Entrance Denied (14:1-45)
Neal Pollard
It is no wonder the people hit the panic button and try to appoint a leader to return to Egypt (Num. 14:4). Leaders who say “we are not able” breed followers who say “we are not able.” This is especially deadly when leaders say we cannot do what God says we must do! Hebrews 3:12 points to these very people and tells the church, “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.” Jesus told Thomas to not be unbelieving, but believing (John 20:27). To how many leaders today would Jesus say the same thing? There are too many who are ready to give the reasons why something cannot be done. God wants leaders who look at the potential and the possibilities and do not just see problems.
They were defiant (Num. 14:9). Moses, Aaron, Joshua and Caleb now faced a mutiny. Thanks to the faithless leaders, the people were guilty of a rebellion fueled by fear. Notice, they were not rebelling against Moses and the other men. This was against the Lord! How wise for us to remember that when leaders try to get us to follow the Bible and we rebel against those leaders, in reality we are rebelling against God. When leaders fight against God’s commands, they are demonstrating faithless rebellion.
It is rebellion when leaders fear the reaction of their followers or of the world. Fear causes leaders not to do what God commands, from leading in the practice of church discipline to urging congregational evangelism. Fear causes leaders to try and change what God commands, from gender roles to worship to fellowship to the plan of salvation. Fear causes leaders to do what God forbids, too. Hebrews 4:6,11 looks back at Israel as an example of disobedience as a warning to the church. We cannot let the fear of people drive us to disobey God. Jesus warns us to fear Him more than those whose threats are more limited in power and only temporal (Mat. 10:28).
They were dismissive (Num. 14:11). The Lord says Israel “rejected” Him, spurned, scorned, and blasphemed Him. They took God lightly, despite His past proofs of His power from the plagues to the Red Sea. God equates this rejection with unbelief (see Num. 14:11). Faithless leaders ignore both God’s Word and His proven faithfulness. G.K. Chesterton once said, “Christianity has not been tried and found wanting; it has been found difficult and not tried.” The same is so often true of God’s will. We can understand it, but we just may not want to do it. When leaders gloss over, rationalize, or explain away scripture, they are spurning God.
They were dead (Num. 14:36-37). Ultimately, their faithlessness cost them their lives. The people would wander in the wilderness and die over the course of 40 years, but God holds the leaders immediately accountable. He strikes them and they die by a plague. God pins the wandering of the nation on the faithless leaders, and they pay the ultimate price.
Hebrews 13:17 says that leaders will give an account for their leadership. Those who serve well will receive the unfading crown of glory (1 Pe. 5:4). But, leaders must be on guard for themselves (Acts 20:28). It is possible for them to “fall into reproach and the snare of the devil” (1 Tim. 3:7). Make no mistake about it! Faithless leaders lead. They lead the sheep into the wilderness!
Thankfully, we have the example of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb. They were dedicated. They faced the opposition of the people, weeping all night (14:1), grumbling against them (14:2), and even talking about killing them (14:10). Sorrow, dissatisfaction, and anger are still three challenges leaders often face in the congregation. They faced the righteous wrath of God against the people (14:11-19). Moses pleaded with God not to destroy the people for their iniquity. He knew how God felt about Israel’s actions. They also faced their own future. While they would not suffer the same fate as Israel, they would wander with them and have to work with them for the next 40 years. It had to be difficult for them to be faithful but share the fate of the faithless.
God needs “no matter what” leaders, whose commitment is tied to Christ and not just people. Faithful leaders are much rarer than faithless ones, but like rare jewels their value is so much greater. It requires leaders with “a different spirit” to steer us away from the wilderness of sin and apostasy.
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