The Tabernacle, a Shadow of Christ

This passage deals with the events in which the Israelites who had come out of Egypt made the golden calf and sent out spies from Kadesh Barnea. God meant to lead them into the promised land, but out of fear and complaining the people listened to the spies' negative report. Seeing the giants before them, they regarded themselves as grasshoppers, expected defeat, and grumbled against God, and in the end they wanted to go back to Egypt. This unbelief and complaining led to forty years of wandering in the wilderness, and many perished along the way.

The sermon points out that this failure of Israel is happening to us in the same way today. We have received new life through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, yet we complain and grumble in the face of small difficulties or fears. Even though God parted the sea to save us and provided spiritual food and drink, we are not thankful, deceiving ourselves that we live by our own ability. Complaints spoken aloud are especially dangerous, because God hears them and may answer them. God strives to the very end to turn his children back so that they do not fall into sin, whether by soothing them with love or by disciplining them with the rod.

We must live clothed in the righteous garment of Jesus Christ. Having put on this garment means that we must become free from the temptations and sin of the world. When we remember the deep love with which God chose us as his children and cares for us to the end, we can live not in misery but in thankfulness. If we want to be led by God's plans and ways even in the present darkness and difficulty, we must fix our eyes on God. Just as God has had no regrets about us, what question can help us, too, live trusting in God?