Numbers 13:1 to 14:45

The speaker discusses the events leading up to Numbers 13, focusing on the details in Deuteronomy 1 that are not found in Numbers. They mention the journey through the wilderness and the arrival at the mountains of the Amorites. The people request to send spies to explore the land, and Moses agrees. Twelve men, one from each tribe, are chosen for the mission. They explore the land, find it to be good, but report that the people are strong and the cities fortified. The speaker emphasizes the lack of faith and reliance on the Lord in the people's response. Before we get into Numbers 13, turn to Deuteronomy 1, kind of a prelude or prologue to the chapter tonight. We learn some interesting details in Deuteronomy that aren't found in Numbers. Verse 19, so we departed from Horeb, so it's the same time we're going to read about. I went through all that great and terrible wilderness which you saw on the way to the mountains of the Amorites as the Lord our God had commanded us. Then we came to Cainesh-barnea and I said to you, you have come to the mountains of the Amorites which the Lord our God has given us. Look, the Lord your God has set the 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. Every one of you came near to me, this is what I want you to hear, and said, let us send men before us and 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 into which we shall come. The land feeds me well, so I took twelve of your men, one man from each tribe, and they departed and went up to the mountains and came to the valley of Eshkol. In spite of doubt, they also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us and they brought back word to us saying, it is a good land which the Lord our God is giving us. Nevertheless, you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the Lord your God. So it's a fuller picture here of what we'll read this evening. We're going to read starting, the Lord spoke to Moses saying, ten men defiled the land of Canaan. Well, he did that. It would appear because it was already their plan. The Lord dictates how they would go up. They would send spies in a representative manner, one from each tribe. So we don't see it as the Lord's plan. We see it as originating with man. And it pleased Moses. He thought it was a good idea. It was not to make sure that the Lord was right. And that's kind of how they took it, how they viewed it, at least ten of them. Not to say that it was allowed by the Lord. How many times do we ask for things unaware of the consequences of receiving it? We pray that your will be done. We want our will to be done. The Lord allowed their will to be done. And it would seem this was the point at which they turned back. The point at which they became unfaithful to a degree in which they were judged. It was certainly the Lord's intent to lead them out of the land. It required no spying to see if the Lord could lead them in. What the people wanted, it would seem, was an excuse not to go in. Preparing for war. We've seen that in numbers so far. We've already conducted a census. We've already had people put in place as leaders of essentially the army, the host. And they think back to Egypt, not willing to face the battle. They pray for us. The Lord will keep us from the spirit of unbelief too. Let's read verse 1. Back in Numbers 13. Each tribe, here's how you're going to do it. Men, not women. And one from each tribe. They're going to send the ladies in to get beat up. Even a spy reconnaissance mission can end in disaster. He makes the call on the specifications of this mission. It's going to be men, one from each tribe. Verse 3. 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. Now these were their names. From the tribe of Reuben, Shemua the son of Dekir. By the way, as you probably are aware, 10 of these 12 are unbelievers. And they're going to be judged for their unbelief. From the tribe of Simeon, Shabbat the son of Hori. From the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh. From the tribe of Issachar, Eagle the son of Joseph. From the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun. That's Joshua. We'll read in verse 10. Starts off with his name meaning salvation. And Moses calls him Jehovah is salvation. The son of Nun from the tribe of Benjamin. Halti the son of Refu from the tribe of Zebulun. Gadiel the son of Sodhi from the tribe of Joseph. That is the tribe of Manasseh. Gadi the son of Susi. The tribe of Dan. Ameliel the son of Demali. The tribe of Asher. The son of Michael from the tribe of Naphtali. Nabi the son of Boshi. And the tribe of Gad. Giel the son of Maccab. These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to smite the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun, Joshua. Jehovah is salvation. He's the representation of faith. This tribe, the tribe of Judah, through which Christ would come. We're going to see him later. He's going to say let us go up at once. That's Caleb. I'm talking about Caleb here. Caleb from the tribe of Judah. He's going to say let us go up once and take possession for we are well able to overcome it. The differences in their perspectives make a difference in their course. Some are allowed to go in, others have to stay out. Joshua, another representative of faith, Ephraim. He's called something else. He's recognized as a man that represents, in some degree, the Lord Jesus. Having the same name as the Lord Jesus. Though we see his character in later. We've already seen his character. We've seen some of the things that are about him. Some of the things that we recognize about him. He's mistakenly asked Moses some things. He's been zealous for Moses' sake. And sort of asked Moses to forbid people that were prophesying. That shouldn't be the case. We see the exhortation in Joshua 1, 9. Be courageous. The implication is be strong and courageous. The implication is be just fearful. Only partly save the part of Christ. Verse 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 and see what the land is like. Whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many. Whether the land they dwell in is good or bad. Whether the cities that they inhabit are like camps or strongholds. Whether the land is rich or poor. Whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. I'm familiar. We just spoke about that. And bring some of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. Moses gives some instructions. Does it matter if they're strong or weak? The Lord said I'm bringing you in. He's going to do it. And to a degree this just provides an opportunity for them to question the Lord. Being overly studious. There's a limit to how much we should know. We try to understand everything. We're talking about things the Lord's leading us in. Try to have all the answers to it. Faith goes away and there's really not a reliance on the Lord. That's kind of where they're landing here. Some of the directions they've received from Moses. Just encourage them to be of good courage. It is interesting to consider that Joshua, he was told that, he also sent out a party to Jericho. He sent out a spy party. He only sent two people though. He didn't allow for this huge, 12 people, maybe we wouldn't call it huge, but enough people to allow Levin to get worked in enough and mess with the rest of them. That spy mission, Rahab was a believer in Yahweh, the person they went to. They return and tell them, surely the Lord has delivered them to us and they are fainthearted because of us. Different report, different people. These kids who they're going to say, the leaders of the people, the multitude, the Israelites are going to say, are victims in this chapter. That are the different people. Continuing on. So they went up, verse 21, and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rahab, near the entrance of Hamath. They went up through the south and came to Hebron, Ahiman, Shishai, and Telmai. Now interestingly, the names of these three cities are the names of the children of Anak. They're giants. They're giants' children. The cities are named after them. They're actually ones that Caleb will drive out later. He's going to destroy these people and drive out the sons of Anak from these areas. They were there. Now Hebron was built seven years before Zon, or Zohan. That's where the Pharaoh lived at the time of Exodus, from what I understand, in Egypt. Then they came to the valley of Eschel. They cut down a branch with one cluster of grapes. They carried it between two of them on a pole. Also brought some of the pomegranates and figs. The place was called the Valley of Eschel. Because of the cluster, which the man of Israel cut down there. They returned from spying out the land after forty days. Forty days is going to be significant. Their judgment, the Lord's going to say, is for every day that you use to spy out the land, you're going to stay in the wilderness. The Lord uses that. Generally, this forty day period, biblical numerology, has been, in other cases, symbolic of judgment. Verse 26, The Lord's conducted a census. He's got them in order. He's established the tabernacle. He's established worship. He's established leadership. There's order. There's direction about how they're going to move. All these things, and all of a sudden, they stop. It's just the point at which they end their advancement of faith. There can be that place where we make decisions that we're like, we're going to call it quits. It wasn't the Lord. We were wrong in this. That's kind of what they come to. Continuing with verse 26, They brought back word to them and all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told them and said, We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey. Hey, the Lord's right about this, and this is its fruit. Nevertheless, this is the point at which faith ceases, or maybe it happened before, and this is the place where it's actually fleshed out. 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, 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. This nevertheless, saying all these things are good, there's a problem with God's plan. The enemies are too strong for us. Come back to that. This nevertheless will give these guys a death sentence. Lack of faith does have consequences. It's true today, no faith, you experience a second death. Hell. There's consequences to unbelief. Their message? Hey, the enemies are big and strong. Caleb's message? 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. Sounds like a faith-filled man. Let us go. It's been pointed out that Joshua and Caleb see the Lord first, whereas these others see the enemy. Verse 31, But the men who had gone up with him said, You're not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than me. Without the Lord, that was true. But the Lord's been leading them in this. And they gave the children of Israel a bad report. This gift brings discouragement. The land which they had spread 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. There we saw the giants. The descendants of Anak came from the giants. We were like grasshoppers in our own sight. And so we were in their sight. Chapter 13. See the response of the congregation, the Israelites. Now they're going to cry twice in this chapter. This one's illegitimate. This one's sort of a self-pity, worldly sorrow cry. Later they're going to cry at the judgment of God. That's one that's perhaps more fitting. Here's their first cry, chapter 14, verse 1. All the congregation lifted up their voices and cried. And the people wept that night. It's not that they were not crying because they had done wrong. It's more of a cry and probably the unbelief had infected the congregation to the point where they say, We knew it. We can't trust God. Or Moses or Aaron. All the children of Israel complained against Moses and Aaron, and the whole congregation said to them, If only we had died in the land of Egypt, or if only we had died in this wilderness, why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and children should become victims. Now the Lord's going to bring that one up. He's going to tell them later in this chapter. It's also in Deuteronomy 1. These victims that you said, they're going to be the ones that actually get to possess the land. They're convinced they're going to fall. They're fearful of man. Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt? They said to one another, Let us elect a leader and return to Egypt. This is full-on rebellion. It's interesting that they say this, and the Lord is going to say, Let's select a new congregation. He kind of follows along with their logic or reverses this idea on them. He's like, Moses, let me take him out, and I'll just develop a new congregation with you. I'll choose the congregation. They're at odds with the Lord. To be pointed out in this, they don't trust the goodness of the Lord. Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword? The Lord doesn't do that, unless it's in judgment. He hasn't led people into disaster. His purpose is to kill people, but it's fitting in righteous judgment. The Lord doesn't do wrong. It's not the Lord's ways to do wrong. They accuse him, it would seem, of doing wrong. Verse 5, Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the children of Israel. Maybe a difference here in maturity between Moses and Aaron and Joshua and Caleb. Joshua and Caleb think they can make a difference. Moses and Aaron think the only difference is prayer. The only difference is prayer. They fell on their faces. They don't see this as something that they can reason. It's a turn to prayer. We have to see Joshua and Caleb. Joshua, the son of Nun, and Caleb, the son of Una, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes. This is a big deal. I know it's serious. They spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, What is the message that they have? Do not rebel. It's a warning. A strong reaction. Hey, you're about to walk in disobedience. It's true. Nor fear the people of the land. Fear the man brings a snare. The Lord's beginning of wisdom. The Lord is with us. Regardless of the enemies, all we need to know is the Lord is with us. Do not fear them. And all the congregation said to stone them with stones. You see, they're offended. They don't receive this. They don't want to hear you. And they seek to murder. It's not logical. What they hear from Caleb and Joshua doesn't seem to jive with them. They're like those who scout Stephen. Stone them. They don't want to hear them anymore. Let's cut them off. And the Lord shows up. Now the glory of the Lord appeared in the tabernacle immediately before all the children of Israel. He's going to defend these two. And set it right. And doesn't address directly the congregation. He goes to Moses, verse 11. So he's agreeing with, or we would say better, that what Joshua and Caleb said agrees with what the Lord views this. His assessment is to recognize that the Lord does have a view. This is an age of relativism. We're even in Pilate's time. Even in the time of Jesus. What is true? What he said. Unless there is a right view. Depends on how you agree with or don't agree with the Lord. It's really a product of rejecting the Word. How long are these people going to reject me? And how long will they not believe me? With all the signs which I have performed among them. He's been faithful to them before. He's giving them food daily. Six out of the seven days. Falling from the sky. I will strike them with pestilence and disinherit them. And I will make of you a nation greater and mightier than they. And Moses said to the Lord. The Egyptians will hear it. Moses is going to speak of two things. He's going to bring up two things in his intercession. He doesn't seek glory for himself. Remember he's the most humble man on the face of the earth. According to previous chapters we've read. And he's not going to take any kind of glory. This nation has been built from Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and Joseph and so on. The twelve tribes from Jacob. I think this is the Lord proving Moses. Knowing who Moses is. He doesn't take it. It could be glorious. Moses' descendants. Sons of Moses. Relations might be different. How the people of faith are referred to. Father Moses. He doesn't take that. Moses said to the Lord. And the Egyptians will hear it. Again the two things he's going to bring up is the Lord's glory and the Lord's mercy. The Lord's glory and he's aware that the Lord's merciful. He's aware that there's no one like the Lord. Then the Egyptians will hear it. For by your might you brought these people up from among them. And they will tell it to the inhabitants of the land. They have heard that you Lord are among these people. That you Lord are seen face to face. And your cloud stands above them. You go before them in a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. Now if you kill these people. As one man. The nations which have heard of your fame will speak. Saying because the Lord was not able to bring these people to the land which he swore to give them. Therefore he killed them in the wilderness. Now I pray. The power of my Lord be great. Just as you have spoken. Saying the Lord is long suffering and abundant in mercy. Forgiving. Iniquity and transgression. But he by no means clears the guilty. Visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children to the third and fourth generation. Pardon the iniquity of these people. I pray. According to the greatness of your mercy. Just as you have forgiven these people from Egypt until now. Moses' prayer. Again. Built on the Lord's glory. Built on. Hey. You made promises to these people. You said you're going to take them in. If the nations hear about this. They're going to say. The Lord was not able. Appeals to the Lord's. Glory. His. And there's many times in scripture where the Lord will do something. I'm not going to do it. For you. I'm going to do it for my namesake. Because I made a promise. It's fitting. The Lord would. Be recognized. And he is. You know. Even. Forty years later. When they're going in. Rahab. The people of Jericho. They're familiar with the Lord. You know. Just. These people. Had communicated the history. Was not lost. And they knew. The Lord. And. They were terrified. Of the Lord. As part of what. Gave them victory. And then his mercies. Fill into the. The mercy of the Lord. By no means. Though. The Lord. Will. Declare that. They're guilty. He will judge. He is just. You know. He'll visit generations. For sin. You know. The idea of this. Is. For sin that's passed on. You know. If it's continually passed on. And continually acted. Acted upon. Then. He'll judge that sin. Father. The iniquity of the fathers. On the children. You know. It's. The idea is that the children. Experience it too. They. They do it too. You know. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. It's. 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