Bereans Corner
Bereans Corner
Thru the Bible - #127 -Numbers 13 - Spies View the Land
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Introduction to Berean's Corner
Speaker 1Welcome to Berean's Corner , the podcast where we go through books of the Bible chapter by chapter and verse by verse . Wherever you are in the world , thank you for joining . Grab a glass of water , a cup of coffee or tea and let's Thank you for joining me . Open up your Bible to Numbers , chapter 13 . The title of today's lesson is Spies View the Land , Numbers 13, . And let's get into it .
Speaker 2Numbers 13 . The Lord said to Moses send some men to explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites . From each ancestral tribe , send one of its leaders . So , at the Lord's command , moses sent them out from the desert of Paran . All of them were leaders of the Israelites . These are their names From the tribe of Reuben Shamwa , son of Zakur . From the tribe of Simeon , shaphat , son of Horai . From the tribe of Judah , caleb , son of Jephunneh . From the tribe of Issachar Egal , son of Joseph . From the tribe of Ephraim Hoshea , son of Nun . From the tribe of Benjamin Paltai , son of Raphu . From the tribe of Zebulun , gadiel , son of Zodai . From the tribe of Manasseh , a tribe of Joseph Gadai , son of Susai . From the tribe of Dan Amiel , son of Gamali . From the tribe of Asher Sethar , son of Michael . From the tribe of Naphtali Nabai , son of Vosai . From the tribe of Gad , guel , son of Machai .
Speaker 2These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land . Moses gave Hosea , son of Nun , the name Joshua . When Moses sent them to explore Canaan , he said Go up through the Negev and on to the hill country , see what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak , few or many . What kind of land do they live in ? Is it good or bad ? What kind of towns do they live in ? Are they unwalled or fortified ? How is the soil ? Is it fertile or poor ? Are there trees on it or not ? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land .
Speaker 2It was the season for the first ripe grapes , so they went up and explored the land from the desert of Zin as far as Rehob toward Lebo Hamath . They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron , where Ahiman , sheshai and Talmiah , the descendants of Anak , lived . Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt . When they reached the valley of Eshkol , they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes . Two of them carried it on a pole between them , along with some pomegranates and figs . The place was called the valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there .
Speaker 2At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land . They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh , in the desert of Paran . There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land . They gave Moses this account . We went into the land to which you sent us and it does flow with milk and honey . Here is its fruit .
Speaker 2But the people who live there are powerful and their cities are fortified and very large . We even saw descendants of Anak there . The Amalekites live in the Negev , the Hittites , jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan . Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said we should go up and take possession of the land , for we can certainly do it . But the men who had gone up with him said we can't attack those people . They are stronger than we are . And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored . They said the land we explored devours those living in it . All the people we saw there are of great size . We saw the Nephilim there . The descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes and we looked the same to them .
Speaker 1All right . The last time we were together we went over
Numbers 13: The Spies Are Sent
Speaker 1the murmuring that Miriam and Aaron had towards Moses and his wife . Today we are looking at the spies searching out the land of Canaan . Now we have broke this down into seven parts . Part 1 .
Speaker 1The Lord speaks to Moses and says it's time to send out spies to see the land . We see this in verses 1 through 2 . Then the Lord spoke to Moses saying send out for yourselves men so that they may spy out the land of Canaan , which I am going to give to the sons of Israel . You shall send a man from each of their father's tribes , every one a leader among them . Now there are two things I want to point out about these first two verses . One God said I am going to give . The Lord didn't say maybe . So when he's sending them to spy out this land , he's letting them know that this is a promise . This is going to happen now . Why am I stopping and pointing this out ? Because these people , no matter what they have seen over these last few months and years , they still are always doubting , they still always have questions . They are still murmuring . Number two the men Moses was to choose were leaders of the tribes . Part two Moses sends the men out . We see this in verse three . So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran , at the command of the Lord . All of them men who were heads of the sons of Israel . As the Lord mentioned , they had to be leaders . So these are all men of the sons of Israel . Part three . These are the men of the sons of Israel . Part three . These are the men who were sent out and we see this in verses 4 through 15 . Verse 4 we see Reuben these then were their names from the tribe of Reuben . Shemua , the son of Zakar . In verse 5 , we see Simeon from the tribe of Simeon . Shaphat , the son of Horai . Verse 6 we see Judah from the tribe of Judah . Caleb , the son of Jephunneh . Verse 7 we see Issachar , from the tribe of Issachar . Igel , the son of Joseph . In verse 8 we see Ephraim from the tribe of Ephraim . Hosea , the son of Nun . Now this Hosea will get a name change to Joshua . Verse 9 Benjamin , from the tribe of Benjamin . Piltai , the son of Rahu . In verse 10 we see Zebulun , from the tribe of Zebulun . Gadiel , the son of Sodai . In verse 11 , we see Joseph from Manasseh , from the son of Sodai . In verse 11 , we see Joseph from Manasseh , from the tribe of Joseph , from the tribe of Manasseh , gadai , the son of Shushai . In verse 12 , we see Dan From the tribe of Dan , emiel , the son of Germali . In verse 13 , we see Asher From the tribe of Asher Sither , the son of Michael . In verse 14 , we
Naming the Twelve Tribal Leaders
Speaker 1see Naphtali From the tribe of Naphtali , nabai , the son of Zafusai , and then in verse 15 , we see Gad From the tribe of Gad , guel , the son of Machai . Now we move on to part four . Hosea gets a name change in verse 16 . These are the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land , but Moses called Hosea the son of Nun Joshua , and we saw that back in verse 8 , which brings us to part 5 .
Speaker 1Moses gives instructions . We see this in verses 17 through 20 . When Moses sent them to spot out the land of Canaan , he said to them go up there and in the gaff , then go up into the hill country and see what the land is like and whether the people who live in it are strong or weak , whether they are few or many , and how is the land in which they live , is it good or bad ? And how are the cities in which they live . Are they like open camps or with uh fortifications ? And how is the land ? Is it fat or lean ? Are there trees in it or not ? Make an effort then . Go get some of the fruit of the land . Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes . Now you gotta look at all the things that moses is telling them to do . Let's go through these verses again . Moses is giving them clear instructions back to do . Let's let's go through these verses again .
Speaker 1Moses is giving them clear instructions back to . Verse 17 told him to go into the Negev , which is where they're going into the hill country and see what the land is like and whether the people who live in are stronger . We so he's saying really , by your eyes , what do you see ? What do your eyes see ? Do they look strong or they look weak ? Now we all know that looks can can be deceiving . But if the land is full of six foot three , six foot five men who are 270 pounds , of course they're going to come back and say that they are strong , but of course , if it's full of scrawny 125 , 140 pound men , they will say weak . So in other words , moses is saying tell me what you see with your eyes . He also wants to know whether they are few or many . So when you look down , tell me is it full of people or are there a few ? Are there a hundred thousand people in this city or are there one thousand ?
Speaker 1Then he said and how is the land in which they live ? Is it good or bad ? These are things that you can't tell with the eyes . You can look at the grass , you can look at the trees , you can even look at the flowing water . You can look at the trees , you can even look at the flowing water , you can look at the structure to tell if it's good or bad . And how are the cities in which they live ? Are they open or are they fortified ? Very easy , you go up on the hill , you look down . Do they have a brick wall built around it to protect them , or is it just wide open , like we can just sneak down and get in with no problems ? And how is the land ? Is it sneak down and get in with no problems ? And how is the land ? Is it fat or lean ? By this I believe that moses is talking about like , let's say , the kettle . Is it full of kettle ? Is it full of the fattened calves and , uh , you know , the chickens and everything else that's down there . Or is it lean ? Is there a hundred thousand people but not much food . Then he says are there trees in it or not ? You know , trees give us oxygen , they also give us shade . And then he said make an effort to get some of the fruit of the land . Why is that ? Because so that way they can taste the fruit and see what the fruit is like .
Speaker 1We move
The Spies' Discovery in Canaan
Speaker 1on to part six . The spies are set out , which is in verses 21 through 24 . So they went up and spotted up the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rohab at Levit Hamath . When they had gone up into the Negev , they came to Hebron , where Ahaman , shishah and Tamai , the descendants of the Anak , were . Now Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt . Then they came to the valley of eskor and from there cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes and they carried it on a pole between two men with some of the pomegranates and the figs . That place was called the valley of eskor because of the cluster which the sons of Israel cut down from there . Now I do want to point out something . Let's go back to verse 23 . It says that they cut down a branch , a single cluster of grapes , and they carried it on a pole between two men . Now you got to think about this . This says that this is a single vine of grapes , but it took two men on the pole to carry it . So that tells you how big and and luscious that this fruit was . Now we move on to part seven .
Speaker 1The spies report back . They now have looked down on the land . They have the fruit that moses asked them to bring back . They have grapes and pomegranates . Now they're reporting back and let's look at their findings verses 25 through 33 . When they return from spying out the land , at the end of 40 days they were up there , 40 days .
Speaker 1This wasn't a one-day trip . They went up here , they looked down the valley and they stayed up there for over a month . They proceeded to come to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the sons of Israel in the wilderness of Paran at Kadesh , and they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the lamb . So it's show and tell time they're coming back and showing them . This is what we saw , this is what we found , verse 27, . Thus they told him and said we went into the land where you sent us and it certainly does flow with milk and honey and this is the fruit . Remember , the Lord said he was going to send them into a land that flow with milk and honey . So they're showing them , you know , this is fruit they probably have have never seen before . 28 , verse 28 . Nevertheless , the people who live in the land are strong and the cities are fortified and very large and , moreover , we saw the descendants of Anak there . All right , this is the thing . They're showing them the fruit . They're excited about the fruit , but they're telling them that you asked us were they strong or weak ? We're telling you that they're strong . 29 , amalek is living in the land of the Negev , and the Hittites and the Jebusites and the Amorites are living in the hill country and the Canaanites are living by the sea and by the side of the Jordan . So now they're telling them what people live there .
Speaker 1Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said we should by all means go up and take possession of it , for we shall surely overcome it . Now Caleb is remembering what the Lord said . Caleb is saying you know , forget all of that , that y'all talking about how strong these people
Two Conflicting Reports: Faith vs. Fear
Speaker 1are . The Lord told us that he would give us this land . So Caleb is , quieted the people , because the people are listening to this report and obviously they get a little anxious . They're like , wow , we didn't know that it was going to be like that in the land , you know . But Caleb spoke up and said we're going to be all right , we should go down there and take it Verse 31 . But the men who had gone up with him said we are not able to go up against the people , for they are too strong for us .
Speaker 1Once again , these people who went up there with Caleb , they forgot what the Lord said . Remember what I said back in the beginning . The Lord said that he would give them this land , not that he might give them this land , but these people , afraid of their own shadow , are afraid of these people and they don't believe it Verse 32 . So they gave out to the sons of Israel a bad report of the land which they had spied out of Israel . A bad report of the land which they had spied out , saying the land through which we have gone in spying it out is a land that devours its inhabitants and all the people whom we saw in it are men of giant size . So now they are given a false report because they don't want to go to war . So what they're doing is is that they're trying to scare the people who are already scared and they're trying to cement it by saying listen , we , we can't , we're not going to tell them the absolute truth . We're going to say that it's worse than we thought .
Speaker 1But then we get to verse 33 . There also , we saw the Nephilim . Now you remember the Nephilim from Genesis ? The sons of Anak are part of the Nephilim , and we became like grasshoppers in our own sight , and so we were in their sight . So what this verse right here is saying is that they see them as giant and they see themselves as small . It kind of reminds me of boxing .
Speaker 1I'm a big boxing fan and if any of you remember Mike Tyson when he was in his prime , back when he was young , even though he was only five foot ten , they never seen a guy with that type of speed and that type of power , and it's said that he had fighters beat before he even went in the ring , you know so , in other words , even men who were six foot two . They saw themselves as grasshoppers in him , in his sight , and they saw themselves as giants . And when men think like his sight and they saw themselves as giants . And when men think like that , they're already going in beat . They're already going in ready to be defeated .
Speaker 1And that's what these israelites are doing . They didn't even challenged these guys yet . They didn't even take into account what the Lord said . They see , they said we see ourselves as grasshoppers and so we are in there , so we see ourselves as small and that's how they're going to see us . So these men who are supposed to go to war are already beat before the battle begins . Once again , they did not hearken on to the voice of the Lord that he would give them the land . Give them the land . They didn't hearken on to his voice to realize that , no matter what obstacles are in front of you , he is going to see them through it . And that is the tale of the people going to spy out the land , the report that the spies brought back when they went up to spy the land for 40 days .
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Speaker 1All right , that brings us to the end of numbers , chapter 13 . As always , I hope you got something out of the lesson , as I always ask for . Continue to pray for me to stay strong in the scriptures so we can finish the race , and I am always doing the same for you . That is all for now , god bless .
Speaker 1Thank you for listening to Berean's Corner . We appreciate you joining us as we dive into God's word and seek biblical truth together . If this episode encouraged or challenged you , be sure to subscribe , share and leave a review on your favorite podcast platform . You can find Berean's Corner on Buzzsprout , apple Podcasts , spotify , iheart , amazon Music and more . Let's stay connected . If you have questions , comments or prayer requests , reach out to us at bereanscornerbuzzsproutcom , where you can follow along with show transcripts and leave a message in the fan mail slot . Also , follow us on YouTube at Bereans Corner , and don't forget to subscribe . We'd love to hear from you . Until next time , keep searching the scriptures like a Berean , stay discerning , stay faithful and God bless ¶¶ .
Moses' Instructions to the Spies
Speaker 1No-transcript .