God promises that he is giver of "every good and perfect gift" and that he "withholds no good thing" from us (Jas 1:17; Ps 84:11). We see this aspect of his character and nature from the first verses in Genesis where he speaks the earth and all that's in it into being, declaring that it is "good" and that his creation of humanity is "very good." When he encounters Moses at the burning bush, he uses "good" again to describe the land he is giving to them -- "a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey" (Ex 3:7). But after spying out the land and looking over the people, the cities and their power, ten out of the twelve men saw what God defined "good" as "bad", and they wanted nothing to do with his plan. As I was reading this passage today and thinking about how their response differed from Caleb and Joshua's, I saw how faith in God and his promises not only brings assurance that he is working everything together for our good (Rom 8:28), but gives us clear vision to see things as they truly are and not just how they appear on the surface.
All twelve of the men came back in agreement that the land "does flow with milk and honey" and they showed the large cluster of grapes, along with the figs and pomegranates, to prove it (13:28). They all saw this aspect of the land's goodness -- its fertile soil and ability to produce abundant fruit. But the powerful people, the fortified cities and the giants overshadowed this blessing so much that it moved them to speculate about their future defeat. Their lack of faith, or rather their faith in man over God, caused them to shrink back in fear instead of trusting in God's demonstrated power and greatness. He had already proven himself to be mighty and faithful in rescuing them from the Egyptians, miraculously parting the Red Sea and then providing for them all that they needed. And he had given Moses his Word that he would go before them and fight for them. But this was not enough for them to trust him.
As they rejected him and looked instead through the lens of unbelief and fear of man their situation was distorted to such a great degree that they became terrified, while the other two men were confident and at peace. Without God in the equation as the one who was mightier than the armies of the world, the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites appeared stronger and their land looked like one that "devours those living in it" (32). The people who were objectively tall people became in their imaginations so huge that they felt "like grasshoppers" compared to them (33). Without trust in the Lord and his promises, this felt like a bad and utterly impossible situation that was not worth their risk, even though it meant direct defiance of God's commands.
While Israel's ensuing wilderness wanderings clearly show how unbelief and the fear of man can distort reality, we see this same struggle throughout Scripture as many refuse to believe God and reject what he says is good. And we, unfortunately see this in our own lives as well. Last week, we were talking with friends about what it means to walk closely with the Lord and to experience persecution for the sake of the Gospel. My husband and I have also been watching documentaries of the persecuted church in the Middle East and China, reading stories about Christians who are suffering unjust imprisonment and even death, and most recently listening to the account of the Canadian pastor who was persecuted for opening his church during the pandemic and is now in solitary confinement and in chains.
As I was reading these stories of persecution and recalling our conversation, I was tempted to see them only as "bad", wondering how anyone could endure this. I was also tempted to seek out a safe and comfortable life instead of the one Christ has called me to live. In praying this morning, the Lord showed me that I was being tempted to think with the same mindset as the Israelites, which elevated safety and fear of man over honoring God. To yield to this mindset would involve rejection of his Word, which speaks about persecution as a necessary aspect of the Christian life. I was reminded of many passages that call persecution and insult for the sake of the Gospel "good", since it is evidence of a life bearing fruit for God's glory (Jn 15:18-25). I also remembered Jesus' promise that we would not only experience great opposition from the world to the Gospel but that it would even come from our family and the religious community, "You will be hated by everyone because of my name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved" (Matt 10:22). He warned that some would be so deceived by their self-righteousness that they would think they were doing God a favor by forcing them out of the synagogue and killing them (Jn 16:2).
Even though these examples from the book of Numbers, the Gospels, and my own experience, seemed far apart in their relevance, I began to notice the common thread of unbelief and fear of man and its similar implications. Like the Pharisees, the Israelites denied the goodness of God and refused to enter his rest of trust, approaching him and life through the lens of what they could see rather than the lens of faith. Their decision to call what's good bad and what's bad good cost them God's future blessings, and brought suffering on the believing community. The unbelieving Israelites lost their lives, and all who agreed with them were forbidden from entering the promised land which meant the whole group had to remain in the wilderness for 40 years. The unbelieving Pharisees came under God's judgment, not only for their own sins, but also for those of their fathers who were also instrumental in killing the prophets (Lk 11:50; Acts 7:52). And if I chose to live in unbelief regarding God's declared goodness of suffering for righteousness sake, I would forfeit many blessings and risk that my actual declared faith in Christ was counterfeit (Rev 21:8; Lk 9:26; Lk 12:5).
God is encouraging me today to come to him and remain in his rest of faith -- actively listening to, trusting and obeying in the Spirit's power what he says is good and right and rejecting the temptation to call good bad and bad good Cor 10:13). Whether he is calling me to take a step of faith one day to serve in a country that looks like a land of giants or to experience unjust suffering and persecution right where I am, I can do both in confident trust that behind the veil of what looks "bad" is always the "good" and perfect gift from Abba -- just as he promised.
