Centuries before Jesus came to the earth, God's people, the Hebrews (or Israelites), were captives in Egypt. God told Moses to guide the people out of Egypt and into the Promised Land.

After leaving Egypt, Moses sent twelves spies into the Promised Land to check it out before the nation of Israel entered into it. When the twelve spies returned, ten of them were horrified and in great fear. Even though the Promised Land was beautiful and full of an abundance of crops, they were fearful of the ones who occupied the land. They said, "The land is full of giants that are so big that we see ourselves as grasshoppers compared to them."

The remaining two spies, Joshua and Caleb, were not fearful and had a completely different outlook on the situation. In their report to the people of Israel they said, "The land is bountiful, flowing with milk and honey, and while it is true there are giants in the land, that is totally irrelevant. If God has told us to take the land, we can do it and it doesn't make any difference who is there or what the circumstances look like."

At this point in this story, we find the first account of a democratic government decision. The vote was 10 to 2 in favor of fear and disobedience. Because the Israelites decided to believe the negative report of failure, they received the consequences of the decision. They believed the negative words of the ten spies instead of believing the positive promise of God and they got what they believed. The Bible goes on to tell us that every person above the age of twenty at the time of the decision to not follow God's command, died in the wilderness and did not see the Land of Promise. Only Joshua and Caleb and the next generation entered into Canaan Land.

This should be a strong lesson for Christians living in the last days. First, government decisions are not always right. Secondly, we must believe what is right and even though we may be affected by the decisions of the government, victory will be ours if we continue to believe God's Word. Joshua and Caleb were forced to obey the law of the land and were not able to enter the Promised Land during the time that God had told them they could. But because they believed God and did not waver in their belief and because they stood up for what they believed, their lives were extended beyond anyone else and they were able to walk in the Promise that they believed in.

I encourage you today to continue in the commands of God and you will receive The Blessing that is the result of obedience. During the times when everyone is saying, "Keep your seed," I want to encourage you to continue to sow. Seed in the sack will never yield a harvest. It's only seed sown in a fertile field that brings forth harvest.

Devotion 0496