In my last post I made the point that due to their lack of faith, Israel was forced into a state of spiritual and physical dormancy for 40 years…
…wandering around in the desert in meaningless circles…
…merely existing without purpose or passion in their lives.
This is what happens when one hesitates from entering into God’s Promises and lets fear…
…and the sensual delights of the world get the better of them.
This was the problem with the first generation of Israelites, the group who HASHEM had delivered with a powerful hand from Egypt.
Here’s the thing and boy it’s really crucial you get this.
The first generation of Israelites believed in HASHEM…
…that is to say they believed in His existence…
…BUT THEY DID NOT TRUST HIM.
Are you catching this oh-so-crucial difference between mere belief and trust?
The former is just mere intellectual head games that produces nothing, creates nothing, and leads to boredom and sin.
The latter expresses itself in dynamic, forward thinking action that…
…breaks down all barriers…
…surmounts all (and I mean ALL) impossibilities…
…and changes history as we know it for all time and FOREVER!
The first generation of Israelites was a constant thorn in the side of both Moses and God.
They were constantly moaning and groaning about how things were better back in Egypt…
…and uttering blasphemies like “Did God bring us out into to the wilderness just to kill us?“
Let’s not develop a condescending attitude toward the ancient Israelites however.
I’m willing to bet you have committed the same or similar transgressions in your own walk of faith.
My life is practically an instant replay of all the sins of the first generations of Israelites.
I just wish I had discovered the unbelievable and amazing power of the Torah at an earlier age in my life…
…so I could have learned from the ancient Israelites’ example.
Yet it is not too late.
It is never too late.
Just turn back to HASHEM.
And remember this life is not all there is.
We’ve got all eternity ahead of us.
This life is just the beginning.
So be of good cheer brother or sister!!!
Let’s move on to the next point!.
I wanna make sure you understand the difference between “passive” and “active” faith.
This God-principle is still active even today.
Being saved is one thing.
Acting on the obligations connected to your salvation is another thing altogether.
Remember (for like the millionth time), God first saved Israel from Egypt and then AFTERWARDS gave them His Torah as a proper guide to living.
I’m astonished that some people find this so friggin’ hard to understand.
God didn’t first give them His Torah while they were in Egypt and then say…
…“Hey dudes, if you obey this Torah I’m giving you and you obey it perfectly, then maybe I’ll think about saving you from your bondage to Pharaoh”.
First, the Israelites wouldn’t have been able to obey God’s Torah while they were in bondage because…
…umm…duh…they were in bondage man.
Think about it.
God had to free them first.
He had to deliver them from their slavery to the enemy BEFORE they could walk in His Holy Ways.
And the exact same principle applies to us today.
We must first be freed from our slavery to sin and the enemy BEFORE we will even have the capability of walking in HASHEM’s Holy Ways.
However, do you wanna know what’s worse than being in bondage to the enemy?
I’ll tell you what it is and it’s precisely what we learn from the first generation of Israelites who refused to grab a hold of God’s promises and take the Promised Land.
It’s being freed from slavery but still thinking and acting like a slave.
There’s nobody more miserable than the person who has been redeemed by the Lord, believes in the Lord but fails to TRUST the Lord by taking good old fashioned get-off-your-butt ACTION.
The Christian idea that your acceptance of “Jesus as savior” as the first, last and only obligation we have to the Lord is totally antithetical to this Torah we are studying.
Let’s get this straight.
HASHEM saved you for a reason…
…and it wasn’t to sit on your butt all day…
…eating potato chips…
…while watching reruns of 24.
Not to vigorously pursue the plans God has for your life after He has saved you can be expressed in one word:
REBELLION.
The first generation of Israelites committed gross REBELLION when they failed to take God at His Word and enter into the Promised Land.
If you’ve been a believer for many a long year and feel like your faith walk is just like the first generation of Israelites who were wandering around in circles for 40 years…
…or if there is no discernible difference between how you’re living your life and the world…
…then I think it’s time to sit down and you ask yourself some really hard questions.
What plan or plans for your life are you resisting that God has called you to fulfill?
Not trusting and just sitting on the sidelines is DISOBEDIENCE, plain and simple.
And don’t say “I’ll do it tomorrow“.
Don’t be like Lot’s wife who hesitated for one second, looked back at her former life and was instantly turned into a pillar of salt.
Remember good works are what you are to do AFTER you are saved, NOT before.
And without those works, your faith is as James said.
It is dead.
CONNECTING THIS TEACHING TO THE NEW TESTAMENT
As they were traveling on the road,
a man said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Yeshua answered him,
“The foxes have holes,
and the birds flying about have nests,
but the Son of Man has no home of his own.”
To another he said, “Follow me!”
but the man replied,
“Sir, first let me go away and bury my father.”
Yeshua said,
“Let the dead bury their own dead;
you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God!”
Yet another said,
“I will follow you, sir,
but first let me say good-by to the people at home.”
To him Yeshua said,
“No one who puts his hand to the plow
and keeps looking back
is fit to serve in the Kingdom of God.”
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