Friends' Favorites - The Majority Rules

So Moses did as the Lord commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran.

This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces. But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak!"

But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let’s go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!” 

But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

Numbers 13:3, 27-28, 30-33 NLT

If you've been a Christian for very long, you are more than likely very familiar with this story about the exodus from Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea and the trek toward the Promised Land. Twelve men went and upon their return, ten basically said, "No way. No how." And only two - Caleb and Joshua - stood before the assembly and did the B.C. version of Bob the Builder - "Yes, we can!" Well, actually the KJV reads, "We are well able..." But the report was 10 - 2. Ten against, two for. Majority rule...And the report of the 10 swayed the crowd and all assembled there wanted to turn back.

Of the projected 2.5 MILLION people Moses led out of Egypt, only two - Moses and Aaron - fell on their faces before the congregation. When a relative or important leader died, or if there was a great calamity, it was customary for the Hebrews to tear their garments. Rending their clothes is the term used to describe this Hebrew custom which indicated DEEP sorrow. And two - Caleb and Joshua - rent their clothes and pleaded with the people to not rebel. How did they respond to Joshua and Caleb? Of the projected 2.5 million people, approximately 2,499,995 wanted to stone the two of them to death...(and get rid of Moses and Aaron). Would you take those odds? 2,499,995 to four (five, if you count Miriam). Sounds like a majority, doesn't it? That is until God showed up. And then there was a new majority...

You can read the rest of the story beginning in Numbers 14.

The point I want to make is this, if God has told you to do it, it doesn't matter what you see - how big the obstacles are between you and the goal - how many people tell you you can't do it. If God is in it - and it's just you and God - He IS the majority... and the Majority rules.

Prayer:

Father,

         In You, we are WELL able. Deliver us from the Grasshopper complex. BLIND us to the can't and shan't and find us in Your will fulfilled. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen