Journal Through the Bible: Week 22 Friday

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Numbers 13:1-14:10

All of the preparations leading up to this time had been completed. Now was the day that the Hebrews were to send representatives to search the land of Canaan. Moses chose the men carefully, including his aide Joshua who was from the tribe of Ephraim.

The assignment was to view the condition of the inhabitants, their land, their cities and dwellings, the crops, and the amount of timber available. It was the time of year when the first grapes were ready to be harvested. Figs and pomegranates also were in evidence. The men searched for forty days before returning to the camp.

Their report started out encouragingly enough. They told Moses, Aaron, and the congregation about the bountiful food supplies that the land produced, something that surely stirred the hearts of the people since food was one of the main things they missed from Egypt, and showed them the fruit they had gathered as their evidence.

Then the report turned discouraging. The inhabitants were warrior giants who lived in fortified cities. As the murmurs of fear ran through the crowd one man, Caleb, quieted them. He told Moses to prepare to go immediately to take possession! He had seen the land and he had probably tasted its  fruit and he was ready to move into it! Later Moses, Aaron, and Joshua joined him in pleading with the people to follow the Lord.

On the other hand, the people cried themselves to sleep that night and considered a backup plan. I often wonder what the ten dissenting spies and the people thought was going to happen if they returned to Egypt. Even if the Egyptians allowed them to return that place had been almost ruined by the plagues of the previous year and it would take quite some time before the area recovered. And then there was that part about the wealth of precious jewels and metals that the Egyptians had given the Hebrews in order to get them out of the country in such haste. Then came the drowning of the Egyptian army in the Red Sea the previous year. I seriously doubt the Egyptians would be all that happy to see these people return!

Man always has a better plan that God, or thinks he does, and that's why the world is in such a mess in the first place. Even Adam thought he had a better plan than God and we're all reaping the consequences of his actions by spending our time wandering aimlessly until God delivers us from the wilderness. Our backup plan always involves returning to the slavery of sin. And we think God's plan looks ridiculous!


Does God make any promises in this passage?

• God does not speak any promises or curses in this passage, although He will when we pick up our reading tomorrow. In the meantime, Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb reaffirm the former promises of God by reminding the people that God had brought them to this area to defeat the Canaanites and that it would be God who fought their battles.

Does this passage teach anything about Jesus?

• Jesus delivers us from the wilderness wanderings. Accepting His atonement for sins and following His plan for our lives places us in the Promised Land.
• The leaders pleaded with the people to turn from their rebellious plans and trust God. Jesus pleads with everyone to turn from sin and trust Him. He does this through His ministers who follow the example of Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb and proclaim God's message for those who will repent and believe.
• Just as the rebellious people mocked God's message being preached to them by Moses, Aaron, Joshua, and Caleb people today mock His message.

Does this passage teach anything about yet-future events?

• Christians have already received the down payment for their inheritance in the land that God promises them. It is the Holy Spirit that lives within us Who is the earnest money for our deed. (See Ephesians 1:13-14.) The Trinity would need to abandon the Holy Spirit for those who trust Jesus to be denied their future inheritance in the Land that was promised to them by God the Father. This includes the inheritance awaiting us in Heaven and on the New Earth. We are traveling with our own cloud of protection leading us right now but someday we will fully inhabit that land of promise even though now we only taste bits and pieces of its fruit.

Does God issue any commands?

• God commanded Moses to send 12 men to search the land of Canaan, one man from each tribe who were known to be leaders of the people.