5 Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert.
This is perhaps the greatest understatement of history. Only two people out of all those millions who left Egypt pleased the Lord. I want to be one of those few who please rather than one of the many who don’t please. But according to these odds, I don’t stand much of a chance. But two did please. And when Paul recalls this event he focuses on the two who did. He downplays the disobedient in favor of emphasizing the obedient. Against almost impossible odds, two stayed faithful to the Lord. The two had to endure all the hardship of that forty year desert vacation waiting for all the disobedient to die off. I can imagine near the end they knew exactly who was left of that original crowd. And news probably spread around the camp as the last one breathed their last breath. Now God could bring them into the Promised Land. But the two had to wait along with those who died and those who were too young and those who were not even born when the rebellion happened. Just because we obey does not mean that we are immune to the negative consequences of sin. Our own sin and the sin of others, as well as the results of sin in our word; all these affect how we live. Just because we are obedient does not mean we live in a protective bubble. We don’t get transported back to the Garden of Eden when we start living for Jesus. We simply get to experience God’s presence moment by moment. Although sin’s consequences affect us, we taste of the restoration that will happen when heaven is revealed.
The Arnold Journey 