Today, you may be someone who is looking at stacks of unpaid bills. You may be behind in your mortgage payments. Maybe your refrigerator is empty or the car is sputtering on bottom-of-the-tank fumes. These and so many other circumstances can be overwhelming as you stand there facing them. In Hebrews 3:12 - 4:3, there is a word given to the New Testament sons of God (that's you). It's a word of warning and a guiding light of faith for whenever we may find ourselves in a wilderness experience. This word compares the wrong believing of the Israelites on their way to the Promised Land, as they were led out of Egypt by Moses, to the wrong believing of Christians, who have been brought out of the kingdom of darkness (Egypt) into the Kingdom of God's dear Son, Jesus Christ (our Promised Land). And since we are being sternly warned not to do what they did; then we need to know what they did.
I will begin with a brief summary of the journey of the children of Israel found in Numbers 13:23 - 14:10. The Lord instructed Moses to send men to spy out the land of Canaan because "I am giving it to the children of Israel" (13:2). Moses did as instructed and the men returned, after 40 days from spying out the land, bringing back, as evidence that the land truly has an abundance of food, one cluster of grapes that took two men to carry. Ten of the spies "gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land...saying, The land...devours its inhabitants" (vs.32). Caleb said to them, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it" (vs. 30). The results were the children of Israel chose to believe the bad report (a lie), instead of believing the Lord's promise to them of possessing the land (the truth). As a result, their unbelief caused them to "rebel against the Lord" (14:9). Thus, they were unable to enter and take possession of the land that was already theirs. Instead of taking possession, they wondered in the wilderness for 40 years.
Now, let us look at the warning given to us in Hebrews 3:12-15. "Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God...lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin... Do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion." We are being warned that not believing the Word of the Lord is sin. Unbelief is deceitful - a lie! Unbelief hardens a person's heart. Unbelief causes a person to rebel against the truth, which results in the person departing from God's plan to take possession of what He already gave them through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Unbelief is detrimental to our well-being. The children of Israel did not believe and their unbelief kept them in the wilderness. The Lord continued to meet their needs, but they never entered the Promise Land of abundance, which was God's intended destiny for them.
Why do we have difficulty believing that when we received salvation we were not just saved from hell, but we were also saved from poverty? Hebrews 4:2 reveals the answer. "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it." The Word of God we hear only brings the intended results to us when we believe it! The Word tells us, "For all the promises of God in Him are "Yes," and in Him "Amen" (2nd. Corinthians 1:20). Amen means, so be it. Jesus Christ became poor so you could become rich (2nd. Corinthians 8:9). His grace has delivered you from this present evil age (Galatians 1:4). His grace abounds toward you that you have seed to sow and bread to eat (2nd. Corinthians 9:8,10). These are some of God's promises. These are His words to you, and you need to be saying "Yes" to them and SO BE IT! Hebrews 3:14 states, "For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end." We will become partakers of all the promises that are ours if we remain confident in Christ's finished work on the cross. In other words, we need to believe the Word, and we need to believe it today, tomorrow and forever! Too often, when we first hear the Word, we have a confidence in the Word, but somewhere our confidence dwindles and we fail to hold onto it until we enter into that promise that is already ours. The children of Israel did not enter the promised land because they lost confidence in the Lord's word of promise to them. They were told there were giants in the land and they saw themselves as grasshoppers (Numbers 13:33). How do you see yourself? Do you see your need as the giant who is bigger than you? Or do you see Jesus Christ who lives in you as the One who triumphed over the giant (Colossians 2:15)?
Another reason the children of Israel did not enter in is they accused the Lord of bringing them there to die in battle (Numbers 14:4). There are a couple of things in this statement. They did not believe the Lord's love for them, and as a result, they had no confidence in winning. Instead of seeing themselves in victory, they saw defeat. Where is your confidence? Is your confidence in the promise of the Lord's Word as Caleb's was when he said, "The Lord is with us...Do not fear" (Numbers 14:9)? There are battles to obtain what is already ours in Christ Jesus, but we do not have to fear. The battle we fight is one in which we need to remain steadfast and confident of the Father's love for us and believe His Word. We can enter into a rest and have a peace because this too is a promise (Hebrews 4:1-3). Unbelief brings struggles and turmoil, while belief brings us into the promised rest. Jesus Christ has already conquered poverty for us and we can rest in that. So give thanks that we have the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!
Two important factors we see of the children of Israel that are also applicable to us is how we view ourselves and how we view God. Do we view ourselves as "grasshoppers" - insignificant and weak? Or do we view ourselves as Caleb did - strong and well able to go up and take possession? Do you view the Lord as harsh, uncaring and unwilling to bring you into the promise? Or do you view Him as loving you and He is in you and willing to bring you into the promise He already paid the price for?
The children of Israel for forty years lived and died in the wilderness. It is time for each of us to make a decision as a Believer to believe the Word of the Lord and His love for us. Enter into the fullness of His promised provision and get out of the wilderness. We do not belong there!
