Two Spies - Risk or Rejection

Numbers 13:1-3 (KJV)

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,

2 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.

3 And Moses by the commandment of the LORD sent them from the wilderness of Paran: all those men were heads of the children of Israel.

Numbers 13:26-33 (KJV)

26 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.

27 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.

28 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.

29 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.

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.

31 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.

32 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 aremen of a great stature.

33 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 14:11-12 11 And the Lord said unto Moses, How long will this people provokeme? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them? 12 I will smite them with the pestilence, anddisinherit them, and will make of thee a greater nation and mightierthan they.

From <https://www.mywsb.com/4.v256/c.html>

Joshua 2:1 (KJV)

1 And Joshua the son of Nun sent out of Shittim two men to spy secretly, saying, Go view the land, even Jericho. And they went, and came into an harlot's house, named Rahab, and lodged there.

Joshua 2:22-24 (KJV)

22 And they went, and came unto the mountain, and abode there three days, until the pursuers were returned: and the pursuers sought themthroughout all the way, but found themnot.

23 So the two men returned, and descended from the mountain, and passed over, and came to Joshua the son of Nun, and told him all thingsthat befell them:

24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

No outstanding Miracles Without Outstanding Risk -

Hudson Taylor, the great man of faith who founded the China Inland Mission, integrated faith and risk. He said, "Unless there is an element of risk in our exploits for God, there is no need for faith."

Paul Borthwick, Leading the Way, Navpress, 1989, p. 153. From <http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/r/risk.htm>

No one ever stubs his or her toe while standing still.

From <http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/r/risk.htm>

Did you know in the first case - It was either Risk going into the Promised Land or Reject God?

That is quite a choice.

They chose to rebel - This was not their first rebellion since they left Egypt - in fact it was their fourth. It's no wonder they were called a "Rebellious Generation"

First Rebellion - General Murmuring (11:1-3) Second Rebellion - Complaint About Food (11:4-35) Third Rebellion - Moses's Authority Challenged (12:1-16) Fourth Rebellion - Rejection of the Promised Land (13:1-14-14:45)

Following all of these rebellious and seditious acts by the people of Israel, came dramatic judgments from God.

One commentator mentions that "in each case the punishment was related directly to the words of the people involved." I suppose if you take Deut. 1:20-23

20 And I said unto you, Ye are come unto the mountainof the Amorites, which the Lord our God doth give unto us. 21 Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither bediscouraged. 22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, andbring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what citieswe shall come. 23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelvemen of you, one of a tribe:

You could say that even the sending of the spies was a precursor to their rebellion.

Did you know it is either risk it all - or reject God. Even as a Christian!!!

Paul was all or nothing Peter was all in James, Appolos, many many others. If we don't give Him everything - he will take nothing.

It is his to begin with. FAITH ALWAYS MEANS RISK - Helen Keller said, "Life is either a daring adventure, or it is nothing at all."

Noah took a risk and built an ark Abraham took the risk and left Ur of Chaldees to go to the Promised Land Gideon risked Israel and his reputation David took on the Goliath and risked his life Elijah risked it all to face down the prophets of Baal The widow woman risked her last meal Esther risked everything to saver her people The young lad risked his little lunch Peter took the risk and stepped out of the boat Paul took the risk even before the King Keith and Crystal took a risk and great things have happened Are you taking a risk for God?

I know we like to know the numbers, the stats, the history, the futures, the everything - With God and FAITH in HIM - YOU HAVE TO TAKE RISKS - and TRUST HIM

Lack of Faith is the only thing known to stop God (Impressing God)

There really isn't much in our life that impresses God.

Not your money Your house What you own Your clothes Your education

One thing that impresses God is when he looks down and sees that we are but dust, and yet we trust Him. I think that impresses God. In looking at the New Testament wording I find only two times Jesus was amazed or the KJV uses the term that Jesus Marveled

At their lack of faith At their amount of Faith Hebrews tells us "without faith it is impossible to please God" Trust God - no matter what!!! The Perception not the Circumstances had Changed. (it wasn't political it was spiritual)

While yes it may have been a different generation - they may have sent only two spies,

but the land was the same. The obstacles hadn't changed The giants were still there They were still like grasshoppers They still had the walled cities They were still vicious barbarians

But they now had a new vision - a new trust - a new faith in God Notice how last time the story went for two chapters I like how Joshua chapter 2 gives one verse for the spies report -

24 And they said unto Joshua, Truly the LORD hath delivered into our hands all the land; for even all the inhabitants of the country do faint because of us.

Sometimes I feel like the lepers on the outskirts of the old city in ancient times, during siege of war. One day they decided to take a risk - Why sit we here till we die - their risk saved not only themselves, but their city and their people.

Let's not sit and dry up and die - let's take some risks as Mrs. Frizzle in the Magic School Bus kids books says, " Take Chances, Make Mistakes, Get Messy"