What The Spies Saw

Numbers 13:1-2 – “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men 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, every one a leader among them.”

What The Spies Saw

 These men were leaders in the tribes – not novices

What The Spies Saw Numbers 13:17-18 – “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, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 13:19-20 – “…whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage. And bring some of the fruit of the land.”

What The Spies Saw  These men were leaders in the tribes – not novices  Their job was to spy out the land that God had promised them  They were to assess all of the qualities of the people and land

What The Spies Saw Numbers 13:21 – “So they went up and spied out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near the entrance of Hamath. 22 And they went up through the South and came to Hebron”

The Report of the Spies The Ten “The land is good” The Two “The land is good”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 13:27 – “We went to the land where you sent us. It truly flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit.” (the ten) Numbers 14:7 – “The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land.” (Joshua & Caleb)

Making the Application… We all want to go to Heaven! We all agree that the “land is good.” Romans 14:11 – (Isaiah 45:23) “For it is written: (Isaiah 45:23) “As I live, says the Lord, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.”

The Report of the Spies The Ten “The land is good” “Nevertheless…” The Two “The land is good”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 13:28 – “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.”

Making the Application… Sometimes we can’t see the forest for the trees! Did they forget about what God had done for them? We use “nevertheless” too often within the church! Have we forgotten what God has done for us?

The Report of the Spies The Ten “The land is good” “Nevertheless…” “The fight is too tough” The Two “The land is good”

Numbers 13:31-33 “We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we.” 32 And they gave the children of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied 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. 33 There we saw the giants ( the descendants of Anak came from the giants); and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.’”

Making the Application… How many times have we given up…before the fight? Are we like the Israelites in that we use the eyes in our head instead of the eyes of faith?

1 Samuel 16:7 “But the Lord said to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.’”

Matthew 12:34 – “For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” James 1:13-15 – “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am tempted by God’; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. 14 But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. 15 Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full- grown, brings forth death.”

The Report of the Spies The Ten “The land is good” “Nevertheless…” “The fight is too tough” “Let’s go back to the way things were” The Two “The land is good”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 14:1-2 – “So all the congregation lifted up their voices and cried, and the people wept that night. 2 And 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!’”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 14:3-4 – “‘Why has the Lord brought us to this land to fall by the sword, that our wives and children should become victims? Would it not be better for us to return to Egypt?’ 4 So they said to one another, ‘Let us select a leader and return to Egypt.’”

Making the Application… Are we so comfortable with our old lives of sin that when things start getting tough spiritually, we go back to our “comfort zone?” Do we need someone to tell us what we like to hear?

Romans 6:16-18 “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? 17 But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. 18 And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

Galatians 1:6-7 – “I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, 7 which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” 2 Timothy 4:3-4 – “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.”

The Report of the Spies The Ten “The land is good” “Nevertheless…” “The fight is too tough” “Let’s go back to the way things were” The Two “The land is good” We CAN do it…because the Lord is with us!

What The Spies Saw Numbers 14:6-8 – “But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; 7 and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ‘The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, ‘a land which flows with milk and honey.’”

What The Spies Saw Numbers 14:9 – “‘Only do not rebel against the Lord, nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread; their protection has departed from them, and the Lord is with us. Do not fear them.’”

Joshua 14:6-9 “Then the children of Judah came to Joshua in Gilgal. And Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite said to him: “You know the word which the Lord said to Moses the man of God concerning you and me in Kadesh Barnea. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the Lord sent me from Kadesh Barnea to spy out the land, and I brought back word to him as it was in my heart. 8 Nevertheless my brethren who went up with me made the heart of the people melt, but I wholly followed the Lord my God. 9 So Moses swore on that day, saying, ‘Surely the land where your foot has trodden shall be your inheritance and your children’s forever, because you have wholly followed the Lord my God.’”

Joshua 14:10-12 “And now, behold, the Lord has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the Lord spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the Lord spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the Lord will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the Lord said.”

Numbers 14:11 “Then the Lord said to Moses: “How long will these people reject Me? And how long will they not believe Me, with all the signs which I have performed among them?”

What The Spies Saw