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The Spies' Mission and the Rise of Doubt 0:09 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word today, Numbers chapters 13, 14, and 15. A powerful passage. This captures the, the pivotal moment in the history0:21 of the nation of Israel, but it also provides us a tremendous look at what a biblical worldview is. Verse 8 of chapter 14. If the lord delights in us, then he will0:33 bring us into this land and give it to us a land which flows with milk and honey. Now I wanna begin with an overview because there's so much in these 3 chapters that I know we're not gonna be able to cover everything0:44 that I would like to talk about this morning. Chapter 13 contains the well known account of the 12 spies, which we are going to explore in greater detail. Chapter 14, the rebellion of the people who decide to0:56 follow the majority report, not the promises in the word of God. Then chapter 15 provides additional guidance regarding sacrifices, which frankly coming on the heels of chapter 141:08 simply reaffirms God's promise that he will eventually bring them into the promised land. Alright. Verse 1 chapter 13. And the Lord spoke to Moses saying, send men to1:19 sent 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, everyone a leader among them. Right? Select leaders from every1:31 tribe to go to spy out the land. So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran according to the command of the lord, all of them who were heads of the children of Israel. Now it's1:43 it's not obvious from this, passage right here, so I'm gonna look at Deuteronomy chapter 1. But I think this could be the, you know, 1 of the first potential missteps here was sending these spies,1:55 which ended up being a poll. They basically conducted a poll rather than a plan of attack. Let me read from Deuteronomy chapter 1 verse 21. Look. The lord your god has set the2:07 land before you. Go up and possess it as the lord god of your fathers has spoken to you. Do not fear or be discouraged. And every 1 of2:19 you came near to me and said, let us send men before us and let them search out the land for us and bring back word to us of the way by which we should go up and of the cities in2:31 which we shall come. The plan pleased me well, so I took 12 of your men, 1 man from each tribe. Now I2:43 would describe this as kind of the permissive will of god. God did allow it, but it was not his original plan. You see, he originally said, look. Take the land. It's before you the people came. Well, can2:55 we send up a group to kinda spy it out first? Now it sounded as if they wanted to find the way up to take the land, but that's not how it turned out. But let's look at what Moses did. He3:07 sends these 10 spies in in chapter 13 verses 17 through 20. He tells, them what their mission is. Their mission is to to spy out the land. Are the people strong or weak? Are they few or are they3:19 many? Is the land good or bad? Are the cities like camps or strongholds? Is the land fertile or barren? Are there forest or not? Bring back the fruit of the land. Now all that seems re reasonable, spying out3:31 the land. Verse 25, and they returned from spying out the land after 40 days. 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.3:43 They brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. 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 its3:55 fruit. 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. That's the giants. Verse4:06 30. Here's Caleb. 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. You see,4:18 Caleb and Joshua had a different view than the other 10 spies. The other 10 spies were looking at the giants and seeing the promise through the giants. We'll see.4:30 Caleb and Joshua were seeing the giants through the promise of god. Verse 31, but the men who had gone up with him, we are not able to go up against these4:42 people, for they are stronger than we. So in chapter 13, the spies who were to gain intel and plan an attack used it4:53 rather as kind of a YouGov poll, and the people then chose to, follow the word of this majority report and not the word of the lord. You know, this is5:05 something to be mindful of is rarely does the majority get it right. Rarely. I remember during my time in the Louisiana legislature, had a an older legislator, he's no longer alive. He he told5:17 me I had been there very long, and he said, you know, I I I win every vote. I'm always with the majority. He said, if you wanna be on the winning side, you need to vote with everybody. I thought about that for a5:29 moment. I was kinda stunned that he admitted that he just wanted to be on the winning side. It didn't matter what the issue was. He just wanted to vote the majority. I said, I'm not here to be on the winning side. I'm5:37 here to be on the right side. You see, oftentimes, when you're in with the majority, you're not in the right place. And this is where a biblical worldview comes in. Other whether or not we're seeing things the5:49 way in the world around us through our own ability and our own understanding, or are we seeing the world around us through god's word and through his6:01 ability? You see, a biblical worldview, just like Caleb and Joshua, they saw the land that was before them through the promises of god. Alright. Verse, verse 2Rebellion and the Faithful Minority's Plea 6:13 of chapter 14, and all the children of Israel complained. It's something new. Here we go again. Against Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation said to them, if only we had died in the land of Egypt or if only we6:25 had died in the wilderness. Alright. Here we go again. Same complaints. Verse 3. Why has the lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword that our wives and children should become6:37 victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? Now don't forget that. Alright. Yeah. And when I was reading this, I I thought of, Patrick Henry who gave that speech. We know 1 of the6:48 phrases from that speech, give me liberty or give me death. He made that speech in March of, 17 75. Alright? And he said, is is life so dear or peace so7:00 sweet as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, almighty God. I know not what course others may take, but as for me, give me7:12 liberty or give me death. I'm grateful that our the founding fathers of our country didn't prefer the easy route of, going back to being under Great Britain.7:25 So, the the rebels then began to act actually on their plan of going back to Egypt. Verse 4. So they said to 1 another, let us select a leader and return to Egypt. Then Moses and Aaron fell on7:37 their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. But Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Jephunneh, were who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes.7:47 They were grieved by what they saw. They saw this as an offense to god. Verse 7, and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel saying, the land we pass through to spy out is exceedingly good land. If7:58 the land which flows by milk and honey. They operated in faith. Now this8:10 is, again, this is a perfect contrast between a biblical worldview and and and basically a humanist worldview. Moses, Caleb, Joshua understood the challenges that were before them through the8:22 word of god and what god was able to do. The people saw and understood the challenges before them based upon what man had said and what man in his limited8:33 capacity could do. Now Caleb appeals to the people to follow God, and look what happens. The people actually wanna stone him. Alright? So don't, you know, don't be surprised when8:45 people reject the minority report. Verse 9, only do not rebel against the Lord nor fear the people of the land for they are our bread. We can eat them up. Their protection has departed from them,8:57 and the lord is with us. Do not fear them. And all the congregations said to stone them with stones. Now the glory of the lord appeared in the tabernacle of meeting before the children of Israel. So god9:09 stepped in. And once again, he had had enough. Verse 12, I will strike them with the pestilence and disinherit them, and I will make you of you a nation greater and mightier thanGod's Judgment and the Call to Faith 9:20 theirs. He's talking to Moses. And again, Moses, this this man's amazing. He intercedes. He intercedes for these people that are nothing but a headache to him. But notice9:32 how he intercedes. He does it based upon god's reputation among the watching world. You see, god is concerned about his name, and and that's how we9:44 are to intercede and appeal to god based upon his name and reputation. You know, Moses was a master at this. He was humble, and and he had great insight when it came to intercession.9:57 So god relents of the destruction, but punishment comes to the rebels. There is a price. There is a price to pay for rejecting the word of god. Verse 23, they certainly shall not see10:09 the land of which I swore to their fathers nor shall any of those who rejected me see it. But my my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed me fully, I love10:20 that, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. And and and and and 40 years later, he did. The carcasses of you who10:32 have complained against me shall fall in the wilderness, all of you who were according to your entire number from 20 years old and above. But verse 31 verse 31. But10:44 your little ones whom you said would be victims, I will bring them in, and they shall know the land which you have despised. So they said, we don't wanna go our children are put at risk. We need to go back to Egypt. God10:55 says, you're gonna die here, but I'm gonna take care of your kids. They're going into the promised land. I, the lord, have spoken this. I will surely do so to all this evil congregation who have gathered11:06 together against me in this wilderness. They shall be consumed, and there they shall die. Notice that this rejection of god's word and his promises11:18 is considered gathering against god, taking a stand against god. You know, remember Jesus said, either you're for me or you're against me. There's no middle ground. Verse 36. Now11:30 the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, a report without faith, a a a humanist11:42 worldview plan, a report rather. They those very men who brought the evil report about the land died by the plague before the lord. I mean, again,11:54 notice how this this rejection of god's promises, his word is described by god as gathering against him. You know? Jesus, as I said in the New Testament, said you're either for him or against him. There's no there's no12:06 neutral ground. Either you're for him or you're against him. So when Moses tells the people about god's judgment, they mourn and and they start having second thoughts. Oh, maybe we shouldn't have done that. Verse 40. So12:17 the next morning, they rose up early in the morning, went up to the top of the mountain saying, here here we are, and and we will go up to the place which your lord has promised, for we have sinned. But it's too late.12:29 The window of opportunity had closed. The result was their worldview was unchanged, and they went forward in their own strength, and they were defeated. You see, as12:41 followers of Christ, we have to choose to see the world around us in the light of god's word and his promises. And as we obey him, we will experience that abundant life that Jesus12:54 provides for us. Father, thank you for your word. And, lord, I pray for everyone that's on this journey that the holy spirit would continue just to to teach us13:05 through your word, applying the principles of your word to our lives in this world in which we're living. Lord, you begin to develop that biblical worldview. We begin to see the world through your word and through your13:16 promises, and we would respond accordingly. Lord, may we not gather against you, but may we stand with you, and may we honor you in all that we do. For we pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright.13:28 Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.13:35 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at frc dot org slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you13:47 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at frc dot org slash bible.In this video 0:00 The Spies' Mission and the Rise of Doubt6:12 Rebellion and the Faithful Minority's Plea9:11 God's Judgment and the Call to FaithComments No comments yet. Start the conversation.
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