Guarding glory

Guarding glory

Numbers 14:10 “But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.”

          In the above passage we see the people of Israel decided to pelt stones at Moses as they were agitated hearing the false news from the spies. The people became so rebellious and rose against Moses and Aaron. But the glory of the Lord appeared at the right time and stopped the people from stoning them. The divine glory descended to save Moses and Aaron because there will be nobody to lead the people of Israel. The glory of the Lord protected and guarded them from the danger. Let us mediate upon the real reasons why the people of Israel were rebellious and where did they go wrong in their lives.

Hearing

Numbers 13:33 “And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.”

            Here we see the spies bring in evil reports about the land of Canaan. As soon as the people of Israel comes to know about the evil news, they become frustrated and rebellious. An evil report changed their entire character and personality. The evil report influenced the people to behave in a wrong way. Even in our lives, we should not give more importance to evil reports. As we read in Psalms 112:7 ‘He shall not be afraid of evil tidings: his heart is fixed, trusting in the LORD.’ We must not be afraid of the evil tidings and should trust in God. In order to conquer, we need to hear the word of God. This is the main key to inherit the blessings from the hands of the Lord. This is recorded in Romans 10:17 ‘So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.’ When we hear the words of God, our faith will grow and we will be blessed.

Reaction

Numbers 14:1-2 “And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!”

            The above verse is the reaction of people when they heard the evil report. When we read through the verses carefully, we can understand that the people of Israel reacted in three different ways.

-      Cry : Firstly we see the people reacted by crying out. They lifted up their voices when they heard the news from the spies. The evil report devastates the entire congregation. They thought that their dreams of Canaan were shattered. Even after hearing a good report from Joshua and Caleb, they were crying all through the night. The people of Israel seem to have forgotten the Lord and looked upon the hurdles. As recorded in Job 42:2 ‘I know that thou canst do every thing, and that no thought can be withholden from thee.’ We must believe that nothing and no one can stop the purpose of the Lord.

-      Murmur / Complain: Secondly, we see they started to murmur against Moses and Aaron. The people started to complain as they did not receive the answer what they wanted to hear. They did not believe what was purposed on them. Even in our lives, let us not complain but should praise God with a grateful heart for all what he has given us.

-      Wrong confessions: Thirdly, they had wrong confessions. They: confessed that it is better for them to die. We the children of God must never make such negative confessions in our lives. As recorded in Proverbs 18:21 ‘Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.’ We should confess the word of God and receive life.

Actions            

Numbers 14:3 “And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?”

            Initially we saw the people of Israel heard the evil report and reacted to it. Now, it influences them to take wrong decisions. In Numbers 14:10 ‘But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.’ They were ready to stone the leadership that God gave them.

            We read in Numbers 14:44-45 ‘But 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. Then the Amalekites came down, and the Canaanites which dwelt in that hill, and smote them, and discomfited them, even unto Hormah.’ The people of Israel did not listen to Moses and decide to go up to the hill. They decided to select a leader among themselves to go back to Egypt. They did not know that there will be Amalekites and Canaanites to defeat them. All of their wrong decisions brings them additional troubles in their lives. Even in our lives, we need to be cautious while hearing-reacting-acting towards any information. Wrong decisions and reactions will destroy all the blessings that God had reserved for us. Let us submit ourselves in the presence of the Lord to act according to his will. Amen.