Christ in all the scriptures
Numbers 14 part 3
"Great God of wonders all thy ways Display Thine attributes divine; But the bright glories of thy grace Above Thine other wonders shine.
Such deep transgressions to forgive! Such guilty, daring worms to spare! This is Thy grand prerogative, And in this honour none shall share.
Pardon from an offended God! Pardon for sins of deepest dye! Pardon bestowed through Jesus blood! Pardon that brings the rebel nigh!
Who is a pardoning God like thee? Or who has grace so rich and free?"
The hymn by Samuel Davies far better expresses the thoughts of these scriptures than I could. Pardon from an offended God was the portion of rebellious Israel; it is also the portion of every true believer today. The next section-v21-39, however, begins with a "But".
"But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord". This reveals the reality of fellowship with God.
The discipline of the Lord Numbers 14v21-39
Divine pardon is full, and final, and free. It guaranteed the future of Israel, that stands until now, and forever. There are no eternal consequences, but there certainly will be earthly ones. God will be glorified on earth no matter the situation. As Psalm 72v19 prophesies, "And blessed be His glorious name forever; and let the whole earth be filled with His glory. Amen and Amen." The heavens are filled with the glory of the Lord, and earth will be the same. The dark night of sin will be ushered away to leave this earth in the full blaze of His glory. On the way to that there will be correction. God pardoned the nation, but must deal with the rebellion, and this He does. He is holy, and must be seen to be so, and open sin must be put away. The judgments were severe, and all rebels must suffer in some way. We can do no better than to list the discipline that came on those who, so blatantly, strayed from trust in the Lord.
1) They were forbidden to enter the land "Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it"-v23. Caleb stood out as an example of faithfulness. The Lord said of him, "My servant Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, and hath followed me wholly, him will I bring into the land whereinto he went; and his seed shall possess it." They were told to turn away from the land where the Amalekites and the Canaanites were living, and go toward the wilderness by the Red Sea, for they were in no fit state for conflict (verse 25). Only Caleb and Joshua were permitted to enter (verse 30).
2) They were prescribed to wander in the wilderness for forty years The equivalent of one year for every day they spied out the land and returned with an evil report. During this time an entire generation who left Egypt in redemption power will perish in the wilderness at God's own choosing and in His own time. Of the millions who left Egypt, only two entered the land along with the children born in the second generation, under 20 years of age. Such was the scale of the rebellion, and such was the discipline of God. The Spirit of God writes through Paul in 1st Corinthians 10v5, "But with many of them (the greater part of them) God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness". This is a devastating culling of His people, and it serves as a warning to all today who would continue in sin in the face of the grace of God. The Spirit wrote, following the exposition of the grace of God in Christ in the gospel, "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!"-Romans 6v1-2. And God will forbid, for He will introduce discipline as the following New Testament scriptures confirm: Acts 5v1-11;1st Corinthians 3v17; 11v30-32; Revelation 2v22-23. Five of the seven churches of Revelation were told to repent, to change their thinking and their ways! To all seven, the command was repeated to all individuals within those churches, "He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches".
3) The ten leaders who brought the evil report died by the plague instantly. Leadership which has gone astray is a blight in the congregations of the Lord's people. "And the men which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land . Even those men that did bring up an evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the Lord". In these days of clamour for spiritual leadership, it is important to observe that with high status comes high responsibility. The people would suffer eventually but the leaders were removed instantly. Scripture warns us about this; Hebrews 13v17 they must give account for those under them; James 3v1 "Become not many masters, knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation. Jesus said, "To whom much is given, of the same shall much be required"-Luke 12v48. It is one thing for those led to sin, it is another for leaders to incite rebellion. To lead the people of God is a position of solemn responsibility, ultimately answerable to God. Paul wrote concerning elders, "Them that sin rebuke before all that others may fear"-1st Timothy 5v20. They are to be honoured for good, but rebuked for evil. To lead a whole camp astray is unacceptable. Elders must be apt to teach and they will be held accountable for their teaching. They are to feed the flock of God, they are to discipline the unruly. To do that they must be blameless and have a good report of the outside world. The absence of these things diminish the authority of God invested in them, which is the only status they have. But to lead God's people astray, and foment rebellion will not be tolerated. This is God's house and He will take control.
The delusion of false remorse Numbers 14v40-45
Moses declared all these things to the people, and they mourned. The sense of loss was deep, but the reality of it was shallow. There is a difference between remorse and repentance. They had plenty of the former but little or none of true heart repentance. Contrary to the command of the Lord, they attempted to exonerate themselves by gathering at the hill top, intending to enter the land to expel the enemy. This is an amazing picture of human behaviour. When the Lord told them they could enter the land they were fearful and refused. Now the Lord forbids them to enter the land, and, now they want to do it (and enthusiastically for they rose up early in the morning). It seems that erring humanity is intent on solving its own problems, doing things their own way. Yet another display of self trust and mistrust in the Lord. Moses warned them not to go, but they entered the land with disastrous consequences. They went WITHOUT THE LORD for "...they presumed to go up unto the hill top: nevertheless the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and Moses, departed not out of the camp". They went but the Lord was not with them. "Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah". This was an ignominious event in Israel's history, for their army was not only defeated, in what was their first conflict, but they were pursued as far as Hormah which is said to be 100 miles north of this point.
Their tears were "crocodile tears, they were false. Remorse is not repentance, for it focuses on how an action affects me, rather than how it affects others, including the Lord. They went in their own strength and contrary to the word of the Lord, and were defeated. Not until Israel learns that "obedience is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams", will they become overcomers. This withering observation by the prophet Samuel to king Saul sums up their history. For us, in the present day, there is a tendency to focus on self effort, pointing to the great sacrifices we are making for the Lord in terms of time and resources, yet where are we in the matter of obedience? Is the Lord with us in all that we do; are we heart sorry for our failures, seeking to trust only Him? Otherwise, Israel's failures will become ours. These things are "written for our admonition upon whom the ends of the age are come" (1st Corinthians 10v20). We are living in momentous, dangerous times, and we need the Lord with us.