I think they've got it!

The wilderness wanderings are coming to an end. God is leading the people out of the wilderness and toward the Promised Land. They still have a ways to go and a few more lessons to learn, but following the geographic clues of Numbers 21-22, they are heading toward the east side of the Jordan River.

But God is not done teaching them.

Once again they become impatient. Once again they complain about Moses' leadership.

"Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this worthless food" (21:5).

This time God sent poisonous snakes into the camp, killing many.

But the response of the people is completely different here.

In the other instances of rebellion, Moses and Aaron interceded. Moses called God to defend His glory and not wipe out the entire nation. Aaron took the incense to the camp and stopped the spread of a plague.

The people were passive in all the previous accounts. They didn't ask for God's intervention. They didn't have to do anything to change.

This time it's different.

The people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD and against you. Pray to the LORD, that He take away the serpents from us" (v 7).

They admitted their guilt. That's confession of sin. That had not been the case in the previous events.

They asked for God's intervention. That's humility. That had also not been the case in the previous events.

God instructed Moses to make a fiery serpent and put it on the pole. The instructions were simple. If a person had been bitten by a snake, they would die - unless they looked at the serpent on the pole. Those who believed and simply looked at the serpent were restored to health.

The people had to act on their faith. They had to make a decision to believe.

This is a major shift in the attitudes of the people. It took lots of death and almost 40 years for them to get it, but it looks like they did.

And the pattern is the same through the whole Bible.

Confrontation about sin.

Confession of sin.

Humility in asking for help from God.

Trusting God.

Acting upon that trust.

Follow this through:

Your sin is keeping you from eternity in heaven in the presence of a holy God (Romans 3:23) - confrontation.

Admit that (1 John 1:9) - confession.

God has provided a solution through the payment of the penalty (1 John 2:2) - ask God for help.

God's Word promises eternal life to those who believe in the person and work of His Son (1 John 5:12-13) - trust God.

God only requires that you do what He has said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). - act upon the trust.

Do you get it?

Trust and obey

Farming is a risky business. The farmer prepares the soil. Plants the seed. Takes out crop insurance. Fertilizer. Insecticide. Herbicide. He does all the right things, but he still has to wait for rain.

Too much rain and the crop is ruined.

Too little rain and the crop is ruined.

A farmer has to trust God to provide rain, so that he'll have a crop to harvest to provide for his family.

In Leviticus 25, God commanded the Israelite farmers to give the land a year of rest. When they arrived in the Promised Land, they were to count off the years. For six years they were to plant and harvest.

But in the seventh year, they were not to plant. Not a single seed.

What did that mean?

No planting or harvesting in year seven. But in year eight, plant a crop.

So they had to have enough of a harvest in year six to feed them, their families, and their livestock for two years. Enough to sell for purchasing other necessities for two years. Enough to have seed for planting in the eighth year. Remember, they couldn't just go to the Co-Op to buy seed. They had to store it.

How would you react at the end of year six?

What a relief! We don't have to do all this work of planting and harvesting next year!

But when it came time to plant, would you start to wonder if God really meant that He would provide for two years? Would you start worrying about whether or not you should sharpen the plow?

There's just a small window of opportunity for getting that harvest in the ground in order for it to get the rain it needs.

What if God didn't really mean it?

What if you had done something to incur God's wrath, so that He wouldn't provide for you and your family?

Besides, Jimmy's gonna need a new truck this year...and the little ones will need new shoes...and I'd really like to take my wife on that cruise with the seed company.

Do you see why it was so hard for the Israelites to keep the Sabbath year? The following two chapters detail the benefits of obedience and the consequences of disobedience. And yet it was still hard to do.

Do you see how trusting and obeying are inseparable?

God doesn't call us to give the land a Sabbath rest every seven years. But He does call us to obey Him.

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved." (Acts 16:31).

Believe that Jesus died for the penalty of your sins - that's the obedience.

And you shall be saved - that's the trust.

Trust God's Word. He said that the blood of His Son is sufficient to pay the penalty for your sins. Just like He told the Israelite farmer that He would provide enough of a harvest in year six to get him and his family through until year nine.

There's nothing else you can do. Nothing else that God expects you to do.

Trust and obey.