Today's Scripture Reading (December 8, 2021): Numbers 14
Bernard Baruch (1870-1965), an American financier and
statesman, argued that we should "Be who you are and say what
you feel, because those who mind don't matter, and those who matter don't mind."
I hope that that is still true. Part of me, maybe nostalgically, believes that
Baruch lived in a different time, a time when we were able to disagree with
friends, and there was never an expectation that we would all agree on every
subject. It was an era before the echo chamber and the need for every voice to
reinforce what we believe. I admit that there are some points on which I hope
we agree. But they are few. For the rest, I hope that we can discuss and
disagree yet remain friends. It is an argument that I have been attempting to carry
to the powers that be around me as often as I get the chance.
The spies were sent into Canaan to scout out the land
that God had given to them. And the land was good. It was a land of blessing, bountiful with its gifts. It was beautiful and
well-watered. What it wasn't was empty. And no one should have been surprised.
After all, there were people here before their patriarch Jacob left the
land during the great famine four centuries earlier. And in this world, beautiful spots, places that flow with milk and
honey, are seldom empty.
And so, as the spies came back and the people spoke their minds. And what was on their
minds revealed the heart of the problem. Most of the spies believed that they
couldn't take the land. "But the people who live there are powerful, and
the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak
(giants) there" (Numbers 13:28). The people heard this report, and
they agreed. The land, though beautiful, was undefeatable. Israel didn't have
the strength to take the land. And the people decided to rebel.
But Caleb and Joshua heard the real problem behind their
words. The people were saying that the gods of the Promised Land were bigger
than theirs; they couldn't win against their stronger gods. Caleb and Joshua
aren't afraid to disagree. The evaluation of the ten other spies and the people
was misguided, and they wanted to speak truth into the situation. And so, they took
aim at the heart of the problem. Don't rebel. Don't be afraid of these people;
we can take them. Not because we are stronger, but because "Their protection is gone," and "the Lord is
with us." The descendants of Anak might be bigger than we are, but
the God who is with us is not only bigger but present with his people. Our God
is with us, while their gods have abandoned them. According to Caleb and
Joshua, this is our identity; it is who we are. And nothing can change that.
The
people didn't listen to Caleb and Joshua, and that was their choice. But
history proved that Caleb and Joshua were right. And whatever the problems
might be that are shadowing you today, they are still right. God is with us. He
always has been, and he always will be.
Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Numbers 15
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