“Overcomer” stood on the brink of the Promised Land. Before they had reached the border they could see the smoky blue-tinted hills of the land of Canaan off in the distance. Now they were at the border and they beheld the River Jordan sparkling before their eyes and standing as the final physical barrier between them and bliss—the coveted land of “milk and honey.” Ever since God performed His miracle of the parting of the Red Sea and the utter destruction of their enemy bondage, they had been looking forward to this day. Here they are; what are they going to do?
The land was already theirs, for God had given it to them: “And I have also established my covenant with them, to give them the land of Canaan, the land of their pilgrimage, wherein they were strangers” (Ex. 6:4). Would they believe the all-powerful word of God that has inherently within it the power to create what it says? Or would they allow the sparkling spears of the “giant” barrier before them to blind them into thinking that the Jordan crossing was impossible and destined to be fruitless?
Let them not forget their father Jacob who wrestled with God and would not let the promised blessing pass un-sustained as he submitted to divine power. To him was given the name “Israel” which means “overcomer.” This is their heritage. Now they stand at the crossroads of the entrance to the Promised Land. What will be their decision? It is time to occupy what, in title, is rightfully theirs—to take possession of the Promised Land—given to them by the almighty Ruler of the universe. It is time to believe His word. What is their answer?
Their answer is “No.” The first clue of this came when they wanted to explore the land. Why explore the land? It was already theirs. They didn’t need to check the fertility of the land, for had not God said that it was good land? (Ex. 3:8). They didn’t need to know the strength of the armies, for there was no battle to fight, at least no more so than the methods they had already employed to defeat the mightiest army in the then-known world at that time—when they stood and watched, while God parted the Red Sea and closed it up. After all, God would have used hornets, if necessary, to fight for them (Ex. 23:28). As it happened, God sent angels to knock down the walls of Jericho. Another time, they sent the choir to meet the Ammonites (2 Chronicles 20). God did not ask them to fight. They decided to do that entirely on their own.
They forgot all about the promise and power of God to accomplish for them the gift He had given them. All He wanted them to do was to walk in faith, believing His all-powerful promise. Instead, they could remember only their own faulty promise to God at Sinai (Ex. 19:8) and could see no way through. They were right on only one point. They themselves had no power whatsoever to accomplish God’s will for them, but they were blinded to the power of God. They asked that they might die in the wilderness, and surprise, God gave them what they asked for. (Be careful what you ask for—you just might get it.)
Then, they decided to enter the land, again in rebellion to God’s word that had told them they would be forty years in the wilderness (to die there at their request), thus sealing their unbelief.
Enter the subject of our lesson—Caleb tried to stem the rebellion. He and Joshua, two of the ten sent to check out the land, brought a message of hope, leaning upon the inherently all-powerful word of God. They pleaded with the people, insisting that God is capable of carrying out His promises, even in the face of what looks to us to be against all odds. What was their “reward” for this act of kindness? They were put down, criticized, and the people attempted to stone them.
Caleb’s life is an example of how to witness to a lukewarm Laodicean church during a time when the word of God is so little known and so little understood, even among God’s professed latter-day people. God had said they would be in the wilderness another 40 years. Ellen White wrote in 1901, “We may have to remain here in this world because of insubordination many more years, as did the children of Israel; but for Christ's sake, His people should not add sin to sin by charging God with the consequence of their own wrong course of action” (Letter 184, 1901; Evangelism, p. 696). Caleb did not become discouraged in his teaching and encouraging the people, but quietly accepted his lot with God’s people. He chose to live in the faith of God’s new covenant promise to write His law in his heart and cause him to cherish His Word and do His work. Today, however, we also can hasten the Lord’s return. Let God bear His fruit in you (see Christ’s Object Lessons, p. 69).
By 1888 we, too, were brought to the brink of the Promised Land. Only this time, the stakes were much higher, for this real estate is the eternal heavenly land of Canaan, the New Earth and the New Jerusalem. The story is played-out all over again. But instead of Caleb and Joshua, we have A. T. Jones and E. J. Waggoner. They too brought a message of hope and the power of God. They too were put down and criticized. They too were treated viciously and their message rejected. Wrote Ellen White:
“You cannot tell how it pains me to see some of our brethren taking a course that I know is not pleasing to God. They are full of jealousy and evil surmising, and are ever ready to show in just what way they differ with Elder Jones or Waggoner. The same spirit that was manifested in the past manifests itself at every opportunity; but this is not from the impulse of the Spirit of God” (Manuscript Releases, vol. 15
, pp. 82, 83).“I have deep sorrow of heart because I have seen how readily a word or action of Elder Jones or Elder Waggoner is criticized. How readily many minds overlook all the good that has been done through them in the few years past, and see no evidence that God is working through these instrumentalities. They hunt for something to condemn, and their attitude toward these brethren who have zealously engaged in doing a good work, shows that feelings of enmity and bitterness are in the heart. …” (The Ellen G. White 1888 Materials
, pp. 1026, 1027).“It is not the inspiration from heaven that leads one to be suspicious, watching for a chance and greedily seizing upon it to prove that those brethren who differ from us in some interpretations of Scripture are not sound in the faith. There is danger that this course of action will produce the very result assumed; and to a great degree the guilt will rest upon those who are watching for evil. ...” (General Conference Daily Bulletin, Feb. 28, 1893, p. 419; Letter, Jan. 9, 1893).
“The opposition in our own ranks has imposed upon the Lord’s messengers [Jones and Waggoner] a laborious and soul trying task; for they have had to meet difficulties and obstacles which need not have existed. ... Love and confidence constitute a moral force that would have united our churches, and insured harmony of action; but coldness and distrust have brought disunion that has shorn us of our strength” (ibid.).
Here is a sample of their message from the pen of A. T. Jones: “The finishing of the mystery of God is the ending of the work of the gospel, first, the taking away of all sin and the bringing in of everlasting righteousness—Christ fully formed—within each believer; and secondly, the destruction of all who then shall not have received the gospel, for it is not the way of the Lord to continue men in life when the only possible use they will make of life is to heap up more misery for themselves” (Give Us This Day Our Daily Good News
, vol. 1, no. 14).This is what God is waiting for. The ending of the work of the gospel is our entrance into the heavenly Promised Land. We are standing on the brink of eternity, having waited, not 40, but 122 years since 1888. Will you believe? Overcomer, will you let God gain the victory in you? Israel finally did go in. Claim His promise now, and let Him take you in.
—Craig Barnes
