In the 18th century, William Carey famously preached to an English congregation, “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.”
Soon he felt God’s call to move to India as a missionary. However, many challenges lay ahead. His wife was pregnant with their fourth son and she had never been more than a few miles from home. The captain of the ship Carey had engaged feared offending the British East India Company that controlled the sailing route. Carey and his family also did not know the Bengali language.
Fear for the wellbeing of his family, fear of learning a new language and living in a new culture, and fear of the arduous sea journey could have kept Carey from going to India.
Perhaps fear of what lies ahead has caused you to wonder if you should follow God’s leading to change jobs, enter full-time ministry, break off an unhealthy relationship, serve in a new ministry, or even join the church plant.
In the first ten chapters of Numbers, we learned how God prepared Israel to follow His leading and take possession of Canaan which is also referred to as the Promised Land. The military census of chapter 1 was meant to bolster their confidence that God is faithful and will help them overcome their enemies.
Yet in Numbers 13 and 14 the Israelites allowed their fears to consume them. Instead of trusting God’s leading, they rebelled in unbelief.
Friends, how should we respond to God’s leading when fears creep in and threaten our faith?
When fear arises, trust God and intercede for the faithless.
The big idea of today’s sermon is: When fear arises, trust God and intercede for the faithless.
Having brought Israel to the edge of the Promised Land, God instructs Moses to send out a reconnaissance team.
Remember who God is and trust Him (Num 13:1-14:11)
Let us read Numbers 13:1-20.
When we hear the word spy, we might think of James Bond or Ethan Hunt from Mission Impossible. However, the spying that the Israelites undertook would be better described as reconnaissance. They were not tasked with assassinating the warlords living in Canaan or to recruit a new asset. Rather, they were simply tasked with surveying the land and the state of the enemy.
The reconnaissance team consisted of a representative from each tribe. In fact, all of them were heads of the people of Israel. The twelve tribal chiefs were tasked with taking note of the current inhabitants and condition of the land.
Since God had already promised Israel the land, their success did not depend on the reconnaissance mission. Rather, God was giving His people a preview of the land so that they would be motivated to forge ahead and be challenged to grow in their faith.
In 1952, Florence Chadwick attempted to swim 26 miles between Catalina Island and the California coastline. After about 15 hours a thick fog set in. She tried to swim for another hour but gave up because she was unable to see the coastline. As she sat in the rescue boat, she found out she had stopped swimming just one mile away from her destination. Two months later, she tried again. The same thick fog set in, but she succeeded in reaching Catalina because she had kept a mental image of the shoreline in her mind while she swam.
Similarly, the chiefs were given a preview of the Promised Land so that they could give the Israelites a mental image of a land flowing with milk and honey.
God was giving Israel a glimpse of what He had promised so that they would trust Him to move forward.
Let me continue reading Numbers 13:21-33 for us.
The reconnaissance mission was a success. The scouts managed to traverse the Promised Land from its southern border to the northern region. They surveyed the major towns and saw the inhabitants. They even had the chance to gather some specimens of the crops, taking home a single cluster of grapes that had to be carried on a pole by two men. It was indeed a land that flows with milk and honey. A land that is full of livestock and fertile for crops.
This would serve as a powerful mental image of what lay ahead for the people.
However, the scouts also reported that the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large.
Knowing that an over emphasis about the strength of the current inhabitants could discourage the people, Caleb is quick in steering the people towards the right response.
Numbers 13:30 says Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.”
The fact that God had indeed kept His promise to give Israel a good land was all that mattered. The description of the current inhabitants was just helpful knowledge but nothing to be fearful about because God was with them.
The lush fruit should motivate Israel to move quickly, and the information about the current inhabitants of the land should remind Israel to keep trusting God. In the same way that God delivered Israel from mighty Pharaoh, so God would help them defeat any warriors who were occupying Canaan.
My dad is a popular grandfather because he often invites his grandchildren to play Mario Kart. Players drive around different tracks that are dotted with obstacles and special items. The most coveted item is the super star that makes you invincible. The racer with the super star is protected from hazards and can even take short cuts. Hence it would be a complete waste if a player activated a super star but continued to avoid obstacles and fear attacks.
Similarly, Caleb wanted the Israelites to remember that they were no ordinary nation. They were not a normal group of nomads trying to conquer Canaan. They were the people of the Living God. The Lord who had struck down the firstborn of every Egyptian and decimated Pharaoh’s army was the God who was in their midst.
God had been leading Israel by a pillar of cloud in the day and watching over them as a pillar of fire at night. Therefore, Israel should have every confidence that God will help them overcome any obstacle that stood in their way. The greatness of God is more than able to overcome the giants in the land. As Caleb said, they should go up at once and occupy it.
However, the majority of the scouts disagreed with Caleb’s exhortation, and we are told in Numbers 13:32 that they gave a bad report of the land. They insisted that the Israelites were too weak. They stoked the wild imagination of the Israelites, telling them that the land devours its inhabitants. They described Canaanites as giants, saying that they were descendants of Anak and the Nephilim who had been renowned for their superhuman strength. They emphasized their frailness and even described themselves as tiny grasshoppers.
Unfortunately, these scouts were influential men. Numbers 13:3 told us that they were heads of the people of Israel. Hence, they were held in high regard by the people and their bad report carried great weight.
Ten tribal chiefs against two seemed to settle the matter for the Israelites. Listen to their response in Numbers 14:1-4.
The bad report by the ten tribal chiefs who had scouted the Promised Land was enough to cause a national meltdown. Like a child who has a meltdown at the entrance to Disneyland, the Israelites throw a temper tantrum whilst camping at the edge of a land flowing with milk and honey.
Numbers 14:1 states that all the congregation went into mourning. Instead of rejoicing that God had kept His promise to give them a good land, they allowed the fears of the ten chiefs to eat at them. They concluded that they were destined for destruction. They psyched themselves into believing that their wives and children would become prey and that it would have been better for them to have died in the land of Egypt.
This of course could not be further from the truth.
Had they forgotten the suffering they had experienced in Egypt? Exodus 2:23 states that the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help.
It appears that the Israelites had rewritten history in their minds. They convinced themselves in Numbers 14:3 that it would be better to go back to Egypt.
Recently there have been some positive news of scam compounds being raided and prisoners set free from harsh conditions like long workdays, starvation, and electric shocks for failing to meet fraud quotas.
Can you imagine some of the liberated prisoners reminiscing how nice their prison cells were and how abundant the food was? Can you imagine any of the freed prisoners returning to the scam compound and asking their captors to take them back?
That was essentially what the Israelites were doing. Their fears distorted their memories. Their fears made God’s promises less trustworthy.
They were so out of touch with reality that they collectively decided to forsake the Lord and replace His representative with someone who would bring them back to Egypt!
Let us now read Numbers 14:5-10 to find out what happens next.
Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb were quick to point out Israel’s sin. What the people were expressing was utterly sinful. Their thoughts, words and intentions were completely treasonous. They were rebelling against the King of Kings whom they had covenanted to serve.
Hence the godly leaders tore their clothes as an act of great lamentation. Joshua and Caleb both reiterated the correct response Israel should have to the scout’s report.
The land which the scouts saw was exceedingly good. And if Israel could simply remember how loved they are by God and how He had carried them out of Egypt like a father who carries his child and how God had provided abundantly for them and sustained them through the wilderness, they should have every confidence that He will give them the land.
There was absolutely no reason to fear the current inhabitants. Because God is with them, it would be as if their enemies had no protection. The Lord is a mighty warrior, and He will fight Israel’s battles. Their enemies would be like bread for them, easy to conquer.
If God is for Israel, who can possibly stand against them?
If God is for Israel, who can possibly stand against them?
However, Numbers 14:10 records the hardness of Israel’s heart. Instead of seeking God’s forgiveness and renewing their faith in Him, the congregation sought to silence the voice of God. They picked up stones to execute their god-fearing leaders.
Had God not intervened, Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb would have been martyred.
God Himself rebukes the people in Numbers 14:11. The Israelites had been despising God. They had repeatedly responded to God’s faithfulness and goodness with unbelief. In spite of the many signs God had performed to show them His greatness and love, the Israelites rejected Him and sought to return to Egypt. They were like a rescued animal who chooses to leave her saviour’s care to return to the street.
Friends, how have you been responding to the challenges you are facing?
Do you expect following God to be without obstacles or are you trusting in God’s power to deliver you? Are you bitter about what God has let you experience or are you trusting in His goodness and sovereignty? Are you often fearful of the unknown or resting in God’s faithfulness?
Our text reminds us of how important it is to remember who God is and how He has proven Himself time and again.
If not, we would be like Israel who allowed their fears to take centre-stage and act in unbelief. Instead of trusting the Lord who had shown them His power on multiple occasions, they sought to return to their former way of living apart from God.
The difference between Caleb and the ten spies was not what they saw, but what they remembered about God and their past.
It is so important to have a good and accurate memory of life before our conversion. Our life was a mess before we experienced Christ’s redeeming power. We were laden with guilt and suffering the consequences for our sins. We had no assurance that things will one day get better.
But when Jesus saved us from our sins, we were immediately cleansed. A weight was lifted off our shoulders. We were given assurance that if we died, we would be in paradise with Jesus. We experienced renewal in our life. Through the grace we received from God, we can extend grace to others. Through the love we received we can love others.
We should also recall all the times God has shown us His goodness. We should recall the many times God answered our prayers. We should remember the time when God graciously provided what we were lacking. We should remember the time when God heard our cry and comforted us with His peace. We should remember the times when God simply blessed us even though we were undeserving.
We need to take our thoughts captive, especially when we are staring down the barrel of a gun. We need to remind ourselves of the truth that God has always been good to us and will continue to do good.
We need to remember that life without God was terrible and that life with God is so much better. In this manner, we will not abandon God and despise Him with our unbelief.
If you are going through a difficult time right now, do not let your mind run wild. Do not let your disappointments or impatience cause you to doubt God’s goodness. Life in a broken world is hard, but life without God is far worse.
Take heart that the Lord is good to His people. Remember that God has been good to you in the past. Trust God, knowing that for those who love God all things work together for good (Rom 8:28). God is working things out according to His good purposes even when our circumstances are painful.
Intercede for the faithless (Num 14:12-45)
Because the Israelites had experienced so much of God’s goodness yet had repeatedly spurned him every time they encountered hardship, God was infuriated with them. He says to Moses in 14:12, I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”
Given the ways the people had made Moses’ life difficult and had moments before sought to stone him, we would understand if Moses simply said to God: “let your will be done”.
Yet Moses responds in a most remarkable manner. Let me read Numbers 14:13-19 for us.
Moses’ response to God is a beautiful example of intercession. The Israelites deserved to experience God’s wrath. They deserved to be struck with pestilence and disinherited. But instead of standing back and watching the Israelites get what they deserved, Moses advocates for them. He pleads for God to be merciful to them.
Notice how Moses prays for the Israelites.
Firstly, he expresses a concern for God’s glory. Moses is afraid that the nations who have heard of God’s fame will say that it was for a lack of power that God failed to bring His people into the Promised Land.
Moses prays that God will act in a way that is best for His glory. In Moses’ view, bringing Israel into the Promised Land would give God the most glory and renown among the nations.
Secondly, in Numbers 14:18 Moses appeals to God’s character. He says ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’
Here Moses appeals to God’s righteousness and love. Because God is righteous, he will not overlook sin. He will punish those who are guilty. So much so that everyone living will know that sinning against God has severe consequences. This is what it means for God to visit the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation. Although children are not automatically guilty for their parent’s sin, the consequences of sin can extend through the generations.
At the same time, God abounds in steadfast love. Hence God is slow to anger and willing to forgive iniquity and transgression. Even though sinners and those who associate with them deserve His just punishment, God is patient, giving people an opportunity to repent and seek forgiveness.
It is this amazing trait of God that Moses appeals to. He says in Numbers 14:19, "Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”
And amazingly, God responds to Moses’ intercession with mercy. Look at Numbers 14:20 – “Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word.”
Friends, let us pause here for a moment to consider the power of intercession. Although our nonbelieving family and friends may be undeserving of God’s grace, and perhaps are grieving us with their outright rebellion against God, let us not give up hope.
Instead, let us consider Moses’ example of interceding for the faithless.
Biblical intercession is about asking God to act for His glory and in accordance with His character.
Biblical intercession is not about telling God what He should do or demanding that God should answer our prayers. Rather, biblical intercession is about asking God to act for His glory and in accordance with His character.
Let us pray for God to be glorified through His patience with the undeserving. Pray for God to be magnified through His power to save the most hardened sinner.
Pray for God to pardon sinners according to the greatness of His steadfast love. Now friends, it is important that we do not mistake God’s grace for a free pass to sin. The text we are about to read teaches us that God’s pardon does not erase all consequences. Listen to Numbers 14:21-38.
Because of Moses’ intercession, the Israelites were spared from the initial punishment God had meted out in Numbers 14:12. God did not strike the Israelites with pestilence and disinherit them.
However, their repeated rebellions revealed their true spiritual state. Despite seeing God’s glory and witnessing His mighty signs, they put God to the test ten times and refused to obey His voice.
Hence God Himself bemoans to Moses in Numbers 14:27, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me?
Friends, God is extremely patient. It is one of His characteristics. He is slow to anger. He had forgiven Israel multiple times.
But His patience does not mean that He will never judge persistent rebellion. God’s patience gives us opportunity to repent, but His holiness and justice mean that persistent unbelief will eventually face judgment.
This is what we see in Numbers.
Firstly, those who despised God shall not see the Promised Land. Despite being camped at the entrance to Canaan, God instructs the people in Numbers 14:25 to “turn around and set out for the wilderness.” Instead of building homes and enjoying a land flowing with milk and honey, the Israelites will continue to live in tents and wander around the wilderness.
Secondly, God promises to bring to fruition the unfounded fears the Israelites had. Those who had been counted in the military census in Numbers 1 will die in the wilderness. Their children will suffer for their faithlessness by having to wander the wilderness until the last of the rebels died.
The length of punishment will be forty years based on one year for every day that their chiefs had spent scouting out the Promised Land.
But in His grace, God does not disinherit Israel. He says in Numbers 14:31, the little ones, whom the Israelites said would become a prey, God will bring in, and they shall know the land that they had rejected.
Thirdly, God dealt immediately with the ten chiefs who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land. They experienced a plague and died before the Lord.
What a sober warning this is to anyone who leads God’s people astray.
Even if we are not officially a leader, we should be careful with how we use our influence. God is pleased when we emulate Caleb and Joshua’s example of encouraging people to put their faith in God. But the Lord is angry with those who incite rebellion, who cause people to grumble against Him. God will strike those who scatter His sheep.
Our unbelief rarely remains private. The way we speak about God can strengthen another person's faith or feed another person's fear. Faith is contagious—but so is unbelief.
So let us reflect on the way that we talk about God to others.
Do we honor the Lord with our speech and encourage others in their faith? Or have we doubted God’s faithfulness and incited others towards rebellion? Are we challenging one another to increase our faith in God or playing up people’s fears?
As we consider electing new elders, let us choose those who encourage us to follow God and increase our faith in Him.
Let us read Numbers 14:39-45.
Mourning upon hearing God’s judgment on our sin may seem like a step in the right direction. But God is more concerned about our heart than how intense our crying is.
The Israelites were not truly repentant. They were mourning their punishment.
But instead of seeking God’s forgiveness and promising to obey Him, they take matters into their own hands.
They disobey God’s command to turn around and seek to enter it without permission. Moses points out their sin and warns them that they will surely fail without the Lord’s help.
But Numbers 13:44 states that they presumed to enter the Promised Land, although neither the ark of the covenant of the Lord nor Moses departed out of the camp.
Their actions could be likened to those who sought to build the tower of Babel and reach the heavens on their own strength.
Despite God telling them to turn away, they sought to force their way in.
The Israelites had not changed for the better. Instead of recognizing the need to humble themselves and repent of their unbelief, they continue to disobey God.
When God told them to take the Promised Land, they refused. When God said not to go, they went.
Clearly Israel had not learned her lesson. Israel had not shown true repentance. Their mourning was not genuine sorrow for sin.
Friends, it is worth pausing here and reflecting on our own experience with repentance. Were you grieved because of your sin against God, or were you grieved because of the consequences?
Israel was not grieved by her sin and grew more blatant in her rebellion. The people hardened their hearts and ignored God’s command to turn away. They disregarded the leaders that God had given them and charged ahead.
As a result, they were defeated by the inhabitants and chased far away. What a warning this is to us if we reject the Lord and think that we are better off on our own.
If we choose to trust in ourselves rather than in the Lord, we will not only fail to enter the Promised Land but suffer severe consequences.
Thankfully, our text offers two glimmers of hope.
The first is in Numbers 13:16 where Moses changes Hoshea’s name to Joshua.
Hoshea means salvation, whilst Joshua means God saves.
We all want salvation, but we tend to seek salvation in the wrong place. Israel thought that going back to Egypt would save them from becoming slaves in Canaan. Later, they thought they could reverse God’s punishment and take Canaan by force.
But they were wrong on all counts. Salvation is found in God alone. No one else can deliver us from this present evil age. No one else can change our sinful hearts and save us from the consequences of our sins. No one can escape God’s judgment.
At the right time God sent His people a new and greater Joshua. God sent Jesus to save us from our sins. Through faith in Jesus alone, we are forgiven of our sins. Through Jesus, we receive new hearts that desire to listen to God rather than remain in rebellion against Him.
It is not by chance that the name Jesus is actually the Greek equivalent for Joshua. God wants everyone to know that He alone saves through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Hence Peter states in Acts 4:12, “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
The second glimmer of hope can be gleaned from Moses’ intercession. Although we are undeserving like the Israelites, God in His grace has provided us with an intercessor.
Whilst Israel had Moses to intercede for them, we have one greater than Moses interceding for us.
Romans 8:34 states that Jesus who died for our sins, has risen and is now at the right hand of God, making intercession for us.
Hebrews 7:22-25 exalts Jesus as our perfect High priest who is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them.
Therefore, the good news we have is that Israel’s tragedy doesn’t have to be our tragedy. If we turn to God for salvation, we can be saved from sin and the judgement we deserve.
Israel failed to trust God at the edge of Canaan. But our hope does not rest on our ability to control our fears. Our hope rests on Jesus, the greater Joshua, who saved us with His blood. Our hope rests on Jesus, the greater intercessor who is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. Therefore, let us fix our eyes on Jesus and trust Him to bring us into the new and better Promised Land where we shall experience eternal rest.
Friends, we may face various fears as we seek to follow God’s leading. But what is important is to not let our fears run wild and cause us to doubt God’s goodness or worse think that life would be better without Him.
Instead, let us remember who God is and how He has shown us His goodness and faithfulness. God is more than able to help us overcome the obstacles that lie ahead.
Although William Carey faced numerous challenges following God’s call, the Lord was with him and blessed his ministry greatly. Carey’s mission included about 700 converts and he laid an impressive foundation of Bible translations, education, and social reform in India.
So do not be surprised by the obstacles that line the path of following God’s call. Rather, be confident in God’s plans and power.
When fear arises, let us recall God’s goodness and faithfulness.
Our Lord and Saviour is at the right hand of the Father interceding for us. So you can trust God to lead you on.
Let us pray.