UNCOMMEN: A to B, What's Your PathIsampula

Long Way Through The Desert
 

For our final lesson, we are going to look at the Israelites. Specifically, we are reading Numbers, chapter 14. The Israelites have been in the wilderness for some time now. God has provided for them time and time again with food, water, and safety. Yet they easily forgot. The Israelites thought that they could do better than God.

At the beginning of the chapter, they are grumbling against Moses and Aaron. They begin to claim that it would have been better to die in Egypt than to die by the sword when taking the promised land. They wanted to choose a different leader and go back to Egypt. This angered God. In verse 11, it says, "How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them? I will strike them down with a plague and destroy them, but I will make you into a nation greater and stronger than they." 

However, Moses pleaded with God to spare their lives. God does so but at a cost. Everyone twenty years and older who grumbled against God would never see the promised land. For forty years, they will wander the desert so that the next generation can take and enjoy the promised land that the previous generation rejected. 

I wanted to touch on this story because even with everything that God did for the Israelites— He fed, clothed, protected, and saved them—they still questioned that path. It is an easy trap to fall into, but it is one that we need to avoid at all costs. God's plan for our lives is one that glorifies Him first. That is what we are called to do. Much like Joshua, son of Nun and Caleb, son of Jephunneh, we should remind ourselves that God is with us and that if we please Him by not rebelling, He will lead us into a land that flows with milk and honey.  

Hopefully, this chapter will both humble you and give you hope for God's plan in your life.

Uncommen Question:

Do you often forget about the good things that God has provided to you in favor of focusing on the bad stuff?

Is there a moment in your life that you thought your way would be a better way than God's way?

Uncommen Challenge:

Focus on God's plan for your life and glorify Him with your actions, your words, and your thoughts! Write them down to be a reminder for you on where you should focus your life.

Scripture Reference:
Numbers 14