How Can I Be Filled with the Spirit?

Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. (Romans 15:4)

How can we be filled with the Holy Spirit? How can we experience an outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon our church and ourselves that fills us with indomitable joy and frees us, and empowers us, to love those around us in ways so authentic that they are won to Christ?

Answer: Meditate day and night upon the incomparable, hope-giving promises of God. As Romans 15:4 shows us, that’s the way Paul kept his heart full of hope and joy and love. “Whatever was written in former days was written for our instruction, that through endurance and through the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

The full assurance of hope comes from meditating on the promises of God’s word. And this does not contradict the sentence nine verses later that says that the Holy Spirit gives us hope (Romans 15:13). This is because the Holy Spirit is the divine author of Scripture. His word is the means of his work. It is no contradiction that the way he fills us with hope is by filling us with his own word of promise.

Hope is not some vague emotion that comes out of nowhere, like a stomachache. Hope is the confidence that the stupendous future promised to us by the word of the Spirit is going to really come true. Therefore, the way to be filled with the Spirit is to be filled with his word. The way to have the power of the Spirit is to believe the promises of his word.

For it is the word of promise that fills us with hope, and hope fills us with joy, and joy overflows in the power and freedom to love our neighbor. And that is the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

John Piper 

The Sacrifice that Pointed to Jesus

“By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.” HEBREWS 11:4

 

PONDER THIS

What did Abel offer? “Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock” (Genesis 4:4). Abel’s offering was based on a blood atonement, and this pointed forward to Jesus. Religion is what sinful people do for a holy God. The Gospel is the Good News of what a holy God has already done for sinful man.

Where did Abel get the idea of bringing a blood offering to Almighty God? When Adam and Eve sinned against God, they tried to clothe themselves with fig leaves. What is that? The fruit of the ground. What did God do? God came into the garden of Eden and made them coats of animal skin. How do you get coats of skin? Blood must be shed. This sacrifice foreshadowed the blood of Jesus that would be shed as the ultimate sacrifice.

Why was it necessary for Jesus’s blood to be shed?

What other Old Testament examples can you think of that point forward to the shed blood of Jesus?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of some Old Testament references to sacrifices. Consider the ways these accounts pointed to Jesus.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

March 7

Matthew 23:13-24

[13] “But woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you shut the kingdom of heaven in people’s faces. For you neither enter yourselves nor allow those who would enter to go in. [15] Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you travel across sea and land to make a single proselyte, and when he becomes a proselyte, you make him twice as much a child of hell as yourselves.

[16] “Woe to you, blind guides, who say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ [17] You blind fools! For which is greater, the gold or the temple that has made the gold sacred? [18] And you say, ‘If anyone swears by the altar, it is nothing, but if anyone swears by the gift that is on the altar, he is bound by his oath.’ [19] You blind men! For which is greater, the gift or the altar that makes the gift sacred? [20] So whoever swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it. [21] And whoever swears by the temple swears by it and by him who dwells in it. [22] And whoever swears by heaven swears by the throne of God and by him who sits upon it.

[23] “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. [24] You blind guides, straining out a gnat and swallowing a camel!

Romans 5:12-21

[12] Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—[13] for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. [14] Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.

[15] But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. [16] And the free gift is not like the result of that one man’s sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. [17] For if, because of one man’s trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ.

[18] Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. [19] For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous. [20] Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, [21] so that, as sin reigned in death, grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 54

To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments. A Maskil of David, when the Ziphites went and told Saul, “Is not David hiding among us?”

    [1] O God, save me by your name,

        and vindicate me by your might. 

    [2] O God, hear my prayer;

        give ear to the words of my mouth.

    [3] For strangers have risen against me;

        ruthless men seek my life;

        they do not set God before themselves. Selah

    [4] Behold, God is my helper;

        the Lord is the upholder of my life. 

    [5] He will return the evil to my enemies;

        in your faithfulness put an end to them.

    [6] With a freewill offering I will sacrifice to you;

        I will give thanks to your name, O LORD, for it is good. 

    [7] For he has delivered me from every trouble,

        and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

Numbers 15

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land you are to inhabit, which I am giving you, [3] and you offer to the LORD from the herd or from the flock a food offering or a burnt offering or a sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or as a freewill offering or at your appointed feasts, to make a pleasing aroma to the LORD, [4] then he who brings his offering shall offer to the LORD a grain offering of a tenth of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with a quarter of a hin of oil; [5] and you shall offer with the burnt offering, or for the sacrifice, a quarter of a hin of wine for the drink offering for each lamb. [6] Or for a ram, you shall offer for a grain offering two tenths of an ephah of fine flour mixed with a third of a hin of oil. [7] And for the drink offering you shall offer a third of a hin of wine, a pleasing aroma to the LORD. [8] And when you offer a bull as a burnt offering or sacrifice, to fulfill a vow or for peace offerings to the LORD, [9] then one shall offer with the bull a grain offering of three tenths of an ephah of fine flour, mixed with half a hin of oil. [10] And you shall offer for the drink offering half a hin of wine, as a food offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD.

[11] “Thus it shall be done for each bull or ram, or for each lamb or young goat. [12] As many as you offer, so shall you do with each one, as many as there are. [13] Every native Israelite shall do these things in this way, in offering a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD. [14] And if a stranger is sojourning with you, or anyone is living permanently among you, and he wishes to offer a food offering, with a pleasing aroma to the LORD, he shall do as you do. [15] For the assembly, there shall be one statute for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you, a statute forever throughout your generations. You and the sojourner shall be alike before the LORD. [16] One law and one rule shall be for you and for the stranger who sojourns with you.”

[17] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [18] “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land to which I bring you [19] and when you eat of the bread of the land, you shall present a contribution to the LORD. [20] Of the first of your dough you shall present a loaf as a contribution; like a contribution from the threshing floor, so shall you present it. [21] Some of the first of your dough you shall give to the LORD as a contribution throughout your generations.

[22] “But if you sin unintentionally, and do not observe all these commandments that the LORD has spoken to Moses, [23] all that the LORD has commanded you by Moses, from the day that the LORD gave commandment, and onward throughout your generations, [24] then if it was done unintentionally without the knowledge of the congregation, all the congregation shall offer one bull from the herd for a burnt offering, a pleasing aroma to the LORD, with its grain offering and its drink offering, according to the rule, and one male goat for a sin offering. [25] And the priest shall make atonement for all the congregation of the people of Israel, and they shall be forgiven, because it was a mistake, and they have brought their offering, a food offering to the LORD, and their sin offering before the LORD for their mistake. [26] And all the congregation of the people of Israel shall be forgiven, and the stranger who sojourns among them, because the whole population was involved in the mistake.

[27] “If one person sins unintentionally, he shall offer a female goat a year old for a sin offering. [28] And the priest shall make atonement before the LORD for the person who makes a mistake, when he sins unintentionally, to make atonement for him, and he shall be forgiven. [29] You shall have one law for him who does anything unintentionally, for him who is native among the people of Israel and for the stranger who sojourns among them. [30] But the person who does anything with a high hand, whether he is native or a sojourner, reviles the LORD, and that person shall be cut off from among his people. [31] Because he has despised the word of the LORD and has broken his commandment, that person shall be utterly cut off; his iniquity shall be on him.”

[32] While the people of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man gathering sticks on the Sabbath day. [33] And those who found him gathering sticks brought him to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation. [34] They put him in custody, because it had not been made clear what should be done to him. [35] And the LORD said to Moses, “The man shall be put to death; all the congregation shall stone him with stones outside the camp.” [36] And all the congregation brought him outside the camp and stoned him to death with stones, as the LORD commanded Moses.

[37] The LORD said to Moses, [38] “Speak to the people of Israel, and tell them to make tassels on the corners of their garments throughout their generations, and to put a cord of blue on the tassel of each corner. [39] And it shall be a tassel for you to look at and remember all the commandments of the LORD, to do them, not to follow after your own heart and your own eyes, which you are inclined to whore after. [40] So you shall remember and do all my commandments, and be holy to your God. [41] I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt to be your God: I am the LORD your God.”

Numbers 16

[1] Now Korah the son of Izhar, son of Kohath, son of Levi, and Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and On the son of Peleth, sons of Reuben, took men. [2] And they rose up before Moses, with a number of the people of Israel, 250 chiefs of the congregation, chosen from the assembly, well-known men. [3] They assembled themselves together against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, “You have gone too far! For all in the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the LORD is among them. Why then do you exalt yourselves above the assembly of the LORD?” [4] When Moses heard it, he fell on his face, [5] and he said to Korah and all his company, “In the morning the LORD will show who is his, and who is holy, and will bring him near to him. The one whom he chooses he will bring near to him. [6] Do this: take censers, Korah and all his company; [7] put fire in them and put incense on them before the LORD tomorrow, and the man whom the LORD chooses shall be the holy one. You have gone too far, sons of Levi!” [8] And Moses said to Korah, “Hear now, you sons of Levi: [9] is it too small a thing for you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel, to bring you near to himself, to do service in the tabernacle of the LORD and to stand before the congregation to minister to them, [10] and that he has brought you near him, and all your brothers the sons of Levi with you? And would you seek the priesthood also? [11] Therefore it is against the LORD that you and all your company have gathered together. What is Aaron that you grumble against him?”

[12] And Moses sent to call Dathan and Abiram the sons of Eliab, and they said, “We will not come up. [13] Is it a small thing that you have brought us up out of a land flowing with milk and honey, to kill us in the wilderness, that you must also make yourself a prince over us? [14] Moreover, you have not brought us into a land flowing with milk and honey, nor given us inheritance of fields and vineyards. Will you put out the eyes of these men? We will not come up.” [15] And Moses was very angry and said to the LORD, “Do not respect their offering. I have not taken one donkey from them, and I have not harmed one of them.”

[16] And Moses said to Korah, “Be present, you and all your company, before the LORD, you and they, and Aaron, tomorrow. [17] And let every one of you take his censer and put incense on it, and every one of you bring before the LORD his censer, 250 censers; you also, and Aaron, each his censer.” [18] So every man took his censer and put fire in them and laid incense on them and stood at the entrance of the tent of meeting with Moses and Aaron. [19] Then Korah assembled all the congregation against them at the entrance of the tent of meeting. And the glory of the LORD appeared to all the congregation.

[20] And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, [21] “Separate yourselves from among this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” [22] And they fell on their faces and said, “O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin, and will you be angry with all the congregation?” [23] And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [24] “Say to the congregation, Get away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram.”

[25] Then Moses rose and went to Dathan and Abiram, and the elders of Israel followed him. [26] And he spoke to the congregation, saying, “Depart, please, from the tents of these wicked men, and touch nothing of theirs, lest you be swept away with all their sins.” [27] So they got away from the dwelling of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram. And Dathan and Abiram came out and stood at the door of their tents, together with their wives, their sons, and their little ones. [28] And Moses said, “Hereby you shall know that the LORD has sent me to do all these works, and that it has not been of my own accord. [29] If these men die as all men die, or if they are visited by the fate of all mankind, then the LORD has not sent me. [30] But if the LORD creates something new, and the ground opens its mouth and swallows them up with all that belongs to them, and they go down alive into Sheol, then you shall know that these men have despised the LORD.”

[31] And as soon as he had finished speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. [32] And the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the people who belonged to Korah and all their goods. [33] So they and all that belonged to them went down alive into Sheol, and the earth closed over them, and they perished from the midst of the assembly. [34] And all Israel who were around them fled at their cry, for they said, “Lest the earth swallow us up!” [35] And fire came out from the LORD and consumed the 250 men offering the incense.

[36]  Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [37] “Tell Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest to take up the censers out of the blaze. Then scatter the fire far and wide, for they have become holy. [38] As for the censers of these men who have sinned at the cost of their lives, let them be made into hammered plates as a covering for the altar, for they offered them before the LORD, and they became holy. Thus they shall be a sign to the people of Israel.” [39] So Eleazar the priest took the bronze censers, which those who were burned had offered, and they were hammered out as a covering for the altar, [40] to be a reminder to the people of Israel, so that no outsider, who is not of the descendants of Aaron, should draw near to burn incense before the LORD, lest he become like Korah and his company—as the LORD said to him through Moses.

[41] But on the next day all the congregation of the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and against Aaron, saying, “You have killed the people of the LORD.” [42] And when the congregation had assembled against Moses and against Aaron, they turned toward the tent of meeting. And behold, the cloud covered it, and the glory of the LORD appeared. [43] And Moses and Aaron came to the front of the tent of meeting, [44] and the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [45] “Get away from the midst of this congregation, that I may consume them in a moment.” And they fell on their faces. [46] And Moses said to Aaron, “Take your censer, and put fire on it from off the altar and lay incense on it and carry it quickly to the congregation and make atonement for them, for wrath has gone out from the LORD; the plague has begun.” [47] So Aaron took it as Moses said and ran into the midst of the assembly. And behold, the plague had already begun among the people. And he put on the incense and made atonement for the people. [48] And he stood between the dead and the living, and the plague was stopped. [49] Now those who died in the plague were 14,700, besides those who died in the affair of Korah. [50] And Aaron returned to Moses at the entrance of the tent of meeting, when the plague was stopped.

Numbers 17

[1]  The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Speak to the people of Israel, and get from them staffs, one for each fathers’ house, from all their chiefs according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. Write each man’s name on his staff, [3] and write Aaron’s name on the staff of Levi. For there shall be one staff for the head of each fathers’ house. [4] Then you shall deposit them in the tent of meeting before the testimony, where I meet with you. [5] And the staff of the man whom I choose shall sprout. Thus I will make to cease from me the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against you.” [6] Moses spoke to the people of Israel. And all their chiefs gave him staffs, one for each chief, according to their fathers’ houses, twelve staffs. And the staff of Aaron was among their staffs. [7] And Moses deposited the staffs before the LORD in the tent of the testimony.

[8] On the next day Moses went into the tent of the testimony, and behold, the staff of Aaron for the house of Levi had sprouted and put forth buds and produced blossoms, and it bore ripe almonds. [9] Then Moses brought out all the staffs from before the LORD to all the people of Israel. And they looked, and each man took his staff.

[10] And the LORD said to Moses, “Put back the staff of Aaron before the testimony, to be kept as a sign for the rebels, that you may make an end of their grumblings against me, lest they die.” [11] Thus did Moses; as the LORD commanded him, so he did.

[12] And the people of Israel said to Moses, “Behold, we perish, we are undone, we are all undone. [13] Everyone who comes near, who comes near to the tabernacle of the LORD, shall die. Are we all to perish?”

 

God Regards the Lowly

“The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms.” (Deuteronomy 33:27)

You may be going through things right now that are painfully preparing you for some precious service to Jesus and to his people. When a person strikes rock bottom with a sense of nothingness or helplessness, he may find that he has struck the Rock of Ages.

I remember a delicious sentence from Psalm 138:6 that our family read at our breakfast devotions: “Though the Lord is high, he regards the lowly.”

You cannot sink so low in despairing of your own resources that God does not see and care. In fact, he is at the bottom waiting to catch you. As Moses says, “The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27).

Yes, he sees you trembling and slipping. He could (and often did) grab you before you hit bottom. But this time he has some new lessons to teach.

The psalmist said in Psalm 119:71, “It is good for me that I was afflicted, that I might learn your statutes.” He does not say it was easy or fun or pleasant. In retrospect, he simply says, “It was good for me.”

Last week I was reading a book by a Scottish minister named James Stewart. He said, “In love’s service, only the wounded soldiers can serve.” That’s why I believe some of you are being prepared right now for some precious service of love. Because you are being wounded.

Do not think that your wound has come to you apart from God’s gracious design. Remember his word: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me . . . I wound and I heal” (Deuteronomy 32:39).

May God grant a special grace to you who are groaning under some burden. Look eagerly for the new tenderness of love that God is imparting to you even now.

John Piper 

Faith Shows Up in the Way You Live

“Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.” HEBREWS 10:38

 

PONDER THIS

Faith is the heart’s response to the character of God. When your eye is right, it responds to light. When your ear is right, it responds to sound. When your heart is right, it responds to God, and that response is called faith. That’s the reason the Bible says, “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Unbelief never comes out of the head. Unbelief comes out of the heart. A lack of faith shows what is in our hearts. Faith is the dynamic of spiritual worship. Faith honors God, and God honors faith. Are you honoring Him through faith?

How have you experienced the reality of faith as a response to the character of God?

What are some ways your life might show a lack of faith, no matter what you say you believe?

PRACTICE THIS

Make a list of ways your faith is manifest in your life. Make another list of ways your life shows a lack of faith. What needs to change? Take those things before God in prayer.

LWF Dr. Adrian Rogers 

March 6

Matthew 23:1-12

[1] Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, [2] “The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses’ seat, [3] so do and observe whatever they tell you, but not the works they do. For they preach, but do not practice. [4] They tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger. [5] They do all their deeds to be seen by others. For they make their phylacteries broad and their fringes long, [6] and they love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues [7] and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others. [8] But you are not to be called rabbi, for you have one teacher, and you are all brothers. [9] And call no man your father on earth, for you have one Father, who is in heaven. [10] Neither be called instructors, for you have one instructor, the Christ. [11] The greatest among you shall be your servant. [12] Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.

Romans 5:1-11

[1] Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. [2] Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. [3] Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, [4] and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, [5] and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

[6] For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. [7] For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—[8] but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. [9] Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. [10] For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. [11] More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

 

 

Psalm 53

To the choirmaster: according to Mahalath. A Maskil of David.

    [1] The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
        They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
        there is none who does good.

    [2] God looks down from heaven
        on the children of man
    to see if there are any who understand,
        who seek after God.

    [3] They have all fallen away;
        together they have become corrupt;
    there is none who does good,
        not even one.

    [4] Have those who work evil no knowledge,
        who eat up my people as they eat bread,
        and do not call upon God?

    [5] There they are, in great terror,
        where there is no terror!
    For God scatters the bones of him who encamps against you;
        you put them to shame, for God has rejected them.

    [6] Oh, that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!
        When God restores the fortunes of his people,
        let Jacob rejoice, let Israel be glad.

Numbers 12

[1] Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman whom he had married, for he had married a Cushite woman. [2] And they said, “Has the LORD indeed spoken only through Moses? Has he not spoken through us also?” And the LORD heard it. [3] Now the man Moses was very meek, more than all people who were on the face of the earth. [4] And suddenly the LORD said to Moses and to Aaron and Miriam, “Come out, you three, to the tent of meeting.” And the three of them came out. [5] And the LORD came down in a pillar of cloud and stood at the entrance of the tent and called Aaron and Miriam, and they both came forward. [6] And he said, “Hear my words: If there is a prophet among you, I the LORD make myself known to him in a vision; I speak with him in a dream. [7] Not so with my servant Moses. He is faithful in all my house. [8] With him I speak mouth to mouth, clearly, and not in riddles, and he beholds the form of the LORD. Why then were you not afraid to speak against my servant Moses?” [9] And the anger of the LORD was kindled against them, and he departed.

[10] When the cloud removed from over the tent, behold, Miriam was leprous, like snow. And Aaron turned toward Miriam, and behold, she was leprous. [11] And Aaron said to Moses, “Oh, my lord, do not punish us because we have done foolishly and have sinned. [12] Let her not be as one dead, whose flesh is half eaten away when he comes out of his mother’s womb.” [13] And Moses cried to the LORD, “O God, please heal her—please.” [14] But the LORD said to Moses, “If her father had but spit in her face, should she not be shamed seven days? Let her be shut outside the camp seven days, and after that she may be brought in again.” [15] So Miriam was shut outside the camp seven days, and the people did not set out on the march till Miriam was brought in again. [16] After that the people set out from Hazeroth, and camped in the wilderness of Paran.

Numbers 13

[1] The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.” [3] So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the LORD, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. [4] And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; [5] from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; [6] from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; [7] from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; [8] from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; [9] from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; [10] from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; [11] from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; [12] from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; [13] from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; [14] from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; [15] from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. [16] These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua.

[17] Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, [18] and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, [19] and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, [20] and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

[21] So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. [22] They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) [23] And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. [24] That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there.

[25] At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. [26] And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. [27] And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. [28] However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. [29] The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”

[30] But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.” [31] Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.” [32] So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. [33] And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”

Numbers 14

[1] Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. [2] And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! [3] 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?” [4] And they said to one another, “Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.”

[5] Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. [6] And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes [7] and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. [8] If the LORD delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. [9] Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them.” [10] Then all the congregation said to stone them with stones. But the glory of the LORD appeared at the tent of meeting to all the people of Israel.

[11] And the LORD said to Moses, “How long will this people despise me? And how long will they not believe in me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? [12] I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they.”

[13] But Moses said to the LORD, “Then the Egyptians will hear of it, for you brought up this people in your might from among them, [14] and they will tell the inhabitants of this land. They have heard that you, O LORD, are in the midst of this people. For you, O LORD, are seen face to face, and your cloud stands over them and you go before them, in a pillar of cloud by day and in a pillar of fire by night. [15] Now if you kill this people as one man, then the nations who have heard your fame will say, [16] ‘It is because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land that he swore to give to them that he has killed them in the wilderness.’ [17] And now, please let the power of the Lord be great as you have promised, saying, [18] ‘The LORD is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation.’ [19] Please pardon the iniquity of this people, according to the greatness of your steadfast love, just as you have forgiven this people, from Egypt until now.”

[20] Then the LORD said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. [21] But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the LORD, [22] none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, [23] shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. [24] But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it. [25] Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

[26] And the LORD spoke to Moses and to Aaron, saying, [27] “How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me? I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me. [28] Say to them, ‘As I live, declares the LORD, what you have said in my hearing I will do to you: [29] your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness, and of all your number, listed in the census from twenty years old and upward, who have grumbled against me, [30] not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell, except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun. [31] But your little ones, who you said would become a prey, I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected. [32] But as for you, your dead bodies shall fall in this wilderness. [33] And your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness forty years and shall suffer for your faithlessness, until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness. [34] According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a year for each day, you shall bear your iniquity forty years, and you shall know my displeasure.’ [35] I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely this will I do to all this wicked congregation who are gathered together against me: in this wilderness they shall come to a full end, and there they shall die.”

[36] And the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation grumble against him by bringing up a bad report about the land—[37] the men who brought up a bad report of the land—died by plague before the LORD. [38] Of those men who went to spy out the land, only Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive.

[39] When Moses told these words to all the people of Israel, the people mourned greatly. [40] And they rose early in the morning and went up to the heights of the hill country, saying, “Here we are. We will go up to the place that the LORD has promised, for we have sinned.” [41] But Moses said, “Why now are you transgressing the command of the LORD, when that will not succeed? [42] Do not go up, for the LORD is not among you, lest you be struck down before your enemies. [43] For there the Amalekites and the Canaanites are facing you, and you shall fall by the sword. Because you have turned back from following the LORD, the LORD will not be with you.” [44] But they presumed to go up to the heights of the hill country, although neither the ark of the covenant of the LORD nor Moses departed out of the camp. [45] Then the Amalekites and the Canaanites who lived in that hill country came down and defeated them and pursued them, even to Hormah.

Look to Jesus for Your Joy

“They do all their deeds to be seen by others. . . . They love the place of honor at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces and being called rabbi by others.” (Matthew 23:5–7)

The itch of self-regard craves the scratch of self-approval. If we are getting our pleasure from feeling self-sufficient, we will not be satisfied without others seeing and applauding our self-sufficiency.

Hence Jesus’s description of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 23:5, “They do all their deeds to be seen by others.”

This is ironic. Wouldn’t you think that self-sufficiency should free the proud person from the need to be made much of by others? That’s what “sufficient” means. But evidently there is an emptiness in this so-called self-sufficiency.

The self was never designed to satisfy itself or rely upon itself. It never can be self-sufficient. We are not God. We are in the image of God. And what makes us “like” God is not our self-sufficiency. We are shadows and echoes. So, there will always be an emptiness in the soul that struggles to be satisfied with the resources of self.

This empty craving for the praise of others signals the failure of pride and the absence of faith in God’s ongoing grace. Jesus saw the terrible effect of this itch for human glory. He named it in John 5:44, “How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?” The answer is, you can’t. Itching for glory from other people makes faith impossible. Why?

Because faith looks away from self to God. Faith is being satisfied with all that God is for you in Jesus. And if you are bent on getting the satisfaction of your itch from the scratch of others’ praise, you will turn away from Jesus. That is not what he is like. He lives for the glory of his Father. And calls us to do the same.

But if you would turn from self as the source of satisfaction (repentance), and come to Jesus for the enjoyment of all that God is for us in him (faith), then the itch of emptiness would be replaced by a fullness — what Jesus calls “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14).

John Piper