Articles
Brethren Who Discourage
Brethren Who Discourage
Bryan Garlock
“Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God; and you complained in your tents, and said, ‘Because the Lord hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we; the cities are great and fortified up to heaven; moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.’ Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified, or afraid of them. The Lord your God, who goes before you, He will fight for you, according to all He did for you in Egypt before your eyes, and in the wilderness where you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a man carries his son, in all the way that you went until you came to this place. Yet, for all that, you did not believe the Lord your God…’” (Deut. 1.26-32, NKJV)
One may recall that twelve spies were told to spy out the promise land (see Numbers 13-14). The land flowed with milk and honey (13.27, ESV). With confidence, two of the spies encouraged the brethren saying, “Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it” (30) and “The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them” (14.7-9, ESV).
How then were these brethren disheartened? Of the other ten spies we read, “…the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large” (Num. 13.28, ESV), “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are” (31), and “The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height… and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them” (32-33).
Of course, as is usually the case, the people listened to the negativity of the ten spies rather than the enthusiasm of the two. Chapter fourteen says, “Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, ‘Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?’ And they said to one another, ‘Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt’” (1-4, ESV).
What did these people expect? Did they think Egypt was going to welcome them back with open arms and embrace them? They were willing to subject themselves back under the rule of Pharaoh and slavery instead of enjoying the blessings of freedom graciously given by God. These people even threatened to stone Caleb and Joshua with stones and appoint a new leader (14.10). What irrational thinkers!
The reason for the bad report communicated by the spies was based on their disbelief in God’s power (Deut. 1.26-32, note vs 32). Interestingly, they had all been witnesses to His mighty hand in Egypt and yet quickly forgot how powerful their God was (14.11). Therefore, God’s people who were twenty and older were condemned to die and everyone under twenty were lost in the wilderness for forty years – all because of ten discouraging brethren (Num. 14.20ff).
What would have happened if all twelve spies had brought encouraging news back? They would have taken over the giants and received their beloved promised land. Unfortunately, the land was forfeited because the people chose to listen to man instead of listening to their God.
It is a terrible thing that there are brethren who discourage others. In fact, Moses’ record in Deuteronomy teaches us that there have always been discouraging brethren. In our text, it was because of disbelief in God’s power. It is a scary thing to consider that our disbelief can cause so much trouble among God’s people. This demonstrates how disbelief does not just affect the ones who do not believe – it can potentially affect everyone around them.
There are many other ways brethren are discouraging, for example, when they believe and teach false doctrines. Paul taught to avoid “…Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have swerved from the truth, saying that the resurrection has already happened. They are upsetting the faith of some” (2 Tim. 2.17-18, ESV). Elsewhere we read of those who were striving to bind circumcision on the Gentiles as the only way to be acceptable before God (Acts 15, etc.). This was a major discouragement to the first century brethren. Souls were lost because of these errors.
Finally, any sin can be a discouragement. Consider all the times we have felt unhappy because the brethren around us were living immoral lives. When one threatens unity because of the way he speaks to others (harmful, corrupt, filthy things), the sinful attitudes he portrays (greediness, haughtiness, bitterness, etc.), or when he does all things out of selfish ambition (looking only to his own interest), he disrupts fellowship and tears down instead of building up (edifying) the saints. Notice what Paul taught: “Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers” (Eph. 4.29). This does not just apply to our speech, but also our actions – are they edifying others? What about us? Do we gossip about others? Do we look or talk down on others in a haughty way? Do we lack faith in God’s power to help us? Do we teach a doctrine that is upsetting the faith of others? Do we live immoral lives? Or do we strive to remain faithful in all things? The answer to these questions determine if we are an encouragement or a discouragement to our brethren.
The thing that brought joy to John the apostle was to see that his “children are walking in the truth” (3 John 4). Since sin harms the one committing it and those around him, grace, peace, and joy cannot reign where sin is present.
Everything we say, do, or even think can disrupt fellowship and discourage members. How are we doing, brethren? BG
