Knowing God's will is important. When I am 100% convinced God wants me to do something, it is much easier to meet obstacles along the way. But most of the time God's will regarding the mundane things of life is rarely clear to me. For example, should we sell our house and buy elsewhere or stay put?

The lesson for Sunday says:


And the lesson for Monday says:


Points to note: the murmurings arose among the mixed multitude; to prevent the spreading of the murmurings through the entire camp, fire (lightning) came from the cloud and consumed the instigators of the trouble; Moses himself came very near distrusting the Lord.

Satan... came with his temptations first to the mixed multitude, the believing Egyptians, and stirred them up to seditious murmurings. These murmurings would soon have leavened the entire camp, had not the wrath of God in fire from Heaven flashed like lightning from the cloudy pillar and consumed those who were the instigators of the trouble. Yet this, instead of humbling them, seemed only to increase their murmurings. When Moses heard the people weeping in the door of their tents, and complaining throughout their families, he was greatly distressed. Here Moses, himself, came very near distrusting the Lord. ... The burden seemed almost insupportable. Did not Moses at this time regret that he had not consented to have Israel destroyed, and himself made a great nation? Such temptations troubled him. It grieved him sorely to have them direct their complaints against him, as if every supposed deprivation was chargeable to him. ... His heart sunk within him; but he turned to the only One who could help him in his trouble. His was a prayer which was almost a complaint. ‘Wherefore hast thou afflicted thy servant? and wherefore have I not found favor in thy sight, that thou layest the burden of all this people upon me?’ ‘Whence should I have flesh to give unto all this people? for they weep unto me, saying, Give us flesh that we may eat. I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of hand, if I have found favor in thy sight; and let me not see my wretchedness.’ This prayer does not do honor to Moses, who had seen so much of the power of God. The burdens of care had overtaxed him. He could have borne them all had the people stood by him; but he knew that their perverseness would only be quelled by the display of God's wrath, and he preferred death rather than to see Israel disgraced and their enemies triumph. The Lord heard the prayer of his servant, and the answer came, strong and positive, directing him to gather before him seventy men... who were qualified to be judges or officers. ... But had Moses shown simple trust and confidence in God, corresponding to his great goodness and mercy, these men would not have been chosen. Serious trouble would eventually result from their enlarged authority. God would have guarded his servant continually, and strengthened him in every emergency, had he relied fully upon him. Moses was not excusable in so nearly imitating the people in murmuring against God. He magnified his burdens and services, when the Lord was really the worker, and he only the instrument. Poor, weak human nature, how little is it to be trusted!” {ST, August 12, 1880 par. 3-7}

What is really important is to know God's will about spiritual things and follow it. I think this is easy (to know; not always to do). About secular things, we should pray about them, and I believe that if God wants you to go in a certain direction he will open doors for you.

Was the "fire" lightning or "like" lightning? Is there a difference?

I don't think we can know. I think its appearance was like lightining, but we don't know exactly what it is. PP 379 says, "The most guilty of the complainers were slain by lightning from the cloud." The passage above says, "fire from Heaven flashed like lightning from the cloudy pillar."

It's interesting that Ellen White also mentions lightining in connection with Christ's coming:

"Before the Son of man appears in the clouds of heaven, everything in nature will be convulsed. Lightning from heaven uniting with the fire in the earth, will cause the mountains to burn like a furnace, and pour out their floods of lava over villages and cities, molten masses of rock, thrown into the water by the upheaval of things hidden in the earth. There will be mighty earthquakes and great destruction of human life. But as in the days of the great deluge Noah was preserved in the ark that God had prepared for him, so in these days of destruction and calamity, God will be the refuge of His believing ones." --Letter 258, 1907. {3MR 309.4}

Note that the apostasy received its consequences "from the cloudy pillar." God directly addressed the apostasy, rather than just letting sin take its natural course.

Tom would probably say the fire that killed them was pent up until God withdrew His protection. As such, God wouldn't have killed them; instead, sin, which upset the balance of nature, is what killed them.

Tom probably would, since he pretends God does not kill. If this is the case, sin somehow has a double standard. Sin does not leap out and kill the serial murderers today, whereas in the case mentioned above, sin killed those who but voiced complaints. Sin does not strike sinners dead today for mocking God--or even claiming He does not exist. Why?

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

Again, Tom would say God, not sin, is in control. The pent up forces of nature are held in check until such time God deems it necessary to unleash its fury. It is sin, not God, that wields the forces of nature like a "slaughter weapon". God simply permits it to play out according to His established and enforced limits.

This doesn't make sense to me. What does "pent up" fire mean?



What do you mean "pretends"?



First of all, you're phrasing this very poorly, given you're intending to represent an idea I've shared (if you're not intending to do this, I don't know what you're doing). Sin doesn't "leap out and kill," as sin is not a sentient being. I've never said anything like this.

I've said that people can cause God to remove His protection, and then bad things happen.

Secondly you're asserting a double standard because these things don't happen today. Why do you think these things don't happen today? (Remember that we're considering this from my perspective, since you're addressing ideas I've shared, which is that something happened as a result of God's removing His protection, as, for example, lightening striking them.)

I think much of the time God wants us to decide for ourselves.

Parents (at least, parents we would call "good parents") want their children to grow up and make their own decisions, but decisions based on the values they have been taught. They don't want to dictate to them every little decision they need to make. If there are major decisions, they are happy to help out, and they like to be considered. But when their children are grown, they have their own lives to live.

I think this analogy bears out with how we see God portrayed in Scripture.

I also think Rosangela brought out an important distinction in regards to what she called "spiritual" and "secular" matters.

Tom,

I'm facing some life-changing decisions right now, which may not be actually decided for several months or more, but which have been heavy on my mind today. I want to say thank you for this analogy. It makes good sense. I have been asking for some signs, which I think is also valid and I have experienced God's leading through signs at multiple times in the past. However, perhaps I need to "grow up."

Blessings,

Green Cochoa.

The problem is, not always do we know which option is the best one. Some of the options we think are good, in fact aren't, and vice-versa. That's why we must always submit our will and plans to God. Analyze which is, as far as you can see, the best option. But be prepared to change course if God indicates otherwise.

I'm pretty sure we all agree that Jesus was the most "grown up" person there ever was. If ever there was a person who was capable of making decisions for himself, it was Jesus. But note how He went about His day:
Contrast that with Lucifer:
He who thought himself wise enough to make his own decisions was unholy, while the Holy One of Israel "made no plans for Himself."

Let's pull this back to the topic at hand.

Wasn't the fundamental apostasy of Israel at borders of Canaan the fact that they did not want to follow the plan God laid out for them, and instead made their own plans?

First, God told them to go in and possess the land. They responded that they didn't want to because that was too hard, so they wanted a leader to take them back to Egypt.

Then, God said that if they didn't want to go in, then He won't take them in. They responded by saying that they want to go in now, and tried to do it without God.

Either way, they did not want to follow God's plan. The Israelites were too hard-headed and stiff-necked to let God make plans for them, and trust Him to take care of the consequences. In Hebrews, Paul calls that "unbelief." That was ancient Israel's problem, that is modern Israel's problem.

I'm glad you liked the analogy.

Here's something else I've heard along the same line. Somewhere it talks about God's blessing the ground upon which David walked (during the time David was right with God, of course), the idea being wherever David decided to go, God would bless him. (A youth pastor mentioned this many years ago, and it's stuck all this time).

The idea is that if it is our desire to walk in harmony with God, God will bless our plans, whatever they are (i.e., plans not in conflict with the values we've learned from Him; many decisions are like this).

So while often God does have a specific plan in mind for us, there are many times when He may not, which is a reason I think it can be difficult for us to hear His voice. He might be saying, "You decide which option you want to choose, and I'll bless either decision," and that may not be what we're wanting to hear, so we don't hear it.

I don't know. What kind of fire do you think came out of the cloud and burned them alive? Did it exist before it killed them? Did God manufacture it? I believe it was the radiant firelight of God's person and presence.

How Miriam and Aaron's sin is described:

"In the appointment of the seventy elders Miriam and Aaron had not been consulted, and their jealousy was excited against Moses" (PP 382, 383).

"But Miriam and Aaron, blinded by jealousy and ambition, lost sight of this" (p. 383).

"Aaron had been highly honored by God in the appointment of his family to the sacred office of the priesthood; yet even this now added to the desire for self-exaltation" (Ibid.)

"Yielding to the spirit of dissatisfaction, Miriam found cause of complaint in events that God had especially overruled [the fact that Moses hadn't taken a wife from among the Hebrews]" (Ibid.)

"God had chosen Moses, and had put His Spirit upon him; and Miriam and Aaron, by their murmurings, were guilty of disloyalty, not only to their appointed leader, but to God Himself" (Ibid., p. 384, 385).

We should be careful lest Satan sows his seeds in our hearts.

The lying report of the ten spies:

"He [Caleb] did not contradict what had already been said; the walls were high and the Canaanites strong. But God had promised the land to Israel. 'Let us go up at once and possess it,' urged Caleb; 'for we are well able to overcome it.' But the ten, interrupting him, pictured the obstacles in darker colors than at first. 'We be not able to go up against the people,' they declared; 'for they are stronger than we. . . . All the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.'

"These men, having entered upon a wrong course, stubbornly set themselves against Caleb and Joshua, against Moses, and against God. Every advance step rendered them the more determined. They were resolved to discourage all effort to gain possession of Canaan. They distorted the truth in order to sustain their baleful influence. It 'is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof,' they said. This was not only an evil report, but it was also a lying one. It was inconsistent with itself. The spies had declared the country to be fruitful and prosperous, and the people of giant stature, all of which would be impossible if the climate were so unhealthful that the land could be said to 'eat up the inhabitants.' But when men yield their hearts to unbelief they place themselves under the control of Satan, and none can tell to what lengths he will lead them" (PP 388, 389).

"The decree that Israel was not to enter Canaan for forty years was a bitter disappointment to Moses and Aaron, Caleb and Joshua; yet without a murmur they accepted the divine decision. But those who had been complaining of God's dealings with them, and declaring that they would return to Egypt, wept and mourned greatly when the blessings which they had despised were taken from them. They had complained at nothing, and now God gave them cause to weep. Had they mourned for their sin when it was faithfully laid before them, this sentence would not have been pronounced; but they mourned for the judgment; their sorrow was not repentance, and could not secure a reversing of their sentence.

"The night was spent in lamentation, but with the morning came a hope. They resolved to redeem their cowardice. When God had bidden them go up and take the land, they had refused; and now when He directed them to retreat they were equally rebellious. They determined to seize upon the land and possess it; it might be that God would accept their work and change His purpose toward them.

"God had made it their privilege and their duty to enter the land at the time of His appointment, but through their willful neglect that permission had been withdrawn. Satan had gained his object in preventing them from entering Canaan; and now he urged them on to do the very thing, in the face of the divine prohibition, which they had refused to do when God required it. Thus the great deceiver gained the victory by leading them to rebellion the second time" (PP 392).

Well let me give you my testimony...When we were deciding where to build our house, we prayed and felt God was leading us build in the agricultural area so we could set up the farm, but we had to find the right piece of land. Well something was put up in the listings one morning which instantly we thought was perfect, and I called my realtor to place a bid before others saw it on the listings, but he was on vacation. So I tried to find a way out of the contract to bid on my own, but could not. So finally he came back, but by then others had found it and I was outbid, and I felt that God had let me down. I could not believe God would not let me get that piece of land that I felt seem to fit our needs. Well my family told me not be discouraged and pray on it so I did and went back over the listings and checked another piece that we had seen but rejected as too expensive, and the owner would not budge on the price. Well long story short, I prayed and struggled with the decision but God opened the way to buy it at what the owner was asking, and when a major storm came we found out why we did not get the other property, it was flooded by water up to our knees and totally unsuitable, while the land God had 'forced on me' was on high ground and dry....

Amen! I love how God led in your choice of property. Thank you for sharing. God is good - all the time.