8 If the LORD delight in us, then he will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey.
Introduction
The background of this passage is that great event of the children of Israel moving into the Promised Land. God came to Moses and told him to appoint men to go and spy out the land that he would give to them. The question might come to your mind, “If God is going to give it to them, why then should they go and spy it out?”
The answer is that God seldom ever gives us anything outright. He expects us to work, to sacrifice, to labor, to receive that which he makes possible. Without his help we could not have it. Without our effort we will not have it.
So the spies were appointed, went out, and after 40 days came back with a good report. They said that the “land flowed with milk and honey … nevertheless.” Watch that word nevertheless. It is often the introduction to negative thinking. They then begin to tell all the reasons why they could not take the land.
I feel sorry for people like that. They spend all of their efforts and energy trying to figure out why something will not work instead of making it work. Remember this, you can talk yourself into almost any mood. And it wasn’t long until they had spread their negative thinking so far and so wide that no one believed that it was possible for them to take the land.
The people first wept. They had lost heart and hope and vision. Then they began to murmur against God and their leaders. Why not? When you no longer have a mission and a purpose and goal there is nothing left but to sit down and complain. They even wanted to go back to where they had come from. They were thinking now about the good ol’ days.
Then Joshua and Caleb spoke up. They said, “If the Lord delight in us, then he will being us into this land” (Numbers 14:8). These are my kind of guys. They are positive thinkers. They have anchored their home and their faith in the Lord. To them the only question of importance is, “Does God want us to do it?” If God is with us, he delights in us, if this is his mission, then God will see it through to victory.” That must always be our stance and our approach.
What kind of people does God delight in?
1. God delights in us when we have faith. Faith is believing God to the extent that it sets us free to attempt the impossible. Faith always expresses itself in practical obedience. It expresses itself in action and in doing. How often does the Bible, and especially Hebrews 11, say that without faith in God it is impossible to please him? Faith without works is dead. Faith can never be intellectual. It is always an action.
2. God delights in people of purity. We must come before him with pure hearts and clean hands. This is illustrated in King David’s Psalm 51 where he confesses his sin and asks God to cleanse him.
3. God delights in people with loving hearts. This is the distinguishing mark of a Christian. It fulfills the great commandment. It is God’s desire for all of us.
4. God delights in people with a sacrificial spirit. Romans 12:1-2 teaches us to make our entire lives a sacrifice to God. In the case of Israel and the Promised Land, Caleb and Joshua said, “The land is here for our taking.” The same is true for us. We must be faithful to the Lord to receive it.