“And we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”—Numbers 13:33

“And all the congregation lifted up their voice, and cried; and the people wept that night.” Revolt and open mutiny quickly followed; for Satan had full sway, and the people seemed bereft of reason. They cursed Moses and Aaron, forgetting that God hearkened to their wicked speeches, and that, enshrouded in the pillar of cloud, the Angel of God’s presence was witnessing their terrible outburst of wrath. In bitterness they cried. “Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!” With the utterance of their discontent, their bitterness grew, until they began to reproach God, saying, “And wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? were it not better for us to return into Egypt? And they said to one another, Let us make a captain, and let us return into Egypt.”

Cut to the heart by the rebellion of the people, feeling the enormity of their sin. “Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel.” And again Caleb and Joshua tried to reassure the people. Above the tempest of lamentation and rebellious grief their clear, ringing voices were heard, saying: “The land, which we passed through to search it, is an exceeding good land. If the Lord delight in us, then He will bring us into this land, and give it us; a land which floweth with milk and honey. Only rebel not ye against the Lord, neither fear ye the people of the land; for they are bread for us: their defense is departed from them, and the Lord is with us: fear them not.”

But the congregation would not listen to the earnest entreaty. The unfaithful spies were loud in their denunciations of Caleb and Joshua, and the cry was raised to stone them. The insane mob seized missiles with which to slay these faithful men. They rushed forth with yells of madness, when suddenly the stones dropped from their hands, a hush fell upon them, and they shook with fear. God had interposed to check their murderous designs. The glory of His presence, like a flaming light, illuminated the tabernacle…. A mightier One than they had revealed Himself, and no one dared continue his resistance.—The Review and Herald, May 20, 1902.

Further Reflection: Have I ever grieved the Holy Spirit in a fit of rebellion? Has my anger ever stopped God’s blessings for me?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you.—1 Peter 1:20

By rebellion and apostasy humanity forfeited the favor of God; not his rights, for he could have no value except as it was invested in God’s dear Son. This point must be understood. He forfeited those privileges which God in His mercy presented him as a free gift, a treasure in trust to be used to advance His cause and His glory, to benefit the beings He had made. The moment the workmanship of God refused obedience to the laws of God’s kingdom, that moment he became disloyal to the government of God and he made himself entirely unworthy of all the blessings wherewith God had favored him.

This was the position of the human race after they divorced themselves from God by transgression…. And the reason why humanity was not annihilated was because God so loved him that He made the gift of His dear Son that He should suffer the penalty of his transgression. Christ proposed to become humanity’s surety and substitute, that they, through matchless grace, should have another trial—a second probation—having the experience of Adam and Eve as a warning not to transgress God’s law as they did. And inasmuch as men and women enjoy the blessings of God in the gift of the sunshine and the gift of food, there must be on the part of men and women a bowing before God in thankful acknowledgment that all things come of God….

Humans broke God’s law, and through the Redeemer new and fresh promises were made on a different basis. All blessings must come through a Mediator. Now every member of the human family is given wholly into the hands of Christ, and whatever we possess—whether it is the gift of money, of houses, of lands, of reasoning powers, of physical strength, of intellectual talents—in this present life, and the blessings of the future life, are placed in our possession as God’s treasures to be faithfully expended for the benefit of humanity. Every gift is stamped with the cross and bears the image and superscription of Jesus Christ. All things come of God. From the smallest benefits up to the largest blessing, all flow through the one Channel—a superhuman mediation sprinkled with the blood that is of value beyond estimate because it was the life of God in His Son.—Faith and Works, 21, 22.

Further Reflection: What do I need God to send through the Channel for me today?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus.—1 Timothy 2:5

In the Judgment, the use made of every talent will be scrutinized…. Have we improved the powers entrusted us, in hand and heart and brain, to the glory of God and the blessing of the world? How have we used our time, our pen, our voice, our money, our influence? What have we done for Christ, in the person of the poor, the afflicted, the orphan, or the widow? God has made us the depositary of His holy Word; what have we done with the light and truth given us to make people wise unto salvation? No value is attached to a mere profession of faith in Christ; only the love which is shown by works is counted genuine. Yet it is love alone which in the sight of Heaven makes any act of value. Whatever is done from love, however small it may appear in the estimation of human beings, is accepted and rewarded of God.

The hidden selfishness of men and women stands revealed in the books of Heaven. There is the record of unfulfilled duties to their fellow human beings, of forgetfulness of the Saviour’s claims. There they will see how often were given to Satan the time, thought, and strength that belonged to Christ. Sad is the record which angels bear to Heaven. Intelligent beings, professed followers of Christ, are absorbed in the acquirement of worldly possessions, or the enjoyment of earthly pleasures. Money, time, and strength are sacrificed for display and self-indulgence; but few are the moments devoted to prayer, to the searching of the Scriptures, to humiliation of soul and confession of sin.

Satan invents unnumbered schemes to occupy our minds that they may not dwell upon the very work with which we ought to be best acquainted. The arch-deceiver hates the great truths that bring to view an atoning sacrifice and an All-Powerful Mediator. He knows that with him everything depends on his diverting minds from Jesus and His truth.

Those who would share the benefits of the Saviour’s mediation should permit nothing to interfere with their duty to perfect holiness in the fear of God. The precious hours, instead of being given to pleasure, to display, or to gain-seeking, should be devoted to an earnest, prayerful study of the Word of truth.—The Great Controversy, 487, 488.

Further Reflection: Am I knowingly giving any portion of my strength to the cause of Satan?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

“He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.”—Matthew 8:17

With what intense interest was this controversy watched by the heavenly angels and the unfallen worlds, as the honor of the law was being vindicated. Not merely for this world, but for the universe of heaven, was the controversy to be forever settled. The confederacy of darkness was also watching for the semblance of a chance to triumph over the divine and human Substitute of the human race….

But Satan reached only the heel; he could not touch the head. At the death of Christ, Satan saw that he was defeated. He saw that his true character was clearly revealed before all heaven, and that the heavenly beings and the worlds that God had created would be wholly on the side of God. He saw that his prospects of future influence with them would be entirely cut off. Christ’s humanity would demonstrate for eternal ages the question which settled the controversy.

In taking upon Himself our nature in its fallen condition, Christ did not in the least participate in its sin. He was subject to the infirmities and weaknesses by which humanity is encompassed, “that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses” (Matthew 8:17). He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and was in all points tempted like as we are. And yet He knew no sin. He was the Lamb “without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1:19). Could Satan in the least particular have tempted Christ to sin, he would have bruised the Saviour’s head. As it was, he could only touch His heel. Had the head of Christ been touched, the hope of the human race would have perished. Divine wrath would have come upon Christ as it came upon Adam. Christ and the church would have been without hope.

We should have no misgivings in regard to the perfect sinlessness of the human nature of Christ. Our faith must be an intelligent faith, looking unto Jesus in perfect confidence, in full and entire faith in the atoning Sacrifice. This is essential that the soul may not be enshrouded in darkness. This holy Substitute is able to save to the uttermost; for He presented to the wondering universe perfect and complete humility in His human character, and perfect obedience to all the requirements of God.—Selected Messages 1:255, 256.

Further Reflection: How can I be as perfect in my sphere as Christ was in His?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names

The LORD will perfect that which concerns me; Your mercy, O LORD, endures forever; do not forsake the works of Your hands.—Psalm 138:8

The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. In Christ glorified they will behold Christ crucified. Never will it be forgotten that He whose power created and upheld the unnumbered worlds through the vast realms of space, the Beloved of God, the Majesty of heaven, He whom cherub and shining seraph delighted to adore—humbled Himself to uplift fallen human beings; that He bore the guilt and shame of sin, and the hiding of His Father’s face, till the woes of a lost world broke His heart and crushed out His life on Calvary’s cross. That the Maker of all worlds, the Arbiter of all destinies, should lay aside His glory and humiliate Himself from love to human beings will ever excite the wonder and adoration of the universe. As the nations of the saved look upon their Redeemer and behold the eternal glory of the Father shining in His countenance; as they behold His throne, which is from everlasting to everlasting, and know that His kingdom is to have no end, they break forth in rapturous song: “Worthy, worthy is the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us to God by His own most precious blood!”

The mystery of the cross explains all other mysteries. In the light that streams from Calvary the attributes of God which had filled us with fear and awe appear beautiful and attractive. Mercy, tenderness, and parental love are seen to blend with holiness, justice, and power. While we behold the majesty of His throne, high and lifted up, we see His character in its gracious manifestations, and comprehend, as never before, the significance of that endearing title, “Our Father.”

It will be seen that He who is infinite in wisdom could devise no plan for our salvation except the sacrifice of His Son. The compensation for this sacrifice is the joy of peopling the earth with ransomed beings, holy, happy, and immortal.—The Great Controversy, 651, 652.

Further Reflection: When will I pause today to thank God for the only means by which He could save me—the sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ?

From Jesus, Name Above All Names