Scripture:
Numbers 13:1-8, 10-33 NKJV
[1] And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, [2] “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” [3] So Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the children of Israel. [4] Now these were their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; [5] from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; [6] from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; [7] from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; [8] from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun;
[10] from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; [11] from the tribe of Joseph, that is, from the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi; [12] from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; [13] from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; [14] from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; [15] from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. [16] These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. [17] Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, [18] and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; [19] whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; [20] whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. [21] So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. [22] And they went up through the South and came to Hebron; Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) [23] Then they came to the Valley of Eshcol, and there cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes; they carried it between two of them on a pole. They also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. [24] The place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster which the men of Israel cut down there. [25] And they returned from spying out the land after forty days. [26] Now they departed and came back to Moses and Aaron and all the congregation of the children of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. [27] Then they told him, and said: “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. [28] Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. [29] The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.” [30] Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” [31] But the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” [32] And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great stature. [33] There we saw the giants (the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.”
Observation:
I couldn’t help but post the whole chapter. I believe it was needed to bring out the truth. I think a lot of times pastors and preachers will just look at one or two verses and put together a sermon that has taken what GOD has said out of context. I don’t want to be that guy. I don’t want to lose the truth. Because it doesn’t fit my point. I believe that if you are going to teach the bible, you should not have a hidden agenda. As for me personally I’m not trying to fill the seats, I’m not trying to get in your wallet, I’m not trying to win your heart. I just want to know what the word of GOD says and how it applies to my life. Then I want to share that with you. I feel like if it applies to me then you may benefit from it as well, so let’s see what GOD has for us today. For some of us this is a passage of scripture that we are no stranger to. Moses has led the Israelites out of the captivity of Egypt through the wilderness, with the LORD showing them the whole way exactly who HE is. Providing every need, from food every morning, to water flowing out of a rock, not to mention bringing victory, and healing. HE has not led them into situations that they could not trust HIM to get them through, and this right here was no different. I grabbed the whole chapter because what honestly needed to be said was in the first few verses and the last few verses. Let’s jump all the way back to the beginning so we can get an understanding of the problem. In the first 2 verses we have all that we need to know, “ The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “send men into the land of Canaan, which I am giving the children of Israel. That’s the context. GOD had made a statement that would require faith. I am giving them this land. Now after all HE had done up to this point, that statement should have by all means been something they could grab a hold of, HE had never let them down. Bringing them across the Red Sea on dry ground with the most miraculous victory over their captors the world had ever seen, despite the fear they had felt just moments before Moses stepped forward to put his staff in the air. One act of obedience set them free from continued forced labor to taskmasters that didn’t care if they lived or died. Now they stand at the edge of what GOD had promised to Abraham having trouble believing that GOD is going to do what HE said HE would. You can almost picture them walking through this land, “Dude do you see the size of those grapes. Yes our swords are too small to cut them down without breaking a sweat. I know but Moses has to see this. The land is exactly what he said it would be. Look at the bucket of milk, it’s almost as big as Caleb. I know, I know but look at the giant who is carrying it as well. Do you think you can take him, Joshua? Listen guys if the LORD said HE is going to give us this land. That’s exactly what HE is going to do. Cut those grapes down and let’s get back to Moses.” Now I know I have taken some liberty here, because the Bible doesn’t say any of that. But I can honestly see that conversation taking place. As they return to Moses for the debriefing. The fear and disbelief had to be somewhat overwhelming, as the conversation continued, “Did you see how small we were compared to that guy? He could smash 3 or 4 of us with his foot and not even know he had done it. We can’t do this. It’s too big of a task, GOD’S wrong on this one…. What are you guys saying, HE has never lied to us, if HE said HE is going to give us this land it’s as good as ours. You guys realize they are going to get us killed if they tell Moses that. We have to tell him the truth of what we have seen. We can’t do this, it’s too big.” as they got back to Moses carrying the grapes. The reports started to flow. As we have had the opportunity to read, only 2 of the spies believed what GOD had said about the land. The problem is the rest of them gave a report that struck fear in the hearts of those who did not go on the expedition. Fear that would cause issues going into battle. They did not trust GOD would do what HE said. Getting the Israelites out of Egypt seemed to be the easy part, getting the Egypt mindset out of them proved to be much harder. They would have to stop seeing themselves as captives or victims and start seeing themselves as more than conquerors.
Application:
The attack has always been on what GOD has said. Your willingness to stand on it is what brings results from it. One of my favorite verses is Hebrews chapter 11 and verse 6, which says, without faith it is impossible to please HIM, for He who comes to GOD must believe that HE is a rewarder of those who diligently seek HIM. Over and over in the Bible there are examples of people who believed what GOD had said and got the opportunity to experience some amazing things. The question is not their faith. They had it. The question is do you? Are you willing to stand on GOD’S word, are you willing to take a chance? Are you willing to step out not to see what happens. But knowing what is going to happen is exactly what HE said would happen. I know…. Trusting GOD’S word is difficult because you can’t see the whole picture, but if you could there would be no faith involved therefore Trusting GOD wouldn’t be in the picture and how would that be pleasing to HIM? I don’t know where you are today in your walk with GOD, but I want you to know that HE wants you to trust HIM, HE has told you what HE would do, it’s all in HIS word. The will of GOD is found in the word of GOD. Your victory over whatever you are facing is in your willingness to believe what GOD has said about you. Are you set free… Yes, the word of GOD says so, and if you believe it then it’s already done, you just have to reach for it. Can you win this battle… Yes, you are more than conquerors through HIM who loved you. Are you willing to stand in the confidence of victory that has already been won? The battle doesn’t belong to you. The battle is GOD’S you just have to show up suited in HIS truth, walking in faith. It might not be easy and fear may try to overtake you, but if GOD is for you, NO ONE can stand against you. That’s what HIS word says. Do not allow the enemy to bring doubt in your heart about what the LORD has said about you. The promises that are found in the word of GOD are yours. “IF” you are willing to reach for them regardless of whether you can see them or not. Faith is the battle we fight. Trust that what HE said is true and move forward standing on it alone. Not what those around you say…. But what HE says.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for giving us the truth. All we really need to know is that you are for us. Your word tells us so. As we stand here, Trusting that you have gone before us behind us and all around us, we know that this battle we are in has already been won. The fighting may seem fierce but that’s when we know that we are trusting in ourselves. We trust in you, and we know that you are bigger than anything we may be facing right now. You love us so much that you gave the very life of your only son so that we could walk with the guidance of the Holy Spirit. A redemption plan that only fails if we fail to receive it. We want to experience what you have for us, so we stand here in faith as you prepare a place for our foot to land as we move forward. It’s in the mighty name of Jesus we pray amen.