Peace by Faith in God

Unbelief is a killer of rest and peace.  When harboured in our hearts, it prevents our healing and restoration to fellowship with God and other believers.  The writer of Hebrews explained it was due to unbelief the children of Israel would not and could not enter the land God promised to give them, and their dead carcasses in the wilderness are a warning to all who follow them in unbelief.  God was grieved by their unbelief, and they weren't pleased with the prospects of 40 years in the wilderness when they were on the cusp of entering in and receiving their inheritance (Hebrews 3:17-19).

After 10 spies gave a bad report of the land of Canaan, the people felt hopeless and wept--though God remained good, faithful and sovereign.  God would defeat the people of Canaan as surely as He delivered them from slavery in Egypt with a mighty hand, but the reports of giants put the people in fear.  Unbelief in God and His promise prevented the people from trusting Him.  The people decided their best course of action was to choose a new leader and return to Egypt where they were previously enslaved!  While they discussed stoning Moses and Aaron, the glory of God appeared in the tabernacle and God spoke.  God pronounced a judgment that all of those 20 years and older would die in the wilderness over the next 40 years, and the 10 spies who gave a bad report were struck dead by a plague.  You can read about this in Numbers 14.

One would think the people would be humbled before God after His appearance and plagues, but not so.  Early the next morning the people presumed to go into the land of Canaan to defeat the inhabitants of the land, even though God was not with them, and they were routed by their enemies.  It was not long after this debacle when Korah, Dathan and Abiram in Numbers 16 murmured against Moses and Aaron, and God executed them for their sin by causing the ground to open up and swallow them and all they possessed in the sight of Israel.  The 250 men who put incense in their censers also died when fire from the LORD consumed them for their trespass.  The following day all the people came against Moses again and accused him of killing "the people of the LORD."  God caused a plague to smite the people, and when Aaron made atonement for the sake of the people the plague ceased.

In Numbers 17 God directed Aaron and the leaders of each tribe to present a marked stick and to place them in the tabernacle overnight.  God said in Numbers 17:5, "And it shall be that the rod of the man whom I choose will blossom; thus I will rid Myself of the complaints of the children of Israel, which they make against you."  It was indeed Aaron's rod that budded and bore almonds overnight, and thus God confirmed Aaron's line of the house of Levi was God's choice to do the service of the LORD.  While God's purpose in doing this was to cause the murmuring of the people to cease so they would not die in rebellion, their complaints due to unbelief continued in Numbers 17:12-13:  "So the children of Israel spoke to Moses, saying, "Surely we die, we perish, we all perish! ¹³ Whoever even comes near the tabernacle of the LORD must die. Shall we all utterly die?"  Though they saw God's presence and He made Himself known to them, they misunderstood Him entirely.  God aimed to preserve their lives, and they accused Him of killing them for coming near the tabernacle--a falsehood steeped in self-pity and pride.

I'm not sure what is worse:  dying in battle by Canaanites in a foolish attempt to deliver oneself from living in the wilderness for years, or to live in the wilderness for years with a heart filled with unbelief in God.  How can it be that God's chosen people could imagine He was against them and unworthy of trust?  But this clearly can be the case.  God said in Isaiah 57:19-21:  "I create the fruit of the lips: peace, peace to him who is far off and to him who is near," says the LORD, "and I will heal him." ²⁰ But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. ²¹ "There is no peace," says my God, "for the wicked."  The writer of Hebrews sets forth the children of Israel in the wilderness as a cautionary tale for Christians, that there is rest God has for us we can stop short of entering by unbelief.  Faith in God leads to peace with God and healing for broken hearts.  If our hearts resemble a troubled sea that kicks up filth of murmuring and complaining, there remains peace and rest for us in Jesus Christ--a rest that is only entered by faith in Him.