JANUARY 30, 2011 OVERVIEW Numbers 13 Spies survey the land and report their findings Numbers 14 The people refuse to take the land Numbers 15 More instructions on the burnt and free will offerings Psalm 90 A prayer of Moses Today s Scripture: Numbers 13-14 We have now come to the part of the Book of Numbers where the people of Israel are facing a huge obstacle The inhabitants of Canaan. Background: o Read Numbers 13:1-3, 21-25 Numbers 13:1-3 (NIV) 1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders. 3 So at the LORD s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. Numbers 13:21-25 (NIV) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman [akh ee man], Sheshai [shay shah ee] and Talmai [ tal mah ee],, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there [Eschol- Hebrew for cluster ]. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. There was good news, and there was bad news.
o o The good news the land was awesome! The bad news the inhabitants of the land were pretty awesome too. How to break through life s obstacles: Resolve to trust God s Word regardless of appearances to the contrary. (13:27-28, 31-33 ) Numbers 13:27-28 (NIV) 27 They gave Moses this account: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. [The walls were 50 feet high in some of the cities of Canaan.] We even saw descendants of Anak there. Numbers 13:31-33 (NIV) 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, We can t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). [The Nephilim were a pre-flood people (see Genesis 6:4), but the Nephilim was later a word for giants ] We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. [Deut. 2:11 says Og, king of Bashan, had an iron bed that was more than 13 feet long. There were some big boys] View yourself armed with God s intervention. (13:31-33, 14:6-9) Notice how the ten spies don t mention God in their discouraging assessment. o It was all we, not God Numbers 13:31-33 (NIV) 31 But the men who had gone up with him said, We can t attack those people; they are stronger than we are. 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them. But notice the dramatic difference in Joshua and Caleb s perspective. o They saw themselves in light of God s presence, purpose, and protection. Numbers 14:6-9 (NIV) 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. [Notice how the other spies said the land devours people see. V. 32, but Joshua and Caleb say Israel will devour them.] Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them. How easy it is for me to forget about God s intervention. o I am really trying to change my perspective. I find it very difficult to do so. The flaw in my belief system That God intervention will always lead me right here to Easy Street.
I believe the secret is to disconnect the external circumstance from God s intervention. o His intervention begins with the internal. Peace, contentment and courage. Fight against two temptations: 1. The temptation to blame God for life s obstacles. (14:3) Numbers 14:3 (NIV) 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword?... What they re really saying is that the Lord was a Cruella Deville God. o Think about it That God set them up for the biggest disappointment of all time. 10 plagues, crossing the Red Sea, revealed Himself at Mt. Sinai, fed them in the desert.and yet His whole plan was to have them die in battle. Talk about the World s all-time professional blamers! But aren t we good blamers too? 2. The temptation to choose the safe but low road. (14:4, Joshua 14:6-14) Numbers 14:4 (NIV) 4 And they said to each other, We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt. This is the classic low road statement. o Expressing a willingness to go back to the familiar but miserable course of life. This is such a temptation when we are facing big challenges, especially in our Christian life. Joshua 14:6-14 (NIV) 6 Now the men of Judah approached Joshua at Gilgal, and Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him, You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 10 Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said. 13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly. Remember it was the Anakites that scared the spies spitless. o Forty years later, when Caleb was now an elderly man (85 yrs. old), and he actually had the guts to ask for the chance to drive them out of Hebron. Not only were the Anakites gigantic, but Hebron is hill country (V.12).
Anyone familiar with warfare knows it s tough to take the high ground. I really want it to be said of me, that I was a man who chose the high ground over the low road. o Let s not settle for the way things are, but rather let s go on to what they can be. o The Apostle Paul writes in Philippians 3:13-14 (NIV) --- 13. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. o Life Application What obstacle are you presently facing? 1. Every time you feel overwhelmed, choose to thank God for what He s going to accomplish through this obstacle. 2. Ask for wisdom, courage and faith to face the issue head on! 3. Don t settle for anything less than God being glorified through your response to this obstacle. This Week s Prayer Father God, I feel overwhelmed by. By all appearances, this situation looks hopeless. But I will now decide to trust You and Your intervention. Even though I understand you have allowed this obstacle in my life, I will not blame You for it. I choose to believe You have allowed this trial as an opportunity to prove my faith. I desire nothing less than Your name receiving the highest glory. Therefore, please give me wisdom, courage and faith to take the land. In Jesus name, Amen. For further study - A more detailed copy of this sermon, the Expedition A.B.F. notes, and maps/charts/photos can be found at www.thebibleexpedition.wordpress.com (Posted by 4 P.M. today) THIS WEEK S STUDY: Numbers 16-18