But then those people refused to go\par into the wonderful land of Canaan.\par They did not believe God would help them\par defeat the people living in that land.\par
Then Jacob gave Esau bread and food. Esau ate and drank and then left. So Esau showed that he did not care about his rights as the firstborn son. [150]
“I, the Lord, said to myself,\par ‘I want to treat you like my own children.\par I want to give you a pleasant land,\par a land more beautiful\par than any other nation.’\par I thought that you would call me ‘Father.’\par I thought that you would always follow me.\par
On that day, I promised to take you out of Egypt and lead you to the land I was giving to you. That was a good land filled with many good things. {\cf2\super [141]} It was the most beautiful of all countries!
And those men told all the people of Israel that they were not strong enough to defeat the people in that land. They said, “The land we saw is full of strong people. Those people are strong enough to easily defeat any person who goes there.
The Lord spoke to Moses. He said, “How long will these people continue to turn against me? They show that they don’t trust me. They show that they don’t believe in my power. They refuse to believe me, even after I have shown them many powerful signs. I have done many great things among them.
The people of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron. All the people came together and said to Moses and Aaron, “We should have died in Egypt or in the desert. {That would have been better than being killed in this new land.}
You were afraid and complained that your enemies in that new land would take your children away from you. But I tell you that I will bring those children into the land. They will enjoy the things that you refused to accept.
So don’t turn against the Lord! Don’t be afraid of the people in that land. We can defeat them. They have no protection, nothing to keep them safe. But we have the Lord with us. So don’t be afraid!”
“\{The servants went and told the people to come.\} But the people refused to listen to the servants. Those people went to do other things. One person went to work in his field, and another person went to his business.
And you did not obey when the Lord told you to leave Kadesh Barnea. He said, ‘Go up and take the land I am giving you.’ But you refused to obey the Lord your God. You did not trust him. You did not listen to his command.
Be careful that no person does sexual sin. And be careful that no person is like Esau and never thinks about God. Esau was the oldest son and he would have inherited (received) everything from his father. But Esau sold all that for a single meal.
The way to be saved {\cf2\super [23]} was told to us the same as to those people. But the teaching those people heard did not help them. They heard that teaching but did not accept it with faith.
It is still true that some people will enter and have God’s rest. {\cf2\super [28]} But those people who first heard the way to be saved {\cf2\super [29]} did not enter. They did not enter because they did not obey.