Gods Sabbath

C HAPTER 5

Kadesh Barnea

Israel’s Failure A flagrant example in Israel’s history, which shows very clear ly why they never entered as a people into God’s Sabbath rest, is their failure at Kadesh Barnea. This is a valuable illus tration, in that it plainly demonstrates how a church can depart from God’s ways while still believing that they are fulfilling His purposes. Although the lives of Moses and Christ portray the correct relationship to be sustained between Source and receiv er, the Israelites show how easily this can be discarded in favor of ways which bring only failure and loss. When the Israelites arrived at Kadesh Barnea, the promised land lay before them to the north. Through Moses, God gave them the general order to go in and possess the territory of the Canaanites. “Then, as the L ORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea. Then I said to you, ‘You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the L ORD our God is giving us. See, the L ORD your God has given you the

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