But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." And they spread a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw are of great size."

Numbers 13:31-32, NIV 

 

Here is the setting: Israel is on the brink of entering the Promised Land. They have sent in twelve men to spy out the land, and they have found that the land is everything that God had promised. Two of the spies - Joshua and Caleb - trusted in God and were enthusiastic about entering this land, but the other ten men were not. In fact, they were cowards who did not trust in the LORD and who were afraid of what would happen to them if they tried to go into this land that they testified flowed with milk and honey.

 

So they spread a bad report among their fellow Israelites and their countrymen became afraid as well. The were so afraid that they talked about stoning Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb, and returning to Egypt to see if they could be slaves again.

 

Fear is contagious! So much so that ten men were able to infect an entire nation of over a million people with their cowardice and persuade them to disobey God, kill the righteous men who would not disobey God, and return to slavery. But let's face it: That all happened over 3,000 years ago, so why bother talking about it now?

 

Well, one reason is that history often repeats itself, especially among those who fail to learn from from its mistakes. I have lived during one of the greatest eras of prosperity and peace that there has ever been. As an American, I have benefited from a righteous heritage of courageous men and women who sacrificed everything they had in order for me and my family to enjoy these great blessings from God.

 

But the world has changed, and evil men have seized power in the nation that I so dearly love. Our nation has largely turned away from God. Our nation has embraced false religions, sexual immorality, and the killing of innocent children. In this land of milk and honey in which I live, the courage of most men has grown cold - few will even stand up and state that something has gone wrong - that we should not be doing the things we are doing. It has got so bad that our own leaders have voted to require taxpayers to pay for others to kill their own babies. These same leaders are also using our money to fund terrorists in foreign lands to, among other things, rape and kill Christians. 

 

And I am sad to conclude that the vast majority of men in this nation are no longer men. They have become cowards who refuse to stand up before their wicked leaders and say, "enough". Instead, we have become a nation that resembles the nation of Israel who, after finally gaining their freedom from tyrants, were more than willing to return to their bondage in order to have comfort and protection.

 

In Israel's era, God caused the cowards to wander in a desert until they died out. I wonder what He will do to those of us in the present era should we fail to have the courage to speak up and take a stand against sinful men. I wonder if we will, too late, discover what the cowards of Israel's era had to learn: Fear can be fatal!

 

The LORD said to Moses, "How long will these people treat Me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in Me...?"

Numbers 14:11, NIV

 

Today is day 20 of the 30 day challenge to study through the Books of Moses, with Numbers 11-14 being the text for today. May God richly bless you with the knowledge and courage you need to stand for Him against the wickedness of men!