We often think of everything associated with God as having the exact same characteristics as God. For instance, God does not change, therefore His will does not change. Hold on to that thought...
When Cathy and I first started looking at the possibility of having a house built, we were among the first to register, indicating an interest in a new development. It turned out that the first group of people to register qualified for a $10,000 discount on their new house if they went ahead with the build once contacted by the developer. We had made the decision to wait until our previous house sold before committing to a new house. Once contacted, we shared that information which was fine with them. After our house sold, we contacted them and told them we were ready to move forward with the new construction. They were happy to have us as customers. Soon we learned that we would not get the $10,000 discount because we had not moved forward when first contacted, opting to wait for the previous house to sell. But we still thank God for our new home.
Okay, the developer changed the offer but surely God does not change His will. Or does He?
Numbers 13 records the account of the twelve spies who scouted Canaan and reported back to Moses and all the Israelites. Numbers 14 records the account of the people balking at taking possession of the land, preparing to select a new leader (even though they were not the ones who selected Moses in the first place), and going back to Egypt because they were not about to go into Canaan where the giants lived. God was angry, killing the ten spies who gave a bad report and incited the Israelites against Moses.
The last part of chapter 14 tells how the people were then ready to march into Canaan. Moses tried to stop them saying, "The Lord won't be with you, since you have turned from following Him." (v.43 HCSB) They went anyway, even though the ark of the covenant and Moses did not go with them.
They were routed.
At first they were supposed to go in and then they were slaughtered when they finally did it. It appeared God's will had changed. Or did it?
Yes and no. They were no longer to march right in and take possession of the land but God's eternal will had not changed. God's will was for the people to follow Him, not take off without Him. It's still that way. There are things God wants for us and we may cancel the opportunity when we disobey/reject/delay/etc. For instance, God may want parents to lead their children to become followers of Christ, but if the parents are not following Christ, God will give that privilege to someone else. But God's will remains that we follow and obey Him.
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