13:25-29God told the Israelites that the Promised Land was rich and fertile. Not only that, he promised that this bountiful land would be theirs. When the scouts reported back to Moses, they gave plenty of good reasons for entering the land, but they couldn't stop focusing on their fear. Talk of giants (descendants of Anak) and fortified cities made it easy to forget about God’s promise to help. When facing a tough decision, don’t let the negatives cause you to lose sight of the positives. Weigh both sides carefully. Don’t let potential difficulties blind you to God's power to help and his promise to guide.
Life Application Study BibleNumbersChapter 13
Numbers 13
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 220, 221, 222
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13Numbers 13
3. The scouts incite rebellion
Twelve Scouts Explore Canaan
1The LORD now said to Moses, 2“Send out men to explore the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the Israelites. Send one leader from each of the twelve ancestral tribes.” 3So Moses did as the LORD commanded him. He sent out twelve men, all tribal leaders of Israel, from their camp in the wilderness of Paran. 4These were the tribes and the names of their leaders:
Ammiel son of GemalliSethur son of Michael
14Naphtali Nahbi son of Vophsi
15Gad Geuel son of Maki
16These are the names of the men Moses sent out to explore the land. (Moses called Hoshea son of Nun by the name Joshua.) 17Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. 18See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. 19See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? °0Js the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.) 21So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath.?2Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.)
23When they came to the valley• The motives behind criticism are often more important to deal withthan the criticism itselfVital statisticsKey verses• Where: Egypt, Sinai peninsula• Occupations: Able leader, songwriter, prophet• Relatives: Brothers: Aaron and Moses“Then Miriam the prophet, Aaron’s sister, took a tambourine and ledall the women as they played their tambourines and danced. AndMiriam sang this song: ‘Sing to the LORD, for he has triumphedgloriously; he has hurled both horse and rider into the sea’” (Exodus15:20, 21).Miriam’s story is told in Exodus 2; 15; and Numbers 12; 20. She is also mentioned inDeuteronomy 24:9; 1 Chronicles 6:3; Micah 6:4.qe t-20 Moses decided what information was needed before _steps. Ask yourself what you need to know about the opportunity,sto ee Coutd enter the Promised Land, and he took careful and then obtain that knowledge. Common sense is a valuable aid(0 get that it formation. When you are making decisions or in accomplishing God's purposes. See Proverbs 12:15 and 15:22,uming new responsibilities, remember these two important
of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it ona pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. 24That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.
The Scouting Report
2525After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned?6to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. 27This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is'the kind of fruit it produces. 28But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. Weeven saw giants there, the descendants of Anak! 29The Amalekites live in the Negev, and the Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites live in the hill country. The Canaanites live along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea* and along the Jordan Valley.” 30But Caleb tried to quiet the people as they stood before Moses. “Let's go at once to take the land,” he said. “We can certainly conquer it!”
Textual footnotes
- 13:29 Hebrew the sea.
- 13:33 Hebrew nephilim.
Life Application Notes 7 notes
13:26Although Kadesh was only an oasis in the wilderness, it was a crossroads in Israel's history. When the scouts returned to Kadesh from scouting the new land, the people had to decide either to enter the land or to retreat. They chose to retreat and were condemned to wander 40 years in the wilderness. It was also at Kadesh that Moses disobeyed God (20:7-12). For this, he, too, was denied entrance into the Promised Land. Aaron and Miriam died there, for they could not enter the new land either. Kadesh was near Canaan's southern borders, but because of the Israelites’ lack of faith, they needed more than a lifetime to go from Kadesh to the Promised Land.
13:27The Promised Land, also called the land of Canaan, was indeed bountiful, as the 12 scouts discovered. The Bible often calls it the land flowing with milk and honey. Although the land was relatively small—-150 miles long and 60 miles wide—its lust hillsides were covered with fig, date, and nut trees. It was the land God had promised to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
13:28The “descendants of Anak” were a race of abnormally large people. The family of Goliath may have been descended from these people (see 2 Samuel 21:16-22).
13:28,29The fortified cities the scouts talked about were surrounded by high walls as much as 20 feet thick and 25 feet tall. Guards were often stationed on top, where there was 4 commanding view of the countryside. Some of the inhabitants, said the scouts, were formidable men—from seven to nine feet tall—so that the Israelites felt like grasshoppers next to them (13:33). The fortified cities and the giants struck fear into the hearts of most of the scouts.
13:30-32Imagine standing before a crowd and loudly voicing an unpopular opinion! Caleb was willing to take the unpopular stand to do as God had commanded. To be effective when you go against the crowd, you must (1) have the facts (Caleb had seen the land himself); (2) have the right attitude (Caleb trusted God's promise to give Israel the land); (3) state clearly what you believe (Caleb said, “We can certainly conquer it!”).
13:33-14:4The negative opinion of 10 men caused a great rebellion among the people. Because it is human nature to accept opinion as fact, we must be especially careful when voicing our negative opinions, What we say may heavily influence the actions of those who trust us to give sound advice. 5 nan 0 ooo ye ROUTE OF THE SCOUTS The scouts traveled from Kadesh at the southernmost edge of the wilderness of Zin to Rehob at the northernmost edge and back, a round trip of about 500 miles.
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Personality profile · page 221
Ask older brothers or sisters what their greatest trial in life is, and they will often answer, “My younger brother (or sister]!” This is especially true when the younger sibling is more success- ful than the older. The bonds of family loyaity can be strained to the breaking point. When we first meet Miriam, she is involved in one of history's most unusual baby-sitting jobs. She is watching her infant brother float on the Nile River in a waterproof cradle. Miriam’s quick thinking allowed Moses to be raised by his own mother. Her protective superiority, reinforced by that event, must have been hard to give up as she watched her little brother rise to greatness. Eventually Moses’ choice of a wife gave Miriam an opportunity to criticize. It was natural for her insecurity to break out over this issue. With Moses married, Miriam was clearly no longer the most important woman in his life. The real issue, however, was not the kind of woman Moses had married. It was the fact that he was now the most important man in Israel. “Has the LORD spoken only through Moses? Hasn't he spoken through us, too?” No mention is made of Moses’ response, but God had a quick answer for Miriam and Aaron. Without denying their role in his plan, God clearly pointed out his special relationship with Moses. Miriam was stricken with leprosy, a deadly disease, as punishment for her insubordination. But Moses, true to his character, intervened for his sister so that God healed Miriam of her leprosy. Before criticizing someone else, we need to pause long enough to discover our own motives. Failing to do this can bring disastrous results. What is often labeled “constructive criticism” may actually be destructive jealousy, since the easiest way to raise our own status is to bring someone else down. Are you willing to question your motives before you offer criticism? Does the critical finger you point need to be pointed first toward yourself? Strengths and e Quick thinker under pressure accomplishments * Led the people alongside Moses and Aaron
• Led the people in praises to God
• God's prophet Weaknesses ¢ Was jealous of Moses’ authority and mistakes ¢ Openly criticized Moses’ leadership
Lesson from her life
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Study feature · page 222
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