The Day of Provocation

This week we look at Numbers 13 and 14 and what happened to the children of Israel when they rebelled against God regarding the promised land. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:08

Hello and welcome to a path to redemption of the podcast. My name is Daniel Arona, and just remember this simple truth: the Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and the Holy Spirit loves you. Once again, I hope that you've had a great week. I hope that you've had time to spend with the Lord in prayer. And again, also in his scripture, again, I know I say it every single week, but it's important. Jesus is coming back. He absolutely is. Um, it is absolutely fascinating when you see that digital identification is is running here. We're looking at um, you know, even more persecution and uh and policing of religious thoughts um and and services such as uh the the province of Quebec in Canada just recently uh banned any form of public prayer uh whatsoever. And that's uh that's regardless if you're Christian, Muslim, or anything, it doesn't matter. Um they went ahead and outlawed any public prayer, um, which again the it's a secularist government. Um the world has been been being more and more and more prepared for what's gonna what what is going to be the Antichrist um and his beast system. So that's happening. We're seeing central bank digital currency ramp up across the globe as well, not to mention the the wars that are going on and and the battle over the land and and those things. So, you know, there's a lot here that's happening, and for us, you know, it's just important that we stay diligent, that we stay about his business, that we stay intimate with him, um, that we stay and and and do the things that he has asked us to do. Amen. So that's what's so important, you know. Um, and I just give him glory and honor and praise um for that. So um, with that being said, uh, you know, all again, all of our scripture comes from the New King James Version of the Bible. If you'd like a copy of a New King James Bible, feel free to drop me a note at path to redemptionohio at gmail.com, more than happy to get one into your hands. Also, my books outgrace abounds. If you'd like a copy of that, feel free to drop me a note at path to redemptionohio at gmail.com, more than happy to get you a copy there. Also, my first book in my trilogy uh officially launched on Amazon actually this morning. Um, so it is called uh the the trilogy is called Iniquity, the cross and redemption. Um this is book one called Iniquity. Uh it's on Amazon right now. You'll find it at Barnes and Noble here soon, as soon as it gets released, but it is available on Amazon if you're so inclined. Um and really what it does is it takes uh the fall, the iniquity from the fall of Lucifer all the way down through the kings of Israel, the kings of Judah, um is really what this is. And it just kind of really shows why we need a savior and a salvation in Jesus Christ and why he came. Um that's really the most important part is that it shows us how awful we are relative to the character of God and who he is and and how evil dwells within every single one of us. And and you know, the the sooner we understand that the the better off that we will be because when we realize there's no good in us, that means the only good in us is Jesus. And and that's that's what's important because remember what what he said, there is none good, no not one. So just remember that. Remember that Jesus is good. And then the I'm working through the editing on the second part of this trilogy, which is the cross, um, which basically takes a look at the cross of Jesus Christ and how it deals with transgression, sin, and iniquity. So um, you know, be looking for that as well. As I and I'm actually writing the the third one. So I'm working through all of that and and hoping to have this wrapped up uh as soon as I possibly can. But uh if you so wish and you're so inclined, please uh please look for that uh on Amazon. And like I said, it'll be released at Barnes and Noble here soon. So um, with that being said, um last week again, we kind of talked about the war with the Amalekites, about how God had given uh Israel the victory over them, uh, who the Amalekites were. We kind of talked about what the portion of the land they came from. And now look, there's the there's a certain thing that happened after that, and it's the day of provocation. And and this is a really important aspect of the relationship between the Jews and also between God. And I know it's not technically a war over the land, I know it's technically not a not a battle for it. We know that the land was controlled by the Canaanites, by some of the the Anakim were in there. Um there's a bunch of people in there, the Jebusites as well. But understanding this though, you know, it's a this is an important time in the in in in basically the relationship between G uh God and ultimately the Jewish people. So I would be remiss if I did not talk about this, um, if I did not talk about what was probably the second greatest mistake that the the Jewish people ever made, the first being the rejection of Jesus Christ. Um but this might be this the second biggest mistake. So um while this is not a war, it it is one of the important parts of the annals of the land of Israel, um, and this led directly to the death of an entire generation of people that God had brought out of Egypt. So just as a refresh, a refresh to set the stage, if you will, this is roughly two years after Israel had been delivered from Egypt. In that time, God had brought them out of Egypt, which was their salvation moment. He brought them through the Red Sea, which was their baptism moment. Um, they had God descend in fire on Mount Sinai, which was their day of Pentecost moment. He spoke to them himself from the mountain, he gave them manna from heaven and water from a rock, he gave them the dispensation of the law, and he showed them mercy when they rose up and played before the golden calf. So this has been the relationship between Israel and um and God through since they came out of Egypt. And and they saw all the miracles that happened, they saw all the things that God did uh to protect them, the pillar of fire at night, and the pillar of the cloud by day, all of these things happened to them, and they saw it plain sight, and yet they're tempted here, and they're tested, and they ultimately fail the test. And and there's a few reasons why, and things may have been different had they not, but they ended up the way that they did, because it's an example to us. So let's go ahead and jump in. Numbers 13, 17 through 20 says, Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, Go up this way into the south, and go up to the mountains, and see what the land is like, whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many, whether the land they dwell in is good or bad, whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds, whether the land is rich or poor, or whether there are forests or there or not, be of good courage, and bring some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. Now the Lord sent them out to spy the land, and we know that that was coming a commandment from the Lord in Numbers thirteen, one through two, where it says, And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, Send the men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel, from each tribe of their fathers, you shall send a man, every one a leader among them. So here, God's like, Hey, I want you to go see exactly what I'm about to give you. Like I want you to go see it, right? And if you remember in Exodus, the Israelites responded uh at Mount Sinai, saying that whatever the Lord asked, whatever God asked of them, they would do it. So here he asked them to go spy out the land, go see what I'm gonna what I'm gonna give you, because the land was theirs anyway. They did not need to spy it out, yet God wanted them to, you know, one for a couple of reasons, I think. One, I think he wanted to show off what what the promised land was and how amazing it was, and how it was gonna be full of full of uh of grapes and full of fruit and full of all these things that he had promised them. But then on top of that, I think he did it in order for them to see what he would have them overcome as well, which would be all the giants that were in the land, all the things that were going on in the land. So, with that and understanding that, God sends them out into the land, into the promised land, to spy it out and to see what is there. And Moses tells them specifically, hey, go see if the people are strong, weak, few or many, if it's good or if it's not, all of those things. So in Numbers 13, 21 through 25, it says, So they went up and spied out the land of the wilderness of Zen, as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath, and they went up through the south and came to Himram, uh Ahiman, Shishai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak were there. Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. Then they came to the valley of Eshkel, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes, they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and fig and figs. The place was called the Valley of Exkul, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there, and they returned from spying the land after forty days. Now, a couple of things here. Okay, the descendants of Anak were there. We know these are the Anakim, these are the giants, and we understand that they built so the cities and made a kingdom out of the cities that according to scripture came up alongside the Egyptian kingdom. And now this land was so plentiful that they literally had to carry a bunch of grapes on a pole between two people. Think about the size of those grapes. I mean, we're talking about grapes, probably the size of a man's head. So this was the land that God wanted to give them. Yes, it was full of giants, but they had just defeated the Amalekites in the wilderness. God could and would have given them the victory, and we see that. Now, in Numbers 13, 26 through 29, it says, Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him and said, We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who dwell in the land are strong. The cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south, the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains, and the Canaanites dwell by the sea along the banks of the Jordan. Now I want to stop there for a second, okay? Look, of course there were big cities, of course there were walled cities, there were giants that were living in there. But the report here is from all of them, because the scripture says they brought back word to them and to all the congregations, showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told him, We sent you out, right? So it was all of them that believed this. All of them believed that the land was flowing with milk and honey. All of them believed that the cities were strong and they were fortified and that they were very large. All of them knew that the giants were in the land, all of them knew where all these different people were, right? All of them knew what was happening. All 12 of the spies did. So what do we say about this report? You see, here the report is a factual report. The land was bountiful, but hey, there's some giants in it too. Okay. There's nothing wrong with a factual report. See, where I think we go wrong here is like, okay, if someone says that you're sick, okay, well, or you know, I just went through this, right? I had a, and it's a it's a tremendous testimony. I had a I had a test, I had a little bit of pain in my stomach, and I had a test, and they were testing my pancreas, and my one indicator out of my pancreas was off the chart. Like it was not even close to the chart, it was about five times the level it was supposed to be. So, and this happened over Thanksgiving break, so my doctor didn't even look at it after after the test. But, you know, so what I do, of course, I Googled it and to see exactly what it was and what it meant. It meant one of two things. Either meant I had acute pancreatitis or I had pancreatic cancer. Um, those were pretty much the only two options with a test that high. So with that, you know, I had a couple of options here, right? I could I could say, no, that's not right, that's not right, when clearly the blood test showed exactly what was wrong with me. Or I could say, you know what, God, no matter what happens here, I'm gonna trust you, and it's in your hands. And where I think that we get off is when we say, Well, I'm not gonna believe that report, I'm not gonna take action on it, I'm not gonna do anything. Well, the report is the report, it really doesn't matter what the report says, as much as it is our reaction to it, and we'll talk about that here in a little bit here. But at the end of the day, it didn't change what what my what was going on in my blood and what was happening relative to my pancreas. So um after all of that, we either accept that or or you can try not to, but it's not going to change. What we have to do is basically step, take a step back and focus on what God wants. And if it's in his will, then then maybe he's trying to teach us something, you know. Look, I understand where where you know the whose report are you going to believe, we're gonna believe the report of the Lord, you know, and that's that's great, and we should. We should always believe that. And look, the fact may be that I had this test that said this, but the truth is that God is the healer. You know, Jesus Christ was wounded for my transgressions, he was bruised for my iniquities, the chastisement of my peace was upon him, and it was by his stripes that I was healed. You know, we have turned this believing faith into thinking that we can determine what God's will is and that he will bow to our will. You see, that's not the way this happens. We must bow to his, whatever it is. If a believer is walking with God, then nothing happens to us by chance. He may be trying to teach us something, he may be testing us to see, look, are you really gonna trust me or are you not? And sometimes we will and sometimes we don't. When the rubber comes, when the rubber meets the road, it it's how we respond. And you're gonna see two separate responses to this report after this, right? In Numbers 13, 30 through 33, it says, Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are all well able to overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land, which they had spied out, saying, The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours the inha its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. The there we saw the giants, the descendants of Anak Anak came from the giants, and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. Now we see the first reaction from Caleb. He said, Look, let's go up and let's take it. He knew the report, but his reaction was one from a man that saw what God had brought them through. He saw that God had brought them through them through the Red Sea, brought them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, talked to them at Mount Sinai, fed them with with the manna, and all this, all the other things that God had done. Right? But when we hear that bad report, whatever it is, the news that we is this has to be our attitude. Look, it doesn't matter what it is, God has it, and he will make it right according to whatever he wants. I'm not gonna sit here and tell you that wasn't easy, because even with that report that I got, I was talking to to my wife, and there would be times where I'd say, you know what, I don't know what God's doing here, but if he wants to take me, then it's his prerogative, it's his will. And we talked and started basically saying things that trying to get the house in order a little bit, frankly, of what may be the outcome of some of this. But the second reaction is what what we see is those of the rest. And again, the first report was the report, it didn't sugarcoat anything, it said basically there were giants in the land, yes, there were fortified cities, yes. There was also a land flowing of milk and honey. And look, there were many, but they focused here on all the negative aspects of it. That look, there are giants in the land, and it and there were some reports at that time about the giants being cannibals. This may be true, it may not be, but we know that there would be challenges in the promised land. Just because God gave it to you doesn't mean the world or Satan's gonna let you have it. You know, sometimes you have to to walk through and fight according to the leading of the spirit and according to what God has said that you are going to do, right? So keeping this going, they take the report and they take they put fear in the hearts of everyone else. And that's what can't happen. This cannot that cannot be our reaction. It is at times. I'm not gonna tell you it's not, because even in the middle of the night, while I was telling my wife, look, we're gonna we're gonna put this in the Lord's hands. I I'd be lying to you if I told you there weren't some nights that I was scared to go to sleep um around this, because there absolutely were. We're not sure if you're gonna wake up the next morning. And but I had to put it in God's hands, my wife had to put it in God's hands. That was our only option. And we can automatically believe the worst and go from there with no thought of the trust that we have in Jesus Christ or or the work that he did, or we can trust him and realize that no matter what happens, it's his. And it's going to be according to what he did. And and that's ultimately what we did in this situation. We trusted the Lord. Um, not going to tell you there wasn't wavering at times, but we trusted the Lord, and we just said, Lord, we put it in your hands. Whatever it is, it's your will, and we're gonna, we're gonna we're gonna yield ourselves to it. So then my doctor goes ahead and orders a follow-up test to the the one that I had, and then the follow-up test, my numbers are right in the middle, right in the green where they are supposed to be. And and you know, I know I've had some people tell me that oh, that was just you just had a false positive, you just had all this stuff, and maybe I did, but you all can believe what you want to believe. But I I personally believe that the Lord touched me and that he did something for me there. I really truly believe that from the very bottom of my heart. I believe that he didn't have to, he absolutely didn't have to. I asked him to. I told him I wasn't ready to leave my boys, and I wasn't ready to to to do what these things, but he he he touched me, is what I truly believe, and I'm so thankful for it. And I give him glory and honor and praise for every single bit of it. So and I just thank him so much for giving me more time. And it's not the first time that I've faced my own own death, and and those are testimonies for a different time, but it is the first time I did it with my two boys, where I was responsible for, and and for them, I I I thank the Lord for for letting me stay here for one more day and and and be here and be able to even bring this podcast to you all. So I want to give him glory and honor and praise that's due to him. And and I'm not gonna tell you I was perfect in this, but the Lord is ever gracious, and and we trusted him with it. You know, but the problem with Israel is that they didn't. And after seeing everything that God had brought them through, they still did not believe, and they hardened their hearts despite what Caleb and Joshua did. Now, Numbers 14, one through ten kind of shows the the finality of all of this. So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night, and all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness, why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? So they said to one another, Let us select a leader and return to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel, but Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunnah, who were among those who spied out the land, tore their clothes, and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, The land we pass through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land which flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread. Their protection has departed from them. The Lord is with us. Do not fear. And all the congregations said, Stone them with stones. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle of meaning before all the children of Israel. They reacted by weeping and pushing back on Moses and Aaron and rejecting the promised land. Now let's stop and think about that for a second. They rejected the promised land that they have longed to go to for years, and now because it gets a little hard, they are going to quit. We can't be like this. They had people in Caleb and Joshua begging them not to rebel against the Lord, yet they did it anyway. And God will give us every opportunity to follow him. He will send people to show us the right way. We even see later in the chapter that Moses will intercede for the people so that they're not destroyed in the side of the earth. So he takes away the land from this generation and gives it to their children. This generation clearly saw what it was for the Lord to reject them. And had the Israelites inherited the land then, things might have been different. We don't know. We might be talking about the time of when they killed the giants and how they actually sent people out of the promised land completely. But at the end of the day, though, it's a lesson for us because this is what 1 Corinthians 10, one through eleven says. Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual rock which flowed which followed them, and that rock was Christ. But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted, and do not become idolaters as were some of them, as it is written. The people sat down to eat and drink and rose up to play, nor let us commit sexual immorality as some of them did. And in one day twenty two twenty-three thousand fell, nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents, nor complain as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happen to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. We have we we've been been given the same warning. You know, Psalm ninety five, seven through eleven says, For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of the trial in the wilderness, when your fathers tested me, they tried me, though they saw my work. For forty years I was grieved with that generation, and said, It is a people who go astray in their hearts, and they do not know my ways, so I swore in my wrath they shall not enter my rest. Hebrews takes from that and says this in Hebrews three, twelve through fifteen, beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, departing from the living God, but exhort one another while it is called today, lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, for we have become partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, while it is said today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden the hearts, as in the rebellion. The land was theirs, but they rejected it. And look, this is a foreshadow to exactly what they were going to do during the time of Jesus Christ. They would reject him just as they rejected the promised land. May we never fall into that same rejection. But why do I bring this up? The land was theirs. It was already promised. God had sworn on himself that he was going to bring it to pass to Abraham. It was theirs, and they turned their face from it. And I think that's part of the reason why we have such so many trials and tribulations over that land right now from for the world, because they rejected it, and now, you know, they they've gone and they're they're trying, they'll go and inherit it and they'll do all these things. But that promised land was originally rejected in their opportunity. So and others took the place of that and thought that they had a rightful claim to it. What opened that up was a rejection. But at the end of the day, the for the land went 40 years until finally Joshua would lead Israel to take and inherit what was rightfully theirs. Look, when our time comes, and whenever whatever it is that God's trying to get us, or whatever he's trying to get us to do, don't let us end up in that same position. I pray that you don't end up in that same position. That you don't reject the land that God has promised you, that you don't reject the work or whatever it is that He's promised you, that you accept it wholeheartedly and walk through it. Look, you're gonna have some challenges, you're gonna have some tribulation, you're gonna have a lot of things going on. But look, if you hold fast to the faith, if you walk through it, if you do not harden your hearts as in the day of provocation, but yet exhort one another as the day approaches, then you will be in a much better position. And that's what we have to do. Exhort one another, be there for one another, watch out for one another, that all of us may enter into that promised land, which is the rest of Jesus Christ. So, understanding all of that, again, this isn't a war over the land, but it definitely delayed what would happen in the land. And there's some other things that happen in this land, even during the time um before Joshua uh goes into the promised land, which we'll talk about that next week. So, look, I hope you're getting something out of this series. Uh, I think it's an important series talking about the land of Israel and what it's all coming down to. Um, we still have a long way to go, but uh we we will get there and we will get to more modern times here soon. So um at the end of the day, though, make sure you are studying to show yourself approved, make sure you're putting in the work. Um, and just remember this simple truth the Father loves you, Jesus loves you, and the Holy Spirit loves you. God bless.