The land, by all accounts, was simply amazing. After all, where else did grape clusters grow so large that it took two men to carry them? What other land was described as flowing with both milk (a necessity) and honey (a luxury)? Yet the Promised Land was not without its challenges. Armies of Goliath-sized soldiers protected the inhabitant’s fortified cities. Without God’s help, Israel had no chance of conquering them.
And so, the young nation of freed slaves stood at a cross-road with an identity-defining decision to make:
Trust God or rebel.
Sadly, ten men persuaded nearly the entire nation to rebel and lose faith. Ten of the twelve spies sent into the Promised Land returned disheartened and afraid. These ten had seen the plagues in Egypt. They had walked through the middle of the sea on dry ground. They had depended upon manna from heaven. They had even followed the supernatural pillar of cloud and fire to this very place. But this last obstacle proved that their faith was merely superficial. They didn’t really believe that God would give them the blessing of the Promised Land. Despite the pleading of the more faithful spies Caleb and Joshua, the nation turned its back on God at the very brink of extravagant blessing.
The sin that Israel committed that day cost an entire generation their lives. None of them, except for Caleb and Joshua, entered into the Promised Land. What should have been theirs immediately would now be delayed by 40 years.
Several thousand years have passed since that sad rebellion. We now live under a different covenant, and our Promised Land now comes through the person of Jesus Christ, who came that we might have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10). In other words, the blessings promised to us are eternal life and abundant life here on earth.
Unfortunately, mankind’s rebellious nature has not changed over those countless generations. As a result, even believers, whose eternal future is certain, are quite capable of missing out of the blessings that God desires for them here on earth.
The story of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5 is a perfect, if sad, example of how Christ follower’s rebellion can sabotage God’s blessings. This crooked couple wanted to be recognized and applauded for being generous and selfless. When they saw how a Levite named Joseph was praised for selling a field and giving the money to the disciples, Ananias and Sapphira allowed their desire to impress others trumped their desire to please God. So, they sold a piece of property and presented the money to the disciples, just as Joseph had done. However, they had secretly kept a portion of the money for themselves. Their deception did not fool God, however, and both of them fell dead as soon as Peter confronted them.
I can certainly understand how “great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.” (Acts 5:11) Clearly, rebellion of any kind is not a trivial matter. God takes sin very seriously, and we would do well to remember that there is no middle ground. Either we trust Him and obey, or we rebel and sin.
The central truth that the nation of Israel (and later Ananias and Sapphira) missed is that our greatest, most abundant life can only come when we trust and follow God. Without Him, there is no future hope, no unflappable joy, no rock-solid peace, and no abundant blessing. Without Him, there is no Promised Land and no chance of hearing “Well done, good and faithful servant! Come and share your master’s happiness!”
We do need to utter a word of caution, however. Trusting in God is not a recipe for a perfect, trouble-free life. And anyone who preaches that believing in Christ will result in a new Rolex watch and a new Bentley in the driveway is spreading false doctrine. God’s blessings are not always physical or financial. In fact, our ultimate blessings won’t come in this life at all!
But, we can be absolutely certain that the best, most fulfilling, most satisfying way to live life can only come through following Jesus Christ. I feel that we, as both individual Christ followers and as a church, have a decision to make each and every day:
Trust in Christ (and obey) or rebel. May we always choose correctly.
Soli Deo Gloria
Tim Cotten