The Jesus Bible Reading PlanSample

BANISHED FROM THE PROMISED LAND

The sin of ingratitude raised its ugly head again, as it did when the Israelite people first left Egypt forty years earlier (Ex 17). The same issue, a lack of water, provoked the people to blame God and their leadership. God was not angry with the hostile people; instead, he lovingly desired to provide the nurture they needed. In contrast to God’s kindness, Moses responded in unrighteous anger and disobeyed by striking the rock (as God had instructed him to in Ex 17) and losing the opportunity to enter into the promised land.

Similarly, Adam and Eve in the garden had a lapse of judgment and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This deliberate disobedience caused their ejection from the Garden of Eden. Their sin demanded that someone come and remedy the sinful state in which mankind was entrenched.

God’s providence and grace are evident in the gushing of the rock to provide for the people and the livestock in spite of Moses’ actions. God demonstrated his benevolent nature to supply the needs of his people. This grace is manifested richly to all mankind, even while they were (and are) still sinners (Ro 5:8), through the death of Christ on the cross.

Jesus, protect me from the sin of ingratitude. Thank you for your grace, which gushes into my life each day, so I may live in freedom from sin and freedom to love and serve you. Amen.