A New Leader But the Same Old People

12 The Lord said to Moses, “Go up into this mountain of Abarim and see the land that I have given to the people of Israel. 13 When you have seen it, you also shall be gathered to your people, as your brother Aaron was, 14 because you rebelled against my word in the wilderness of Zin when the congregation quarreled, failing to uphold me as holy at the waters before their eyes.” (These are the waters of Meribah of Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin.) 15 Moses spoke to the Lord, saying, 16 “Let the Lord, the God of the spirits of all flesh, appoint a man over the congregation 17 who shall go out before them and come in before them, who shall lead them out and bring them in, that the congregation of the Lord may not be as sheep that have no shepherd.” 18 So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the Spirit, and lay your hand on him. 19 Make him stand before Eleazar the priest and all the congregation, and you shall commission him in their sight. 20 You shall invest him with some of your authority, that all the congregation of the people of Israel may obey. 21 And he shall stand before Eleazar the priest, who shall inquire for him by the judgment of the Urim before the Lord. At his word they shall go out, and at his word they shall come in, both he and all the people of Israel with him, the whole congregation.” 22 And Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He took Joshua and made him stand before Eleazar the priest and the whole congregation, 23 and he laid his hands on him and commissioned him as the Lord directed through Moses. – Numbers 27:12-23 ESV

The day Moses had been dreading had finally arrived. He had known for some time that he would not be leading the people of Israel into the land of Canaan. Due to Moses’ uncharacteristic actions in the wilderness of Zin, God had determined to ban his servant from entering the promised land.

“Because you did not trust me enough to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel, you will not lead them into the land I am giving them!” – Numbers 20:12 NLT

In a moment of extreme frustration with the constantly whining Israelites, Moses had snapped and disobeyed the command of God.

“You and Aaron must take the staff and assemble the entire community. As the people watch, speak to the rock over there, and it will pour out its water. You will provide enough water from the rock to satisfy the whole community and their livestock.” – Numbers 20:8 NLT

Rather than speaking to the rock as God had ordered him to do, Moses lashed out in anger and repeatedly struck the rock with his staff. His anger and frustration with the people had caused him to disobey and dishonor God in the eyes of the people. It appears that Moses’ real crime was that he attempted to rob God of glory by claiming responsibility for producing the miracle.

“Listen, you rebels!” he shouted. “Must we bring you water from this rock?”– Numbers 20:10 NLT

His attempt to inflate his own identity in the eyes of the people cost him dearly. While his impromptu actions successfully produced water from the rock and probably earned him a bit of respect from the people, his little stunt resulted in his permanent ban from the land of promise; he would never have the pleasure of entering God’s rest. Instead, he would die in the wilderness, just as Miriam and Aaron had.

So, with the Israelites on the verge of entering Canaan, God informed Moses that his days on this earth had come to an end. His debt had come due. But before taking Moses’ life, God gave His servant one more chance to see the land of promise from a distance. God led Moses up a mountain and allowed him to take in the view.

“Climb one of the mountains east of the river, and look out over the land I have given the people of Israel. After you have seen it, you will die like your brother, Aaron, for you both rebelled against my instructions in the wilderness of Zin. When the people of Israel rebelled, you failed to demonstrate my holiness to them at the waters.” – Numbers 27:12-14 NLT

For nearly four decades, this land had been the focus of Moses’ life. Ever since he had led the people out of Egypt, his life’s mission had been to guide them to this very spot. But now, as he looked out over the fertile valley below, he was doing so for the very last time. He would not be going in and it was time to turn over his leadership responsibilities to someone else.

Ever the consummate leader, Moses begged God to appoint the right man for the task. He knew from firsthand experience just how stubborn and headstrong the people could be and they would never make it without strong leadership.

“O Lord, you are the God who gives breath to all creatures. Please appoint a new man as leader for the community. Give them someone who will guide them wherever they go and will lead them into battle, so the community of the Lord will not be like sheep without a shepherd.”– Nmbers 27:16-17 NLT

This request from Moses reveals a great deal about his heart. Despite all the difficulties the people of Israel had caused him over the last forty years, Moses cared deeply for them. He knew that, without strong leadership, they would never make it. As difficult as the last four decades had been, their conquering of the land of Canaan would pose a far greater test of their resolve and faithfulness. The next leader would need to be able to do battle with the rebellion-prone Israelites as well as the occupants of the land.

While Moses had been required to lead the people across the wilderness, his replacement would be tasked with leading them into battle. Their conquest of Canaan would be difficult and fraught with danger, and these people who had made a habit of whining about the lack of water and food would certainly find the thought of military service distasteful. So, they were going to need a man who was equal parts warrior and shepherd. He would have to be both a fighting man and a kind-hearted guide who could lead the people with patience and care.

But Moses’ concerns were unnecessary because God already had a man in mind. He suggested Joshua, one of the two men who had been part of the 12-man contingent of spies who had reconnoitered the land 40 years earlier. Joshua and Caleb had been the voices of reason among the fearful and disheartened men who recommended that the people not enter the land of promise. While the majority of the spies had deemed the land unconquerable and to be avoided at all costs, Joshua and Caleb had provided a dissenting opinion:

Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!” – Numbers 14:6-9 NLT

While the people eventually rejected the counsel of Joshua and Caleb, these two men had powerfully declared their faith in God and demonstrated their belief in His power and goodness. Despite the odds, they had called the people to trust and obey their sovereign God. Four decades later, God chose Joshua to be Moses’ successor.

“Take Joshua son of Nun, who has the Spirit in him, and lay your hands on him. Present him to Eleazar the priest before the whole community, and publicly commission him to lead the people.” – Numbers 27:18-19 NLT

“This spirit was not something that now came upon Joshua, or was temporary (such as the coming of the spirit on the elders in 11:17, 25-26); it already existed in Joshua and was the basis of God’s choice of him. Deut. 34:9 applies the phrase ‘full of the spirit of Wisdom’ to Joshua, confirming the thought here.” – Timothy R. Ashley, The Book of Numbers.

Joshua was God’s man for the moment. He had been chosen by God long before this day arrived, and the Spirit of God had been preparing him for the next phase of Israel’s journey.

But God’s relationship with Joshua would be different than the one He had with Moses. While God had interacted with Moses face-to-face, Joshua received his instructions through the high priest and the use of “the Urim—one of the sacred lots cast before the Lord” (Numbers 27:21 NLT). This new method of communication would feature built-in safeguards, allowing Eleazar, the high priest, to act as a source of confirmation for all decisions. This would prevent Joshua from acting on his own and risking the wrath of God.

Having received God’s plan for his replacement and knowing that he would soon be breathing his last breath on Earth, Moses descended from the mountain and went about preparing Joshua for his new role.

So Moses did as the Lord commanded. He presented Joshua to Eleazar the priest and the whole community. Moses laid his hands on him and commissioned him to lead the people, just as the Lord had commanded through Moses. – Numbers 27:22-23 NLT

With new leadership called and commissioned, it was time to begin the final phase of the mission. This generation of Israelites was about to do what their mothers and fathers had failed to do: Enter the land of promise. This had been the goal all along. It had always been God’s intention for the wilderness to be a means to this end. From the moment they left Egypt and began their long trek to the Jordan River, the Israelites had been on a journey to the land of promise. Now, their inheritance lay across the river and all they had to do was step out in faith and take it as their own. But as Joshua would soon discover, that would be easier said than done. As Moses’ God-appointed replacement, he had his work cut out for him and his reliance upon God was about to be sorely tested.

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Our Faithful, Loving God.

 Isaiah 53-54, Revelation 10

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,” says the Lord, who has compassion on you. – Isaiah 54:10 ESV

What is the response of a holy, righteous God to the persistent sin and rebellion of His people? He gives us the answer Himself. “‘For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you. In overflowing anger for a moment I hid my face from you, but with everlasting love I will have compassion on you,’ says the Lord, your Redeemer” (Isaiah 54:7-8 ESV). It would appear as if God had deserted them. From a human perspective, it would feel like God's anger had caused him to abandon them. But His compassion and everlasting love for them never diminished or truly disappeared. Even His punishment was an act of love. “Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent” (Revelation 3:19 ESV). “For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives” (Hebrews 12:6 ESV). And the greatest expression of God's incredible love would come in the form of His own Son. In order to effectively deal with man's ongoing sin problem, God would send His Son as the permanent payment for the penalty due. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son…” (John 3:16a ESV). “…but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 ESV). “He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all…” (Romans 8:32a ESV). Amazingly, God's plan for man's redemption has always included His Son. His first coming was designed to provide intercession – His death in our place. It was intended to make propitiation for our sins, satisfying the just demands of a holy God. It was meant to provide salvation from the condemnation we deserved and replace our sentence of eternal separation from God with eternal life in His presence.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Hundreds of years before Jesus Christ appeared on the scene, God gave Isaiah a detailed account of what His earthly life and ministry would look like. In chapter 53 of Isaiah's book, we have an amazing description of the Servant of God who was to come. In this passage we see the painstakingly clear picture of the suffering Savior who was to come to the earth and take all of the sins of mankind upon Himself. We are told that He would be unattractive and unimpressive in appearance. He would be despised and rejected. He would be intimately familiar with sorrow, grief and suffering. He would be wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. He would take on all the sins of mankind and suffer the punishment of God's wrath on our behalf. And He would do all this willingly, out of obedience to His Father's will and out of love for mankind. God makes it clear that the suffering and death of Jesus was His divine will. “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Isaiah 53:10 ESV). Yes, God fully intended for His Son to die a criminal's death and be buried in a borrowed tomb, so that the sins of mankind could be fully atoned for once and for all. And God did all this out of love. The result of this amazing display of sacrificial love is truly incredible. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” (Isaiah 53:11 ESV). Jesus would suffer and die, but also be raised again and see the fruit of His sacrificial love in the form of redeemed, justified sons and daughters of God.

What does this passage reveal about man?

How easy it is for us to overlook and under-appreciate the love of God. Just like the people of Israel, we can find ourselves taking for granted His incredible mercy, grace and love. We can underplay our own sinfulness and in so doing, diminish the price that God paid for our sins: the life of His own Son. The biggest problem we all face as human beings is our own sin and guilt. Every man or woman who has ever lived has had the same problem: Their inherent sin nature and incapacity to do anything about it. Isaiah would later write: “We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall, and our sins sweep us away like the wind” (Isaiah 64:6 NLT). Solomon wrote, “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins” (Ecclesiastes 7:20 NLT). All stand before God as guilty and He is fully justified in meting out the punishment of death for our sin. But instead, God came up with a plan of salvation that provided a way for His wrath to be satisfied and His love to be displayed justly and rightly. God couldn't ignore or overlook man's sin. He couldn't turn a blind eye to man's inherent sinfulness and guilt. To do so would have been unjust and unrighteous. It was out of His character as God. So He came up with a solution that made man's salvation and His own satisfaction possible. And even though the people of Israel rejected His Son the first time He came, rejecting the very idea of a suffering Servant, God is still going to display His love to them a second time. The book of Revelation provides us with an end-of-the-story account of just how God will display His steadfast, unfailing love to His chosen people. He will keep and fulfill His covenant promises He made to them. “‘…my steadfast love shall not depart from you, and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you” (Isaiah 54:10 ESV).

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

God IS love. It is not just a character quality He displays. It is His very nature. He is love all the time – in all that He does. His disciplines are an act of love. His sacrifice of His own Son on my behalf was the ultimate act of love. When He sends His Son again, it will be the consummate act of love. It will be an expression of His steadfast, unfailing love for His creation, and will display His unfailing love for His chosen people – the Jews. For a brief moment, it appears as if God has deserted them. To our limited understanding it would seem as if God's anger with Israel has resulted in His rejection of them. But God would have us understand otherwise. He WILL show them compassion. He WILL display His everlasting love for them. His steadfast love WILL NOT depart from them. His covenant of peace WILL NOT be removed.  “This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord” (Isaiah 54:17 ESV). In the book of Revelation, John is given a scroll to eat. He is told, “it will make your stomach bitter, but in your mouth it will be sweet as honey” (Revelation 10:9 ESV). On that scroll was contained “the mystery of God.” It was an account of the final plan of God for the world. There would be further punishments involved. There would be more judgments to come. But in the end, the love of God would be displayed as His Son faithfully fulfilled His role as the King of kings and Lord of lords. Sin and death would be dealt their final blow. Satan would be eliminated once and for all. Righteousness would reign on earth. God's people, the nation of Israel, would be restored to favor in His eyes. All as a display of God's unwavering, matchless, unfathomable love. The very same love He showered on me when He offered me the gift of His Son's death on the cross in my place.

Father, thank You for Your love. I take it for granted far too often. I don't fully appreciate it or understand it. I don't think about it or thank You for it enough. Sometimes I just flat out miss it in all the busyness of life. When things don't go quite the way I want them to, I can feel unloved by You. But Your love does not exist to make me happy. It exists to make me holy. You love me so that I might be like Your Son. You loved me so much that You sent Him to die for me and so that I might have His righteousness in exchange for my sinfulness. There is no greater display of love I need from You. Amen

By Faith…

Nehemiah 11-12, Hebrews 11

And all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect. – Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV

It took a lot of faith for Nehemiah to leave his safe and secure job as a civil servant working for the king of Persia. It took faith for him to go before the king and risk his anger by asking for permission to return to his native land and rebuild the walls. It took faith for him to ask the Jews living in exile to make the long journey back to Judah and take on the formidable task of doing construction work on walls that had been destroyed 70 years earlier. It took faith for him to face the unceasing attacks of his enemies and continue to build in the face of opposition and the mounting discouragement of the people. It took faith for him to call the people to renew their covenant with God and give up their foreign wives and the children they had born. All Nehemiah had to go on was the word of God. He couldn't see the outcome of his efforts. He had no guarantee as to how things were going to turn out. And there is no doubt that Nehemiah had second thoughts along the way. He got discouraged. He had misgivings. He questioned himself and his calling. But he kept trusting and building. The writer of Hebrews provides us with a wonderful definition of faith: “Faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). The apostle Paul gives us similar sentiment: “…for we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7 ESV). In this life, we can't always see the outcome. We aren't always given a crystal clear image of how things are going to turn out. We simply receive a word from God and are expected to trust Him – sight unseen. That is the essence of faith. Like Nehemiah, we must learn to trust God, not the circumstances. While everything around us may point to a less-than-satisfactory conclusion, we must keep our eyes focused on God and His unwavering character. We must trust in His power and His uncanny ability to always keep His promises.

What does this passage reveal about God?

Chapter 11 of Hebrews is often called the Hall of Faith. It contains a list of Old Testament characters whose lives, like Nehemiah's, demonstrated what it means to live by faith. We read of Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah, and the rest of the patriarchs. There's the familiar story of Moses. And yet, the central character of the chapter is God. At the end of the day, it is He in whom they are placing their trust and basing their faith. Abraham left his hometown on nothing more than the word of God. He traveled a long distance to get to a land that God had said He would give him, then spent his entire life living in tents and never really occupying the land that had been promised. He waited years to have a son through whom God said He would make a great nation. But then God asked Abraham to sacrifice him. And we read that, “ It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac” (Hebrews 11:17 NLT). Abraham had to trust God. He couldn't let reason take over. Nothing about what God was asking him to do made sense. But “Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again” (Hebrews 11:19 NLT). His faith was in God. Abraham would not live long enough to see the promises of God fulfilled. He would never have a permanent home or see his descendants proliferate and spread throughout the land of Canaan. But he kept trusting. Over and over again we read those two powerful words, “by faith.” Each of these Old Testament saints lived by faith in God. Even Rahab the prostitute and a non-Jew, placed her faith in the God of Abraham, choosing to trust that He was able to defeat the gods of her own people. She took a huge risk and protected the Hebrew spies, asking them to spare her life when they conquered the city. With no guarantee of success, she trusted God. And time and time again, we see that God proved Himself trustworthy. 

What does this passage reveal about man?

We are wired to live by sight. We demand proof. We want guarantees. But the life of the believer is based on faith. It “is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see” (Hebrews 11:1 NLT). So the daily test for each of us is whether we will trust God and place our faith in Him. Will we do what He tells us to do or go with our gut? Had Nehemiah listened to his own inner voice, he would never have returned to Judah, never have attempted to rebuild the wall, and never experienced the joy and elation of celebrating its dedication a mere 59 days after having started. But even Nehemiah didn't get to see all his hopes fulfilled. The city would remain in a state of disrepair and virtually empty for years to come. He would leave and return to find so many of his reforms and renovations having fallen by the wayside. And yet he would keep on believing and building. One of the main roadblocks to our faith is our tendency to be shortsighted in our perspective. We have a short-term mindset that tempts us to expect everything in the here-and-now. We expect immediate results. But the writer of Hebrews reminds us that those great saints of the Old Testament “all died in faith, not having received the things promised” (Hebrews 11:13 ESV). They somehow knew that there was more than meets the eye. They had an eternal perspective, “having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth” (Hebrews 11:13 ESV). Somehow they understood that God had something far greater prepared for them than just the immediate gratification of their hopes and dreams. “But they were looking for a better place, a heavenly homeland. That is why God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared a city for them” (Hebrews 11:17 NLT).  

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

Living by faith does not mean that everything always turns out for the better. It is not a guarantee of the easy life. In fact, chapter 11 of Hebrews tells us of those who “were tortured, refusing to turn from God in order to be set free. They placed their hope in a better life after the resurrection. Some were jeered at, and their backs were cut open with whips. Others were chained in prisons. Some died by stoning, some were sawed in half, and others were killed with the sword. Some went about wearing skins of sheep and goats, destitute and oppressed and mistreated. They were too good for this world, wandering over deserts and mountains, hiding in caves and holes in the ground” (Hebrews 11:35-38 NLT). The apostles themselves fit into this category. Most of them died martyr's deaths. They didn't live to see the return of Christ. But they never stopped believing that His promises were true and that God would accomplish all that He had said. They had an assurance about things they could not see – based on their understanding of the character of God. To live by faith is to live with an eternal, not a temporal perspective. It is to understand that what will be is not limited by what I can see. God's plan is not hindered by my eyesight. The best is yet to come. God is not done yet. I must learn to place my confidence in my unseen, yet unfailing God.

Father, You are trustworthy. You are faithful. You are all powerful and completely in control of all things. I can place my faith in You. Forgive me for the many times I attempt to live by sight. I still find it so easy to focus on my circumstances and judge Your goodness based on what I can see. But we are to live by believing, not be seeing. I won't always understand what is going on. I want always like what I am going through. But I can trust You. I must always remember that Your best is out ahead of me – “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you” (1 Peter 1:4 ESV). Amen

Seeing Isn't Always Believing.

2 Kings 7-8, 2 Corinthians 13

Then the captain on whose hand the king leaned said to the man of God, “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” But he said, “You shall see it with your own eyes, but you shall not eat of it.” – 2 Kings 7:2 ESV

Doubting God is almost a national pastime for many believers. We regularly hear the Word of God preached and taught, and we hear repeated messages regarding His power and faithfulness. But we still refuse to believe that what God says is true and that what the Bible teaches us about God can be trusted; especially in times of difficulty. When we are suffering, it is difficult to believe that God can and will deliver us. We can easily begin to doubt His Word and question His ability to intervene on our behalf. In 2 King 6 we read about the siege of Samaria by the Syrian army. They have the capital city of Israel surrounded and, to make matters even worse, there was a severe famine in the land. Things had gotten so bad that the people within the walls of Samaria had resorted to eating their own children. The king of Israel had lost all hope and gone into a permanent state of mourning. He wore sackcloth under his clothes and felt powerless to do anything to remedy the situation. He recognized their trouble as coming from God and didn't believe that God was going to help them in any way. He had come to the point of saying, “Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?” (2 Kings 6:33 ESV). But the king was not alone in his pessimism. Others had begun to doubt God as well. Their dire circumstances had caused them to lose hope.

What does this passage reveal about God?

But even in the midst of the extreme difficulties that Israel was experiencing, God was there. In spite of their open rebellion and years of unfaithfulness to Him, God had not given up on them. God, speaking through His prophet, Elisha, told them, “Tomorrow about this time a seah of fine flour shall be sold for a shekel, and two seahs of barley for a shekel, at the gate of Samaria” (2 Kings 7:1 ESV). This news was met with skepticism and doubt. What Elisha was telling them was unbelievable, even ridiculous. For years, food had become so scarce in Samaria, that “a donkey's head was sold for eighty shekels of silver, and the fourth part of a kab of dove's dung for five shekels of silver” (2 Kings 6:25 ESV). Now Elisha was telling them that all that was going to change – overnight. As bad as their circumstances had become, God was telling them that He had the capacity to change those circumstances – immediately. He had the power to remedy their problem and could do so in no time at all. Their condition was going to go from famine to plenty in less than a 24-hour period.

What does this passage reveal about man?

But many doubted Elisha's words. They just couldn't trust what he was telling them about God. Their circumstances overwhelmed their capacity to trust God and take Him at His word. The king's captain put their doubts into words. “If the Lord himself should make windows in heaven, could this thing be?” (2 Kings 7:2 ESV). This man expressed what everyone else was thinking. He could see no way for God to intervene and change their circumstances overnight. There is a certain degree of sarcasm in his statement to Elisha. It is as if he is saying, “Even if God could open up the windows of heaven and pour out resources from His heavenly storehouse, this couldn't happen.” It was impossible. He saw no way for their conditions to change. It would take a miracle from heaven. And he was right. Elisha told this man that he would see what God was going to do with his own eyes, but he would not get to benefit from it. God was going to work a miracle from heaven, but this man would not get to taste a single morsel of God's gracious provision. And the next morning, much to the surprise of everyone in Samaria, they woke up to find the Syrian camp deserted and all of the food and provisions left behind. “For the Lord had made the army of the Syrians hear the sound of chariots and of horses, the sound of a great army, so that they said to one another, ‘Behold, the king of Israel has hired against us the kings of the Hittites and the kings of Egypt to come against us.’  So they fled away in the twilight and abandoned their tents, their horses, and their donkeys, leaving the camp as it was, and fled for their lives” (2 Kings 7:6-7 ESV). God had intervened. He had opened the windows of heaven and poured out a blessing, but in a way that was unexpected and unbelievable. He used the very enemies of Israel, who had come intent to destroy them, to bless them. Their conditions were radically changed. Suddenly, they had an abundance of food. So much so, that the prices for flour and barley plummeted overnight – just as God had said they would. But the king's captain was in for a surprise of his own. When the king discovered the good news regarding their situation, he appointed this very same man to oversee the gate through which the people would pass as the raided the Syrian camp and brought the new-found booty into the city of Samaria. Ironically, this man was trampled in the rush of people storming out of the gates to take advantage of God's blessing.

How would I apply what I’ve read to my own life?

It is also ironic that doubt should come so easy to those of us who call ourselves believers. We say we believe in God. We claim to believe that the Bible is the word of God. But we doubt what it says. We question God's ability to work miracles in our lives. We become focused on our conditions and fixate on what we believe to be the reality of our lives. But believing requires faith and faith requires action. It is not enough to say that you believe. You must put that faith to the test, by trusting in God's love and faithfulness to provide a solution to your need. You must also have faith that God has a purpose behind every circumstance in your life. I doubt that the people of Israel saw any benefit to having their city surrounded by Syrians. They could not have seen any good coming out of a severe famine. But what they needed to understand was that God was in control of all that was going on, and that He had a purpose for what was happening in their lives. He was going to use even these dire circumstances to reveal His power and provide for their needs. The famine was a result of their own sin and rebellion against Him. But had the Syrians never have invaded their land and surrounded their city, their suffering as a result of the famine would have continued. God didn't end the famine, He simply provided them with an unexpected source of good in the midst of it – from the hands of their enemies. The apostle Paul reminds me, “He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. For he was crucified in weakness, but lives by the power of God” (2 Corinthians 13:4 ESV). When the disciples watched Jesus die on the cross, they thought their hopes and dreams of a new kingdom had died along with Him. They couldn't understand why their Savior had to die. They couldn't fathom why their King had to be killed by the Romans. But it was all part of God's plan. He was in complete control. God would use the Romans, the enemies of the Jews, to accomplish His will and bring new life to the people of Israel. He would use death to bring about life. He would use weakness to accomplish His power. It's interesting to note that lowly lepers were the first to benefit from God's unexpected bounty that morning outside the walls of Samaria. In their desperation and need they risked everything in the hopes of receiving something that might sustain their lives. And they were rewarded with food and treasure beyond their wildest expectations. When we trust God and step out on faith, we too receive far more than we could ever imagine.

Father, forgive me for the many times I doubt You. Forgive me for the many times I express my belief in You, but fail to step out in faith and trust You to do what You have promised to do. I place way too much stock in my circumstances and not enough faith in Your power. I want to see and believe. I want to trust Your character and lean on Your promises. You can turn my enemies into a means for blessing me. You can turn even the darkest moment into an opportunity to see Your light shine and Your power revealed. You are faithful and good – all the time. Amen