“Then the Lord said: “I have pardoned, according to your word; but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord — because all these men who have seen My glory and the signs, which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it,” (Numbers 14:20-23 NKJV).
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Critical situations give rise to new revelations of God’s character. Israel’s failure to obey God’s command to enter the Promised Land when He wanted them to, led God to voice out His uncompromising purpose, which is summarised in these words: “…but truly, as I live, all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord.” Before now, God had never hidden His jealousy to safe guide His glory and His name from being profaned by men or by any being. When Satan tried to share in the glory of God, he was summarily judged and dethroned (Isaiah 14).

Again, in Genesis 11, when men aspired to build a tower to reach the heavens, God sensed their selfish motives, and He scattered them from achieving their goal. The writer of Habakkuk reiterated God’s overriding purpose this way: “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea,” (Habakkuk 2:14 NKJV).

Israel never realised that God’s glory was at stake when they refused His command to go in and possess the land of Canaan. Rather than obey God, they complained and wished they had remained and died in Egypt. “And all the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt! Or if only we had died in this wilderness! Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? So, they said to one another, let us select a leader and return to Egypt,” Numbers 14:2-4 NKJV. God is never pleased with any generation that retreats from His purpose (Heb.10: 39). Israel’s refusal to obey God’s command made Him to make a solemn declaration, “…but, truly, as I live…” God hardly swears for nothing!

There comes a time when our disobedience or inaction to God’s command becomes an affront to His honour and integrity. Israel had seen the glory of God in Egypt, but did not understand why God displayed such awesome glory for them to see. “And forgot His works and His wonders that He had shown them. Marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan,” Psalms 78:11-12 NKJV.

God’s people promote his glory when they trust and obey Him. God is a jealous God who will never compromise his supreme purpose, which is to see His glory cover the earth as the waters cover the sea. When we commit ourselves, in faith and obedience, to advance His kingdom, we make His glory known to all and asunder. This was what Israel failed to understand. They thought that disobeying God was an act that ends without repercussions; they did not know it had eternal consequences. Let’s never be shortsighted about the consequences of our actions.
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