Title: Wilderness of Paran (Numbers 14:20-30)
Contents
Title: Wilderness of Paran / Scripture Num 14:20-30 / Space Daebok Church
*** Introduction
There are three types of eyes that can see. The first is the physical eye that can see things, the second is the knowledge eye that can understand writing, and the third is the spiritual eye that can see God, that is, the eye of faith.
In the world, people with dark eyes of the body are called “blind”, and those with dark eyes of knowledge are called “illiterate”. So, do you know what kind of person who does not have eyes to see the spirit world? It is "Beast". Look at Genesis 6:3. “My spirit will not be with men forever, says the Lord, for they are made flesh. But their days will be one hundred and twenty years.” The ‘flesh’ here refers to the body of an animal without a spirit.
In particular, a person who claims to be a saint but does not have the eyes of faith is called a “blind believer”. In other words, we do not believe by knowing and realizing, but we are blind believers who follow blindly. Such was the case with the Israelites who had left Egypt and traveled in the wilderness.
A truly tragic incident is recorded in the text. Because the people of Israel did not believe in God, they committed the folly of not being able to enter the “Promised Land” and “Canaan” in front of them. When everyone was on the brink of distrust, only two men, Joshua and Caleb, who trusted God without looking at their circumstances were allowed to enter Canaan. The rest had to waste their precious lives in the wilderness in vain. Because of unbelief.
The difference between Joshua and Caleb from the common people was that they had eyes of faith. The eyes of faith enable us to see the promised land that God has prepared, and to know the way we can occupy. People of our faith must have the eyes of the spirit and the eyes of faith to see the promises of God. Only then can you claim the promised land.
1. First, let's look at the background of the incident.
The Israelites camped in the Wilderness of Paran two years after the Exodus. The Wilderness of Paran is a wilderness just a short distance away from the land of Canaan, which God promised to give to the Israelites. At that time, God said to the Israelites, “Go up and get drunk.” However, the people suggested that they send spies to know the terrain and environment in advance. In the end, Moses selected a leader from each tribe and had 12 spies search the land of Canaan.
Deuteronomy 1:21-24, “The LORD your God has set this land before you; go up and acquire it, just as the LORD, the God of your ancestors, has spoken to you. Fear not, do not hesitate, because all of you came before me and said, 'Let us send men before us to spy out the land for us, and give us notice of the way we must go up, and into which city we must enter. ‘Let’s do it,’ and it was good to me, and I chose twelve men from among you, one from each tribe; and they went ahead and went up into the hill country, and came to the Valley of Eshcol, and spyed out there.
When the Israelites sent out spies, it was a sign of their distrust of God. Right after the Exodus, when they reached the Red Sea, their distrust of God had already been manifested. They did not have the eyes of faith to occupy the Promised Land.
God said, “Do not calculate this or that, do not hesitate, just believe in the Word and go up.” However, the Israelites trusted their physical eyes more than God's Word. The reports of the spies were enough to destroy all the dreams the people had imagined. Strong walls, giants, enormous military power and iron chariots. There was no way by human calculations to occupy the land.
Are you not taking the path of chastisement yourself with worldly calculations in front of the Promised Land? Let us go into the wilderness of Paran.
2. The Wilderness of Paran is a land of hope.
The people who sent spies must have been filled with dreams and hopes. Until now, they had lost all hope as slaves in Egypt. But now that the land flowing with milk and honey is right in front of you, how much do you want to occupy it?
The 12 spies who left with their hopes returned after spying out Canaan for 40 days. Two men brought a bunch of grapes and brought a lot of fruit, and they praised the land as truly flowing with milk and honey. The hearts of the people were excited.
Wouldn't it be the same as today's Christians hope for the kingdom of God on this earth? We too are standing in the wilderness of Paran in the New Testament age. We are living by faith in the barren wilderness while looking at the beautiful kingdom of God that cannot be described in words. God gave us a glimpse of the beauty of the kingdom of God through the book of Revelation.
-Rev 21:1-22:5
However, it is not only the kingdom of God where eternal life is prepared. The kingdom of God is being established even on this earth by the saints.
3. The wind of disbelief is blowing in the Wilderness of Paran.
Let's look at Numbers 13:28-33.
Reports that sparked hope were followed by negative reports of overwhelming despair. Numbers 13:25-29 is a general fact confirmed by the spies. If they had added faith to trust in God's promise to this fact, they would have fulfilled their wish.
But the wind of unbelief from the Wilderness of Paran was too strong. Joshua and Caleb, two men, encouraged the people to go up, relying on God's promise, saying, "Let's go up and take it right now, we can overcome it." But the other ten spies, the overwhelming majority, said, 'We can't compete with them. we are like grasshoppers It's impossible,' expressing their negative and hopeless emotions. The people trusted the negative majority and wept in despair. The Wilderness of Paran, a land of hope until a moment ago, has been transformed into a land of wailing of despair.
According to psychologists, people are more interested in the negatives than the positives. For example, they are more interested in gossip about what they do wrong rather than praise their neighbor for what they do well. Negative thinking is very contagious. The weeping of one man makes all the people weep.
In this world in which our bodies live, the wind of distrust, the wind of temptation, and the wind of worry are constantly blowing. Satan and his sympathizers are doing everything they can to make God's saints weep.
4. God is with you in the Wilderness of Paran.
No matter how strong and desperate the wind blows in the world, the Lord is there with you. Let's read verses 27 and 28 of the text. “How long shall I endure this wicked congregation that murmurs against me? I have heard the murmuring of the children of Israel against me. Say to them, By my life, saith the LORD, I swear. As you have heard in my ears, I will do to you.”
It is a fearful declaration from God.
God heard the words of the Israelites who struggled in despair in the wilderness of Paran and grumbled. God was among them. And not only did they carry out their own plans because they were deceived, but they interpret the results at will, and they were angry with those who fell into despair. And he said that he would do exactly what they complained about. How terrifying are you?
In the presence of nearly three million weepers, the voices of Caleb and Joshua had no effect. I had no choice but to shudder in the face of God's wrath. The same can be done in the wilderness of Paran, where we stand now. If we, too, are bound by worldly interpretations of our environment and our own plans, we are bound to receive God's wrath.
But just believe in the promises and power of God who is with you. God's power calms strong winds and storms, turns water into wine, and gives life even to the dead. There is nothing impossible for those who believe according to the word of the Lord.
-Mark 9:23, "Jesus said to him, "If you can, what do you mean?" Nothing is impossible for those who believe. Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”
Caleb and Joshua, who did not lose their eyes of faith regardless of circumstances and circumstances, were allowed to enter the Promised Land of Canaan.
The Wilderness of Paran is a place of life that we pass through on the way to God's promise. Therefore, in the wilderness of Paran, there is a way toward God's promise. The way can only be seen with the eyes of faith. A person who has eyes of faith never complains or criticizes. Because we believe in the presence and power of God.
I pray in the name of the Lord that the wilderness of Paran, where you are staying now, will become a place of true hope with God.