In Numbers, chapter fourteen, verse twenty-nine, the New Testament explicitly declares that God intended His judgment on Israel for their disobedience and unbelief to serve as a warning to all believers. The Israelites had the good news preached to them and were redeemed by the blood stated in Exodus six, verse six, and chapter twelve, verse thirteen, respectively. They passed through the Red Sea, received baptism, partook in spiritual food, drank from the spiritual drink, which is the living water of Christ, and the guidance from the Holy Spirit. Despite this redemption and experience of God’s grace, the people complained against God, hardened their hearts, rebelled against the Lord, spurned Him in unbelief, refused to listen to His voice, ceased to obey His commandments, and turned back from following the Lord. The Israelites’ disobedience brought them the wrath of God, death, destruction, failure to enter the land of Canaan, and forfeiture of God’s rest.
Based on Israel’s failure in the wilderness, the urgency for the believers in Christ is to “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God,” and fail to enter into that rest” which is the rest of faith and ultimately heaven. The life challenge for followers in Christ is to overcome the obstacles we face daily. The devil knows what heaven is like and now seeks to steal, kill, and destroy the people of God from having that opportunity through various earthly means. The enemy will use family, things you love and hate to divert attention from your relationship with God to something else. For example, social media, the internet, and cell phones are the mediums that have captured many to weaken their focus on God. The question is, are these devices drawing us closer to God or away from Him?