Advanced Level, Block 4—Wilderness
Week 38
Not Believing in God
Point to Emphasize: We must learn to believe in God and know that His Word is true.
Reference Reading: Numbers 13:1-33, footnote 21; 14:1-10, 28-34
Memory Verse: And now, O Lord Jehovah, You are God, and Your words are true…
(2 Samuel 7:28a)
Sample Story
The children of Israel had received a promise from God. He promised them a land that would be good for His people, the land of Canaan. So, He spoke to Moses, telling him to send some men to spy out the land. Twelve went out, one from each tribe.
Moses told the twelve men to look for certain things. The spies were to see whether the people who dwelt in the land were strong or weak, whether they were few or many, whether the land was good or bad or fat or lean, whether the cities were camps or strongholds, and whether there were trees in it or not. Also, the spies were told to return with some fruit of the land.
The men were gone for 40 days. And when they returned, they came with grapes, pomegranates, and figs. They cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes. The grapes were so heavy that it took two men to carry the grapes. The proof was there. It seemed that God had fulfilled His promise to them and that it truly was a good land.
BUT then ten of them gave an evil report. They said the people were too strong and the cities too big. Only Caleb and Joshua believed God’s word. And Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it” (Numbers 13:30). But the other ten who didn’t believe God said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we” (v. 31). These same ones had already seen God answer every promise that He had given them: God had delivered them from the land of Egypt by taking them through the Red Sea; He had given them food when they needed it and water when they were thirsty and many other things. Why didn’t they believe that God would now give them this good land?
Sometimes we are like this. We believe what others say rather than what we know to be true. When I was a little older than you, my family moved here from another state. My mom and dad promised that it would be the best thing for our family. In the past, everything my mom said was reliable and I knew I could trust her word. But I was so afraid of starting at a new school where I wouldn’t know anyone. When we moved into our new place, some of the neighborhood children came to introduce themselves. They started telling me about the school. They said the children at the school were not very friendly, and that the classes were so hard. What they said frightened me! I believed what they told me, and not my mom, who just said: “Trust and obey” (her favorite saying). So, when I went to school, I didn’t talk to anyone. I just assumed that they would not be nice to me. It took a very long time before I started making friends because I believed the words of the neighbors rather than my mom. In the end, I found out that the children at school were very nice but they didn’t talk to me because I wouldn’t talk to them. I wish I had believed my mom instead. [Storyteller, use your personal example.]
The outcome for the children of Israel believing the evil report and not believing God’s promise, was to wander in the wilderness for 40 years. That entire generation had passed away, but their children were able to enter the good land. Because Joshua and Caleb believed God, they remained strong for the next 40 years and they were the only two among that generation that would get to enter into the good land that God had promised.
What will the outcome be for us? Will we believe others and not trust in God’s word? Or will we be like Joshua and Caleb, simply believing God’s word and trusting in His care? We must learn to believe in God and know that His word is true.