Have you listened to the news lately only to find yourself emotionally worn out? The media plays to emotions and feeds off of initial reactions, almost creating a cycle of impulsive feelings within you to keep coming back. It can be addictive to get that rush of adrenaline and angst. We see a similar action and reaction when the spies were sent to Canaan to search the land and report back.
Today, many have sought to answer, ‘Why did God send plagues’? The media may not be as mainstream as it was for the Israelites, but God definitely held the spies responsible for their role. (No, I’m not claiming the mainstream media will be getting a plague, just noting the similarities here for a modern day example.)
Responsibility…
In Numbers chapter 11 and 12, we find two contrasting examples of taking responsibility. Moses, in chapter 11, pleads with God to send relief as his responsibility to lead the people was overly burdensome. He preferred death over the weight of his obligation.
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I am not able to carry all this people alone; the burden is too heavy for me.
Numbers 11:14
God provides graciously, both with food for the Israelites to satisfy their grumbling and also with elders to help him lead the people.
In Numbers 12, the jealousy of Miriam and Aaron arises and they are allowing the ‘sin that crouches at the door to overtake’ them (paraphrase of Genesis 4:7). God displays for all that Moses was a true servant and prophet, and his siblings (mostly Miriam) had to take responsibility for their actions of sowing discord.
A good thing turned bad…
In both examples, what was a good thing, was turned sour after human nature took over and marred it. Manna was a gift from God and Moses’ leadership was a gift from God, yet the Israelites grumbled because none of it was good enough.
Miriam and Aaron were gifted a special relationship with God, where God did speak through them, yet that wasn’t good enough. They wanted more.
And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs.
Numbers 13:23
After the 12 spies sought out the Promised Land, they were to come back and report. God had already shared what was to come and what the land would give them.
Remember, just a little bit ago when the Israelites began journeying through the desert and were complaining because they were so sick of manna. God provided quail, then showed them through the spies that the Promised Land offered great produce. Here, they brought back a single cluster of grapes that had to be carried on a stick between two men who had to hoist it on their shoulders to carry back, yet that wasn’t good enough.
Reporting to people…
The original intent of the mission was to gain intel, a factual basis for the Israelites to understand what was there.
“Go up into the Negeb [also Negev] and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.”
Numbers 13:17b-20a, emphasis mine
The spies’ report began well but then quickly detoured into a fear based rambling about the people and the cities. The Israelites were sucked into the drama and had to be silenced so they could hear that the future was not as impossible as it seemed.
However, the 10 spies had other plans. Have you ever watched someone puff up with pride as they get noticed for, say, sharing negative news about another person? This seems to be a similar reaction, they were feeding off the reactions of the people, puffing up and exacerbating the situation and the attention they were receiving. Their reporting was not limited to facts but stretched out into fear mongering and exaggerations meant to drum up emotions and alarm.
The response from the people was just that. They decided to rebel against God and Moses as Caleb and Joshua pleaded with them to face reality. Moses’ very life was threatened over their abject and unfounded panic.
Speak truth…
We see similar examples in the media, in communities, even in families. One may stand up to speak truth and be ridiculed, ignored, or threatened when it goes against the stream.
Bad leaders feed off of fear and worry because they know it can be easy to let it take over our mindset if we allow it. It is oddly similar to a Narcissist’s modus operandi.
In contrast to popular belief, what is unrealized by most is that the Scapegoat is the most grounded, aware of their feelings, truthful, emotionally healthy person in a Narcissistic family. They are the most ready to fight for justice. …
What is also unrealized is that a Scapegoat’s emotional stability usually equips them to be the strongest and first to set boundaries against a Narcissist. The Scapegoat is typically the first to walk away from a toxic family. …
The Narcissist knows most people will only ever hear one side, emotionally attach to it, and never truly seek the truth.
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The next time you witness an example of this, I challenge you to pause your emotions, listen factually and logically to what is being said, and if applicable, confront your initial inkling to dismiss them. Take a moment to consider their stance and base your response off of reality.
Take Moses as the prime scapegoat example. Here he is, the Israelite community as a whole wants to stone him. God offers him an out and the promise to start a new nation (again). Yet, He desires not for fame, apologies, or amends. Instead, he only aspires to see that God’s name is not marred.
Why Did God Send Plagues…
Moses asked God to spare the nation He called his own and God complied. However, we read that consequences were still enforced.
And the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against Me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against Me. Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the Lord, what you have said in My hearing I will do to you: your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against Me, not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know My displeasure.’ I, the Lord, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against Me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”
Numbers 14:26-35
And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against Him by bringing up a bad report about the land— the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the Lord. Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.
Numbers 14:36-38
The men who reported through fear and not facts, through exaggerations and not faith now bore an immediate punishment for their sins. They were the root causing the people to grumble against Him. Why Did God Send Plagues? In this instance, God sent a plague as a punishment against the leaders of the rebellion.
Is this always the case, that a plague is a punishment? We see in Numbers 16 that again God sent a plague against the Israelites as a punishment.
And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the Lord; the plague has begun.” So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah.
Numbers 16:46-49
These two examples showcase plagues being tied to rejection of God through grumbling and unbelief in His promises coming true. In Exodus the 10 plagues as well as the plague against the people for the golden calf were tied to rejection of God through idols. In all 4 of these specific examples, it showcases the sovereignty of God.
Focus on God, not the storm…
Does that sound familiar right now for those living in North America? Do we, ourselves, need to take a step back to see the factual data surrounding the Coronavirus pandemic and remind ourselves who is in control? The facts, data, and numbers do not support mass fear or panic to the level that the government and media are attempting to influence us toward.
Was the future serious for the Israelites as they already knew they would need to battle for the Promised Land? Yes, the people were strong and the cities fortified, but God was in control and leading their battles.
Is our future serious with regard to the Coronavirus as it does have a potential (surprisingly small %) to kill us? Yes, the virus is real and could kill us, but God is in control leading our lives.
The Israelites had to be silenced by Caleb to be reminded to focus on God’s promises. God had promised deliverance from the Egyptians and the hope of the Promised Land to dwell. One promise had been satisfied, but the timing and the process was not good enough as the other had not yet occurred on their timetable.
Caleb and Joshua were two out of 12 men who focused on God, alongside Moses, not the storm brewing in front of them. All three stood up for the truth of God’s promises and encouraged others to do the same, even when they faced murderous threats.
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That phrase: Focus on God and not the storm.
Excellent advice.
We are like the disciples in the boat with Jesus!