And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, “We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it. Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.”
And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
Numbers 13:25-30
Caleb
Occupy
“Now Joshua was old and stricken in years; and the LORD said unto him, Thou art old and stricken in years, and there remaineth yet very much land to be possessed.” Joshua 13:1 (KJV)
Joshua was probably near 100 years of age. Caleb was 85 years of age, yet said he was as strong as when they searched the land of Canaan forty years before (Joshua 14:7-12).
One of the things I see about this verse is that even though we age we ought never retire from the ministry of the LORD. The ministry to which Jehovah has called us through His Son; and that is possessing the possession He has given us. We all have enemies to conquer – in our personal lives. Be they run away emotions, fear, doubt, anger, family issues that tear us apart; and those we see in others. We need to help others too.
The other thing is to warn others who are on the wrong path of life of the life hereafter without Christ in their lives; and to tell them of the blessings of life with Christ now, and hereafter. We have been given a parable of illustration by Jesus to motivate us;
“A certain nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom, and to return. And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds, and said unto them, Occupy till I come.” Luke 19:13ff
That word “Occupy” means “Stay busy caring for My stuff until I come” and it does not matter how old you get.
“Joshua you are getting old; but your life is not over. You got years of ministry left. You have land to conquer. Get going. Get with it.” I can insert my name there. How about you?
Let’s begin with knowing Jesus, and being known by Him.
Let Us Go Up At Once
“And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we. And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.” Numbers 13:30-33 (KJV)
Before these verses we find Moses sending twelve men to check out the Land of Promise, the land of Canaan. Joshua and Caleb have returned with the other ten, excited about what they have seen. To them the possibilities are wonderful. Look a the cluster of grapes they have returned with; so large it is carried between two men on a pole.
God had promised the land to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and their descendants that had become a great number of people. At the time of this venture, they had been in the wilderness about two years. Had they came back believing as Caleb and Joshua; rather than in unbelief they would have crossed into the land much earlier than they did.
God gave them a promise. The ten did not believe it. Two saw the promise and the possibility. Ten saw the problems, and the power of the enemy.
I have been often quick to judge these people, but now I have discovered that I tend to be like the ten who were unbelieving. The giants are too big. The mountains are too tall. I am too small. I tend to forget that my God makes all things possible. Jesus even said,
“If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.” Matthew 17:20
Because of the majorities unbelief they would not enter the Promised Land. None of the adults 20 years and above would be allowed to enter the Land; and they were condemned to 38 more years in the wilderness. The Hebrew Letter says,
“So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.” Hebrews 3:19
Let us walk in the promise of the Christ who loved us unto death, even the death of the cross that we might do all things through His name, and glorify Him. For as the angel Gabriel said unto Mary,
“For with God nothing shall be impossible.” Luke 1:37
Able to Overcome
Able to Overcome
Numbers 13:30
1. Look at the background story (vv. 1-3; Deut. 1:19-23).
2. They searched the Promised Land to find it just as God had said; “A land flowing with milk and honey” (vv. 26-29).
3. They looked at the problem, rather than the Promise (vv. 31-33).
I. GOD HAD GIVEN THE PROMISE OF THE LAND; WHY DOUBT IT.
II. THOUGH IT MAY SEEM PRACTICAL TO SEARCH OUT THE LAND; WE WILL ONLY FIND IT AS GOD HAS SAID.
III. LET OUR FAITH BE LIKE THAT OF CALEB; “LET US GO UP AT ONCE” – WITHOUT DELAY.
Observations From Numbers 021311
Reading today from Numbers chapters 13 – 15.
The observations today will focus on verses 35 – 39 of chapter 14.
“I the LORD have said, I will surely do it unto all this evil congregation, that are gathered together against Me: in this wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.’ And the men, which Moses sent to search the land, who returned, and made all the congregation to murmur against him, by bringing up a slander upon the land, even those men that did bring up the evil report upon the land, died by the plague before the LORD. But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were of the men that went to search the land, lived still. And Moses told these sayings unto all the children of Israel: and the people mourned greatly.” Numbers 14:35-39 (KJV)
It does not immediately say it in this text or context, but the reason for the sending of the twelve “spies” into the land of Canaan was that the people wanted it. You can read it in Deuteronomy chapter 1; particularly verses 19-33. Some will look at this and say that contradicts the other statement by God in Numbers 13:1-2; however, what we have is a clearer understanding. Interpreting the Bible is not simply the understanding of taking a single verse and coming up with a theology, or an understanding. Scripture must be interpreted in light of other Scripture.
On to the verses above. The people had refused to go into Canaan without first sending some “spies” into the land. I can understand their apprehension and fear, but that doesn’t make it right. They needed to simply believe God, and take Him at His Word. When twelve men were chosen to go and scout out the land; to see its beauty, its bounty, and its enemies God was allowing them to do so; telling Moses to go ahead and send them. They were about to find out that they still weren’t trusting the LORD.
When these men came back from their expedition ten of them were very negative about what they saw with hearts of unbelief. There only words were filled with “but” or as the KJV says “Nevertheless” (13:26-30). They saw the land and its beauty and bounty, but they saw the people were large and powerful.
Joshua [Oshea] and Caleb saw the land and its beauty and determined that God had promised the land; so let’s go take it as God has said. Evidently democracy won out, and God determined to make them wander in the wilderness for forty years. It is often the case when men rebel against God, and try to rule, that God overrules. The spies died on the spot due to their unbelief, except for Joshua and Caleb.
Something I thought of as I read this morning was that Joshua and Caleb were given an assurance they would enter the Promised Land. They would not see death. Who do you know that has a forty year guarantee of living? Living to see the Promised Land kept them on the direction of seeing God’s plan carried out.
I know a people today who not only have a promise of life, but eternal life. Jesus said,
“I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” John 11:25, 26
Let’s believe and follow the promises of God through His Son Jesus Christ who died on the cross for our sins; was buried, carrying away the condemnation of sin; and rose bodily from the grave justifying us forever in the sight of God the Father.
Remember to read Numbers 13 – 15.
-Tim A. Blankenship
Becoming A Hero Of The Faith
Caleb is a hero of the Scriptures. He is heroic in faith. He is a champion of the Lord. Wouldn’t it be great to be known by others as a champion of the LORD. Let’s look at a time in Caleb’s life. At this point they have reached a destination and battles have been fought and won, and some lost.
“Hebron therefore became the inheritance of Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenezite unto this day, because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel“ Joshua 14:14 (KJV).
Caleb was one of two who when they had returned from spying out the Promised Land, before they would enter it, who had the faith to enter after seeing that there was a hard war to be fought (READ Numbers chapter 13). Because of his faith he and Joshua were the only people over the age of 20, at the time of the rebellion, that was allowed to enter and dwell in the Promised Land.
Now, we see Caleb being rewarded once again. In verse 12 we find Caleb saying, “Give me this mountain”, and he said it knowing there were “Giants” in that mountain. He thrived in the struggle. His further statement was, “If so be the LORD will be with me, then I shall be able to drive them out, as the LORD said.”
O, how the one’s who follow Jesus Christ need this heart of faith. To not be hindered by the barriers, and some of those are self imposed. To not be loaded down with the baggage of fear and doubt. How was it that Caleb could go and conquer?
“Because that he wholly followed the LORD God of Israel”. Let’s be sure we wholly follow the Lord Jesus, Son of God, King of kings, and LORD of lords. Through faith in Jesus Christ we can take that mountain that looks daunting at the moment.
-Tim A. Blankenship
The Fire and Hammer 