The Promised Land November 08, 2009

 Back in Egypt, the Israelites were being used as slaves under the terrible hand of Pharaoh.  God saw that His people were in distress and chose a man to lead them out of Egypt  Who was this man?  Did he agree immediately to lead God’s people out of Egypt?

 Moses obeyed what God told him to do and he led the people to victory through God’s grace  Moses and the people began their journey to a land that God promised to them  What was the name of this land?  What did God say they would find at this land?  Throughout their journey, the Lord reminded His people that He “would never leave them nor forsake them”…

 Moses led the people until they reached the Jordan River, which was right outside of Canaan

 The Lord then ordered Moses to send some men to explore the promised land  Moses was to choose a man from each tribe  How many tribes were there?  There were 12 men that Moses was sending into the promised land to see if it was fitting for them to live.

 The twelve men asked the people to pray for them and they started their journey  The journey was long but anytime they got tired they encouraged each other by praying and singing hymns  They finally reached the city and found that it was very rich and fertile  After spending forty days in the land, they brought back with them grapes, figs and pomegranates to give to the Israelites

 When the men returned to Moses and the people, they explained to them how beautiful the land was but there was one problem…..  What was the problem?  10 of the men that Moses sent said that the people of the promised land were giants and there was no way that they could fight them and win!!  However, the other two men did not agree. They knew that with the Lord’s help they could win any battle!

 What were the names of these 2 men?  Joshua and Caleb were the only two that trusted in God and His power…  And because of this God promised them that they would be the only 2 from these men that will get to see the promised land!  Joshua and Caleb tried to remind the people of all the miraculous deeds that God did for them to help them escape the evil Pharaoh, but no one would listen.

 The war begun and just like the Lord promised, His people won and gained victory over the giants of the promised land.  The ten men that did not trust in God’s promise died in battle  Since Joshua and Caleb had faith in God, they were able to go to the promised land along with the rest of the Israelites.

Questions  Who did God use to lead His people out of Egypt?  What was the name of the promised land?  How many men did Moses send to check out the land?  How many of the men gave a good report about the promised land?  What were their names?  Why did God reward them and not the others?

Questions  What was one thing that you learned from this lesson?  What do you think God was trying to teach the Israelites?

Conclusion  The person that truly trusts the Lord and relies on Him for everything that he/she does will be successful and have victory in everything in his/her life  The second any of us start doubting God, we will see that we will gain nothing in life except for hardships

Memory Verse “I will not leave you nor forsake you. Be strong and of good courage.” - Joshua 1:5,6