Need is an incredible motivator. Impending danger to a loved one can propel even the meekest person to face down fears and threats that would usually paralyze him or her. The presence of need focuses our attention precisely on a specific problem. Our vision irises down to a single point and everything else is set aside for the moment. However, when we give our full attention to the dangers we perceive in our lives, we sometimes even lose sight of God. Like Peter standing on the waves, we allow our fears to reign over us and our faith in God wavers.
The author of Hebrews helps us to understand our Christian walk in light of the history of Israel. In verse 7 of chapter 3, he exhorts us to persevere in the faith so that we will not fall prey to the same sins of the Israelites in the wilderness who had hardened their hearts and rebelled against God in spite of His wonderous provision. This warning is a good one that we all need to heed. We have been freed from our bondage to sin, and we are headed for the new heavens and the new earth, but we are still following the Spirit through the wilderness. We have not attained our goal; we have not yet entered into our rest.
As we make our way through the wilderness, we, like the Israelites, depend on God’s regular provision. Where they fed on manna and quail, we feed on the Word of God and the Bread of Life, Who is Christ. God has fulfilled His promise to provide us with everything we need (Phil. 4:19). However, sometimes we look up from the path before us to realize we have come into a dry and dusty land. A loved one receives a bad diagnosis from a doctor. A close friend passes away suddenly. Your boss calls you into his office to inform you the company is downsizing and encourages you to update your resume. Our needs dominate our vision, and we grow worried and afraid. We start to panic. How should we respond in these situations? We can learn much from considering how the Israelites responded to their need in the wilderness.
Forgetfulness
At least twice during their time in the wilderness, the Israelites found themselves in a dry land. In Exodus 17 we read that the first generation to be led out of Egypt quarreled with God about their lack of water just before meeting Him at Mount Sinai, and then nearly forty years later their descendants did the same just as they were about to enter the Promised Land. I want to focus on this second instance, recorded in Numbers 20, because their unique complaint against God offers insight into a common experience among Christians today.
Numbers 20 opens by informing us that Moses had led the Israelites back to Kadesh, the place where forty years earlier the ten spies gave a bad report of Canaan, and the people rebelled with fatal consequences. Now that generation lay in scattered burial plots throughout the wilderness, and their children and grandchildren were preparing to enter the land. However, they found that there was no water in the part of Kadesh where they were camped.
A lack of water is a serious problem, but the Israelites’ response reflects a misunderstanding of their true situation. They assembled themselves against Moses and Aaron and quarreled with them about their predicament, bemoaning that they were not consumed instantly by fire like the recent Korah rebels. Instead, they were afraid they would thirst to death slowly in the desert. They even went so far as to call the place to which they had been led “evil” in comparison to Egypt (Num. 20:5).
In the pressure of the moment, the Israelites became consumed with the problem before them. In their fear, they forgot about the terrors and horrors of Egypt, such as the murder of the innocents. They believed that, even though He was able to bring them out of that land, God was going to fail them in the wilderness, despite the fact they had eaten manna and quail each day for the past forty years. The place they considered evil was exactly where God intended for them to be. He intended to use their need to draw them closer to Himself and reveal His holiness through His provision (Num. 20:13). Instead, they turned to grumbling and quarreling with the Lord.
In times of need, we are tempted to follow the Israelites’ example. Even though we know that we have been liberated from our bondage to sin and are on our way to the heavenly city, we too are inclined to wonder if God can provide for our need in the moment. We forget that God has led us into this particular obstacle, or we question His wisdom in bringing us to this place. How in the world will we survive the challenges before us? Our myriad flaws will be revealed to everyone, and our failure will come with shame. Would it not have been better just to leave us to live a quiet life out of the way? We too forget how horrible our bondage was and begin to wish for the “good old days” when, as we falsely remember, we had few worries.
Impatience
The Israelites not only compared the present with the past but also showed an impatience with God’s timing to bring what He had promised in the future. When they called their camp in Kadesh “evil,” they specifically noted that it was “no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates” (Num. 20:5, ESV). They seem to have confused God’s promise for provision in the wilderness with His promise of abundance in the Promised Land of rest. They had manna and quail to eat, but they wanted the vineyards of Eschol and the figs of Cannan.
We too have been promised a land. Ours will be free of swords and filled with plows and pruning hooks. Each man shall sit in peace and comfort under his own vine and fig tree (Micah 4:3–4). However, as the author of Hebrews reminds us, we have not yet entered into our rest. We are still following the Spirit of God through the wilderness, sustained by the Bread of Life. We should not expect the rest, ease, and abundant fruitfulness of the land to which we are headed while we are still in the wilderness. Moreover, we risk our lives when we grumble against God’s provision in the moment, for we too may be struck down and kept from entering into our rest for our unbelief as the Israelites were (Heb. 4:8–11).
Enter into My Rest
Notwithstanding their grumbling at Kadesh, God was faithful to provide water for His people. However, their quarreling led Moses and Aaron into temptation and their failure to obey in the moment cost them the opportunity to enter the Promised Land (Num. 20:12, Deut. 3:26–27). How can we avoid similar failures? How can we best maintain our faith in God’s provision in the midst of trials?
First, we must keep God’s past provision before our eyes at all times. Certainly, we need to read each day in God’s Word about His faithfulness to His people throughout time and space. As we read about the Israelites in the wilderness, Elijah against the prophets of Baal and Jezebel, Jeremiah in prison, and Christ on the path to the cross, we see God’s provision taking many different forms. We also learn to say with Christ and the three Hebrew children that even if God does not deliver us from the danger before us, still we will trust His wisdom (Dan. 3:16–18; Matt. 26:39, 42).
Second, we need to remember God’s deliverance in our own lives. Moses instructed the Israelites to keep their souls from idolatry by constantly reminding themselves and their progeny about God’s salvific and providential actions in the past (Deut. 4:9) Not everyone finds it easy to keep a journal, but it is wise to keep a written record of the many occasions in which God has provided for us. This practice can be as simple as keeping a running prayer list that you can look back over to review God’s attention to your needs over many years. We also need to be sure to tell our families about God’s provision. These constant reminders from Scripture and our own lives will help us to have a firm confidence in God’s wisdom in the moment.
Lastly, we need to be careful not to confuse God’s provision in the moment with His promise of eternal rest and blessing in the future. Perhaps, like me, you have found that as you grow older, your desire for the new heavens and the new earth has deepened significantly. As we become more aware of how broken and wicked this world is, we are tempted to become impatient with God. We want peace and rest. We want a fruitful piece of land unaffected by the Fall and the time to give our full attention to its care. But we must not confuse the future with the present. We are learning faith, hope, and love as we wait on the Lord’s provision in a dry and dusty land. We are learning to find our rest in Him.
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