God’s Government

 •  2 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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“Because all those men which have seen My glory, and My miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted Me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to My voice; surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked Me see it” (Numbers 14:22-2322Because all those men which have seen my glory, and my miracles, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have tempted me now these ten times, and have not hearkened to my voice; 23Surely they shall not see the land which I sware unto their fathers, neither shall any of them that provoked me see it: (Numbers 14:22‑23)).
No matter how faithful and sincere Caleb’s pleadings were, the people’s hearts were such that they refused to harken. As a result, God told them that they would have to wander in the wilderness for forty years until all of that generation of men had died. It perhaps seemed harsh, but remember, the government of God in our lives as believers is very real. We get away with nothing, and unbelief, sin, and self-will, have their consequences. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:77Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)).
The Israelites had tempted the Lord ten times. Ten speaks, in Scripture, of man’s responsibility to God, and they had completely and utterly failed in their responsibility. As a result they were to wander in the wilderness for forty years, and forty denotes God’s complete time of testing. Notice that they spent one year in the wilderness for every day that the spies spent on their mission. “And they returned from searching of the land after forty days  ...  After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know My breach of promise” (Numbers 13:25; 14:3425And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. (Numbers 13:25)
34After the number of the days in which ye searched the land, even forty days, each day for a year, shall ye bear your iniquities, even forty years, and ye shall know my breach of promise. (Numbers 14:34)).
The wilderness story, in general, brings out two great facts:
It also brings out two other aspects of God’s ways with His people, namely:
• God’s grace.
• God’s government.
Moses not being allowed to go into the promised land is another example of the governmental ways of God. When he lost his patience with the people, called them rebels, and perhaps most serious of all disobeyed the Lord in smiting the rock, not just once but twice, here is what God said: “And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed Me not, to sanctify Me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them” (Numbers 20:1212And the Lord spake unto Moses and Aaron, Because ye believed me not, to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, therefore ye shall not bring this congregation into the land which I have given them. (Numbers 20:12)).