Need is an incredible motivator. Impending danger to a loved one propels even the meekest person to face down fears and threats that would usually paralyze him or her. The presence of need focuses our attention precisely on a specific problem. Our vision narrows to a single point, and everything else is set aside for the moment. However, when we give full attention to perceived dangers in our lives, we sometimes lose sight of God. Like Peter standing on the waves, we allow our fears to reign and our faith in God to waver.
The author of Hebrews helps us understand our Christian life in light of Israel’s history. In Hebrews 3:7-8, he exhorts us to persevere in the faith to avoid falling prey to the sins of the Israelites in the wilderness who hardened their hearts and rebelled against God despite His wonderous provision. The warning is a good one we all should heed. We have been freed from our bondage to sin and are headed for the new heavens and the new earth. However, in this life we are still following the Spirit through the wilderness. We have not attained our goal; we have not yet entered our rest.
As we make our way through the wilderness, we, like the Israelites, depend on God’s regular provision. Where they fed on manna and quail, we feed upon the Word of God and Christ, the Bread of Life. God has fulfilled His promise to provide everything we need (Philippians 4:19). Yet sometimes we look up from the path before us to realize we have arrived in a dry and dusty land.
A loved one receives a bad diagnosis. A close friend passes away suddenly. Your boss calls you into his office to inform you the company is downsizing and encourages you to update your resumé. In these moments, our needs dominate our vision, and we grow worried and afraid. We begin to panic. How should we respond to these situations? We learn much from the Israelite response to their needs in the wilderness.
Forgetfulness
At least twice during their years in the wilderness, the Israelites found themselves in a dry land. In Exodus 17, we learn the first generation to be led out of Egypt quarreled with God about their lack of water just before meeting Him at Mount Sinai. Nearly forty years later their descendants made the same mistake when they were about to enter the Promised Land. I want to focus on this second instance, recorded in Numbers 20, because their unique complaint against God offers insight into a common experience among Christians today.
Numbers 20 opens by informing us Moses had led the Israelites back to Kadesh, the place where forty years earlier ten spies gave a bad report of Canaan, and the people rebelled with fatal consequences. Now that generation lay scattered in graves throughout the wilderness, and their children and grandchildren were preparing to enter the land. However, they found no water in Kadesh where they camped.
A lack of water is a serious problem, but the Israelites’ response reflects a misunderstanding of their true situation. They assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron and quarreled with them about their predicament, bemoaning they had not been consumed instantly by fire like the recent rebels who followed Korah. Instead, they were afraid they would thirst to death slowly in the desert. They even went so far as to call the place to which they had been led “evil” in comparison to Egypt (Numbers 20:5).
In the pressure of the moment, the Israelites became consumed by the problem before them. In their fear, they forgot the terrors and horrors of Egypt, including the murder of the innocents. They believed God would fail them there in the wilderness, despite the fact they had eaten manna and quail each day for the previous forty years. The place they considered evil was exactly where God intended for them to be. He intended to use their need to draw them closer to Himself and reveal His holiness through His provision (Numbers 20:13). Instead, they turned to grumbling and quarreling with the Lord.
In times of need, we are tempted to follow the Israelite example. Despite knowing we have been liberated from bondage to sin and are on our way to the heavenly city, we too are inclined to wonder if God can provide for our need in the difficult moments. We forget God has led us into this obstacle, or we question His wisdom in bringing us to a challenging place. How in the world will we survive what lies before us? Our myriad flaws will be revealed to everyone, and our failure will come with shame. Would it not have been better just to leave us to live a quiet, out-of-the-way life? We forget how horrible our bondage was and begin to wish for the “good old days” when, as we falsely remember, we had few worries.
Impatience
The Israelites not only compared the present with the past, but they also displayed impatience with God’s timing to fulfill His promises. When they called their camp in Kadesh evil, they specifically noted it was a place without seeds or figs, vines or pomegranates (Numbers 20:5). They confused God’s promise for provision in the wilderness with His promise of abundance in the Promised Land of rest. They had manna and quail, but they craved the vineyards of Eschol and the figs of Canaan.
We too have been promised a land. Ours will be free of swords and filled with plows and pruning hooks. Each man shall sit in peace and comfort under his own vine and fig tree (Micah 4:3-4). However, as the author of Hebrews reminds us, we have not yet entered this land of rest. We are still following the Spirit through the wilderness, sustained by the Bread of Life.
We must not expect the rest, ease, and abundant fruitfulness of the land to which we are headed while we remain in the wilderness. Moreover, we risk our lives when we grumble against God’s provision in the moment, for we too may be struck down and kept from entering our rest for our unbelief as the Israelites were (Hebrews 3:8-11).
Despite their grumbling at Kadesh, God was faithful to provide water for His people. However, their quarreling led Moses and Aaron into temptation, and their failure to obey in the moment cost them the opportunity to enter the Promised Land themselves (Numbers 20:12; Deuteronomy 3:26-27). How can we avoid similar failures? How can we best maintain our faith in God’s provision during trials?
First, we must always keep God’s past provision before our eyes. Read each day in God’s Word about His faithfulness to His people throughout time and space. As we read about the Israelites in the wilderness, Elijah against the prophets of Baal and Jezebel, Jeremiah in prison, and Christ on the road to the cross, we see God’s provision take many different forms. We also learn to say with Christ and the three Hebrew children that even if God chooses not to deliver us from the danger before us, we will still trust His wisdom (Daniel 3:16-18; Matthew 26:39, 42).
Second, we need to remember God’s deliverance in our own lives. Moses instructed the Israelites to keep their souls from idolatry by constantly reminding themselves and their children about God’s deliverance and providential actions in the past (Deuteronomy 4:9). Not everyone finds it easy to keep a journal, but it is wise to keep a written record of the many occasions when God provides for us. This practice can be as simple as keeping a running prayer list you can review to remember God’s attention to your needs over many years. We also need to share with our families about God’s provision. These constant reminders from Scripture and our own experiences will help us have a firm confidence in God’s wisdom in the moment.
Finally, we must be careful not to confuse God’s immediate provision with His promise of eternal rest and blessing. Perhaps you are like me: with age, your desire for the new heavens and the new earth has deepened significantly. As we become more aware of how broken and wicked this world is, we are tempted to become impatient with God. We crave peace and rest. We want a fruitful piece of land unaffected by the Fall and time to give our full attention to its care.
We must not confuse the future with the present. We are learning faith, hope, and love as we wait on the Lord’s provision in this dry and dusty land. We are learning to find our rest in Him.
About the Writer: Phillip T. Morgan is curator of the Free Will Baptist Historical Collection housed at Welch College in Nashville, Tennessee, where he additionally serves as History Program coordinator and professor. Phillip, his wife Megan, and their children live on a small farm in Robertson County, Tennessee. This article was adapted by permission from an essay published at www.HelwysSocietyForum.com.
