By: Obed Pineda
On one occasion an experiment was carried out that required a group of children, cookies, and a promise. Each child was individually seated at a table, where a plate containing a delicious cookie, fresh from the oven, awaited them. Before the child could take the cookie from the plate to eat it, the adult in the room informed the youngster that he or she was going to leave the room for a brief moment and asked them, please, don’t eat the cookie until he returned. The adult promised the child that if upon returning he found the cookie intact on the plate, then they would be rewarded with another tasty cookie for having obeyed the commandment they had been given. The child was made to understand that two freshly baked cookies were much better than just one, and therefore their obedience to the order was essential to obtaining this rich promise. After the adult left the room, the child was observed to see what he or she would do while alone with the cookie right in front of them. Most of the children, after waiting for a moment, could not resist the temptation and decided to eat the cookie. When the adult returned, with the other cookie in hand, and found that the child had eaten it, he would ask him why they did not wait to get the other one, and have two instead of one? The most common response was that they were not sure if there was actually another cookie or not, and therefore it was better to eat the one they already had in their hand, even if it meant forfeiting the second cookie. What was learned from this experiment is that the majority of humanity prefers instant gratification, as they dislike waiting to obtain something better. Impatience drives man toward the folly of complacency, fostering within him a spirit of disobedience and unbelief—for he prefers to settle for a mere cluster of grapes rather than the entire land flowing with milk and honey (cf. Numbers 13:17–14:38). The inspired writer of the Epistle to the Hebrews reveals to us that the primary reason why that first generation of Israel who came out of Egypt failed to enter the promised land was because there was in them “an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:7-12). Israel’s constant murmuring against Jehovah God and His servant Moses verifies the conclusion of the writer of Hebrews. The Bible records eleven distinct occasions when the children of Israel complained in the wilderness because their circumstances were “too difficult” for them (cf. Exodus 14:1-31, 15:22-27, 16:1-36, 17:1-7, Numbers 11:1-3, 4-35, 14:1-35, 16:1-35, 16:41-50, 20:1-13, and 21:4-9). The astonishing aspect of this fact is that God had already demonstrated His omnipotence in Egypt when He defeated their false gods through the ten plagues, just as He had foretold (cf. Exodus 7:1-5). How, then, could a spirit of unbelief take root within them? Israel “did not heed Moses, because of anguish of spirit and cruel bondage” (Exodus 6:9b). The common thread binding every instance of Israel’s murmuring is the despair that gripped them—a despair born of their failure to wait upon God. Affliction would swiftly erase the memory of how the Almighty had not forsaken them, but had instead provided solutions to their seemingly “insoluble” problems. This was certainly the case at Kadesh-Barnea, as the ten rebellious spies who opposed entering and conquering Canaan soon forgot that they had confirmed that God had not lied to them about the fertility of the land, because they were more focused on how difficult it would be to defeat the inhabitants who lived there (cf. Numbers 13:25-33). The peoples eagerness was a product of impatience fueled by their lust for instant gratification. In the eyes of the House of Israel, God was “delaying too long” the fulfillment of His promises, and they refused to learn to wait upon Him. It is easy to point an accusing finger at that generation of Israel, but when we look closely at our modern world with an impartial eye, we see that this same mindset still dominates our society. A good friend, and faithful servant of Christ, once told me that today we live in a “throwaway society” because every product is made with the intention that it can soon be replaced. Sadly, the same can be said of the faith of most people who soon forget the blessings they have enjoyed from God the moment challenges and trials appear in their lives. (cf. Matthew 13:20-21). The scribe of Hebrews gives us another warning that alludes to the error of exchanging the best and eternal for the inferior and temporary by bringing to our mind the folly of Esau when “for one morsel of food sold his birthright” (Hebrews 12:16). The example of Esau demonstrates to us that his ingratitude toward the blessing of being Isaac’s firstborn gave rise within him the bitter root of contempt—for he was hungry and wanted to eat immediately. In negotiating with his brother, Esau declared: “‘Look, I am about to die; so what is this birth right to me?’Then Jacob said, ‘Swear to me as of this day.’ So he swore to him, and sold his birthright to Jacob…thus Esau despised his birthright” (Genesis 25:32-33, 34b). Esau and the people of Israel were bewitched by a desperation that blinded their understanding with contempt and selfishness. Esau gave no thought to the pain he would inflict upon his father by selling something so valuable and precious for something as common as a bowl of lentils. Israel, likewise, chose to disregard the marvelous power of God, failing to take into account the grave offense they were committing by implying that the inhabitants of Canaan were more powerful than the LORD God. All this, because waiting on God was too much to ask. The mercy and magnanimity of the sovereign God toward His creation is manifested by the recording of these examples (and many more like them) in Holy Writ as it illuminates with even greater force the exhortation of the Psalmist, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge” (Psalm 46:10-11). The apostle Peter warns us, “beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is long suffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:8-9). Verily, how valuable it is to learn to wait upon the promises of the Almighty, as both the apostle and the psalmist demonstrate with their inspired words.