Accustomed to Unbelief

“Wherefore I was grieved with that generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known my ways.” (Heb 3:10 AV)

When I read this, something struck me that had never occurred to me before.  Note here the LORD says the generation that fled Egypt always erred in their hearts.  They never knew the ways of the LORD.  This was before the giving of the law, so we know the LORD is not speaking of erring sinfully.  Even though the generation that fled Egypt did so, sin is not what the LORD is referring to.  If one reads a few verses later, he will discover the fault lay in unbelief.  The generation who came out of Egypt refused to trust the LORD and take a step of faith which would have led to them occupying Canaan.  The steps of faith which they had taken thus far were no brainers.  With the Egyptian army behind them and an open sea in front of them, it didn’t take a whole lot of faith to cross the riverbed.  When there was no water or food and God provided, it didn’t take a whole lot of faith and trust the LORD for daily provision.  They really didn’t have must choice.  When it came to Canaan, however, they did.  Either they trust the LORD and invade the land, or then wander in the wilderness and exist as children of God who would care for them.  After contemplating this, something struck me.  The children of Israel refused to grow up!  They were cared for, such as it was, by the Egyptians in exchange for the complete and total enslavement.  They went from one benefactor to another.  In Egypt, they did what they had to do.  And that is all.  There was no initiative.  They were not proactive.  They simply responded to the circumstances at hand for no greater reason than simple survival.  Now, they are in the wilderness and the same pattern develops.  God is now their benefactor.  They simply respond to the immediate circumstances at hand for no greater reason than mere existence.  This is what God is referring to when He says they had not known of His ways.  They made a pattern of life where faith was not a priority.  Only a necessity.

We can be conditioned to be a certain way and not even realize the harmful habits of life in which we are entrapped.  Obviously, being a ward of the state or the family puts one at a disadvantage.  Having all of our needs met destroys the ability to take risk.  Risk is necessary for maturing faith.  A child who sits at mealtime and eats what is placed before him, exercises very little faith.  A young man who needs to go out and hunt for his own food learns to pray for the LORD’s blessing while in the field.  A teenager who hops in dad’s car and drives without any care about how much gas is in the tank, what maintenance needs to be done, or even if the insurance is paid doesn’t need a whole lot of faith.  But the adult who knows what the expenses of running a household will look for employment to meet those needs.  An adolescent who has no idea of the threats that could invade his world goes to sleep at night knowing everything will be fine.  In the meantime, dad lays awake praying to the LORD all will be well as they slumber knowing many threats could come as they rest their weary bodies.  The child will take his Flintstone vitamin without any thought as to why.  His parents go to their pill dispenser and religiously take their medication knowing eventually their health will fail.  They pray for God’s mercy and for good health.  To use another comparison, the church member who comes because he needs encouragement comes with minimal faith compared to the saint who is proactive in his faith and sticks his neck out for the cause of Christ by sharing the gospel.  The one who gives because he has extra is exercising minimal faith.  The one who sacrifices and trusts the LORD to give what God has placed on his heart is someone who is growing in their faith.  The saint that lives as a victim of their circumstances, always calling on the LORD for relief is not maturing like the believer who, despite his circumstances, asks the LORD for strength that he might continue to serve Him.

Herein is the principle.  We have pews that are stagnated because we simply do not understand how to live by faith.  We are not maturing.  We are sitting back and waiting to be served.  We are begging to be loved on.  The center of our world is us.  We want to be coddled, pampered, and taken care of.  There are very few Joshuas who will take the risk and charge the hill.  There are few Calebs who will ask for the most difficult of all enemy strongholds and take it on while in his advanced years.  There are few Jonathans who will singlehandedly take on a platoon of bad guys or Davids who will assault the hordes of hell simply because they blaspheme the name of God.  To mature in faith requires we take a risk.  It requires us not to be preoccupied with our immediate needs.  Yes, we are to pray for our daily bread.  But unlike Israel, we are not to be preoccupied with manna and quail.  The generation that fled Egypt never grew beyond their physical and emotional dependence on a benefactor.  They could never take the initiative.  They wasted away their lives because they were always waiting for God to take care of them.  Not until we grow up and realize God will take care of us and not obsess about it will we ever take steps of real faith that require risk.  We are one of two people.  We are either stuck in the wilderness because we are too afraid to step out on faith, or we are the risk-takers who will trust God for the battles that lie ahead.  One does not grow.  He withers away.  The other will always feel alive!