Rebellion or Faith
Background - God’s people were living in slavery to the Egyption people.
Exodus 2:23And it came to pass in process of time, that the king of Egypt died: and the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage.
24And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25And God looked upon the children of Israel, and God had respect unto them.
God’s people were in a bad spot, they were in trouble so they began to cry out to God. There’s an entire message right there. When your having trouble in your body, trouble in your marriage, trouble in our finances, trouble in your relationships, or trouble in your mind, call out to the God who will hear you. God heard the cry of his people. You see you could go talk to a doctor about the trouble in your body, you could go to a counselor about the trouble in your marriage, your could go to a financial advisor about the trouble in your finances, your could to a psychologist about the trouble in your mind and all those things are fine and they will listen to your problems and give you advise on what to do based on their earthly knowledge. I don’t have anything against doctor, counselors, financial advisors, or psychologist, however, only God can look down on your situation and do a supernatural work. You see sometime we have situations in our life that only God can change. When your in trouble who do you cry out to? When you were a child and you were scared, or in trouble you cried out to your parents someone you knew would come running when you were in trouble. We’re God’s children and when were in trouble and we cry out to him, he hears our cry and remembers the covenant. He remembers His promises He has made to you. Will you remember to cry out to him? You see for the God’s people were in slavery and they needed more than just some advice.
So what did God do about there sufferings?
7And the LORD said, I have surely seen the affliction of my people which are in Egypt, and have heard their cry by reason of their taskmasters; for I know their sorrows;
8And I am come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up out of that land unto a good land and a large, unto a land flowing with milk and honey; unto the place of the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
9Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them.
10Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth my people the children of Israel out of Egypt.
God sent them a man to lead them out of bondage. Moses and Aaron and a stick to convince a Pharaoh to set all their slaves free. Sure. So Moses and Aaron go to talk with Pharaoh and tell hey our God says let His people go. And God tells Moses and Aaron I will multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt. And God tells them when you go to talk with Pharaoh he’s going to want to see a miracle. So God tells them through down the rod it will turn into a snake. So it happened just as God said. And Pharaoh said no biggy, and he had his sorcerers do the same. Pharaoh says nope not letting them go. So the next morning God sends them all down by the river bank. Long story short the rivers are turned to blood and all the fish die. There is no drinking water in Egypt. Still Pharaoh isn’t budging. So God’s people saw the miracle of the waters. Next come the frogs, then lice, then flies, then God caused all the livestock of the Egyptians to die, but none of Israel livestock died, then boils, then pestilence, then thunder, hail and fire, but not in Goshen were God’s people were living, then locusts, and then a great darkness, then he caused the Egyptians to give God’s people their silver and gold jewelry, and then God smote the first born of the Egyptian people and their cattle. Not one house was with out one dead the scripture says. Through all of this God’s people seeing that miracles and signs. So finally Pharaoh says go. But then he changes his mind and he and his armies follow after to kill them. Moses is backed up water on one side and Pharaoh coming hard. So God’s people of great faith who have been seeing all these miraculous events take place say. Turn to Exodus 14:10And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children of Israel lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children of Israel cried out unto the LORD.
11And they said unto Moses, Because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt?
12Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, Let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.
No faith.
So what does Moses do?
Exodus 14:13And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will shew to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more for ever.
14The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.
So we know what happens Moses stretches forth the rod of God and the waters part Israel walks through on dry ground to the other side the Egyptians are following behind Moses stretches forth his hand again and and the waters come together and swallow up the Egyptians. So now the people are saying
Exodus 14: 31And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses.
So God gives the pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Cool in the day and warm at night.
Everyone’s happy Miriam’s singing, got her tambourine, life is good.
For a couple days. Then Exodus 15:24And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink?
So God performs another miracle and shows moses a tree and says put this in the water and the waters were made sweet. All is well again
Exodus 16:2And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and Aaron in the wilderness:
3And the children of Israel said unto them, Would to God we had died by the hand of the LORD in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh pots, and when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger.
So God says Ok I’ll rain down bread in the morning and meat in the evening all that you’ll need to be full. So we got manna for breakfast and quail for dinner. All is well again. Got food water. So they travel on in their journey and they find themselves once again in a place were they can find no water, but being faithful believers and remembering what God had done for them in the past the just praised God knowing he would take care of their need right? Nope
Exodus 17:3And the people thirsted there for water; and the people murmured against Moses, and said, Wherefore is this that thou hast brought us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our cattle with thirst?
Murmuring again. So God speaks to Moses and causes water to spring forth from a rock. Another miracle.
Well time passes and most of us have heard the rest of the story as Paul Harvey would say. They wandered around in the wilderness. And we are going to jump over into Numbers Chapter 13. Moses is sending out the 12 spies to check out this land of milk and honey that God has promised to them. So out go the spies. And they return in 40 days.
Read Numbers 13:23And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and of the figs.
24The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the children of Israel cut down from thence.
25And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
26And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land.
27And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there.
29The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.
30And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
Numbers 14
1And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.
2And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!
3And wherefore hath the LORD brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt?
4And they said one to another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.
All the miraculous signs and wonders God had performed in the mist of them and their families and yet still they couldn’t find it within themselves to believe the word of the Lord. Many times I have wondered how people who have served God and seen God do signs and wonders in their own life and yet will fall away. You see it isn’t enough to see the works of the Lord no matter how great or how miraculous they are. You must be able to see the Lord of those works. It isn’t enough to only seek after His delivering hand of protection, it isn’t enough to just to cry out to him in times of trouble, it isn’t enough to just seek after His power, we must seek after His heart. We must seek after good qualities, not the quantity of His goods. The children of Israel had is protection, his provision, and his promise. They never believed in His protection even after seeing it time and time again. They never believed in His provision even after He gave it time and time again. And they never believed in His promises even after they saw them come to pass time and time again. They never learned to trust in His word. They continually doubted His ability to perform. Would you agree? But let me take you one step farther.
Read Numbers 14: 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.
6And Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of them that searched the land, rent their clothes:
7And they spake unto all the company of the children of Israel, saying, The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land.
8If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
9Only rebel not ye against the LORD, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defence is departed from them, and the LORD is with us: fear them not.
They were in rebellion. Their thoughts and words didn’t line up with the promise God had given them and they were in rebellion. He told them don’t you rebel against God. You are not believing in what God has promised us and you’ve come up with your own plan and I’m telling you you better not rebel against God. Because they refused to believe the word of God and follow His plan for their life they were in rebellion. Are you in rebellion in any area of your life? Are you doubting the promises God has made to you and trying to do your own thing? Rebellion is a serious thing in God’s eyes.
Numbers 14:10But all the congregation bade stone them with stones. And the glory of the LORD appeared in the tabernacle of the congregation before all the children of Israel.
11And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?
12I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they.
God said that’s fine they don’t want to believe in me fine, I’ll find a people who will.
Please continue to read the rest of the story and find out what their punishment was for not coming into agreement with what God had promised. What has God said about you? Are you coming in agreement with his word? Are you in rebellion?
