A threshold symbolizes a new beginning. After the wedding, for example, a new husband will cradle his new wife in his arms at the front door of their honeymoon suite. Then he will carry her across the threshold to signify the new life they will have together.
Similarly, sometimes the owner of a new store in town will mark the first day of business by walking across the threshold with a photographer close by to capture the moment with a photograph.
Each of us stand at the threshold of a new year. More than that, we, as a church, may stand at the threshold of a fresh beginning. Before us are new possibilities and challenges.
Also ahead of us are unseen obstacles that will disappoint and sometimes frighten us. We must ask, do we believe God, do we trust Him, do we have faith to step into our future with confidence and without fear?
God had used Moses to lead His people out of their miserable existence as slaves in Egypt to the threshold of their future in the Promised Land.
Poised at the entrance of the Land of the Promise, and ready to enter the land in completion of their divine destiny, the people spurned the land, condemned God, and made plans to return to the slavery of Egypt.
Moses had sent out an advance team to determine what the Israelites needed to do in order to take over the land. Everything was set for them to cross the threshold to take what God had already given to them.
But the advance team threw a wrench into the works. Twelve men had been sent out, and ten came back with a report that frightened everyone who heard it (Num. 13:26-29). Only two, Joshua and Caleb, were excited about what God had given them (Num. 13:30).
Having heard both reports, the Israelite elders had to make a decision: whether to cross the threshold into their future, or to refuse God’s promise and return to their past.
What will be our reaction as we stand on the threshold of our destiny? There are three lessons in Numbers 14:1-10 of how we can react to the future:
The advance team’s majority report must have scared the leaders of Israel nearly to death. First they said, “Yes, the land flows with milk and honey. Then they said, Numbers 13:28, But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
And verse 32, And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size.”
What did the people hear? Powerful people, fortified cities, very large cities, and giants. This spread like wildfire throughout all the populace (vv. 1-2, …All the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert!”
The only things the people heard was walled cities, strong men, and giants. Caleb and Joshua were not heard. Fear is like the ex-paratrooper when asked how many times he had jumped out of a plane, replied, “None, but I was pushed out 18 times.” This seems to be a description of some of God’s people.
Even the large cluster of grapes that had to be carried between two men (13:23) fed the people’s fears. If the grapes were so large, imagine what the people must be like.
No one talked about God’s grace, His deliverance, His mercy, protection, and guidance. None recited His miracles—the plagues, the parting of the sea, the manna and the quail.
Forgotten was the mighty act of God where the most powerful nation of the world was brought to its knees. So too was forgotten the thunder at Sinai and the Ten Commandment, and that God had graced His people far beyond imagination.
All of these were forgotten as they were seized in the spasm of fear of the unknown.
Fear doesn’t want you to make a journey to the mountain. If he can rattle you enough, fear will persuade you to take your eyes off the peaks and settle for a dull existence in the flatlands. (Max Lucado)
Fear can do funny things to people. It can paralyze us, goad us forward, or cause us to withdraw. Not only did it stop the Israelites from going into the Promised Land, but in their fear they forgot what it was like to live under Egyptian slavery. The lessons of the past were forgotten, and they were ready to withdraw from their destiny.
Numbers 14:3b-4, 3bWouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt? 4And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
This brought to mind some thoughts:
They forgot God’s promises. The land was theirs for the taking. God had already given it to them. He had promised. Sure there would be obstacles, but obstacles don’t matter when you have God’s word.
They had begun to take them in stride, as part of their due. The plagues, crossing the Red Sea, water gushing from a rock in the middle of the desert, the manna and quail—so what! Weren’t they the chosen people?
They longed to return to Egypt rather than face perceived dangers in Canaan. The people had worked themselves up into such a frenzy of fear that slavery began to look good to them, their departed hovels were remembered as warm, cozy houses, and there was variety of delicious foods to eat. Fear caused them to long to return to their past.
Moses wouldn’t take them back. God’s cloud certainly wouldn’t lead them back. His manna would not replenish them. After the plagues, the Egyptians would have treated them more cruelly than ever.
God’s judgment was simply the consequences of their actions. There was no sense crying, “Why us, Lord?” when they brought it all on themselves.
For the people of God, there is a third response to facing the future:
Two young men, Joshua and Caleb, gave the minority report. Numbers 14:7-8. 7The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8If the Lord is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.
They gave their report and they pleaded with the leaders to move ahead into the land of their dreams. Don’t retreat to the land of their false memories. Remember what God has already done. Cross the threshold into the Promised Land and please God.
Numbers 14:9, Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the Lord is with us. Do not be afraid of them.
Caleb and Joshua pointed out what should have been obvious:
Yes there would be challenges and obstacles—things they couldn’t see at that time. Even though they would have to face uncertain challenges as they stepped across the threshold into their future, the risk was smaller than the reward, because they had God.
(The Lord is with us. Do not be afraid.) They could not fail because God had already given them the land. It was a done deal. Just like salvation is a done deal. Christ died once and for all for our sins. Salvation is ours for the taking. Crossing the threshold and moving ahead into the Land of Promise would be an act of obedience to God.
The ten reported about powerful people and large fortified cities. Caleb and Joshua cried out, “Do not be afraid of the people; their protection is gone. Though we live in tents and they live in fortified cities, the Lord is with us. While we have the presence of God with us we need not fear the most powerful force against us.”
The depth of the faith of Caleb and Joshua is astounding. Listen, there are no walls, no fortifications, no factors of size or bearing, and certainly no gods that can withstand the onslaught of the people of God and stop us when God is pleased with us (v. 8).
If the Lord is pleased with us in v. 8 is a powerful statement. Anger is as alien to God’s inner nature as it is awful to those who are its target. Moses, Aaron, Caleb, and Joshua knew this. If only the people would listen, and would believe, then the land would still be theirs to be enjoyed.
But the people were blind to God’s mercy and deaf to the truth. And in Numbers 14:10a we read, But the whole assembly talked about stoning them. God was not pleased. He had rescued them, abundantly provided for them, guided them in their travels, and now, they were at the threshold of the land He had promised them.
Numbers 14:10b, Then the glory of the Lord appeared at the Tent of Meeting to all the Israelites. God passed judgment on the people. Oh, what a judgment! He condemns those over 20 years old to a sentence of a listless existence in the desert.
Banished, landless, and homeless. Only their children would be able to enter the land. But of that first generation, none, except for the two righteous and faithful spies, Caleb and Joshua, would enter the land of God’s promise.
This is almost overwhelming. All the Children of Israel over 20 would literally mark time until their deaths and the sands of the Sinai would engulf their remains. They were the lost generation.
Throughout the years as parents aged, living another day on the desert was only bearable because of the hope their children would see the promised land.
We can be frightened by the future, we can step back from it, or we can step into our destiny. God is a God of love and mercy. Biblical faith believes in the wonderful grace of God who desires the very best for His people.
We, too, stand on the threshold—not just of another year—but of our future. How will we respond to the opportunities and challenges?