1-30-16. Numbers 13:1-25. SPYING OUT THE LAND-my devotional

Numbers 13:1-25                                                                      Kevin E. Jesmer

Key Verse: 13:1-2                                                                    1-30-16

“The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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. “ (NIV)

Dear Lord Jesus Christ. Thank you for always pointing me to, and drawing me back to your word. It is truly a balm to my soul. Your word strengthens and soothes me. It ushers in healing to my life. In the word is satisfaction. Guide me by your Spirit. Teach me your ways. I thank you, and I pray in Jesus’ name. Amen!

 Part 1: Explore The Land (1-16)

Verses 1-25, “The Lord said to Moses, 2 “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.” 3 So at the Lord’s command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. 4 These are their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zakkur; 5 from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; 6 from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; 7 from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; 8 from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; 9 from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; 10 from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; 11 from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; 12 from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; 13 from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; 14 from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; 15 from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki. 16 These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)

The Israelites reached the border of the land God had promised them. God commanded his people to go and spy out the land. His command reminds us of his command to Abraham, “Look around from where you are, to the north and south, to the east and west. All the land that you see I will give to you and your offspring forever….Go, walk through the length and breadth of the land, for I am giving it to you.” (Ge 13:14-17)

The exploration was begun by the command of God. And at the Lord’s command, Moses sent twelve spies, leaders, one from each tribe, to explore the land from one end to the other. There is one reason why anyone should embrace a mission from God. It has to be because of a personal command from God, a personal calling. If we don’t have a calling from the Lord, we will not last very long on the mission field.

God’s people were called to take action. Sure God had promised to give Canaan to the Israelites, but they had to go in and take it. They couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. They needed to put their faith into action. With faith, coupled with obedience and action, they could lay claim God’s promises. There are things that we pray for. There are regions that we want to send missionaries to. There are projects that we want to see being accomplished. God will fulfill his plan. But he wants his people, of every age, to take action.

God wanted to encourage the Israelites by helping them to know the beauty of the land. They could be thankful to God who was faithful to fulfill his promises and was also providing it for them. When they discovered the beauty of the land then they could be filled with desire go ahead with what God had planned.

The Lord directed them to send out the leaders to spy out the land. Why the leaders? I believe that they were the more spiritually mature ones. They could understand God’s way of working. They could see what was going on and interpret what God was about do. They could keep the whole mission on track, that is, to dedicate all that would be accomplished for the glory of God.

The leaders were called to set the example. They were the ones who were going to lead the millions of people into the land. It only makes sense that the leaders go into the land to spy it out. They needed to take hold of faith in God and go forth and lead the way. The faith and spirit of a leader or commander is the key to the success of his army unit. God forbid that there be leaders who could not lead by example.

In verses 4-15, the names of the twelve leaders, who were chosen for exploration, are recorded. These were Neolithic warriors, former slaves, living as wanderers in an ancient desert, but here we are remembering their names. They could not be remembered more, even if they carved their own images in a mountain, etching their names on it. God wanted to honor and memorialize their faith. We are not seeking fame, but how nice it is to know that God recognizes us and honors us when we step out in faith. Our names will be recorded in the heaven forever. It is an amazing grace to be chosen to be part of God’s history.

Part 2:  Go And See What The Land Is Like (17-25) 

Verses 17-25, “17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, “Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 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? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees in it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land.” (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.) 21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 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. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshkol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.” (NIV)

They were to spy out the land. That means that they were to learn about the land and its people. God wants us to do everything by faith, but he doesn’t want us to do things blindly not knowing the situation, without strategy and tactics. Exploring the enemy camp is a basic step before a military operation. Any land that God wants his people to dwell in, should be studied and explored.

In a contemporary sense, missionaries pray to go to a land. But before missionaries go, they need to study the culture and take some exploratory trips. They need to find some senior Christian mentors from the region who can help them to navigate the cultural waters. In regards to the ministry to the First Nation people in Canada, one mentor told me, that if anyone wants to engage in Native ministry, they must commit themselves to a life long trajectory of learning.

I had made one huge mistake in my “missionary” life to a university/farm town. I never spied out the land. There was one time that I was going to be a missionary to Russia. I had a one way plane ticket to Moscow without actually ever being in Russia. (I never went to Russia.) In 1998, I went to a university town to start a house church without actually studying the culture of the campus or town. I invited people to Bible study, without a concern about their cultural heritage. I was ignoring this Biblical principle to spy out the land before entering into it.

God wanted to conquer the land of Canaan through his people. The land was full of idol-worshipping enemies and corrupt secular cultures. God wanted to bring about His kingdom through his peoples’ conquest and taking possession of the land.

How do we apply this today? Missionaries go to other countries and regions. Some, involved in campus ministry go to campus’. In doing so, I would not encourage any Christian to use the phrase that they, “Pray for conquer the land and the hearts and minds of people with the Gospel.” Such a phrase is associated with colonialism and waging war, to subjugate the people. I don’t think it is an appropriate expression. After all, is it not God’s business if peoples’ hearts and minds get conquered with the Gospel? It is impossible for people to transform others’ hearts. We are too weak and helpless. Our job is to love and serve and relate to the people, so that God can work through us.

But still missionaries are called to conquer in two areas, outer areas and inner areas. There are outer forces that we must conquer, forces that try to stop us from following our calling. And there are inner forces to conquer, that is, the sinful nature within ourselves.

There are outer areas that may include getting and keeping a job, money problems, studying problems, housing issues, family relationship issues and a myriad of other things. It is a battle to enter a mission field and stay there for the long haul. God promises to be with us and he will impart to us, his strength, to “conquer” these forces. But this does not mean conquering peoples’ hearts and minds. Let God do that.

Inward conquering involves conquering our own sinful nature as we aim for spiritual maturity. God wants to restore us in the image of Christ (Ro 8:28-29). For this purpose, God has given us the word of God and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit gave us the words from Ephesians 4:22-24, “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” When our old self dies through obedience to God, we put on the new self and become spiritual men and women. Apostle Paul prayed to be united with Christ. (Php 3:10-12). To put off our old self, often requires a spiritual battle, sometimes to the point of shedding our blood. At the moment when our old self dies, we experience the power of the resurrection and receive freedom in Christ. The Holy Spirit transforms us to be a new person. When we are clothed in the new self, we can enter into life to the full which the Lord Jesus promised in John 10:10b, “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

I pray to overcome any obstacle that hinders me from serving the ministry to north, my own family, my church family and my community. I need strength to work, to relate to people, to serve alongside others. I need lots grace from God, that I may put on the “new self” and live as a Christian who exudes the image of Jesus.

Prayer: “Lord, help me to hear your call and go and see what the land is like, the land that you are calling me to serve. I trust you to conquer peoples’ hearts with the Gospel, for that is your business. But grant me strength to overcome inner and outer obstacles that keep me from embracing your call.”

One Word: Go and see what the land is like.