Numbers 14:11 says, And the LORD said unto Moses, How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? God asked Moses how long He should have patience with the people of Israel, since they didn't believe in Him even though He had shown them His power through signs that they had seen. We need to pray that God doesn't lose patience with us today as Christians. Verse twelve adds, I will smite them with the pestilence, and disinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightier than they. God said He would smite the people of Israel with pestilence and disinherit them, and then make a of Moses a greater nation than they were. If we are followers of Christ in name only and not by an unshakable faith in Him, God will one day disinherit us. Verse thirteen states, And Moses said unto the LORD, Then the Egyptians shall hear it, (for thou broughtest up this people in thy might from among them;) Moses told God that if He were to smite the people of Israel, the Egyptians would hear about it. Since God had delivered them out of Egypt, if He then killed them, the Egyptians would be able to say that following God brought no benefit, and that the people of Israel would have indeed been better off in Egypt. Today, we occasionally hear someone ask how we benefit from following Christ, as they see things only in material and earthly value. Verse fourteen adds, And they will tell it to the inhabitants of this land: for they have heard that thou LORD art among this people, that thou LORD art seen face to face, and that thy cloud standeth over them, and that thou goest before them, by day time in a pillar of a cloud, and in a pillar of fire by night. Moses said that other people, including the Egyptians, had seen His power at work in the people of Israel. Hopefully, the people of the world today will see His work through us, and we will never question His work in our life. Verse fifteen declares, Now if thou shalt kill all this people as one man, then the nations which have heard the fame of thee will speak, saying, Verse sixteen adds, Because the LORD was not able to bring this people into the land which he sware unto them, therefore he hath slain them in the wilderness. Moses said that if God killed the people that He delivered out of Egypt that the world would say that He was unable to bring them to the Promised Land. Even though they were ready to stone him, Moses was still willing to intercede with God on their behalf. We should have that same attitude today, and intercede for others before God, no matter how they may treat us. Verse seventeen states, And now, I beseech thee, let the power of my Lord be great, according as thou hast spoken, saying, Moses asked God to show His great mercy on the people of Israel, even though they were guilty of sinning against Him. This is how we are saved today, because of God's great mercy to us in sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to die in our place. Verse eighteen adds, The LORD is longsuffering, and of great mercy, forgiving iniquity and transgression, and by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation. Again, Moses said even though the people of Israel were guilty of sinning against God and sin brought punishment, he asked God to show them mercy. It is only by the mercy of God that we can have salvation, the forgiveness of our sins today. Verse nineteen continues, Pardon, I beseech thee, the iniquity of this people according unto the greatness of thy mercy, and as thou hast forgiven this people, from Egypt even until now. Moses asked God to once again forgive His people out of His great mercy. This is the only reason we can be forgiven today. Forgiveness is not earned by our actions, but is only possible because of the great mercy of God.
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