"But the people who do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits."

“The Lord said to Moses, 'How long will these people treat me with contempt? How long will they refuse to believe in me, in spite all of the signs I have performed among them?'”

It was fear, doubt, and unbelief that kept the people from entering into the Promised Land. Instead of facing their fears, they retreated into complaining and blaming.

They saw over and over that God met them, cared for them, provided for them and fought for them – but rather than believe He would continue to do this, they chose to stay in their own places of comfort and grumble against God for their hardships.

Even at one point Moses and Aaron lacked the trust God would have them to hold about the people entering into the Promised Land. The result was that they could not bring the people into it. Joshua, a man of strong faith from the next generation was the one to take them in.

“But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.”

This group that so lacked belief and refused to face their fears wondered in the wilderness and eventually died there. It was a whole new generation that God then rose up to take them into the land.

This next generation was willing to face their fears. They made a vow to the Lord: “If you will deliver these people into our hands, we will totally destroy their cities.” At the same time, they were still grumblers and complainers who spoke against God. They asked Moses when they grew inpatient, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness?”

However, God still brought them into the Promised Land. Moses told them, “Understand then, that is is not because of your righteousness that the Lord your God is giving you this good land to possess, for you are a stiff-necked people.”

Max Lucado writes in his “The Story” narrative of the Bible that the jest of Moses' final speech was, “Remember who you are... and to Whom you belong.” [1]

Probably too often they remembered themselves back in Egypt as slaves. Sometimes it is hard to break out of old mindsets and it one might not see it with the same terrible light from the inside. Now that they were outside the immediate painful labor, they didn't look on it with such a terrible light. And they did not fully embrace their new found freedom in gratitude. It took an entire generation of forgetting slavery to be able to even enter the land God had for them.

When they sent spies to Jericho, Rehab told them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the tow kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone's courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on earth below.”

Rehab, someone in a foreign land knew to Whom they belonged and had total confidence in God for taking the land. She could see how God went ahead of them and prepared the way – melting them in fear. In faith, she negotiated with them for her freedom. Her words were just the encouragement the people needed – to remember Whose they belonged and Who was asking them to possess the land they were promised.

This same God is the God to whom we belong. We are His people and the same way that He made Himself known through their faith and obedience to Him, He will make Himself known through us. As we enter the promises He has for us, He prepares the way.

Just like these generations, every generation has a place in God's plan. Specific promises that He is calling the generation to possess and enter into. First, we need to spend time seeking God for what He has for us today. If we are not even aware of the land He wishes for us to possess, how can we move towards it.

Do we know what time and season we are in? Do we know what promises He has for our generation today?

He leads us into them but they require some steps of faith. We need to know who we are and to Whom we belong to enter into them. It is not about our religious piety or getting all the answers right, but about knowing God and trusting Him.

Just as the Israelites, He tests not our piousness but our faith and belief in Him and His ability to bring us into the promises He has for us. Moses told the people, “Be careful to follow every command I am giving you today, so that you may live and increase and may enter and possess the land the Lord promised on oath to your ancestors. Remember how the Lord your God led you all the way in the wilderness these forty years, to humble and test you in order to know what was in your heart, whether or not you would keep his commands.”

Just as then, we need to keep our eyes on Him, remember all the promises He has fulfilled, all the ways He has demonstrated His power among us, and how deeply He loves and cares for us – we need to know who we are and to Whom we belong. Then, just as the Israelites, we need to step forward by faith into what He has for us and enter into it.

Wanderer...

What has you stuck?

       In fear and doubt

       ever gripping and going your own way

The journey into life is rooted in trust

You inherit it as you look to Me

       time and time again

You have seen my works

       now believe in Me

No longer be stiffnecked,

       resistant to my ways

Onlookers, grumblers, faultfinders, complainers...

       ever unbelieving

These are the ones who ever stay in the wilderness

going in circles and never entering into the promises I have for them

They stay stuck in places of want -

often leading to indulgence and compromise.

But those who know their God will be strong and do exploits.

Daniel 11:31-33 says about the appointed time during the end times that many will be flattered and violate the covenant of God, “but people who know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.” This prophesy goes on to not that those who are wise will bring many to understanding. But at the same time, they will be persecuted and refined through the fire.

Usually God moving in power and persecution seem to flow together.   However, it does not mean we are to hide or run away, rather that we need to face our fears, believe and allow the fire to set us more on fire for Him.

Daniel 12:3 says, “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.”

In Daniel 11, not everyone who were following Christ chose the right path. It was those who knew God and and believed Him that stood strong and entered into what God had for them. Believing in God and entering into His promises is a choice we make by faith. We can choose another path of comfort and convenience if we like.

God plays a significant part in leading us into what He has  for the generation. But we also have a part in trusting God and entering into them. What we do with what we are given by God is up to us. [a] We can use all we have to bring Him glory and honor, or we can squander it away in doubt, compromise, and seeking our own ways.

Lord, I feel like I know the time and the season we are in and that those who step into them will bring many to understanding.  However, I struggle with fully trusting You and really entering into them. I sometimes  look more for the easy way where I do not have to face my fears and really trust. Forgive me.  Help us to see the promises you set before us for today's generation.  Strengthen our faith and let us be those who fully enter into them.  

1.  Lucado, Max and Frazee, Randy.   The Story:  The Bible as One Continuing Story of God and His People.  Zondervan, Grand Rapids, MI.  2008.

a.  I was reminded of this in a conference I attended last week.

Picture Source: http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-APXN3QhLN8c/TegkKWdiBSI/AAAAAAAADQ0/_yU2hY7Kt9Y/s1600/image008.jpg

1.