Psalm 106:26

Psalm 106:26

The "Rest" of dependency and faith

The Israelites’ rebellion and lack of faith in the Lord was their downfall. They were camped so close to the Land of Promise, God had delivered them from Pharaoh and the Egyptians, brought them through the wilderness, and provided for their every need. All that was required was simple trust, anything was possible with this God, but the Israelites simply did not believe, and their God was both heartbroken and furious, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite of all the signs I have performed among them?” The Lord threatens to strike them all down and Moses pleads for leniency, not least for the sake of God’s name and His reputation amongst the surrounding nations. The Lord’s response is damning!

“No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see the land i promised on oath to their ancestors ….. in this wilderness your bodies will fall – every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun…..” (See Numbers 14.) 

It would be 38 years before the people returned to this place and not one of the unbelieving generation lived except Caleb and Joshua. Deuteronomy 2:14. 

It would be easy to just treat this story as an historical account that has little or no bearing on us! But the book of Hebrews thinks differently! The writer there pleads with God’s people to not harden their hearts as did those in the rebellion. Those poor Israelites were not able to enter God’s rest because of their disobedience, and we are warned to take heed lest the same thing happens to us! For them the Promised Land spelt stability, security and complete provision from God’s hand. There, their wanderings would cease, and they would find their permanent home – but that generation did not enter in. Hebrews tells us that we too may find rest and security in the Lord. “There remains, then, a Sabbath rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make very effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.” Hebrews 4:9-11. 

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