As we met and studied together last night, this one scripture stood out in a way I had never experienced before.

Psalm 106:24-26 “The people refused to enter the pleasant land, for they wouldn’t believe his promise to care for them. Instead, they grumbled in their tents and refused to obey the Lord. Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.”

So much to notice.  The first is that the people “refused” to go to the “pleasant land” that God had promised them.    For me, this pleasant land could be representative of any of God’s promises.     And then it goes on to explain the “how” of their refusal.  They didn’t believe God’s Word, his promise to care for them.

“Instead they grumbled in their tents (interesting that in the New Testament our bodies are called tents) and refused to obey the Lord”.

It was bad enough that they never made it to their destination, living out the remainder of their years in the wilderness and desert, but that wasn’t the only consequence according to this scripture.

“Therefore, he solemnly swore that he would kill them in the wilderness, that he would scatter their descendants among the nations, exiling them to distant lands.”

Is it possible that many of us aren’t catching on to this precept, this biblical truth.   The cost of not believing God is not just not receiving our birthright, etc…   but it can result in a death sentence over our own lives (just might be one reason why so many are sick and dying and not seeing the victory in their lives) and why so many of our children and grandchildren are falling away, running away at times, from faith in Jesus Christ.

If so, this scripture gives us a very strong leading to bringing these things back into order and our lives back into the Lord’s blessing.

The keys are so clearly stated, believing God’s Word and trusting in His promises, obeying him and refusing to grumble and complain regardless of what the hardship seems like in the human.   Thank God that we can do all of these things with the help and strength of the Holy Spirit through our Lord Jesus Christ.   No striving here,  after all “human effort accomplishes nothign.”  If you read the account below of what brought them to this place of complaining, the scripture below gives an account on one of the times they complained in the wilderness.

Exodus 17:1-7 “At the Lord’s command, the whole community of Israel left the wilderness of Sin and moved from place to place. Eventually they camped at Rephidim, but there was no water there for the people to drink. ² So once more the people complained against Moses. “Give us water to drink!” they demanded.“Quiet!” Moses replied. “Why are you complaining against me? And why are you testing the Lord?”But tormented by thirst, they continued to argue with Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt. Are you trying to kill us, our children, and our livestock with thirst?”  ⁴ Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What should I do with these people? They are ready to stone me!”⁵ The Lord said to Moses, “Walk out in front of the people. Take your staff, the one you used when you struck the water of the Nile, and call some of the elders of Israel to join you. ⁶ I will stand before you on the rock at Mount Sinai. Strike the rock, and water will come gushing out. Then the people will be able to drink.” So Moses struck the rock as he was told, and water gushed out as the elders looked on.⁷ Moses named the place Massah (which means “test”) and Meribah (which means “arguing”) because the people of Israel argued with Moses and tested the Lord by saying, “Is the Lord here with us or not?””

Psalm 102:5 “Because of my groaning, I am reduced to skin and bones.”

And one last thought, Miriam was also struck with leprosy immediately after complaining and grumbling about Moses.   Biblically, there is at least 3 situations in which grumbling and complaining are directly linked to poor health or a death sentence.