God, Who Does as He Promised

This passage deals with how the people of Israel, even after being saved from Egypt, worshiped the idols of Canaan and forgot God. They took the countless miracles and grace God had shown them for granted, and tested God and grumbled against him for their own convenience and gain. In particular, through the incident in which Moses struck the rock and brought out water, it shows the tragic result that even a leader who had experienced countless miracles, overcome by emotion, failed to show God's holiness and so could not enter the land of Canaan.

Through this failure of Israel and the parable of the vineyard, the sermon lays out the right view of faith that believers should have. It stresses that God does not hand out rewards according to the amount or length of our devotion, but saves all who truly believe alike. If believers, rather than seeking to please God through offerings and service, harbor the desire to put forward their own merits and receive more blessing, that is pride that does not truly know God. True believers must not boast of their labors, but keep an attitude of humble obedience to the end, thankful for the mission and grace God has given.

God is patient to the end out of love, to save even one more soul, but an attitude that abuses that patience in order to sin is never tolerated. Through Moses' bitter end and Israel's repeated betrayals, we must learn not to take God lightly. What God requires is not a formal devotion, but a mature faith that strives to see as God sees and an obedience that does not change to the end. Looking back on whether our faith now is for pleasing God or for our own gain, we must consider whether we can move toward true repentance.