A People Disciplined

Numbers 14:11-24

GOLDEN TEXT: “For whom the Lord loveth He correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.”—Proverbs 3:12

GOD declares the certainty of a time coming when the whole earth will be filled with his glory. (Num. 14:21) This statement is incorporated into one of the most comprehensive Messianic psalms (the 72nd). By its use in this connection it becomes evident that it will be by virtue of the establishment of Messiah’s kingdom that God’s glory will be caused to fill the whole earth.

God’s assurance to Moses that his glory would one day fill the earth was in answer to Moses’ prayer in which he petitioned the Lord not to destroy all Israel as he had declared his intention of doing. In this prayer Moses offers himself to God in place of the Israelites. It is one of the most remarkable prayers recorded in the Bible. Wholly unselfish, it has as its chief concern the glory of God’s name; and incidentally, of course, the salvation of the Israelites.

From the time Moses was first sent to the Israelites, while they were still in Egyptian slavery, they had been unresponsive and oft-times rebellious. They were ready to complain at the least provocation, and seemed to have little faith in God’s promises or in his ability to fulfill them. From the standpoint of strict justice, therefore, God was warranted in blotting them out of existence. And this is what he proposed to Moses, offering to constitute Moses the father, or head, of a new nation, a new “chosen people.”

This was an alluring offer, and one less devoted to God and to his people than was Moses would have been quick to fall in line with it, but he did not. Instead he took the matter to God in prayer, raising the question of God’s own glory in connection with such a plan. The great “I am” had exerted his power to deliver the Israelites out of Egypt, causing his fame to spread abroad. He had promised to escort them to the Promised Land. But now, Moses reasoned, if they were all to be killed, no other conclusion could be drawn by the heathen than that God was unable to fulfill his promises.

“And now, I beseech thee,” continued Moses in prayer, “let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, The Lord is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now.”—Num. 14:17-19

In response to this prayer the Lord told Moses that he would pardon the Israelites as requested, and then added, “But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Then the Lord explains to Moses that although he would not summarily destroy the Israelites, not one of the males who had reached maturity at the time they left Egypt would be permitted to enter Canaan, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua.

Putting these thoughts together, it would seem that while God acceded to a certain degree to Moses’ request, the Israelites who left Egypt were, after all, to die in the wilderness. However, God assured Moses that the honor and glory of his name was not at stake, for the time was coming when his glory would fill the whole earth.

In this we have the important lesson that the exercise of God’s mercy alone does not necessarily reflect his glory. Mercy is only one attribute of divine glory. Sometimes it is necessary for retributive justice and discipline to operate in order that God’s glory be manifested. The Israelites who were ever rebelling against God had no right to expect that he would continue to protect them. To allow them to die might be construed by the heathen as a lack of interest and power on God’s part, but God was not concerned with their viewpoint for he knew that the time was coming when they, and the Israelites whom he allowed to die, would be restored to life and given an understanding of his plan and will, and that then they would know how his justice as well as his mercy reveals his glory.

We know that the Israelites who disobeyed Moses will be raised from the dead and given an opportunity to obey Christ, because the Apostle Peter says so. (Acts 3:22,23) That will be in the “times of restitution,” when the refreshing blessings of God’s favor will be filling the whole earth with the glory of his character of wisdom, justice, love, and power.

QUESTIONS:

When will God’s glory fill the whole earth?

Does God’s mercy alone reveal his glory?

Will the Israelites who disobeyed Moses have an opportunity in the resurrection to obey Christ, the greater than Moses?

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