26 But you were unwilling to go up; you rebelled against the command of the LORD your God. 27 You grumbled in your tents and said, “The LORD hates us; so he brought us out of Egypt to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’ ”
29 Then I said to you, “Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. 30 The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, 31 and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.”
32 In spite of this, you did not trust in the LORD your God, 33 who went ahead of you on your journey, in fire by night and in a cloud by day, to search out places for you to camp and to show you the way you should go.
34 When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore: 35 “No one from this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
Deuteronomy 1:25-36
Past History
After God did so much for Israel, delivering them from Egyptian slavery and feeding them in the middle of the desert, Israel was told to take the territory that God had set aside for them, but they didn't. Israel was wise in scoping the territory before entering it; but their wisdom stopped there because they saw the difficulties and the negative in the situation set before them. God reminded them that He had carried them in the wilderness as a father carries his son; but despite His past care for them, the Israelis feared what was on the horizon.
The Reporters - 15th Century B.C. Media
The fear began with a report from 12 people, and that report spread throughout the camp so much so that the people began complaining about the way things were. The twelve who reported the news to Israel were reporters who not only reported the news, but they interpreted the news for the people as they believed the people needed or wanted to hear. Their reports and their interpretation of what they witnessed spread throughout the camp like wild fire resulting in people acting on their fears rather than on their faith. They gave into their basic instincts for survival rather than looking upward and finding comfort and strength to move forward. They looked to a glorified version of the past and compared it to their present hardships.
The Good Old Days
In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the LORD's hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.”
Exodus 16:2-3
The Israelite camp remembered better days when they didn't have to live solely by faith day after day, wondering if there was going to be food or water in the next part of the journey. They remembered having homes that didn't move every week or so. They remembered a stable society - sure, it had rules about how much work to do and how to do that work, and yes, those rules served the interests of another society, but Moses was beginning to set up big government with new rules and punishments for disobedience. In their eyes their present world was not as good as what they remembered in the past.
Fear and Negativity
While glorifying their past they complained about the present. Unable to see that an amazing and great future that could have been days away, all they could see was the negativity of the twelve witnesses who warned them of well protected cities wherein scary warrior giants lived. The people complained and God closed the door for a generation of people to see His work in a new and in a powerful way.
The 21st Century
This negativity and fear has resurfaced in Christian churches today. Fear of the government, fear of losing the country, fear of secular culture, fear of losing the past days of glory. Days that are remembered or retold in mythological overtones. Our own inability to bring back those days are seen as persecution when in fact, the Evangelical political movement is the most powerful political group in the most powerful nation in the world (without the Evangelical vote, the Republican party would die - and the Republican leadership knows it). Some of us Evangelicals don't recognize the rising negativity because our eyes are on the negative, on the fear, on our doubts, on our mythological past, on our failed attempts to get more in the political process, and on our own group's self interests.
We have forgotten what God has done in the past. We have forgotten that we belong to God's kingdom and call no place on this earth our home. We have forgotten that God is still in control. We have listened to those who feed fear and have passed on that same fear that says we are losing a battle for the hearts and the minds of our nations. The fear says we are under attack. The fear says what is ours and what is good is being taken away from us.
When Jesus said the gates of hell cannot prevail against the testimony of Jesus, the gates implied that hell was trying to protect itself from God's onslaught through His people. But today His people are choosing to be the fortified city seeking protection from the outside bombardment of a perceived enemy that only exists in part. This needs to change.
Fear and Negativity
While glorifying their past they complained about the present. Unable to see that an amazing and great future that could have been days away, all they could see was the negativity of the twelve witnesses who warned them of well protected cities wherein scary warrior giants lived. The people complained and God closed the door for a generation of people to see His work in a new and in a powerful way.
The 21st Century
This negativity and fear has resurfaced in Christian churches today. Fear of the government, fear of losing the country, fear of secular culture, fear of losing the past days of glory. Days that are remembered or retold in mythological overtones. Our own inability to bring back those days are seen as persecution when in fact, the Evangelical political movement is the most powerful political group in the most powerful nation in the world (without the Evangelical vote, the Republican party would die - and the Republican leadership knows it). Some of us Evangelicals don't recognize the rising negativity because our eyes are on the negative, on the fear, on our doubts, on our mythological past, on our failed attempts to get more in the political process, and on our own group's self interests.
We have forgotten what God has done in the past. We have forgotten that we belong to God's kingdom and call no place on this earth our home. We have forgotten that God is still in control. We have listened to those who feed fear and have passed on that same fear that says we are losing a battle for the hearts and the minds of our nations. The fear says we are under attack. The fear says what is ours and what is good is being taken away from us.
When Jesus said the gates of hell cannot prevail against the testimony of Jesus, the gates implied that hell was trying to protect itself from God's onslaught through His people. But today His people are choosing to be the fortified city seeking protection from the outside bombardment of a perceived enemy that only exists in part. This needs to change.
