I. THE REPORTS
Before going in and actually possessing the land, God told the Children of Israel to send in 12 spies to search out the land. Once they spied out the land, they were to come back and give a report on what they had found.
Look at Numbers 13:1-2 “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every one a ruler among them.”
WHY DID GOD TELL THEM TO SPY THE LAND OUT BEFORE ENTERING IT?
Before we undertake a major project, wisdom requires that we consider the forces we are going to be going against.
Some would say that God is OMNISCIENT (knows all things). Why would He want them to spy the land out? He knew there were giants in the land.
There are three reasons, such as:
(1) HE WANTED THEM TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS VICTORY!
One of the mistakes we parents make is that we make it too easy for our children.
From the time they are born, they are given almost anything and everything they want without any effort of their own. Then we wonder why they grow up being so unappreciative!
The reason they do not appreciate anything is because they have never had to work for anything themselves.
Illus: A young boy that has never had to work for anything, gets in his dad’s car, and when dad is not around, he “Squeals-off”, burning the rubber off his tires. But later on, when that same boy has to work to put tires on his car, he will not squeal the tires because he knows how hard it is to make the money to buy them.
God could have driven the GIANTS out of the land without their effort, but God wanted them to share in this victory. God wanted them to spy the land out for another reason.
(2) HE WANTED TO RECEIVE THE GLORY
How would the Israelites give God the praise for the victory if God did not first let them see the giants in the land?
Illus: If a basketball team came and said, “We won last night”, that might not impress us a great deal because basketball teams win all the time. But if we knew that the opposing teams players were all seven feet tall, that would be significant.
There were giants in the land, and God wanted them to see them so when the victory was won, they would recognize that the only way they could have done it was through Him.
He wanted them to participate in this victory and He wanted to make sure that He received the glory!
But He wanted them to spy the land out for another reason-
(3) HE WANTED THEM TO USE THEIR BRAINS
Some feel that because we are God’s people, we can throw common sense out the window and plow into anything and be successful.
Illus: That would be like speeding through a busy intersection without considering the consequences. We might make it and we might not.
Illus: Bill O’Reilly, on the Fox News Channel, is the number one talk show host on television. But the reason he is number one is because no matter who he invites on his show with an opposing view to his, he has done his homework on the subject that will be discussed and on the individual that is opposing his view.
For forty days the spies searched out the land.
WHAT WERE THE RESULTS WHEN THEY RETURNED? They had two reports. One was:
(1) A NEGATIVE REPORT
These spies had seen the hand of God in a mighty way.
• God miraculously brought them out of Egypt.
• They saw the plagues in Egypt
• They saw the waters parted at the Red Sea
• They saw Pharaoh’s army drowned in the sea
• They ate heavenly manna from above
• They followed a cloud by day
• They followed a pillar of fire by night
• Their clothes didn’t wear out
They had the mighty God of heaven on their side and they were acting as if God brought them this far to destroy them.
It seems to me that the spies made the same mistake that the United Nations made when they tried to spy out the land of Iraq when they were looking for weapons of mass destruction.
WHAT WAS THE MISTAKE? They sent a bunch of MEN. If they wanted the land “spied out”, it would have been best to send a bunch of MOTHERS.
Illus: Anybody knows that if you want to find something, you do not send a bunch of men. We all know that men have a blind spot when it comes to finding things.
• Men can't find the dirty clothes hamper
• Men can't find the jar of peanut butter until it falls out and splatters on the floor
And we sent men into Iraq to search for hidden weapons of mass destruction? If they were serious about wanting to find weapons of mass destruction, they should have sent a group of mothers because someone said:
• They can sniff out secrets quicker than a drug dog can find a gram of dope
• They can tell you when the lid of a cookie jar has been disturbed
• They can tell you when a quarter inch slice has been shaved off a chocolate cake
• They can smell alcohol on your breath before you get your key in the front door
• They can smell cigarette smoke from a block away
• They can tell you more about their children from doing their laundry than Sherlock Holmes
• If a mother wants an answer to question, she can read an offender’s eyes quicker than a homicide detective.
Illus: If they had sent my mother to Iraq, she would have walked in with a wooden soup spoon in one hand, grabbed old Saddam Hussein by the ear, given it a good twist and said, “Tell me and tell me now, do you have any weapons of mass destruction?"
And God help him if he tried to lie to her. She’d march him down the street to some secret bunker and shove his nose into a nuclear bomb and say, "Uh, huh, and what do you call this, mister?" Whap! Thump! Whap! Whap! Whap! And she’d lay some stripes across his bare bottom with that soup spoon, then march him home in front of all Baghdad.
He’d not only come clean and apologize for lying about it, he’d cut every lawn in Baghdad for free for the whole next summer.
The United Nations made the same mistake that Israel made, they sent a bunch of men.
They sent twelve spies, and ten of them came back with one of the most negative reports you can imagine.
They are like some folks we find in the church. They can not find anything good to say. ALL THEY CAN SEE IS SOMETHING BAD!
Illus: They remind me of a store that advertised a sale for girls without husbands. It was called a "Husband Shopping Center". A woman could choose a husband from among many men.
It was laid out in five floors, with the men increasing in positive attributes as you ascended up the floors.
The only rule was, once you opened the door to any floor, you must choose a man from that floor, and if you went up a floor, you couldn't go back down except to leave the place.
So, a couple of young ladies went to this “Husband Shopping Center.”
• At the first floor, the door had a sign saying: "These men have jobs and love kids." The women read the sign and said: "Well that's better than not having jobs, or not loving kids, but I wonder what's further up?" So up they went.
• At the second floor the sign said: "These men have high paying jobs, love kids, and are extremely good looking". "Hmmm", said the girls, "But, I wonder what's further up?".
• At the third floor the sign said: "These men have high paying jobs, are extremely good looking, love kids and help with the housework." "Wow!" said the women. "Very tempting, BUT, there's more further up!"
• At the fourth floor the sign said: "These men have high paying jobs, love kids, are extremely good looking, help with the housework, and have a strong romantic streak." "Oh, mercy me. But just think!?!?! What must be awaiting us further on?"
• So up to the fifth floor they go. The sign on that door said: "This floor is just to prove that women are impossible to please. Thank you for shopping and have a nice day."
There are people like that! They can see no good, nor can they speak any good!
Look at the negative report these men gave. Look at Num. 13:32-33, we read, “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.”
The Word of God calls this report an “Evil” report! Why? Any time we make things more powerful than God almighty, we have done an evil thing. The other two spies gave -
(2) A POSITIVE REPORT
These men acknowledged that their God was bigger than their problems. Look at Numbers 13:30, “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.”
Notice, after this NEGATIVE CROWD gave their report, before Caleb could give his report he “stilled the people.”
In other words those who had given the NEGATIVE REPORT had them so aroused he had to tell them to “hush” because he wanted to say, “Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
Also, notice that he did not just say that they were able, he said they were “WELL ABLE” to overcome them.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THESE TWO GROUPS? One group served a GOD THAT WAS SMALL and could not help them with their problems, and the others served a GOD THAT WAS MORE THAN SUFFICIENT TO HELP THEM.
The people had a choice in which report they would accept. They accepted the NEGATIVE REPORT. And because God was displeased with them accepting the negative report, they spent the next forty years wandering in the wilderness. It makes a difference who we listen to!
Illus: A city man was traveling down a country road when his car sputtered to a complete stop near a field filled with cows. The driver, getting out to see what was the matter, noticed one of the cows looking at him. "I believe it's your radiator," said the cow. The man nearly jumped right out of his city slicker britches! He ran to the nearest farmhouse and knocked on the door. "A cow just gave me advice about my car!" he shouted, waving his arms frantically back toward the field. The farmer nonchalantly leaned out beyond the door frame to glance down the field. "The cow with two big black spots on it?" the farmer asked slowly. "Yes! Yes! That's the one!" the excited man replied. "Oh. Well, that's Ethel," the farmer said, turning back to the man. "Don't pay any attention to her. She doesn't know a thing about cars."
Many folks do not know what they are talking about, but what is so sad is that some even know less and they listen to them.
We have looked at THE REPORTS, but what else caused this crushing defeat?
II. THE REBELLION
Look at Deut. 1:26 “Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God.”
Behind all rebellion you will find people who think they know more about the situation than God does.
The Word of God says, in 1 Sam. 15:23a, "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry...."
Just think of the comparison given here. No Christian in his right mind would practice witchcraft. It would be unthinkable, and we would soundly condemn anyone who did such a thing.
But how many Christians practice REBELLION against what God wants in their lives? God says that REBELLION and WITCHCRAFT are equally evil. Those who are governed by their own corrupt ideas and imaginations, in opposition to the commands of God, are no better than those who would consult a witch. That is how God views this matter of rebellion!
Today, many rebel against God and do whatever they want to do, and try to cover their rebellion with an excuse.
Illus: Christians know they should attend church, but they rebel against God and try to cover it up with some flimsy excuse. Imagine this, if you can. Reveille at 7 a.m. Squad's on the parade ground.
• The Sergeant barks out, "Count off.” Then the soldiers start counting, One, two, three – five, “Where is number four? Where's Private Smith?"
• "Oh," says a chap by the vacant place, "Smith was too sleepy to get up this morning. He was out late last night. He said to tell you he would be with you in spirit."
• "That's fine," says the Sergeant. "Remember me to him! Where's Brown?"
• "Oh, he's playing golf, Sarg," “He gets only one day a week for recreation, and you know how important this is."
• "Sure, sure," says the Sergeant cheerfully. "Hope he has a good game. Where's Robinson?"
• "Robinson," exclaims a buddy, "is sorry he could not join you today but he had to attend a family reunion. You know how important families are.”
• "Thank you," says the Sergeant smiling. "Tell him he is welcome any time he finds it convenient to drop in for drill."
Listen, Uncle Sam’s Army could not exist on such REBELLION, and neither can the army of God.
A. REBELLION DENIES GOD’S AUTHORITY OVER OUR LIVES
GOD IS SOVEREIGN! But rebellion says, "I’ll do my own thing, I’ll control my own destiny, I’ll do what I think is right for me."
B. REBELLION DENIES GOD’S SUFFICIENCY IN OUR LIVES
Rebellion says "God is not enough."
Illus: It is like a man that vows to be faithful to his wife, but he constantly breaks those vows by turning to other women. In essence, he is saying that his wife is not sufficient!
God said that He would go with the Children of Israel. But they reacted as if God was sending them to the slaughter and He was staying behind.
We have looked at THE REPORTS, and THE REBELLION, but also let’s look at-
III. THE REPINING
Look at Deut. 1:27 “And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us.”
The children of Israel were like so many today, they did a lot of murmuring.
Illus: Once upon a time there was a woman married to an annoying man named Steve. He would complain about everything. One day he went to the creek with his mule. He complained so much that the mule got annoyed and kicked him in the head and killed him.
At the funeral, when all the men walked by the wife she shook her head yes, and when the women walked by she shook her head no.
The minister asked "Why are you shaking your head yes for men and no for women?"
Her response was, "The men would say how sorry they felt for me and I was saying, 'Yes, I’ll be alright.'”
When the women walked by, they were asking if the mule is for sale!"
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could get rid of all those who murmur continuously? Notice, the children of Israel.
A. THEY MURMURED PRIVATELY
". . .ye murmured in your tents. . ."
The Hebrew word translated "murmured" here means "to grumble."
B. THEY MURMURED PUBLICLY
Num. 14:2, "And all the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron: and the whole congregation said unto them, Would God that we had died in the land of Egypt! or would God we had died in this wilderness!"
The Hebrew word translated "murmured" here means "to be obstinate and to complain." THEY MURMURED AND WOULDN’T STOP MURMURING!
Illus: Some children are such cry babies, they cry all the time. But as you know, no one wants to be around children like that.
The same can be said of some adults. They murmur all the time and people do not like to be around them.
Murmuring is a dangerous thing. God was so displeased with their murmuring that He made them spend forty years in the wilderness. They were not allowed to enter the Promised Land. Their punishment was to WANDER for forty years and die there in the wilderness.
Read: Numbers 14:28-35
Conclusion:
Why were these people this way? Look at Deut. 1:32, we read, “Yet in this thing ye did not believe the LORD your God,”
Instead of murmuring, why not pray? We have looked at:
I. THE REPORTS
II. THE REBELLION
III. THE REPINING
