“20 Then the Lord said, “I have pardoned, according to your word. 21 But truly, as I live, and as all the earth shall be filled with the glory of the Lord, 22 none of the men who have seen my glory and my signs that I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and yet have put me to the test these ten times and have not obeyed my voice, 23 shall see the land that I swore to give to their fathers. And none of those who despised me shall see it. 24 But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.25 Now, since the Amalekites and the Canaanites dwell in the valleys, turn tomorrow and set out for the wilderness by the way to the Red Sea.”

Numbers 14:20-25
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So, in chapter 13, Joshua and Caleb were the only two men who brought back report and endorsed the plan that God had laid out for them to move into the Promised Land. The other ten were awed by he land, but intimidated by the inhabitants and forgot what the Lord said He would do for them. They didn’t trust in Him, instead, they only saw their own abilities, their own strength, and so their faithlessness condemned them.

Their lack of faith bled out into what they said when they gave their report to the nation on the land. They saw its goodness, they experienced its richness, but they were limited by their own abilities and imagination. Rather than trust in God, they turned to self, and they faltered.  To put it plainly, they wimped out, they gave up and threw in the towel. Even thought they had experienced the hand of God over and over again, one mighty work after another, they looked at the promise He was unfolding before them and, to His face, said, “There’s no way we’re getting this. It’s too much, it’s too hard.” And they sat on their hands and cried.

It’s no surprise that God is angered at them. They should have come back rejoicing over what He was giving to them, cities they did not have to build, farms they did not have to plant, homes they did not have to furnish, and yet they called Him a liar, rejected His appointed leaders, and whined about going back into slavery instead. But as God will point out to them in their condemnation, their faithlessness didn’t just affect them, they wouldn’t be allowed to enter the Promised Land at all. But it affected their children and their children’s children, yet unborn. Their lack of faith in God forced their wandering in the wilderness for 40 years. Their faithlessness forced their children to grow up in desolation rather than richness. Their faithlessness forced their grandchildren to be born into that same wilderness, to never know stability until they were old enough to begin their own families by the time they would actually enter the Promised Land. So, 3 generations were affected by their faithlessness, and rather than leave a legacy that honors God, their children, upon entering the land 40 years later, will do so with a lackluster faith, only completing some of the tasks that God lays out for them to do. Because of their faithlessness, their grandchildren will not finish the work of driving out the inhabitants of the land and they will be corrupted and influenced by their pagan beliefs.

Faithlessness doesn’t just affect the person who lacks faith, but everyone around them. If we are going to GoLove others in the Name of God, then we need to do so in the boldness that faith allows. We need to speak up, live faithfully and trust in the Lord’s promises. He always makes good on HIs promises because as He is speaking the promise, He is already fulfilling it. He is not constrained by time as we are, He can promise on something and make good on it at the same moment, we only need to be faithful in the time we spend between those two points. It will affect others, no matter which way we lean, so let’s pray for strength, faith and boldness that matches the Lord’s desire.