02: “Because the Lord hates us…” (Deut 1:25-46)

The report of the land triggered their unbelieving heart, and thus, they began to doubt God’s good intentions.

๐Ÿ‘‰ Read Deuteronomy 1:25 - 46

Moses said they rebelled against the Lord. What kind of attitude does Moses call rebellion?

 

How can a man of faith have courage before a strong enemy or unshakable obstacle? (29 – 33)

 

Two groups will enter the land. Joshua and Caleb will enter the land because they (                   ) followed the Lord. And the infants, you yet do not know (             ) from (           ), will possess the land.

 

When the Lord commanded them to return to the wilderness, they admitted their sins and wanted to take the land. What is wrong with their behavior? Isn’t it God’s will for them to take the land?

 

 

Answers and Meditation

They said the Lord hated them and brought them out of Egypt to kill them through the Canaanite war.

They said the purpose of their deliverance from Egypt was to be killed by the sword.

If you don’t trust God’s good intentions in your Christian suffering, you will eventually deviate from the truth.

 

By remembering His protection and provision in your life, you can trust Him.

Moses said, ‘As the Lord has been faithful to us, he will be faithful in the future.’ However, it is interesting that Moses didn’t say they should trust God because God had promised.

The Lord said, “I have already given the land to you” (verse 8). But they said, “The land that the Lord is about to give us is good.” (verse 25)

 

Wholeheartedly, good, evil

Interestingly, Moses addresses that those who don’t know good and evil will enter the land. Adult generations tried to evaluate God’s plan of entering the land as good or bad, feasible or not; thus, they failed to trust the Lord. However, infants who didn’t have a sense of good and evil were allowed to enter the land. The theme of the knowledge of good and evil plays here. ‘Entrust your decisions to the Lord. It is not you who decide good and evil in your life.’

Entrusting everything to the Lord is following the Lord wholeheartedly.

 

They disobey God’s command.

If they had tried to enter the land after they heard the report, it would be credited as their faith. But not anymore after the Lord’s rebuke and change of His plan. At this point, accepting God’s judgment and returning to the wilderness reflects their faith.

In our lives, the Lord tests our inner motives and faith. All tests are to check our faith, but every test is different. If you know the answer, you would just copy the answer, and your faith would be hidden under various motives: greed, fear, or pride, etc. 

The report of the land is like a test of their faith. Joshua and Caleb got the right answer. However, the next test of faith will be different. The test of faith for those entering the land was to live faithfully in the land of Canaan. There, again, the majority failed. In this way, Israel will keep failing the Lord’s test of faith until Jesus comes.

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