And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke Me? And how long will it be ere they believe Me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? Numbers 14:11
For almost 40 years beginning in the 1880s, it was an almost weekly thing for the New York police department to get a complaint about somebody putting up toll barricades on the Booklyn Bridge. And they would know that George C. Parker had struck again. Parker is considered the most convincing con man who ever lived. He managed to convince people every week that he actually owned the bridge, and he would sell it to them, telling them they could make a fortune by charging tolls. Parker was proof that it doesn’t take much to convince some people of just about anything. In direct contrast, our text today is about some people who were almost impossible to convince, despite overwhelming and personal proof.
What more could the Israelites ask for? God had already proved His love and care for them with all that he had done for them. He had demonstrated His almighty power in delivering them from Egypt, in parting the Red Sea, in providing manna and water in the wilderness. And He was promising them He would give them victory in clearing their enemies out of the promised land. He even gave them the report of the good spies Joshua and Caleb assuring them of victory. But they chose instead to accept the evil report of the ten negative spies. And our text makes it plain that God was fed up with their lack of trust in Him. Does He ever have opportunity to condemn our lack of faith in Him?
When we read in the third chapter of the Revelation the description of the assembly in Laodicea, we can be sure that that testimony was not achieving much for their Lord and was not going to be in existence much longer. Unlike some of the earlier assemblies, these folks thought they had everything they needed in themselves, so they were lukewarm in their spiritual life. There was nothing they thought they needed God for, and there was nothing that they needed to do for Him. Sorry to tell you this, but we are living in the age of Laodicea. Yes, you paused to give thanks for your latest meal, but did you really pause and be amazed at the goodness of God to allow you to have that food? What about your home, your income, your peaceful residence in a wealthy nation, how much of these do you take for granted or take all the credit for? Are we really trusting the Lord for all of our needs and for all of the resources for where He wants us to go in our walk for Him?
We can see why God was provoked at the Israelites for their refusal to go forward in faith in His provision. Can we see why God might be provoked at us for the same reason? – Jim MacIntosh