY LEADERSHIP
We know that God holds leaders to higher standards than others.
If you accept a position of leadership; be sure that you follow through righteously with your responsibilities.
Take them very seriously.
You are not just acting for yourself – but you act for many; sometimes multitudes.
A MISTAKE THAT AFFECTED MULTITUDES
Those leaders chosen to spy out the Promised Land were acting for multitudes.
Still, they explored the land and grumbled; showing no faith in God’s plan for the people.
Not only did they grumble and complain and show fear; they spread falsehoods among the people in the camps and caused the people to rise up and grumble with them.
GOD IS ALWAYS IN CONTROL
They had instilled fear in the hearts of God’s people instead of causing them to hope, be brave and move forward.
God never lets such acts go unpunished.
He didn’t back then; and He will not do it today. Political groups with agenda’s that line their pockets and hurt the people will not get away with their modern-day fear tactics forever.
There comes a day of reckoning for everything under the sun.
These men who were responsible for spreading the bad reports were struck down.
They all died in a plague.
Out of that group of mighty leaders; only Joshua and Caleb survived alive.
Moses gave his sad report and all of the people mourned.
AN UN-TIMELY CHANGE OF HEART
Early the next morning Moses found these pitiful people dressed and ready for battle. Suddenly they were ready to set out to the highest point in the hill country, but they were too late!
They stated that they were now ready to go to the land the LORD had promised.
Their new words were “Surely we have sinned!”
Surely they had.
Poor Moses.
He suffered for the sins of these stubborn, stupid people.
Moses looked at them in dismay and shook his head in disbelief at their ignorance.
Then he patiently explained to them that going up now would not be successful.
WHEN THE LORD DECIDES ON A PLAN YOU MUST ACT ON IT AT THAT TIME
Now, The LORD was not with them!
Their sins had caused God to turn and leave them to their own plans.
If they went up now, they WOULD be defeated by their enemies.
The Amalekites and the Canaanites would face them there.
Since the LORD was no longer with them – they would surely fall by the sword.
A DAY LATE AND A DOLLAR SHORT
Sometimes our human reality checks come a day late and a dollar short. By that time the damage is already done. All we can do is pick up the pieces and move on.
There was no reversing the thoughtless acts of carelessness and the unfaithfulness to God.
These people had not yet figured out the fact that God doesn’t do “wishy-washy.”
For this moment, God had turned His back away to let them have their own ways (as they had requested.) Now, they were getting exactly what they had asked for only a few days ago.
DON’T PRESUME YOU KNOW THE HEART OF GOD WITHOUT ASKING FIRST
But these were very presumptuous people.
Again; they did not listen to Moses and again they did not heed the command of God.
They didn’t even seek out God’s will in the first place.
These hopeless people went up toward the highest point in the hill country, though neither Moses nor the ark of the LORD’s Covenant moved from the camp.
The Amalekites and the Canaanites came down and attacked them and beat them down all the way to Hormah.
Obedience is everything.
The people still had not learned it.
Have we?