The Wisdom of Walking Through the Wilderness with Others
Numbers 14:29-30
“In this desert, your bodies will fall…every one of you twenty years old or more…who has grumbled against Me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hands to make your home, except Caleb, son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, son of Nun.”
Out of twelve spies, Joshua and Caleb were the only ones who believed God could deliver the promised land into the hands of the Israelites. Yet because of the disobedient multitude, these two men got stuck wandering in the wilderness with this motley crew for forty years. How fair is that you might ask? I’ve often wondered if Joshua and Caleb felt resentment toward the Israelites for this forty-year sentence unjustly thrust upon them. Or if the Israelites felt any resentment because these two would see the promised land when they wouldn’t. The Bible doesn’t say. However, this story at first glance seems to depict God as cruel and unreasonable. Seriously, after 400 years of slavery in Egypt, grumbling in the face of hardship would be a hard habit to break for the Israelites. Shouldn’t God cut them some slack? Then there’s Joshua and Caleb, forty years is a huge chunk of time to be in the wilderness instead of the promised land for someone else’s sin. What’s up with that, God?
A Divine Revelation
Four hundred years of bondage created a slave mentality that dominated the attitudes of the older Israelites and was toxic to the plan God had for His people. We see this happen with the cultural influences of racism and bigotry on nations. We also see how issues of dysfunction can have a toxic effect on families for generations. God did not want this slave mentality or its dysfunctional effect to be passed on to the younger Israelites. Therefore, the severe consequence of being prohibited from the promised land was a surefire way to have that mentality die out with those 20 and older. Then there were the younger Israelites who still needed time to grow in their faith and become the godly nation God desired them to be. God would also appoint Joshua and Caleb to succeed Moses and Aaron as the future leaders of Israel. How better to equip them for the task of leadership than to have them endure with those they would later lead? This sounds a little like parenting, doesn’t it?
God often uses godly examples among the ungodly or spiritually weak to point them to Him. Would we have come to know the Lord if God had not had someone walking through our wilderness with us? How many still suffer from our unchanged flesh and faithfully remain at our side, loving us unconditionally? God often requires us to walk through the wilderness for a time with a spouse, our children, our friends, or our brothers and sisters in Christ who are spiritually struggling. And yes, to show them His unconditional love for them through us.
A Divine Challenge
My question is, are you willing to be God’s Joshua and Caleb to those currently walking in a spiritual wilderness? Will you grumble and complain when life takes you into the wilderness, or will you accept the challenge and allow God to mold and make you into someone who reflects His glory despite your circumstances? When others are disobedient to the things of God, will they receive a pious rebuke from you, or will you win them without a word by your chaste and respectful behavior like Joshua and Caleb did?
Call to Action
For us, the promised land might be a restored marriage, a wayward child coming back to the Lord, or an opportunity for ministry hindered by the disobedience of others. However, God’s delay IS NOT God’s denial. As with Joshua and Caleb, our promised land may only be a wilderness away. Hold fast, endure, and we too WILL enter into all that God has promised us.
Father, help us walk the wilderness of this life with You and not judge others who are walking in their own wilderness path. Holy Spirit, teach us to learn the lessons of this life no matter what circumstances we find ourselves in. Give us the strength to endure the hardships we face knowing that the promised land awaits. In the name of Jesus Christ, we pray. Amen!