|
||||||||||||||
 |
|
|
||||||||||||
Commentary on "Caleb: Living With the Wait"
Day 3: Monday, October 4, 2010 - Standing Tall When It Counts
In Numbers 13:30 Caleb stands out in front of the people and speaks in calm and measured tones putting forth a clear argument. The argument was simple and to the point; it was that God had brought them this far, He’s promised them the land, and if they went on in faith God would deliver it into their hands.
It can be very frightening to have an opinion that goes against the majority; you can get a lump in your throat and your mouth can become dry. You’ll get very nervous and even have second thoughts about speaking, even if you have the right thing to say.
Remember, though, that God singled out the Israelites as a nation, He walked with them and delivered them, fed them and guided them. He called them out of all of the other peoples; they were meant to be a set apart and Holy people.
God calls us also to be set apart—that is what is meant by the word church (Gk. ekklesia, “called out,” ek “out,” kaleo “to call”).—New Unger's Bible Dictionary.
It’s a group of called out ones; if we are Christians we can’t help but be called out ones; it is our new natural alignment. We are then part of a global church of called out ones; our membership is from around the world, and the person at the head of the Church is Jesus Christ.
As the story continues Israel chooses to believe in the majority report. They disbelieve God. They were not fully committed to God and hadn’t put God first in their lives. They hadn’t walked forward in the power of God in faith. And so they wandered in the desert until all the unfaithful ones had died—a 40 year wandering.
The saddest thing is that they thought they were doing the right thing, but God was asking them to step out in faith and trust in Him. God asks us today to put Him on the throne of our lives. God will not accept being a co-pilot, and He bought us with a price. We are no longer our own anymore; we are His. It’s time to let Him in, to let Him reign so that we can stand up and stand out—so that we can stand tall knowing that the Holy Spirit will lead us to all truth.
Summary
- God called Israel to be a chosen nation called out from the world.
- The church is a called-out people from around the world with Christ Jesus as the head.
- Israel chose to believe the majority report that the land was filled with unconquerable giants.
- God disciplined them—40 years of wandering in the desert until all the dissenters were dead.
- They thought they were doing the right thing, but God was asking them to step out in faith.
- We are not our own anymore; we must let the Lord Jesus reign in our hearts.
Copyright 2010 BibleStudiesForAdventists.com. All rights reserved. Revised October 2, 2010. This website is published by Life Assurance Ministries, Glendale, Arizona, USA, the publisher of Proclamation! Magazine. Contact email: BibleStudiesForAdventists@gmail.com.
The Sabbath School Bible Study Guide and the corresponding E.G. White Notes are published by Pacific Press Publishing Association, which is owned and operated by the Seventh-day Adventist church. The current quarter's editions are pictured above.
Official Adventist Resources
Standard Edition Study Guide Week 2
Teacher's Edition Study Guide Week 2
Easy Reading Edition Study Guide Wk 2
Search the Complete Published Ellen G. White Writings
