MYOPIA?

The book of Numbers is replete with several unnamed emotionally negative thespians.  The drama is exhausting.  God said of Moses: "Now Moses was a very humble man , more humble than anyone else on the face of the earth."  Numbers 12:3.  In the previous chapter, he has endured the jealousy and envy of his own brother and sister.  Miriam was stricken with leprosy for her envy yet Moses prayed for her and she was healed.  I wonder? What disease and color would we have every time we have been envious of another?  I do not wear white or green very well since I am so light skinned! 

God has directed Moses to send out 12 spies, one from each tribe.  They are checking out the land where they are going.  They spend 40 days looking at the people, the cities, the fortification, the terrain, and the produce.  The spies return and give their report: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey!  Here is the fruit." BUT "the people who live there are powerful and the cities are fortified and very large.  We even saw the descendants of Anak there." (Anaks were a race of unusually large people.)  Fear, grumbling, and weeping became M/O of the people with verbal whines against God, Moses, and Aaron.  Their myopic sight of the situation was fear focused.

Joshua and Caleb, only two of the spies, gave a rousing "Let's go forward and take the land!" These two spies chose to be faith focused, far-sighted, and expressed great recall of the marvelous acts of God in their behalf.  

Again cause and effect: Because they were wallowing in unbelief and fear, God assigned all of the people 40 years of wandering in the desert until all over the age of 20 died.  Number 14 is a painful  and sad commentary on the effects of unbelief and rebellion.  God considers our unwillingness to believe as contempt of HIM!  That is a strong word.  From the Hebrew language, the word picture of contempt is scorn, despise, or abhor.  The emotion seems very personally directed to God.  Only Caleb and Joshua's families got to stay alive to enter the Promised Land. 

1 Corinthians 10:6-7 is a reminder to us as we read the Old Testament narratives to be willing to LEARN from them.  As the presses of daily life come against us, we can choose to be myopic, focusing on the fears and the circumstance, or we can choose to FOCUS ON OUR MIGHTY GOD, "Now to HIM, who is ABLE to do immeasurably more than ALL we ask or imagine, according to HIS power that is at work WITHIN US." Ephesians 3:20.  I am the first one to confess, I, too, waffle with strong faith and unbelief.  Like you, if you are a Christ follower, we are in a process and we must learn to practice TRUSTING GOD in our dailyness if we want the 'faith muscle" to be maturing in HIM.  Ever learning! #IHAVETHREESONS