6.22.25 ~ Do You Believe as He Believes?
Good morning!
It's tough when people won't believe you! Could you imagine being the Creator of all and not being believed (Jn. 1:11; Num. 14:11)? The Apostolic letters of Paul tell us that everything that happened to Israel on their journey was a pattern/tupos for our journey (1 Cor. 10:6, 11; Rom. 15:4). Today, contrary to Paul's instructions, there are thousands of differing beliefs on God and how to live believing in Him.
The event of traveling in the wilderness (Ex. 12-Deut. 34:12) is crucial for understanding God’s view of belief/aman. In fact, the Scriptures refer back to this event time and again as a demonstration of what it means to not believe. As we move into the 21st day of counting towards the first fruit of the wine, we can do ourselves a big favor by recognizing exactly what God says and what God expects in our belief/aman towards Him; which is the only way to please Him (Heb. 11:6).
Travel back with me to yesterday's Torah portion, where we dissected the Israelite journey and their lack of faith to go up into the Land of their inheritance (Num. 13-15); while keeping in mind that every step of the way, though murmuring a lot, they demonstrated faith/aman (applying blood of a lamb, leaving Egypt, crossing the sea, eating manna, drinking from the rock, entering into marriage covenant, building a tabernacle - all by faith/aman).
We know that God granted the people's request to have Moses send men into the Promised Land to gather intelligence about its inhabitants, before the children of Israel move to occupy it (Deut. 1:22; Num. 13:1-20). The 12 men, who were sent, come back, full of stories about the abundance in the land. It is truly a land that flows with milk and honey. Anyone who lives there will be well satisfied (Num. 13:26, 27). But there is a problem: the descendants of Anak live there along with the dreaded Nephilim (Num. 13:28,29). And with that information they proceeded to state inferiorly, “We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes and also in their eyes" (Num. 13:33; Prov. 23:7).
"And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come from the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." (Num. 13:33)
Chapter 14 opens by telling us, after hearing these words,
“All the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night." (Num. 14:1)
Why? Because they were afraid. Duh, Mr. Obvious! Honestly, unless you are spirit-filled like Caleb and Joshua, that’s probably how most would respond to such a devastating report.
In fact, that is exactly how most of us react when we get overwhelming evidence of a potential disaster. We wail. We quake...We run out to Home Depot and buy up all the fortification supplies for the disaster that awaits us in the great conflict. We empty the shelves of toilet paper, beans, rice and bottled water, in the grocery stores and wait in line at the gas stations. “Oh, Lord, help us. The Nephilim are coming! What can we do? What can we do? The sky is falling!"
Joshua and Caleb had the answer. “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into the land (Num. 14:8,9).” But the answer fell on deaf ears; ears stopped up with fright, anxiety and complacency. Yeshua called it “the cares of the world (Mark 4:19).” I am quite certain we, speaking of me, myself and I, know what He meant.
God responds to their rhetoric and fearful response: How long will these people not believe in Me/lo y'aminu? (Num. 14:11)
Now, before we start thinking God is talking about unsaved, unredeemed, unregenerate individuals, He is not asking how long these people will be atheists. He is not asking how long they will deny His existence. That’s what we might think from our Christian understanding of the word “believe/aman". Whether we have 'no faith', 'little faith', or great faith, faith/aman carries the idea of reliability, faithfulness and trust. This is not about beliefs of the virgin birth, the crucifixion, life after death. It is about actions that result from taking God seriously.
In other words, God indicts these people by saying that they refuse to act as they should, as He expects them to act, based on all the evidence of His reliability. God requires that His children respond on the basis of His faithfulness (not theirs). And here’s the clincher. The children of Israel who did not act on the basis of God’s character perished short of their high calling, the Land of their inheritance. Their unbelief/lo y'aminu brought about their destruction in the wilderness/bamidbar; the place where the Spirit led them and where the Word/dabar was made available to humble and test them to see if they would walk in His commandments or not (Deut. 8:1-10).
According to the Apostle Paul, it’s the same today. If you believe, you act accordingly. If you don’t act, you die short of your calling in your unbelief. The creeds won’t save you. Catechism won’t deliver you. Weekly communion doesn't earn you brownie points. God expects obedience. Fear, apathy, anxiety or cowardice insult Him (Num. 13:31). Who cares about the Nephilim and the sons of Anak, they are bread for us (Num. 14:9)?
It might be a good time to adjust our lives to the God's Hebraic view of belief and leave the Greco-Roman behind. It might be time to look at all the things that make you feel like a grasshopper in your own eyes and say, “Yes, Lord, through obedience to your Word, You will bring me into the land.”
Do you believe Him?
Shalom!
The event of traveling in the wilderness (Ex. 12-Deut. 34:12) is crucial for understanding God’s view of belief/aman. In fact, the Scriptures refer back to this event time and again as a demonstration of what it means to not believe. As we move into the 21st day of counting towards the first fruit of the wine, we can do ourselves a big favor by recognizing exactly what God says and what God expects in our belief/aman towards Him; which is the only way to please Him (Heb. 11:6).
Travel back with me to yesterday's Torah portion, where we dissected the Israelite journey and their lack of faith to go up into the Land of their inheritance (Num. 13-15); while keeping in mind that every step of the way, though murmuring a lot, they demonstrated faith/aman (applying blood of a lamb, leaving Egypt, crossing the sea, eating manna, drinking from the rock, entering into marriage covenant, building a tabernacle - all by faith/aman).
We know that God granted the people's request to have Moses send men into the Promised Land to gather intelligence about its inhabitants, before the children of Israel move to occupy it (Deut. 1:22; Num. 13:1-20). The 12 men, who were sent, come back, full of stories about the abundance in the land. It is truly a land that flows with milk and honey. Anyone who lives there will be well satisfied (Num. 13:26, 27). But there is a problem: the descendants of Anak live there along with the dreaded Nephilim (Num. 13:28,29). And with that information they proceeded to state inferiorly, “We were like grasshoppers in our own eyes and also in their eyes" (Num. 13:33; Prov. 23:7).
"And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come from the giants, and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." (Num. 13:33)
Chapter 14 opens by telling us, after hearing these words,
“All the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night." (Num. 14:1)
Why? Because they were afraid. Duh, Mr. Obvious! Honestly, unless you are spirit-filled like Caleb and Joshua, that’s probably how most would respond to such a devastating report.
In fact, that is exactly how most of us react when we get overwhelming evidence of a potential disaster. We wail. We quake...We run out to Home Depot and buy up all the fortification supplies for the disaster that awaits us in the great conflict. We empty the shelves of toilet paper, beans, rice and bottled water, in the grocery stores and wait in line at the gas stations. “Oh, Lord, help us. The Nephilim are coming! What can we do? What can we do? The sky is falling!"
Joshua and Caleb had the answer. “If the Lord is pleased with us, He will bring us into the land (Num. 14:8,9).” But the answer fell on deaf ears; ears stopped up with fright, anxiety and complacency. Yeshua called it “the cares of the world (Mark 4:19).” I am quite certain we, speaking of me, myself and I, know what He meant.
God responds to their rhetoric and fearful response: How long will these people not believe in Me/lo y'aminu? (Num. 14:11)
Now, before we start thinking God is talking about unsaved, unredeemed, unregenerate individuals, He is not asking how long these people will be atheists. He is not asking how long they will deny His existence. That’s what we might think from our Christian understanding of the word “believe/aman". Whether we have 'no faith', 'little faith', or great faith, faith/aman carries the idea of reliability, faithfulness and trust. This is not about beliefs of the virgin birth, the crucifixion, life after death. It is about actions that result from taking God seriously.
In other words, God indicts these people by saying that they refuse to act as they should, as He expects them to act, based on all the evidence of His reliability. God requires that His children respond on the basis of His faithfulness (not theirs). And here’s the clincher. The children of Israel who did not act on the basis of God’s character perished short of their high calling, the Land of their inheritance. Their unbelief/lo y'aminu brought about their destruction in the wilderness/bamidbar; the place where the Spirit led them and where the Word/dabar was made available to humble and test them to see if they would walk in His commandments or not (Deut. 8:1-10).
According to the Apostle Paul, it’s the same today. If you believe, you act accordingly. If you don’t act, you die short of your calling in your unbelief. The creeds won’t save you. Catechism won’t deliver you. Weekly communion doesn't earn you brownie points. God expects obedience. Fear, apathy, anxiety or cowardice insult Him (Num. 13:31). Who cares about the Nephilim and the sons of Anak, they are bread for us (Num. 14:9)?
It might be a good time to adjust our lives to the God's Hebraic view of belief and leave the Greco-Roman behind. It might be time to look at all the things that make you feel like a grasshopper in your own eyes and say, “Yes, Lord, through obedience to your Word, You will bring me into the land.”
Do you believe Him?
Shalom!
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