The Blindness of Unbelief

"They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, 'It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us.' ²⁶ "Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; ²⁷ and you complained in your tents, and said, 'Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."

Deuteronomy 1:25-27

The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt by God, but their actions reveal they did not know Him.  Their unbelief and subsequent rebellion exposed their ignorance of God and skewed perceptions.  They had seen firsthand the good land God promised to given them in Canaan.  They did not doubt God's existence or the signs and wonders He had performed among them.  He miraculously supplied bread, meat, and water for their needs, but when they considered their enemies and the strong fortifications they lost heart.

Can you imagine it?  The children of Israel were on the threshold of the good land God was giving to them.  God commanded they enter into the land He provided them, but instead they sat in their tents and complained.  They lifted up their voices and wept, and they even accused God of hating them for bringing them out of Egypt.  All they had to do was trust God and obey, but they suspected God all along had schemed to destroy them.  It's a strange thing how unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion - in God's people - led to such ignorant blindness.  Unbelief kept them from entering into the good land God had graciously prepared for them.  They foolishly claimed God hated and hoped to destroy them, and unbelief led God's people to destroy themselves.  All they feared came upon them.

All that is written in the Bible is for our learning, and let us not think we are so different than these overwhelmed complainers who murmured against God in their tents when they should have packed up and joyfully entered into their inheritance!  Do you know failed expectations are often a key part of our struggles?  The Israelites were glad to be saved when they were oppressed slaves.  They liked the idea of living in a fruitful land flowing with milk and honey.  They left Egypt on a high, amazed at the great deliverance of God.  But life wasn't easy.  There was quite a distance to travel without the comforts they were accustomed to.  They murmured about the direction God led them, complained about those God appointed to lead, and they were tired of eating the same thing every day.  Where was this good land anyway?  Why isn't this becoming any easier?  Where is this promised rest?  And how long do we have to keep doing this?

Let's face it:  we too have had expectations about what God should do in a situation.  When He doesn't seem to respond like we assume or expect He should, resentment can grow in our hearts.  We start to doubt God's promises.  Oh, we may agree they must be true but because of opposition we stop expecting them to be fulfilled.  Doubt leads to disobedience and rebellion in small areas which infest the whole.  Pretty soon we are complaining in unbelief against God like the children of Israel, refusing to obey God because we are convinced He actually hates us.  We just want the lesson to be over so we can be done with the uncertainty, pain, and dashed expectations. This is selfishness and sin.  We always want our way, but God's way is different and better than ours.  Understand unbelief always leads to rebellion and keeps us from receiving the promise provided should we trust and obey.  What we fear can also overtake us when we sit in unbelief.

Caleb and Joshua entered in the land because they believed God.  Are you willing to wait 40 years to obey God's command to enter the land when the previous generation called it a death-trap?  Maybe you won't have to.  Perhaps there is one thing God has told you to do this very day and you don't want or feel like doing it.  The risk seem too great.  Unbelief will always distort our vision of God and heighten potential dangers.  If we believe God, we will obey Him.  Looking to Jesus clears our fuzzy perceptions of God and what we ought to do in light of His love, strength, and grace.  Had the Israelites believed God they wouldn't have lamented their losses but celebrated sure victory.  This victory wouldn't be won in a day, month, or year, but it was one they could have experienced again and again by God's grace.  Let us believe God, in faith obey, and inherit the promises!