Then you replied, “We have sinned against the Lord. We will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” So, every one of you put on his weapons, thinking it easy to go up into the hill country. But the Lord said to me, “Tell them, ‘Do not go up and fight, because I will not be with you. You will be defeated by your enemies.’” So, I told you, but you would not listen. You rebelled against the Lord’s command and in your arrogance, you marched up into the hill country. The Amorites who lived in those hills came out against you; they chased you like a swarm of bees and beat you down from Seir all the way to Hormah. You came back and wept before the Lord, but he paid no attention to your weeping and turned a deaf ear to you (Deuteronomy 1:41-45).

As all parent knows, raising children is full of complexity. Taking a newborn home from the hospital may seem like the scariest thing on earth. Many parents have moments of utter panic as they realize that this little human is utterly dependent on them. Yet, years later, looking back, we realize that that was the easy part.

Its what came after that proved to be so complex. How do we teach our children to live within proper boundaries? How much pain do we allow them to experience so that they learn? How do they come to believe that we have their best interest in mind when we put up limits? Will they ever learn to truly listen to us?

These questions, and more, are at play in our text for today. Moses is reminding Israel of her history, hoping that the children will respond differently to God then their parents. Yesterday, Pastor Anthony, talked about how the parents did not trust in the Lord. They would not believe that he loved them. They did not believe that he was a good father who intended to give good gifts to his children. Because they refused to trust and obey, God said he would give the good land to their children instead. The parents would wonder aimlessly in the wilderness until their children reached adulthood.

Well, when the first generation heard that, they were sorry indeed. They realized they had sinned against God. In their eagerness to make it up to him, they decided to go and take the land, to do battle against those who lived there. As they armed for battle, Moses warned them not to go, God would not go with them. They went, only to discover that the land “flowing with milk and honey” also produced stinging bees, which swarmed around them, chased them off, and struck them down. Why? They recognized their sin, but still were not willing to listen to God.

Having chastised the Corinthians, Paul draws a parallel with this episode when he writes, “…your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended… Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. See what this godly sorrow has produced in you… (1 Corinthians 7:9-11).

What was the difference between Israel and the Corinthians? Paul speaks about two effects of sorrow or grief. There is worldly sorrow, which is at best a shallow remorse, but which is consumed by bitterness and self-pity and which issues in death. Clearly, the Israelites demonstrated this. “In their arrogance,” Moses said, they went to war. “We know better than God,” they said, “we know how to fix this.”

Alternatively, there is godly sorrow which produces repentance as expressed in earnestness, eagerness, longing and concern and which issues in salvation. The difference between the two comes down to this, “listening.” After then confessed their sin, the Israelites were still not willing to listen to God. They had not changed. But the Corinthians did. They began to pay attention.

God, our Father, lavishes grace on his children, but also gets angry when we defy him and refuse to trust him. Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:23-35) teaches us this is still true. God, our Father, loves and carries and cares for us, but Hebrews 12:6 reminds us that the fatherhood of God means more: “The Lord trains the one he loves. He corrects everyone he accepts as his child.”

Sometimes, some of the pain we experience is this kind of pain. We should be very cautious about naming this for someone else. But we should be willing to name it for ourselves. Are you? Is there this kind of pain in your life right now? If so, whose example will you follow? If you turn to God with godly, listening sorrow, know that you can carry on with the blessing of your Heavenly Father.