Chapters with a census or genealogy can seem pretty dry, but there is always an important lesson hiding behind the repetition and unpronounceable names. The zinger in this chapter comes in the final two sentences: "Not one of them was among those counted by Moses and Aaron the priest when they counted the Israelites in the Desert of Sinai. For the Lord had told those Israelites they would surely die in the wilderness, and not one of them was left except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun."
The total count when we drew our cross in the sand was 603,450, the final count now is 601,730. In their forty years in the wilderness, God had struck down every man over twenty years of age, the entire generation who refused to trust Him and enter the Promised Land, and He had replaced them with a new generation. At this point, Joshua, Caleb, and Moses are the only men over age sixty.
What a horrible price to pay for their lack of faith! What a hard lesson for their sons to watch played out. And what am important lesson for us to consider and apply to our lives.
If we fail to step forward boldly when God calls us, trusting NOT in our ability, skill, or knowledge, but in the One who has called us, God may choose to use someone else, the next generation, to accomplish His purpose. We may not get a second chance for Him to call us. We might not die in the desert, but we also will miss out on the incredible blessings our Father longs to give us.
Hebrews 3:15: As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
The total count when we drew our cross in the sand was 603,450, the final count now is 601,730. In their forty years in the wilderness, God had struck down every man over twenty years of age, the entire generation who refused to trust Him and enter the Promised Land, and He had replaced them with a new generation. At this point, Joshua, Caleb, and Moses are the only men over age sixty.
What a horrible price to pay for their lack of faith! What a hard lesson for their sons to watch played out. And what am important lesson for us to consider and apply to our lives.
If we fail to step forward boldly when God calls us, trusting NOT in our ability, skill, or knowledge, but in the One who has called us, God may choose to use someone else, the next generation, to accomplish His purpose. We may not get a second chance for Him to call us. We might not die in the desert, but we also will miss out on the incredible blessings our Father longs to give us.
Hebrews 3:15: As has just been said:
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts
as you did in the rebellion.”
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