The fruit of disobedience

Today's readings are from Numbers 14 & 15

The grumbling and complaining we read about yesterday took the form of a full scale rebellion that was so severe that some said:

"And they said to each other, 'We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.'"

The disobedience that marked this rebellion would mark this entire gene ratio of Israelites. God, who had delivered them and had begun to create a nation with them gave his own judgement:

"...not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times—not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it."

"In this wilderness your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me."

There is not much to say...the next forty years are spent wandering in the wilderness - a wandering marked by futility for a generation that had originally seen God's hand in deliverance and redemption. It is a sad story, but one that we need to prayerfully reflect upon for our own lives.

Peace



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