The Wanderers Part 5 “The Spies”Welcome back to our summer teaching series “The Wanderers”
We are taking several weeks to unpack the story of God’s Covenant people as they journeyed from an enslaved people in Egypt, to their inheritance in the promised land. Throughout this story the Lord had one primary desire and that was to be with his people. We saw that come clearly into view last week in Chapter 19 as God extended an invitation to Covenant relationship. Even with the invitation of Covenant, there remains the culmination of God’s promise to his people that is yet to be fulfilled in the story- their inheritance of the Promised Land. As we enter our teaching text today in Numbers 13, we pick up the story about a year after the Mt. Sinai experience of Exodus Chapter 19.Numbers 13:25-30At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 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. But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.” Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it.” At this early report we already get the sense that the old nemesis of the children of Israel is back after them again- Doubt in the face of difficulty. All except Caleb and Joshua are starting to turn back in their hearts because of the challenge they see ahead in the promised land. On the doorstep of their inheritance, we discover a truth that transcends thousands of years of human experience. What we see, can poison what we believe. As we unpack the story of God’s Children on the threshold of their greatest moment, we will see the faith of an entire generation poisoned by unbelief.Numbers 13:31-33But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 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. 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.”The faith of the 10 men was so poisoned by what they witnessed in the land that they come back and begin to give an exaggerated report, starting rumors among the people.Numbers 14:1-4That night all the members of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, “If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn’t it be better for us to go back to Egypt?” And they said to each other, “We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt.” On the threshold of their inheritance, what they saw poisoned their faith in the Lord’s ability to provide. The people return to their classic response of grumbling and complaining against Moses, and ultimately the Lord. They thought it better to die there in the wilderness than to take the step of faith into the promised land. In this final statement, they decide they no longer want God’s plan, they no longer want God’s leaders, and they don’t want His land either. This was the pinnacle of their unbelief. As the story continues, the faithful leaders they wanted to abandon, begin to plead with them to trust the Lord- to turn back from their faithless ways, but they would have no part of it. Finally, the Lord appears at the tent of meeting and speaks to Moses declaring his judgement upon the people. There the Lord tells Moses that he will strike down this unbelieving people in response to their rebellion and contempt against him. God would give them what they desired, death in the desert. But Moses pleads on behalf of the people that the Lord would spare them, appealing to the Lord’s gracious and steadfast love.Numbers 14:20-24The Lord replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked. Nevertheless, as surely as I live and as surely as the glory of the Lord fills the whole earth, not one of those who saw my glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed me and tested me ten times— not one of them will ever see the land I promised on oath to their ancestors. No one who has treated me with contempt will ever see it. But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it. And that’s why they wandered in the wilderness The poison of un-belief would cost an entire generation of people the joy of experiencing the promised land. Scholars estimate that this was around 1.2 million people that would perish in the wilderness over the next 40 years of wandering. I believe verse 24 holds the key for this story, as well as for us. “ 24 But because my servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly, I will bring him into the land he went to, and his descendants will inherit it.” If what we see can poison what we believe, then the opposite is also true. What we believe can change what we see. Overview of Exodus This video gives a brief overview of the book of Exodus, helping us frame it within the biblical narrative. This link is for Part 1, make sure to watch Part 2!https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jH_aojNJM3E