The Qualities of God's Chosen People

If you had a choice, you certainly would not want to be called a rebel. How would you feel if you were told that you had a tendency toward rebellion? You probably would not like hearing it. Yet that is how the Bible describes humanity, especially in the book of Numbers. The human tendency is to rebel, both against God and against one another.

So, how can we rebels become God's chosen people?

The Book of the Wilderness

The tendency to rebel is closely tied to sin. Sin has thrown our lives into chaos and made us like defective products.

Yet we ought to be grateful, because we have an extraordinary God. By His grace, He prepared an extraordinary plan through Jesus Christ. Through His redemption, Jesus makes us people who are worthy before God, even restored to His image. This confirms that apart from Christ we are nothing. But on the other hand, with Him and because of Him, we are saved.

The book of Numbers is known as the Book of the Wilderness, because it describes the journey of the people of Israel toward the Promised Land. In Hebrew, the book of Numbers is called BeMidbar, which means "in the wild region," as written in its first sentence.

Meanwhile, the name 'Numbers' or numeri in Greek is another designation from the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible. The word numeri is related to the counting or census of the Hebrew people that was carried out twice.

The first was when they came out of the land of Egypt:

"So all the Israelites who were counted by their clans, those twenty years old and upward who were able to go to war among Israel, numbered six hundred three thousand five hundred fifty."

— Numbers 1:45-46

The second was before entering the land of Canaan, some time after the plague that killed 24,000 people of Israel's first generation:

"These are those counted of the people of Israel, six hundred one thousand seven hundred thirty in number."

— Numbers 26:51

Based on the two chapters above, we can conclude that no adults from the first generation that came out of Egypt—except Joshua and Caleb—arrived in the Promised Land.

Looking briefly at those figures, we may feel that God was not fair. He delivered His people from slavery and promised to bring them to the Promised Land, but in the end He left only two people. What happened so that only two people remained out of more than 600,000?

Before assuming too much, let us seek the truth from the Bible itself.

The story of the twelve spies

"According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, forty days, a day for a year, you shall bear the consequence of your wrongdoing for forty years, so that you may know what it is like when I turn away from you: I, the LORD, have spoken. Surely I will do this to all this evil congregation who have banded together against Me. In this wilderness they shall be consumed, and here they shall die."

— Numbers 14:34-35

It turns out that the cause of such a great death toll, and the reason the people of Israel had to wander in the wilderness for forty years, was their rebellion. Not only rebellion against Moses, but especially against God.

The forty years of Israel's wandering were counted from the forty days of reconnaissance by God's chosen people in the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb were among them.

Then, how did God select these spies? What qualities did He see in His chosen people?

1. The first quality: Obedience and Submission

As Christians, we need to understand that the human tendency is to rebel. Eve's act of eating the fruit of the tree of life was an act of rebellion, because she wanted to be like God. Many Israelites, even the tribal leaders chosen by Moses himself, rebelled against Moses.

"But this people have a heart that is always stubborn and rebellious; they have turned aside and gone away. — Jeremiah 5:23

In a seemingly minor form, being ungrateful and grumbling also count as rebellion against God. The Lord punished Moses for stealing His glory, even though Moses had guided the people of Israel for forty years.

And the LORD said to him: "This is the land that I swore to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, saying: To your descendants I will give it. I have allowed you to see it with your own eyes, but you shall not cross over there." — Deuteronomy 34:4

Again and again the Lord punished and destroyed those who grumbled. He did not hesitate to wipe out those who rebelled, whether against Him or against His chosen ones. To rebel against His chosen leader also means rebelling against God.

Then, who is the leader being referred to? Is it limited only to spiritual matters?

In his letter, the apostle Peter says that we should obey every leader and human institution. In fact, verse 18 emphasizes that we must submit even to the harshest ones. Jesus Himself set the example in this matter (compare 1 Peter 2:13-14, 2:18 with 2:21).

2. The second quality: Loyalty

Loyalty is non-negotiable for everyone who wants to follow and be used by God.

The book of Numbers presents two loyal figures who succeeded in reaching the Promised Land, namely Joshua and Caleb. Out of the twelve spies of Canaan, only these two believed and brought back a good report. On other occasions, Joshua and Caleb often helped and accompanied Moses, both in battle and when Moses met with God.

Take a little time to reflect on how loyal we are to the Lord. Are we still calculating when it comes to ministry, giving tithes, or offerings? What is our attitude toward spiritual leaders or fellowship? Are we loyal in a positive sense in our daily work?

3. The third quality: Obedient and following God's will

In the past, when people wanted to seek God's will, they would come to a priest or prophet to present their problem. The priest or prophet would pray, then God would speak through them as the bearer of His truth and will.

What about us in this modern age? Of course, in principle it is the same. Hebrews 1:1-2 states how God formerly spoke through the prophets, and now He speaks through Jesus Christ and the Holy Scriptures. God makes it easierfor us to know His will.

Yet that ease is sometimes not well received. The progress of the age makes people increasingly drawn to worldly pleasures and lazy to read the Bible. As a result, understanding of the Lord's will and truth becomes wrong and confused. How can someone draw near to God without knowing what He hates or what He loves?

There are also those who dare to claim that God is with them, yet they do not like studying the Bible and understanding it well. Personally, I oppose this because bad theology can lead people down the wrong path. Such people should not consider themselves God's chosen people, because their behavior resembles false prophets who lead others astray.

On the other hand, this reality should be a lash to drive us to study the Bible more diligently and seriously, because God is pleased with those who obey and follow His will.

4. The fourth quality: Faithful and steadfast to the end

Faith and faithfulness are two inseparable qualities. Faith without faithfulness is futile, because faith cannot grow without faithfulness.

From Genesis to Revelation, we see that God's chosen people are those who remain faithful to the end of their lives. They dare to sacrifice life and possessions in order to follow the Lord.

Aaron and Moses are examples of such faithful people. Besides Moses, Aaron also was not allowed to enter the Promised Land (Num 20:24). Yet this did not weaken their faith. Both remained faithful in preparing the people of Israel to enter the Promised Land. They organized the tribes, arranged the military strength, and also prepared their successors. If you think about it, Moses and Aaron were the two people most entitled to demand justice. Instead, they remained faithful even though everything had been taken from them. Their faith was unshaken.

So then, what about us? Can we remain faithful when disciplined by God or when everything we own is taken away? Do we still have faith in Him? God's chosen people are those who remain faithful and believe even in unpleasant, even bitter, conditions.

This is the conclusion we can apply in order to become God's chosen people:

• Be a Christian who submits and obeys spiritual leaders.

• Study the Bible more deeply so that our understanding and love may grow in Him who first loved us. The all-loving God longs to communicate intensely and have a close relationship with His people.
• Be obedient, believing, and faithful to the end.

By holding fast to the qualities above, let us train ourselves so that the will of God may be increasingly revealed through us.

This article was edited from the favorite winner of the youth category (Yosuawin Hutagaol) in "GKDI Writers Day 2018".