Grace Bible Church Pastor Teacher Robert R. McLaughlin Tree of Life Weekly Review Dispensations of the Mosaic Law. The two spies who lived by faith verses the ten spies who lived by sight. 040917 Before we continue with our study this morning on Moses and the reports of the twelve spies, I would like to note some of the tremendous differences which have taken place in the past three months in the time in which we live. For example, back in the month of January I reminded you of a few doctrinal principles that I believe the Lord was preparing for us to be concerned about. These things fell under the principle of what our Lord said to the early church as in: REV 2:1-11, To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; and you have perseverance and have endured for My name s sake, and have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your 1
lampstand out of its place-- unless you repent. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: The first and the last, who was dead, and has come to life, says this: I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich), and the blasphemy by those who say they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This goes on five more times in REV 2 and 3 when the Lord says as in: REV 2:17, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. In REV 2:29, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. REV 3:6, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. REV 3:13, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. And then in REV 3:22, He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. 2
So, back in the month of January, I gave 10 predictions that I believed the Lord had revealed to us for the upcoming new year and as of now, I also find it very interesting that, in my opinion, 7 out of the ten have fallen under the principles that: Some of these things have already happened. Some are happening. Some have yet to happen but I believe they will. Remember, in MAT 16, the words that our Lord said to the Pharisees and Sadducees who came up, testing Him and asked Him to show them a sign from heaven. MAT 16:2-3, But He answered and said to them, When it is evening, you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red. And in the morning, There will be a storm today, for the sky is red and threatening. Do you know how to discern the appearance of the sky, but cannot discern the signs of the times? Let me remind you of seven of those ten predictions in some measure. 1.The Church will think that it is being blessed and prosperous because this year will be more prosperous than any other year since the beginning of the Millennium. This is already happening as of now according to many of the recent polls found especially on the Internet. 2. There will be more trouble in the Middle East than ever before, especially in Turkey and Saudi Arabia and Syria. Watch Damascus and Turkey especially. All three countries, Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Syria are all at this time experiencing problems from the USA, Russia, and civil wars being developed. 3
3. The U.S.A. and Russian peace treaties will become null and void and be useless and our so-called ties will be meaningless and cause fear among the people. Everywhere you go the media is reporting on the unrest that is now developing, especially with Russia and the USA - we are being separated and divided as never before in this Millennial age. 4. One of our major predictions was that the relationship between Russia and the USA will drastically change - not for the good, this is presently happening. 5. Israel, mainly Jerusalem, will be forced to try and enter into a Peace Treaty with Palestine, which they will both reject and blame each other with Israel being blamed and condemned most of all by the by the United Nations. This has already happened in some measure but will increase. 6. The USA will make plans or become forced to make plans to move its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem and Jordan will lead in the condemnation of the United States for doing so. 7. Then we said that 2017 will be a year of political assassinations. Every single day our leading politicians especially our president is under personal attack. The point is we are living in exciting times and our Father has and is warning us about what we need to get ready to face. And believe it or not this introduction does apply to our passage and our doctrinal teaching in a very unique way. We have noted the difference between the two spies who brought back a positive report concerning the enemies in the promise land and the 10 spies who brought a negative report. We also looked at the 4
differences between those believers who believe and receive the positive reports and those who believe and receive the negative reports...and there is a tremendous difference. The Exodus congregation relied on the 10 spies and their bad report rather than on Caleb and Joshua and their doctrinal view. So we begin with NUM 13:25, when the spies came back from spying out the promise land, at the end of forty days, NUM 13:26-33, they proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Thus they told him, and said, We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan. Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it. But the men who had gone up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us. So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, The land through which we have gone, in spying it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; 5
and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. So, back in verse 27, When the spies came back we read in NUM 13:27, Thus they [12 spies] told him [Moses], and said, We went in to the land where you sent us; and it certainly does flow with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Now please notice this verse. They did confirm one thing, they knew the doctrine but the majority of them simply did not believe in the doctrine. They had metabolize doctrine! They were familiar with the promises that God had given them. It was a prosperous land! They recognized that. My point is that they knew the promises of God concerning the land, but knowing the promises and applying the promises are two different things. However in NUM 13:28 tells us the big problem, Nevertheless, (here is the big...but) the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified {and} very large; and moreover, we saw the descendants of Anak there. These again are the giants. Note the three fears and concerns. 1. The people who live in the land are strong. How do they know that? They didn t fight them! However, they were going by sight! 2. The second fear, the cities are fortified and very large. The places that they live are two overwhelming and too big for us! Again an evaluation based on sight. 6
3. We saw the descendants of Anak (giants) there. Note the phrase, We saw! Another evaluation based upon sight. Living by sight instead of by faith is one of the easiest ways for a believer to be deceived. For example, living by sight produces insecurity and doubt as in NUM 13:33. NUM 13:33, There also we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim); and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight. This is why the believer is commanded to walk by means of pistis or doctrine and not be sight, 2CO 5:7, For we walk by faith, not by sight- In fact, one of the results of being negative to God s word is to live in fear and become mentally disturbed because of what sight says. For example, look at DEU 28:28, just after 27 verses about all the curses that come upon God s people who have rejected the doctrines from the Lord; The Lord will smite you with madness and with blindness and with bewilderment of heart; Then in DEU 28:34 we read, And you shall be driven mad by the sight of what you [WHAT?] by the sight of what you see. Notice that what you see can drive you mad! 7 Then look at DEU 28:58-67, If you are not careful to observe all the words of this law which are written in this book, to fear this honored and awesome name, the Lord your God, then the Lord will bring extraordinary plagues on you and your descendants, even severe and lasting plagues, and miserable and chronic sicknesses.
And He will bring back on you all the diseases of Egypt of which you were afraid, and they shall cling to you. Also every sickness and every plague which, not written in the book of this law, the Lord will bring on you until you are destroyed. Then you shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of heaven for multitude, because you did not obey the Lord your God. And it shall come about that as the Lord delighted over you to prosper you, and multiply you, so the Lord will delight over you to make you perish and destroy you; and you shall be torn from the land where you are entering to possess it. Moreover, the Lord will scatter you among all peoples, from one end of the earth to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone, which you or your fathers have not known. And among those nations you shall find no rest, and there shall be no resting place for the sole of your foot; but there the Lord will give you a trembling heart, failing of eyes, and despair of soul. So your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall be in dread night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, Would that it were evening! And at evening you shall say, Would that it were morning! Why? Because of the dread of your heart which you dread, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see. Believers who have NVTD inevitably have fear because of what they see. In Job 6:21, Job said to his three friends who were judging him, Indeed, you have now become such, you see a terror and are afraid. 8
The point is that Sight can be very deceiving! This is why you should never judge based upon what you see. The Lord Jesus Christ would not even do that, in Isa 11:3, And He will delight in the respect of the Lord, and He will not judge by what His eyes see, nor make a decision by what His ears hear; In fact, the first sin ever committed in the human race was caused by the presumption which comes from judging and evaluating by sight, in GEN 3:6, When the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was a delight to the eyes, and that the tree was desirable to make one wise, she took from its fruit and ate; Being intimidated by the problems that sight reveals causes fear and the escape syndrome. 1SA 17:24, When all the men of Israel saw the man [Goliath], they fled from him and were greatly afraid. They were intimidated by the giant Goliath based upon what they saw. Never make decisions based on sight! David ended up coveting what the arrogant had because he had his eyes on their prosperity! PSA 73:3, For I was envious of the arrogant, as I saw the prosperity of the wicked. You may think the wicked are prospering, but prosperity is a condition of the soul! Sight means nothing! We are told that the children of Israel saw the wonderful works of the Lord for 40 years, yet seeing is useless without doctrinal perception. 9 HEB 3:7-9, Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, Today if you hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts as when they provoked Me, As in the day of trial in the wilderness, Where
your fathers tried Me by testing Me, And saw My works for forty years. Living by sight also causes us to make wrong evaluations toward people. For example, Eliphaz wrongly evaluated what Job was going through when Job was suffering to glorify God. And he made a statement to Job and said in Job 4:8, According to what I have seen, those who plow iniquity and those who sow trouble harvest it. Eliphaz was wrong! By sight what appeared to be divine discipline was in reality divine blessing. Therefore, never judge a situation based on sight! In 2CO 4:18, the apostle Paul said, While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 1SA 16:7b, For God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. Even the Lord Jesus Christ commanded us when He walked the face of this earth not to judge according to the appearance in JOH 7:24, Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment. Living by sight and appearances is simple the thinking and the viewpoint of the current day Pharisees and self-righteous peasants; MAT 23:27-28, Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men s bones and all 10
uncleanness. Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness. So be careful that you do not make decisions based upon sight or the outward appearance, or what the situation looks like! PRO 14:14, There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. And so we have the report of the 10 spies in NUM 13:29. NUM 13:29, Amalek is living in the land of the Negev and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country, and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan. Notice that they made a thorough reconnaissance. And so they were very much aware of the people in the land. Amalek was dwelling in the southern part of the land. Some believe that they (Amalek) were descendants of Esau and therefore very angry at Israel who was named after Esau s brother, Jacob. Therefore, they were constantly enemies of Israel. The Hittites were the remnant of one of the great empires in the ancient world. The Jebusites were never conquered and that was one of the great disasters that overtook the country. The Amorites conquered the Jews because of their failure to learn Bible doctrine. The Canaanites lived by the sea and we a constant problem for the Jews. And so this was the report of the majority of the spies. 11 However, the majority is hardly ever right. Rarely is the majority ever right about anything. The reason is that the majority is the nonthinking part of the group in many cases.
The majority complained that Moses had brought them out from Egypt to kill them in the wilderness! (not faith rest). EXO 14:11-12, Then they said to Moses, Is it because there were no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? Why have you dealt with us in this way, bringing us out of Egypt? Is this not the word that we spoke to you in Egypt, saying, Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians? For it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. NUM 11:30, Caleb said, we shall by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it. NUM 13:31, the multitude of spies said, we are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us., the majority of the spies said this! In MAT 27:20 the majority of the religious crowd persuaded the majority of the people to ask for Barabbas to be released rather than the Lord. EXO 23:3, You shall not follow a multitude or majority in doing evil, nor shall you testify in a dispute so as to turn aside after a multitude in order to pervert justice. In other words, in time of dispute do not go with the majority simply because that s what most people are doing! And so let s see what the minority has to say in NUM 13:30, Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, 12 The reason why he had to silence them is because hysteria and operation cry baby was about to begin. And he said, we should by
13 all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall surely overcome it. Notice that Caleb speaks emphatically and with confidence. He has Bible doctrine in his soul! He was a man of doctrine! Caleb now emerges as a man of the hour.