The Beginning of Wisdom
Numbers 14:2-4
And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. … “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! … Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”
When we remove the Logos from our logic, we make utter fools of ourselves and a mess of the world God has given us to steward.
The reasoning behind the statement, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt,” is as ludicrous as the reasoning behind statements like “boys can be girls” and “unborn babies are just a clump of cells” and “abortion is a woman’s right!” Because the conclusion that statements like these intend to draw is made impossible by the premises. Consider the logic of these Israelite cynics in a nutshell: (a) ‘our enemies are powerful’; (b) ‘our wives and kids will become prey’; therefore (c) ‘let’s go back to Egypt where we’ll be safe’. Hold on: wasn’t Egypt their enemy? Didn’t they groan under the heavy load of cruel taskmasters? Weren’t they mere seconds away from being annihilated on the banks of the Red Sea till God destroyed Pharaoh’s legions? Yes! Yet somehow, they’ve drawn the conclusion that they’re safer there, with that tyrant, as slaves, than they are as children in the arms of God!
I don’t care how large the Canaanite garrisons are, they don’t match the splendor of Egyptian palisades. And I don’t care how tall the sons of Anak appear, they’re just pebbles against the towering walls of the Red Sea. The fact is, God has always, every moment of this pilgrimage, taken care of His precious children. Not one of these wives has been stolen by raiders in the middle of the night, and not one of the toddlers has been snatched up by slave-traders hiding in the crags.
Friend, I say this unequivocally: wherever you are right now in the LORD, however dark and confusing these days of your own exile may seem, let the Logos determine your logic. Look to the cross! The giants are dwarves there. And run to the empty tomb! Your fears won’t follow you that far.