On the Edge of the Promised Land (Deu 1:6-8; 32-40)                                           2010.03.14                                Pastor Bernie Chung  

The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt when God sent Moses to deliver them. “I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people.  I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians; I broke the bars of your yoke and enabled you to walk with heads held high.” (Leviticus 26:12-13)  God demonstrated His sovereignty by rescuing the Israelites from Egypt after seeing the misery of His people and hearing them cry.  It took ten plagues to convince the Pharaoh to let them go.  From the historical point of view, leaving Egypt was the start of a new nation for the Israelites.  

God led them out of Egypt and across the wilderness. They could have entered the Promised Land in a matter of a few weeks.  The Lord allowed them to stay a little longer in the wilderness in older that they could experience His faithfulness and provision by providing water and food.  A year later, they found themselves standing on the edge of the Promised Land. 

Then Moses sent twelve spies to the land of Canaan, the Promised Land, to see what the land was like.  They were asked to bring back some of the fruit of the land.  Upon returning after 40 days of search, the appraisal of their observation was that the Land of Promise was indeed exceedingly good, “flowing with milk and honey”.  They cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes which required two spies to carry it on a pole between them. 

However, the fear of giants in the land and fortified cities outweighed the blessing of the land that was promised from the Lord.  Ten of the twelve spies, who began to focus more on the danger than on the Lord’s promise, saw themselves as grasshoppers in their own eyes for they were in doubt and fear.  The other two spies were not affected by visual obstacles and  instead focused on God’s power and provision.  Caleb and Joshua saw the giants as grasshoppers in the eyes of God and believed they should immediately go up and possess the land.  Yet the overwhelming majority of the children of Israel felt that entering the land was an impossibility, lacking confidence in the Lord.  At the end, they even complained and grumbled against God.

The Bible tells us that after the Israelites refused to enter the land and continue to wander in the wilderness for 40 years.  As we can see, the Lord withdrew His blessing due to their unbelief.  That is a scary consequence.  And eventually, only Caleb and Joshua of that generation were allowed to enter the Promised Land because of their belief. 

The Lord has promised us spiritual blessings.  In many ways, we have come to the same edge of the Land of Promise.  In reality, every Promised Land has its giants; every blessing has its challenges.  The first giant we may face is the giant of unbelief.  When we come to the edge of salvation and feel the conviction of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, yet we may still stop to accept Christ as our own personal Savior.  Some of us may have come to the edge of obeying God in our spiritual journey, desiring the blessings of the Lord and yet felt instead that the price is too costly and the spiritual discipline is too demanding.  It is the fear in our hearts and our complacency that keep us from enjoying God’s peace and presence.  The giants of unbelief in our hearts turns us away form the edge of His promise.

Despite of the overwhelming evidence of God’s power and protection behind them, the Israelites suddenly stopped believing God and stopped moving forward when they saw the giants.  So they said to one another, “Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt.” (Numbers 14:4)  But for us, when we face difficult circumstances, problems, trials and tribulations, let us continue to believe in God’s sovereignty and rely on Him, trusting in His love for us.  Spiritual gain is usually accompanied by opposition.  How much do we want God to bless us?  Spiritual strength usually is built through struggles.  How far are we willing to walk in perseverance with the Lord?  How obedient in His words are we willing to respond to?  The giants in our hearts are always there to test our trust and belief as well as to bring us to maturity.  Without faith we cannot realize God’s promises and plans for our lives, and we will not be able to grow and move forward spiritually.  The choice is ours.