Decision-Time
Jerry Watts
Deuteronomy 30:11-20
My personal intent for today's message was to entitle this ''From the Wilderness to the Promised Land'' and draw a parallel between the COI and the church today. However, God had other ideas, not about this message or the parallel, but about the title.
In context, 40 years earlier God brought the COI to Kadesh which is on the southern border of the land of Canaan. Canaan was the land which God had promised to Abraham generations earlier and now it was time to claim what God had promised them. God had said ''you can take it'' and they responded, ''We can't, and we won't.'' Recently, I have heard 2 different preachers give 2 unique thoughts on what transpired at Kadesh. The first preacher suggested that the ''Land Acquisition'' committee changed their mission. They were told to scout the land, see what's there, and bring back some fruit. Instead they came back reporting that it was 'unfeasible to take the land.' The other preacher suggested that the failure at Kadesh was a leadership failure. His words were that Moses caved into the majority instead of following what God had told Him. While I can certainly argue this case, I sympathize with Moses. That said, historically the majority tend to get things wrong because the majority tends to be logical and 'bottom-line' oriented instead of God led. In scripture God calls a man, not committees, to lead.
When the committee returned, gave the bad report, and the majority said, ''We're not going to do this,'' in an over simplistic translation God's response was, ''Fine. Try forty years of wandering around in the wilderness.'' And by the way adults because you decided to disbelieve and be disobedient, you won't ever get to see the land flowing with milk and honey because you will die in the wilderness.''
As an aside, the thought of spending 40 years wandering is tough. To wander is to go about aimlessly, with no sense of purpose, no clear direction; it is simply t ...
Jerry Watts
Deuteronomy 30:11-20
My personal intent for today's message was to entitle this ''From the Wilderness to the Promised Land'' and draw a parallel between the COI and the church today. However, God had other ideas, not about this message or the parallel, but about the title.
In context, 40 years earlier God brought the COI to Kadesh which is on the southern border of the land of Canaan. Canaan was the land which God had promised to Abraham generations earlier and now it was time to claim what God had promised them. God had said ''you can take it'' and they responded, ''We can't, and we won't.'' Recently, I have heard 2 different preachers give 2 unique thoughts on what transpired at Kadesh. The first preacher suggested that the ''Land Acquisition'' committee changed their mission. They were told to scout the land, see what's there, and bring back some fruit. Instead they came back reporting that it was 'unfeasible to take the land.' The other preacher suggested that the failure at Kadesh was a leadership failure. His words were that Moses caved into the majority instead of following what God had told Him. While I can certainly argue this case, I sympathize with Moses. That said, historically the majority tend to get things wrong because the majority tends to be logical and 'bottom-line' oriented instead of God led. In scripture God calls a man, not committees, to lead.
When the committee returned, gave the bad report, and the majority said, ''We're not going to do this,'' in an over simplistic translation God's response was, ''Fine. Try forty years of wandering around in the wilderness.'' And by the way adults because you decided to disbelieve and be disobedient, you won't ever get to see the land flowing with milk and honey because you will die in the wilderness.''
As an aside, the thought of spending 40 years wandering is tough. To wander is to go about aimlessly, with no sense of purpose, no clear direction; it is simply t ...
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