Articles
A Three Step Formula For Failure
The book of Numbers relates the history of God’s people as they traveled from Mt. Sinai to the borders of Canaan. The book begins with joyful expectation. God’s people were finally on their way to the promised land. They had served as slaves in Egypt for over 400 years and had been delivered by the powerful hand of God. At Sinai, they entered into a covenant with Him and agreed to follow His law. A military census was taken, and the people received instructions for setting up the camp. Priests and Levites were assigned various responsibilities and Passover was celebrated. The first ten chapters of Numbers focus on a people who have been instructed by God—and they have obeyed!
The following chapters (chs. 11-25) are filled with rebellion and unfaithfulness. The people continually complain, God’s authority structure is challenged, and the people demonstrate that they do not trust God. Numbers 13-14 records the account of twelve men who were sent to spy out the land of Canaan. Ten of the spies viewed the conquest of Canaan as something that could not be accomplished. The people agreed with them and made plans to choose a new leader. God did not tolerate their rebellion. He said, “your corpses will fall in this wilderness, even all your numbered men...Surely you shall not come into the land in which I swore to settle you...But as for you, your corpses will fall in this wilderness” (Numbers 14:29-30, 32). Why does Numbers begin with such promise but includes rebellion and unfaithfulness? The people followed a three step formula for failure.
First, the people heard God’s word but did not believe it. They had spent about a year at Mt. Sinai and were told by God that He would bring them into the land of Canaan. He also demonstrated His power to do that. He rescued them from the most powerful nation of earth, and Egypt’s army was at the bottom of the Red Sea as a result. The people and the fortified cities of Canaan were not match for God. His people were aware of what God said concerning the land and His power to provide it for them. They heard what God said, but they did not believe Him.
Second, the people walked by sight. They were overwhelmed by the physical description of the inhabitants of Canaan, their numbers, and their fortified cities. They lost sight of the power and promises of God by focusing on what their eyes saw. Instead, they should have walked by faith and trusted God.
Third, the people rebelled against God. They demonstrated a profound lack of faith by refusing to enter Canaan. This rebellion resulted in God’s judgment, condemning that generation to wander in the wilderness for forty years until they all died.
God’s people in Numbers followed a three step formula for failure. What can we learn? We fail when we hear and do not obey. We fail when we walk by sight. We fail when we rebel against God. Their failure teaches us that doubt and disobedience lead to consequences and emphasizes the importance of faith and trust in His provision.
