They are missing out on so much.
They remind me of the children of Israel in Deuteronomy. In the first chapter, Moses gives recap.
“And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the Lord our God doth give us. Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord your God: And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the Lord hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.” Deuteronomy 1:25-27 KJV
Not only did they refuse to obey, they murmured against God, accusing Him of hating them; of intending destruction. It didn't matter the miracles He had performed for them, they grumbled and complained.
After all of that, Moses recounts God's mercy. However -
“Then I said unto you, Dread not, neither be afraid of them. The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God bare thee, as a man doth bear his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place. Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.”
Deuteronomy 1:29-33 KJV
Then this:
“And the Lord heard the voice of your words, and was wroth, and sware, saying, Surely there shall not one of these men of this evil generation see that good land, which I sware to give unto your fathers, Save Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him will I give the land that he hath trodden upon, and to his children, because he hath wholly followed the Lord. Also the Lord was angry with me for your sakes, saying, Thou also shalt not go in thither.”
Deuteronomy 1:34-37 KJV
And then they made matters worse!!!! They went their own way again, refusing to obey!
“Then ye answered and said unto me, We have sinned against the Lord, we will go up and fight, according to all that the Lord our God commanded us. And when ye had girded on every man his weapons of war, ye were ready to go up into the hill. And the Lord said unto me, Say unto them, Go not up, neither fight; for I am not among you; lest ye be smitten before your enemies. So I spake unto you; and ye would not hear, but rebelled against the commandment of the Lord, and went presumptuously up into the hill.” Deuteronomy 1:41-43 KJV
Then look what happened!
“And the Amorites, which dwelt in that mountain, came out against you, and chased you, as bees do, and destroyed you in Seir, even unto Hormah. And ye returned and wept before the Lord; but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.”
Deuteronomy 1:44-45 KJV
Did you catch that?
They came back defeated, crying to The LORD "but the Lord would not hearken to your voice, nor give ear unto you.”
We, too, are a disobedient people; willfully disregarding His Commandments and we expect Him to bless us, none the less! In His mercy, He has not destroyed us, yet we grumble and complain against Him, at every turn.
When will we grasp the concept of consequences for our actions? We complain about this generation, yet they learned it from us!
This people He rescued; He continued to provide for daily, but He let them die in their rebellion, without their promised reward.
They believed in Him; they followed Him, but their hearts were not right! They accused Him and were ungrateful! He turned His head away from them.
He let them die, because they refused to obey.
And we refuse to read His Word, because we don't want to hear this! The devil whispers lies saying, "Oh that is OT", and we agree with him, because we love our sin more than we love God.
We, as a people, have not changed! Nor has God.
Yes, we have a better covenant in The New Testament; a perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ.
(And here comes the "but")
New Testament quoting Old Testament :
“Neither let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents. Neither murmur ye, as some of them also murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer. Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.”
1 Corinthians 10:9-12 KJV
This is not about being "positive"; that is not the opposite of grumbling and complaining!
This is about the evil that resides in your heart! This is about sin not covered by the Blood of Jesus, because you have not repented of it, and are okay with it, because you continue to bypass His Commandments; "be positive!"; the world's mantra!
Church we have such a short time to get this right! We must repent and obey The LORD! We must walk separately from the world. The only way we will know The Truth is to put down all of the inspirational books and pick up The Bible! Why listen to a man/woman's interpretation of God's Word, when you can read it straight from His mouth? If you do not believe in it's inerrancy; if you do not believe it's The Truth, then never mind. Have a nice day.
But if you are hanging eternity on the resurrection of Jesus Christ, you best read your Bible!
Repent while there is still time!
Even so - MARANATHA!
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