SSL 2 - NUM. 13:31-14:10
LAST WEEK: In Num. 9:15-23, we found the Israelites at the end of their one-year encampment at Sinai on the start of their journey through the wilderness to the Promised Land. The focal point of the lesson was a pillar of cloud that represented the visible presence of God among the people. It hovered over the Tabernacle by day and glowed like a fire by night. When cloud moved the people moved with it and when the cloud stopped, the people stopped and set up the camp. Most importantly, the cloud signified God's leading, and as long as the people obeyed God's direction, they were under God's care and protection. We learned three major points of application: (1) God taught the ancient Israelites to be completely dependent on Him for direction in their lives. Like the ancient Israelites, God didn't save us by His mercy and grace and leave us to make the remainder of our journey though life on our own. While we don't have a visual cloud to give us direction, Jesus didn't leave us without help. As born-again Christians, we have a "helper," the Holy Spirit to guide us through every step of our journey through life according to God's plans and purposes. (2) The ancient Israelites learned to patiently wait on God's timing to provide direction in their lives. Like these people, we modern Christians need to patiently wait on God's timing for direction in our lives. As before, we don't have a cloud as a visual guide, but we definitely have access to God for direction every day in a variety of ways: (1) in prayer and meditation; (2) by inspiration of the Holy Spirit; (3) by direction in the Word of God; and (4) advice from Godly people. All of these things, working together, will keep our paths straight. (3) The ancient Israelites learned obedience to God through a process of testing. These people weren't mindless robots but had the ability to exercise free will. Yet, out of faith and trust in God, they depended upon Him completely, and as long as they did, they remained safe from their enemies and lacked nothing needed to sustain life. The simple truth of this lesson is that we, 21st Christians who are living under grace, need to learn the same lesson that God taught the Israelites in the wilderness: to depend on Him completely in everything. It requires obedience, and anything less than complete obedience is disobedience.
THIS WEEK: We skip Chapters 10, 11, 12, and most of 13 and come into the story as the 12 spies return from their surveillance of Canaan and give their report to Moses, Aaron, and the people. They reported that it was a rich and fertile land but inhabited by "strong" people in well fortified cities and named many potential enemies, even giants. Caleb, one of the 12, interjected at this point and said, "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we will surely overcome it" (13:30). Our lesson begins with what scholars refer to as the "evil report" of the other spies.
Read Num. 13:31-33 - THE OTHER SPIES RESPOND TO CALEB
31 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." 32 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; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size. 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."
v. 31: "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" - What's wrong with this statement on its face? First, it demonstrates a complete absence of faith in God and second, expresses a purely human opinion. The spy's statement that "they are too strong for us" might have been a valid observation from a human point of view, but to say "we are not able to go up against these people," was a lie. God had promised them the land (Deut. 6:10). Was God lying? God cannot lie; therefore, the spies lied.
v. 32: "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; and all the people whom we saw in it are men of great size" - The first lie is followed by a potent combination of half truths, outright lies, and exaggerations. The statement "a land that devours its inhabitants" has generated a lot of scholarly comment. The previous report of Joshua and Caleb (vv. 26-27) had reported a rich (in terms of soil and trees) and fertile land, so what does "devour' mean? Are the spies contradicting themselves? The most common explanation is that the quality and fertility of the land had caused a lot of conflict over who would possess it. The Middle East is generally an arid region, so this "Fertile Crescent" wasa very desirable and sought after area of land. The statement that "all the people...are men of great size" is a preposterous exaggeration. Yes, some people are larger than others, but some are smaller.
v. 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" - Well, the first phrase is an outright lie. The Nephilim were the offspring between fallen angels and humans as reported in Gen. 6:1-4 and in any case, wouldn't have survived the flood, so how could they "see" them? The sons of Anak, mentioned in Gen. 14:5, were an abnormally large people, and the family of Goliath of Gath is though to have descended from them. When I see NBA basketball players and NFL linemen, they look like giants to me. Some scholars say that after the spies saw the huge walls around some of the cites (i.e., 50 ft. tall, 25 ft. wide according to archeological findings), they erroneously assumed giants built them. Well, the Egyptians built the Pyramids and they aren't giants. The "grasshopper" comparison is the worst sort of fear-mongering exaggeration. A "bad report" is an understatement. It's significant that two groups could see the same sights and come to such different conclusions: Joshua and Caleb coming away with faith that "we will surely overcome it," and the other ten with a sense of certain doom that "we are not able to go up against these people."
TRUTH 1: When the 10 spies claimed that the Israelites weren't able to "go up against" the inhabitants of Canaan they were saying, in effect, that God had lied. God had promised them the land (Deut. 6:10), and since it's impossible for God to lie, the spies were lying. It's significant that two groups could see the same sights and come to such different conclusions: Joshua and Caleb coming away with faith that "we will surely overcome it," and the other ten, with a faithless sense of certain doom that "we are not able to go up against these people."
Read Num. 14:1-14 - THE PEOPLE REJECT CANAAN
1 Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" 4 So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt."
v. 1: "Then all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night - These are the same people who obediently followed God's direction in last week's lesson, but we must remember that they are still weak and imperfect human beings. For example, the twelve spies, one from each tribe, truly represented the people of Israel (like a Congressional District today), and the lack of faith in the overwhelming majority of the spies simply reflected a lack of faith in their people, and the fear apparently spread to the entire "congregation." Also, the details of why the spies were sent in the first place are important. The idea to send them didn't originate with God or Moses but with the people in the various tribes (see Deut. 1:22-23). Moses (some say unwisely) agreed to the plan, and God merely instructed Moses to send a representative from each tribe (see Num. 13:1). Why were they sent? No military information was needed by reason of the fact that God had already promised them victory. The "people wept that night" because the frightening words of the faithlessness spies caused the entire nation to degenerate into a state of mass mourning, and it was filled with resentment towards God, in effect, blaming Him for their problem.
TRUTH 2: Because God had promised the people the land, the mission of the spies was actually pointless. The idea to send them didn't originate with God or Moses but with the people in the various tribes (see Deut. 1:22-23). Moses (some say unwisely) agreed to the plan, and God merely instructed Moses to send a representative from each tribe (see Num. 13:1). Why were they sent? No military information was needed by reason of the fact that God had already promised them victory.
v. 2: All the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron; and the whole congregation said to them, "Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! - Their "grumbling"-complaints-were directed against Moses and Aaron, but since they were God's appointed leaders, they were complaining to God. To paraphrase the second statement, the people are saying that they would rather have died in Egypt or on the way in the wilderness than be slaughtered by these fearsome enemies in Canaan. Ironically, their wish about dying in the wilderness will become a reality as the story continues.
v. 3: " Why is the LORD bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?" - Do you hear what they are saying? They are directly accusing God, a God who can do no evil, of plotting to murder them and allow their wives and children to become captives and slaves. Anger toward God can be a natural but very wrong reaction when people are faced with great hardship-they have to blame someone-but anger at God is never justified. If we are angry at God, we are in sin, because whatever happened, God doesn't deserve our anger because He is not to blame, and if we honestly bring this sin before God, we will realize this. The statement about the "little ones"-the children-is another irony because only they (with Joshua and Caleb) would be the new generation of faith who would inherit the promised Land. As to the statement, "better for us to return to Egypt," in the first ten chapters of Numbers, God led Israel through a process intended to change them from being a "slave-minded people" to being a "promised land" people. Here, they've completely reverted back to their slave mentality, preferring slavery under cruel masters rather than walking with faith in God. What they had before them-the bad report from the spies on Canaan-required a much deeper level of trust and faith in God than the journey from Sinai. And make no mistake, they rejected that walk of faith.
TRUTH 3: The peoples' anger toward God was unfounded. In a fit of uncontrolled anger, the people accused God of plotting to murder them and allow their wives and children to become captives and slaves. Anger toward God can be a natural but very wrong reaction when people are faced with great hardship-they have to blame someone-but anger at God is never justified. Anger expressed toward God is always a sin, because whatever happened, God doesn't deserve our anger because He's not to blame, and if we repent and honestly bring this sin before God, we will realize this.
v. 4: "So they said to one another, "Let us appoint a leader and return to Egypt - So here it is: out and out rebellion. They were saying, in effect, that they rejected God's plan and wanted another leader. At this point, they believed they knew what was better for them than God. And notice the nature of this rebellion: completely man-centered, is evident by the statement, "let us appoint a leader" (as opposed to those already appointed by God). They believed that someone chosen by a majority vote of the people it would be a better and wiser choice than God could make. This is humanity at its self-centered, depraved worst-to select a leader who would lead them back to bondage, from light to darkness. We see this happening today in American politics, yes?
Read Num. 14:5-9 - RESPONSE OF THE FAITHFUL TO THE REBELLION OF THE PEOPLE
5 Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel. 6 Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-a land which flows with milk and honey. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them."
v. 5: "Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces in the presence of all the assembly of the congregation of the sons of Israel" - Though not mentioned at this interval in Numbers, in the parallel account of Deut. 1:29-31 Moses unsuccessfully tried to reason with the leaders of the people but here, afterward, we see Moses and Aaron throw themselves at God's feet to cry out for a miracle if Israel was to be spared. Scholars say that this wasn't so much a case of intercession, but the reaction of two God-fearing men who were waiting in silent horror for a catastrophe they thought to be inevitable-the terrible punishment of God's righteous wrath that must follow.
vv. 6-8: "Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, of those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, "The land which we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us-a land which flows with milk and honey. - The tearing of their clothes by Joshua and Caleb was on outward sign of intense grief and sorrow over someone who had died or was about to die, i.e., an entire nation in this case. In their statement in v. 7 about the "exceedingly good land," they were reminding the people of the faithfulness of God's promise that the land would be "good," and because they had seen it with their own eyes, it was exactly that-exceedingly good. Their statement in v. 8, 'If the LORD is pleased with us," is a confident rebuttal of the bad report given by the other spies. It reminds the people that the land is not only good but also the same land that had God had promised to give them. This is a bold and unqualified statement of two faithful men who trusted God to keep His promises.
v. 9: "Only do not rebel against the LORD; and do not fear the people of the land, for they will be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the LORD is with us; do not fear them." - Now we see Joshua and Caleb forcefully make a direct appeal to the will of a people who had allowed themselves to be completely cowed and dispirited by a pack of lies and gross exaggerations-exhorting them to give up this senseless rebellion and return to the LORD. They assure them that there are no walls, no fortifications, no people of any size, and certainly no other gods that can withstand the attack of God's people when the LORD is with them.
TRUTH 4: The reactions of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb in the vv. 5-9 were all motivated the by the fear of faithful men over the wrath of God toward a rebellious nation. We saw Moses and Aaron throw themselves at God's feet to cry out for a miracle that Israel would be spared of the punishment that they believed would follow the peoples' rebellion. Joshua and Caleb made a forceful appeal for the people to repent of their rebellion and return to faith and fellowship with God. What does that say to us as American citizens in the 21st Century? Should we be on our knees for the United States of America?
Read Num. 14:10 - THE GLORY OF THE LORD APPEARED
10 But all the congregation said to stone them with stones. Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel.
v. 10a: "But all the congregation said to stone them with stones" - This was the response of a rebellious and carnal people who couldn't endure two men who faced them with a challenge of faith. It was true then and can be true today when a Christian who has fallen into rebellion reacts with anger and exasperation to faithful Christian who confronts them with their sin.
v. 10b: "Then the glory of the LORD appeared in the tent of meeting to all the sons of Israel - The tent of meeting is another name for the Tabernacle. It isn't clear exactly how God's glory appeared, whether as a pillar of cloud or fire, but it was certainly an unmistakable act of divine intervention. When the people blasphemed God he didn't act, but when they threatened Joshua and Caleb (and probably Moses and Aaron, too), it touched God in a way that he intervened decisively. God protects the faithful and in this instance, made a visible demonstration to show which side He was on.
TRUTH 5: Like the ancient Israelites, when a modern Christian has fallen in to rebellion, they often react with anger when confronted with the truth of their sin. Should just ignore it and take the easy way out? Joshua and Caleb acted on faith and God protected them. That's our model. Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, explained it this way: "And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire" (Jude 22-23).
