Numbers 14 is filled with the reality of humankind. It starts out with people being people: “the whole community was in an uproar…wailing all night long….grumbled against Moses”. In fact it was to the point that they were wanting to go back to Egypt – short memory obviously as they were slaves there – and now want to overthrow Moses and Aaron as the leaders. “Let’s pick a new leader, let’s head back to Egypt”. My how fickle people can be. Anyone who has ever been in a leadership role knows this feeling. You work unceasingly to take your followers to a better place and along the way they question and then want to replace you and turn back. It is an all too common scenario. So Moses and Aaron call for “an emergency session” and Joshua and Caleb, two of the ten spies, address the crowd. They tell them to just shut up and look at the facts. “He’ll give it to us….Just don’t rebel against GOD…And don’t be afraid of those people”. These two guys get it. God led them here to fulfill a promise. Don’t turn and walk away from it now. We are right on the verge of receiving what God has already given to us. But the people won’t listen. In fact, the people are now talking about “hurling stones” at Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb. It is getting intense. And then God gets miffed. The Message version says it this way: “How long will these people treat me like dirt”? God is not humored here at all, and in fact he is ready to wipe the people out with a plague. He is going to kill the whole grumbling and complaining lot.
Moses had to be tempted to just say ok. After all, the people have been causing him grief for a while now. It has been no cakewalk trying to lead this bunch. Scripture gives us another glimpse into this man Moses when it says “But Moses…please forgive the wrongdoing of this people”. Moses intercedes yet again for these people who just got done talking about stoning him. That is real leadership. That is real love. That is the heart of God. The 10 spies who brought the negative report did die – God wiped them. And God does let his wrath loose when He decides that rather than kill them all with a plague, He would punish them to walking around for 40 more years in the wilderness so every person over the age of 20 would die before they could go into the Promised Land (except Caleb and Joshua). God said “I’ve had my fill of complaings….grumblers and grousers”. He sends the people away from the land He has promised and tells Moses to lead them back to the wilderness. But guess what – the people now decide they are ready to go in and take the land. Moses warns them it won’t work, but they don’t listen, they attack, and they get routed by the enemy. Moses told them why they would fail: “Because you have left off obediently following GOD, GOD is not going to be with you in this”. Didn’t matter what he said – they did it anyway – but we can learn from it. Disobedience keeps God’s presence from us. We should not depend on God showing up if we are going to walk in disobedience. This chapter is filled with lessons on leadership, and certainly lessons on how to walk with God and succeed. The people really messed up a great plan for their lives by complaining, grumbling and trying to overthrow God’s leadership and plans. We must be careful not to do the same.