“Why is the Lord bringing us into this land to die by the sword? Our wives and children will become plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” —Numbers 14:3
In Numbers 14, the Jews were standing at the edge of the Promised Land. They had seen God’s powerful hand work on their behalf and had come to a crucial, decisive moment. Would they exercise faith in God or cave in to fear?
Their response was to have a meltdown. “Then the whole community broke into loud cries, and the people wept that night” (Num. 14:1). They even decided it would be better to go back to Egypt.
Fear turned the Israelites into an irrational mob. After all the evidence they had seen of God’s power to protect and provide, they revolted. They accused God—their Shepherd, Savior, and Redeemer—of malicious intent.
The Israelites had spent years begging to get out of Egypt. But when they saw what it was going to take to get into the Promised Land, they wanted to go back. They let fear lead them into making a bad decision.
Make it Personal
How have your decisions been affected by fear in the past? How have they been impacted by faith?