Numbers 14: 1-24
This passage is about when God was sick of hearing the Israelites complain, so instead of plaguing and killing them all, he decides to set aside Caleb as the only person allowed to see the Promised Land.
In this passage, it’s striking to me how God interacts with Moses like an actual person. He seems hurt, and frustrated and disappointed. He’s ready to kill them all except for Moses. Moses steps in and asks God to spare them, and to go back to the loving and forgiving person that God is. God hears Moses’ words and decides to punish the Israelites in a different way: by not allowing them to see or step foot in the Promise Land.
I was trying to compare this to my life, and I think I can udnerstand God’s frustration here. This would be like if I promised my brother we’d go to the park and he kept telling me “No, you won’t take me to the park,” no matter how many times I said I would. And before taking him to the park I’d take him to Burger King (his favorite place) and him saying, “This sucks. Let’s just go back home. This food tastes horrible and I hate it here. You weren’t ever going to take me to the park anyway.” How done would I be with the whole situation, even though I promised him we’d go?
The thought of God interacting like we interact with each other is somehow comforting to me.
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