Thursday: Faith Versus Presumption
What similarities do you see in Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness and God’s people living just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus? (See 1 Corinthians 10:1-11.)
Throughout history, God’s people have been roaming in the wilderness as they seek the Promised Land. This wilderness has many faces. Right now, it looks like an endless media barrage, the constant beeps of incoming messages, and the deep roar of interminable entertainment. It tries to sell us pornography as love and materialism as the answer to our problems. If we just could be a bit fitter, a bit younger, a bit more affluent, a bit sexier — that would take care of all our problems.
Like the Israelites, we are restless in our search for peace, and so often we look for it in the wrong places.
How did the Israelites react to God’s judgment in Numbers 14:39-45?
Image © Jeff Preston at Goodsalt.com
Israel’s reaction to the divine judgment is typical. “We have sinned,” they said. “We will go up to the place which the LORD has promised” (Numbers 14:40).
Half-hearted commitment is like a poorly administered vaccination — it doesn’t work. Today, doctors recommend a Hepatitis B vaccination right after birth within the first 24 hours of life. That’s a good beginning. However, following that first shot, if there are not two or three booster vaccinations administered at the right time and in the right doses, then there is no protection against Hepatitis B whatsoever.
Israel’s rebellious turnaround, reported in the last verses of Numbers 14, results in death and disappointment as the Israelites now refuse to accept God’s new directions and stubbornly launch an attack without the ark of the covenant or Moses’ leadership.
Presumption is costly; presumption leads to death. Very often, presumption is powered by fear. Because we are afraid of something, we make decisions that we later regret.
| Think about a time you acted on faith and a time you acted on presumption. What was the crucial difference? |
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I was very young when I came to Australia to start my tertiary education. My first task was to pass the London University GCE A-level examinations. I had breezed through high school and I thought that the GCE examinations would be easy. I failed - well technically I passed - I achieved O-level passes but that was not good enough to start the degree program. So I spent another year before I sat the examinations again. You would have thought that I would have learned my lesson, studied hard and sat my examinations carefully. You would have been half right. I passed all the examinations except one. It was then that I woke up a bit. Fortunately London University offered the GCE examinations twice a year and so I sat the last paper at the January sitting. I was now out of synch with the program so I went home to New Zealand and spent about 9 months labouring in a concrete pipe factory. It was tough work, long hours, working with men whose language was course and vulgar. It was the best 9 months education I ever had. I grew up, came to my senses and I returned to Australia to complete my studies. And I never failed another examination in the rest of my academic career.
In some respects I regret my years of wandering in the wilderness . If I had not failed my GCE I could have been out earning money years earlier. On the other hand the experience taught me that I could not make the presumption that I would get through my examinations simply because I had brains. I had to work hard as well.
Similarly, the "young" nation of the Children of Israel were immature. They had come to their "examination", the Promised Land, and they had presumed and failed. They were condemned to wandering in the wilderness for 40 years and it took that time for them to grow up and become the sort of nation that could take possession of the land.
As Christians, sometimes we learn slowly. We presumptuously assume that because we have the truth and are saved by grace we have arrived spiritually. We may need the wilderness experience to teach us to exercise our faith. It is in God's plan to take the wilderness experiences that we bring upon ourselves, and use them to teach us what salvation really means.
Being in the wilderness is one thing but knowing that you are actually there and there to learn a lesson is another. It takes grace to understand the scenario right and muster appropriate responses. If only, like Moses, Jesus would keep by our side interceding for us so that we don't get lost in the wilderness for ever!
Today we have One greater than Moses, who is always by our side my brother, praise God!
The Holy Spirit has come to aid and guide us. He will never leave us nor forsake us.
Hebrews 3:15 NLT ‘…Today when you hear His voice, don’t harden your hearts as Israel did when they rebelled.’
We have to our benefit the past examples of the Israelites being led by Moses, Jesus coming and dwelling among humanity and now the Holy Spirit with us. If only we would take heed, if only we would love the Lord more and trust Him more, submitting to His authority of love to guide us to life eternal, the Promised Land, the New Jerusalem, the City of God.
Again, when I say unto the wicked, Thou shalt surely die; if he turn from his sin, and do that which is lawful and right; .........: he hath done that which is lawful and right; he shall surely live. Ezek 33:14-16.
Faith Versus Presumption
'Think about a time you acted on faith and a time you acted on presumption. What was the crucial difference?'
Isn't the lesson getting deeper and deeper into our own personal life and challenges. I know many times I have to go against others decision because many times the way others think I dont. I dont like to make now for now decisions. Many times now for now decisions made lead to regret. When I do things that the bible condemn is presumptuous sin. Do we go to places we definitely know the bible condemns? There must be but I cant remember me suffering recently from anything because of presumptuous sin. I suffer if I eat too much sweet so I dont. My bones have not ache in months.
Faith is not foolishness. Faith must be guided by a higher power from outside of us. Our everyday duties must be guided by faith. Faith in our heavenly Father although we never saw him but we know he exist and what he asked us to do we will do even when things does not make sense to us and others.
Today’s lesson poses two questions in light of the theme: Faith versus Presumption.
Question one: “What similarities do you see in Israel’s wanderings in the wilderness and God’s people living just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus? 1Cor.10:1-11KJV
I cannot establish a common ground between the Israelite's wanderings in the wilderness and God’s people living prior to the Second Coming of Jesus.
In my understanding, ‘wandering in the wilderness’ relates to those who have not yet settle into their spiritual faith, who still seek to understand God’s Authority of Truth and Light.
1Cor.10:5KJV ”But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.” Because of the Israelite’s unbelieve, rebelling and being disobedient, they were punished by God to ‘wander in the wilderness’ and so fulfill the judgement God spoke out against them– Numbers14:22-23;34-35KJV.
In his letter to the Corintians, Paul admonishes the new converts to the *Faith of Christ* to choose to live their lives according to God’s will; changing their old ways of iniquity. 1Cor.10:12KJV - Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
I would think that God’s people ‘living just prior to the Second Coming of Jesus’ draw close to the heavenly Father and seek to live under His Shelter – His Will. They have committed their life to living in the kingdom of God here on earth and to be governed by His Authority, the Will of God; they live their lives accordingly.
Question two: “How did Israel react to God’s Judgment in Numbers 14:39-45KJV?
I see their reaction to be the result of total lack of understanding the Authority of God, leading to disregard/ignore the expressly stated command of God as communicated by Moses. They did not understand that God had to be among them, go before them, bless them, and that He was not. – Numbers14:42,44KJV.
Why did they disregard the command? I think it was because they could not understand God's supreme Authority and how it works. They were used to dealing with their old gods and that initiative counted toward them being blessed.
We cannot presume that God will honor our works, unless they are initiated by His Will and Authority and worked out by faith. Israel still had to learn the type of 'obedience' God demanded.
In the end, when learning has reached its full measure, the highest form of obedience will be Love; love of the Father and love of the fellow man.
I rather suspect that there are more similarities than you are allowing Brigitte. I think that the fundamental temptations of selfishness and self importance and self interest transcend time and knowledge of God. They were the temptations that Lucifer allowed into his heart. They were the temptation that came to Eve and Adam in the garden of Eden, the temptation that came to the Israelites n the wilderness, the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, to Judas, to the apostate church and to us who claim to be living in the last times. Knowledge of God is no protection from such temptation. Rather, it is the relationship that is needed irrespective of time and knowledge. These things were written as examples to us. It should not give us any sense of superiority, just need of the saving relationship with Jesus.
Maurice – yes, sadly, worldly similarities between the conduct of ‘believers’ and ‘unbelievers’ abound. I am an idealist at heart, I reach for the ideals in the *Faith of Christ* and find the reasons to keep the glass full. I know the redeeming power of God’s Salvation, I experienced it personally. I know the difference between the life of no answers in the face of temptations and can compare it to the Light of Life and Truth I live now.
I do not look back into darkness and void of confusion. The foundation of my life's way is clearly established, the way is made known to me; why would I go back into that from which God rescued me?
So many Scripture references support our warfare against the temptations of the flesh. 1Cor.10:13KJV is only one of them: ”There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful ….. . This is all I need to know becaue I live my life by faith in His living Word!
Yes, as you say – “knowledge of God is no protection from such temptation”, but knowing God personally and living according to His Will, assures protection by the highest Authority.
I find the Scriptural help provided to us in the letter of Paul to the Ephesian believers crucial to understand what we are up against and to prepare accordingly – Eph.6:10-19KJV. (No presumptions here!) 🙂
Too many similarities exist today that repeat the folly of Israel in their wilderness wanderings. Unbelief today is still an offense to God as it was when He led Israel out of bondage to the land of promise, except that with greater light today, the condemnation will also be greater.
Israel reacted to God's judgment in the same way they acted to His commands, promises, and counsel, with unbelief, and doing what seemed right in their own eyes.
Trusting wholly in the Lord is a lesson we sometimes learned the hard way. The Revelation shows a people who “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth”(Rev 14:4). It is these who alone will receive the Seal of God, while all others will accept the Mark of the beast.