Three R’s of Freedom: Numbers 14:1-10

“It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1, NASB).

“All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness” (Num. 14:2, NASB).

There is a paradox that exists in every person on the planet. On one hand, people want to be free, but on the other hand people are not willing to live in the freedom that they have gained. When people have the opportunity to be free, they often reject the opportunity. Instead, people often will return to their old life situation instead of grasping for the possible new thing. This was what took place in the life of the Hebrew people. The Hebrew people had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years just as God had prophesied to their forefather Abraham (See Gen., 15:13; Acts 7:6). God called Moses on the mountain and sent him to deliver His people from bondage. God was keeping His promise that he had made to the forefathers (Exod. 3:6-10). God deliver the people out of their bondage in Egypt and brought them to Kadesh-barnea. The people refused to believe the report of Joshua and Caleb, two of ten spies sent to investigate the land that the Lord was giving to them. Why did the people rebel? Why did they rater return to slavery in Egypt instead of going forward to take possession of the new land? There may be countless reasons, but in this article, I want to suggest to us that there are three Rs that hinder us from taking advantage of opportunities to be free.

Respect is the first R. We cannot leave the old and the familiar and go to the new and unknown without respect. We must respect God, ourselves, and other people. So, how do we define respect? Respect is having a deep feeling of admiration for someone or something because of their abilities, qualities, or achievements. We will see that there are strong affinities between respect, love, and faith. Let us begin with respect for God.

The writer of Proverbs makes two significant statements about respect for God. First, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; and fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov. 1:7, NASB). Also, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. Now, we do not need to fear, that is, we do not need to respect the Lord to have the knowledge and wisdom of the world, but without knowledge and fear of God, “the Holy One” we are unable to have the knowledge and wisdom of the Lord. We have two examples. Paul, in his letters to the Corinthians explains that there is a difference between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom of God. He says that the one that has the Spirit of God receives the wisdom of God because the Spirit reveals it to them. The Spirit alone searches the mind of God and reveals to those that have the Spirit what is the mind of God (See 1 Cor. 2:10-15). Paul concludes: “For who has known the mind of the Lord, that he will instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (V. 16, NASB).

The prophet Isaiah gives us a second example of the necessity to respect God. In chapter six the prophet records his experience of seeing God in the temple. He describes the Lord to be so great that the temple could contain only the train of His robe. After the prophet sees the Lord, he is able to make an accurate assessment of himself. He said, “Woe is me, for I am ruined! Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts” (Isa. 6:5, NASB). Just as respect for God leads to knowledge and respect for us, respect for ourselves leads to respect for other people.

Jesus was approached by a Pharisee, a lawyer, who asked Him which of the commandments was the greatest. Jesus recited the two greatest commandments. First, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matt. 22:37, NASB). Then Jesus recited a second commandment. “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (v. 39). Now let us understand the order here. First, one should love/respect God. Secondly, one should love/respect themselves; one should respect their neighbor. The second commandment is often troublesome. This is because many have interpreted this to mean that one is to love others above themselves. On the contrary, the commandment in the context that it was given means that one has learned to respect God. I know that God loves me and this gives a boost to my self esteem, my sense of worth. I love and respect myself. Now I am able to respect others. Our respect for God, ourselves, and others give us faith to take risks, the second R of freedom.

Let us return to the occasion at Kadesh-barnea (Num. 14). The people are unwilling to risk going into the land God promised to give to them. It was because they had not come to respect God and themselves. You might be thinking. Why did they not have faith in God since He had delivered them out of Egypt? Yes, Moses led them out of Egypt, but at the Red Sea they showed their lack of faith in the Lord. Did they not know that they had crossed the Red Sea on dry land? We have to understand that the Hebrew people did not cross the sea out of respect for God. God parted the waters of the sea, used a strong wind to dry the bottom of the sea, and the people walked on dry ground to the other side.

Yet, the people did not cross the sea out of respect for God and themselves. Instead, the crossed the sea out of fear and respect for Pharaoh and his armies. When they saw Pharaoh and his chariots coming after them they cried out in fear to Moses. The people were so afraid of Pharaoh that they expressed their desire to be in Egypt and live (See Exod. 14:10-12). At Kadesh-barnea they heard a description of giants in the new land. They were not willing to risk going into the land because they saw in the giants a people that they were not able to defeat. They were as the Egyptians had been. They had not faith in God and themselves. They could not see the hope that Joshua and Caleb offered to them. They saw only giants and enslavement.

Risk takes faith. Faith is what gives us hope for something better. Faith gives us the assurance of success in taking on challenges and overcoming obstacles. Hebrews 11 gives us a list of people that defied the odds that were against them. They were not afraid of the powers that stood in their way. No, they forged ahead on their mission. They had faith in God. Even though they were aware of their own weaknesses, they trusted God to give them the victory in their quest to accomplish their purpose. With faith in God, they were ready to take on the responsibility that was before them (See 1 Sam. 17:32-37).

Responsibility is the third R of freedom. When the Israelites/Hebrews refused to enter into the Promised Land at Kadesh-barnea God caused them to wander in the wilderness for and additional thirty-eight year making a total of forty years until all the men of that generation had died (See Deut. 2:13-15). The younger generation wandered in the wilderness. This new generation had learned to respect God and themselves. They were prepared to take possession of a land possessed by a people that they respected. Sihon king of Heshbon (Deut. 2:26) and Og king of Basham (Deut. 3:3) the lord gave into their hands. Although these were great kings the children of Israel had respect for Jehovah their God. They were not naive thinking that with their strength alone they could defeat these powerful kings. Rather, they approached the task with confidence believing that they would win the victory. They had come to respect God. They had learned that they could trust themselves because God was with them. They accepted the responsibility with courage and faith in their God whom they had gained the utmost respect for.

The writers of the bible record many stories about people having success. In the New Testament, Paul and other writers tell us that we can make appropriate changes in our lives. We can be healed from diseases, disabilities and demonic powers if we respect/love the Lord. Most importantly we have access to eternal life through Jesus. As children of God we can risk establishing meaningful relationships with people that are from groups that historically were our enemies. Jesus has given us the responsibility to spread the gospel and make disciples for Jesus Christ. Those that believe in Jesus are new creatures. The old man and his ways are past. Everything is made new (2 Cor. 5:17), including our nature, our relationship to God, and our relationship to others (See 2 Cor. 5:18-21).