Numbers 14:1-5: a reflection

1All the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night. 2All the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “We wish that we had died in the land of Egypt, or that we had died in this wilderness! 3Why does the LORD bring us to this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be captured or killed! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return into Egypt?” 4They said to one another, “Let’s choose a leader, and let’s return into Egypt.” 5Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.

After the frightening report of the spies, the people weep and murmur, wishing they had died in Egypt and even proposing to choose a leader and go back, preferring the old bondage to trusting God forward through difficulty. Wouldn't it be better for us to return into Egypt, they say; let's choose a leader, and let's return into Egypt. Faced with a hard road ahead and a frightening report, the people did not trust God to bring them through; instead they longed to go back to Egypt, the place of their slavery, as though bondage were better than the hard path forward with God. They preferred retreat to the old bondage over trust in God forward. This shows the folly of longing to return to old bondage rather than trusting God forward through difficulty. Do not long to return to old bondage when the way forward with God looks hard. Trust God forward rather than retreating to what once enslaved you. Unbelief shrinks back to the old bondage; faith trusts God forward. The hard path forward with God is better than a return to slavery.

Notice what the people longed for when the road ahead looked hard. The report of the spies had frightened them; the way forward into the land looked difficult and dangerous. And in their fear and unbelief, they did not trust God to bring them through; instead they longed to go back, to return to Egypt, the very place of their slavery, even proposing to choose a leader and go back. They preferred the old bondage, which was at least familiar, to the hard but God-given path forward. It is a striking picture of unbelief. When the way forward with God looks hard, when the road ahead is difficult and frightening, we too can be tempted to long for what we left behind, even when what we left was a kind of bondage; to want to retreat to the old, familiar slavery rather than trust God forward through the difficulty. But to shrink back to the old bondage is not the way of faith; faith trusts God to bring us through the hard path forward, rather than retreating to what once enslaved us. The hard road forward with God is better than a return to slavery. We do well, when the way forward looks hard, to trust God forward rather than longing to return to the old bondage we were brought out of. When the way forward with God looks hard, do not long to return to old bondage. Trust God forward rather than retreating to what once enslaved you. Faith goes forward through difficulty; unbelief shrinks back to slavery. The hard path forward with God is better than the familiar bondage behind.

That is worth taking to heart, for it is folly to long to return to old bondage when the way forward with God looks hard, and we do well to trust God forward, as the people wrongly longed to go back to Egypt. When the road ahead is hard and frightening, we can long to retreat to the old, familiar bondage; but the people who wished to return to Egypt chose slavery over trusting God forward. Go forward. When the way forward with God looks hard, do not long to return to what once enslaved you; trust God to bring you through the hard path forward. Trust God forward through difficulty rather than longing to return to the old bondage you were brought out of, as after the frightening report of the spies the people wept and murmured, wishing they had died in Egypt and even proposing to choose a leader and go back, preferring the old bondage to trusting God forward; for faced with a hard road ahead and a frightening report the people did not trust God to bring them through but longed to go back to Egypt, the place of their slavery, as though bondage were better than the hard path forward with God, which is a striking picture of unbelief, since when the way forward with God looks hard and the road ahead is difficult and frightening we too can be tempted to long for what we left behind even when what we left was a kind of bondage, wanting to retreat to the old familiar slavery rather than trust God forward through the difficulty, but to shrink back to the old bondage is not the way of faith, since faith trusts God to bring us through the hard path forward rather than retreating to what once enslaved us, and the hard road forward with God is better than a return to slavery, so that we do well, when the way forward looks hard, to trust God forward rather than longing to return to the old bondage we were brought out of.

Lord, after the frightening report of the spies, the people weep and murmur, wishing they had died in Egypt and even proposing to choose a leader and go back, preferring the old bondage to trusting you forward through difficulty. Wouldn't it be better for us to return into Egypt, they say; let's choose a leader, and let's return into Egypt. Faced with a hard road ahead and a frightening report, the people did not trust you to bring them through; instead they longed to go back to Egypt, the place of their slavery, as though bondage were better than the hard path forward with you. Show me what the people longed for when the road ahead looked hard. The report of the spies had frightened them; the way forward looked difficult and dangerous. And in their fear and unbelief, they did not trust you to bring them through; instead they longed to go back to Egypt, the very place of their slavery. They preferred the old bondage, which was at least familiar, to the hard but God-given path forward. It is a striking picture of unbelief. When the way forward with you looks hard, when the road ahead is difficult and frightening, I too can be tempted to long for what I left behind, even when what I left was a kind of bondage; to want to retreat to the old, familiar slavery rather than trust you forward through the difficulty. But to shrink back to the old bondage is not the way of faith; faith trusts you to bring me through the hard path forward. The hard road forward with you is better than a return to slavery. Take that to my heart. When the way forward with you looks hard, keep me from longing to return to what once enslaved me; help me trust you forward, Lord, to bring me through the hard path, rather than shrinking back to the old bondage you brought me out of.