Learn Well

Jude 5 Though you already know all this, I want to remind you that the Lord delivered his people out of Egypt, but later destroyed those who did not believe.
 
HERE is Jude’s second historical example of God’s sovereign authority. He is contending for the church, urging them to reject the false teachings on sexual immorality. Jude first reminded the church of God’s judgment on false prophets. Here he reminds them of Israel’s rebellion in the desert.   
   Numbers 13-14 tells of God’s command to send 12 spies into the Promised Land to prepare for Israel’s settlement there. But 10 of the 12 spies returned afraid of the people and their fortified cities. Only Joshua and Caleb encouraged the nation to trust God’s promise and settle in the good land he had prepared.
   But the people rebelled, and they refused to go. To God this was a capital offense, worthy of death. God judged them to a 40-year sentence in the desert where the rebellious people would die: Numbers 14:22 “not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. 23 They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it.”
   This contemptable rebellion is a tragic mark on Israel’s history. Instead of a purposeful life in a fertile land, they lived a wasted existence in the barren desert. Two generations missed God’s blessing because they listened to “false teachers” – the spies who wept in fear, rejecting God’s promises.
   These same people had seen God’s supreme power over the world. With his mighty hand and outstretched arm, God had delivered Israel out of slavery. He brought them to himself to unite with God under his perfect law. But they still rejected his commands and his promises.
   Jude, then, urged the church to be different than their rebellious, condemned ancestors. They must remember Jesus Christ is the Savior come to earth, exhibiting God’s Sovereign authority over death. Jude was among those who witnessed Jesus’ ascension. Jude knows he is alive and is coming again. By grace through the confession of their sins, he has set these new believers free from sin’s bondage. The Sovereign Lord has promised an eternal home in heaven. Jude is as the faithful Caleb and Joshua, encouraging God’s people to believe God’s promises.
   False teachers always want to dismiss and diminish God’s truth. Remember what God has done to redeem a nation and to redeem you. Know the truth and hold the truth tightly to your heart.