Reading Numbers thirteen: three reports, two good

No wavering. Assured of victory.

The Bible opened itself and showed Numbers 13. Twelve military scouts were sent by Moses to explore Canaan for forty days with specific instructions on what they observe of the enemy. They were prominent leaders selected from each of the twelve ancestral tribes of the Israelites, representing 603,552 of men twenty years old or older and able to go to war. Chapter thirteen records what these men came back and reported to the God-anointed and appointed commander in chief, Moses.

These men all agreed that the land was indeed good just as God had promised, fertile and rich with resources. But they were divided over a military matter. The majority group of ten gave a self-defeating battle prediction. But Joshua and Caleb gave a rebuttal to their opinion. In fact, Moses did not ask the scouts to give opinions on the chances of military success/failure. The ten tribal leaders gave their personal opinions without authority.

Reading chapters 13-14 reveals how serious these ten men had rebelled against God. They bad-mouthed God and instigated a political-military rebellion against Moses, and conspired among the national leaders to topple him, so that they could lead the whole free nation of Israel back to religious, political and economic bondages under Egypt.

Ten men with their own personal agenda constituted an infinitesimal number out of the 600,000 men of war. But they nearly succeeded because of their official positions.

The ten men spread bad reports about God and the whole community began weeping aloud and they cried all night. (14:1) Grown men became cry babies and cowered in fear just because of their unbelief in God and chose to listen to the words of ten mere men.

Compare the two groups of leaders: Do read the whole passage to see the difference in attitudes and relationship with God. Those who do not know God and those who do.

Chapter 13 30 But 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!”

31 But the other men who had explored the land with him disagreed. “We can’t go up against them! They are stronger than we are!” 32 So they spread this bad report about the land among the Israelites: “The land we traveled through and explored will devour anyone who goes to live there. All the people we saw were huge. 33 We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak. Next to them we felt like grasshoppers, and that’s what they thought, too!”

14:1 Then the whole community began weeping aloud, and they cried all night. 2 Their voices rose in a great chorus of protest against Moses and Aaron. “If only we had died in Egypt, or even here in the wilderness!” they complained. 3 “Why is the Lord taking us to this country only to have us die in battle? Our wives and our little ones will be carried off as plunder! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 Then they plotted among themselves, “Let’s choose a new leader and go back to Egypt!”

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell face down on the ground before the whole community of Israel. 6 Two of the men who had explored the land, Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, tore their clothing. 7 They said to all the people of Israel, “The land we traveled through and explored is a wonderful land! 8 And if the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us safely into that land and give it to us. It is a rich land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Do not rebel against the Lord, and don’t be afraid of the people of the land. They are only helpless prey to us! They have no protection, but the Lord is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”

10 But the whole community began to talk about stoning Joshua and Caleb. Then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared to all the Israelites at the Tabernacle. 11 And the Lord said to Moses, “How long will these people treat me with contempt? Will they never believe me, even after all the miraculous signs I have done among them? 12 I will disown them and destroy them with a plague. Then I will make you into a nation greater and mightier than they are!”

Nonetheless, Moses interceded for the people and the Lord replied as follows:

20 Then the Lord said, “I will pardon them as you have requested. 21 But as surely as I live, and as surely as the earth is filled with the Lord’s glory, 22 not one of these people will ever enter that land. They have all seen my glorious presence and the miraculous signs I performed both in Egypt and in the wilderness, but again and again they have tested me by refusing to listen to my voice. 23 They will never even see the land I swore to give their ancestors. None of those who have treated me with contempt will ever see it. 

Application today: is there a generation whom the Lord is addressing? Are a whole nation(s) of grown men weeping and crying (like cry babies) just because they heard a threatening exaggerated opinionated report by ten men?

(Numbers 13:33, compare this fake report with the true account/report from the Canaanite Rehab, of how the people of Canaan in fact feared the Israelites and acknowledged that the God of Israel is the supreme God of the heavens above and earth below! Joshua 2:8-11*)

God is speaking to His own people as in the case of the two millions Israelites in Moses’ time. Applying to modern days, it would mean God is speaking to the believers and followers of Jesus Christ. As of the year 2020, Christianity had approximately 2.38 billion adherents out of a worldwide population of about 7.8 billion people. Imagine 2 billion people reverting to a fetal position and cowering in fear because of their unbelief in God.

God agreed with Moses to pardon them as requested. But that unbelieving generation missed out the opportunity to enter into and enjoy the promised land, just as God had said. Only Joshua and Caleb entered the land with a generation born and raised in the wilderness under the military leadership of these two men of God. God said,

14:24 But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it. (NKJV)

James 1:5-8 (NLT) warns of the same dilemma encountered by New Testament believers.

5 If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking. 6 But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone. Do not waver, for a person with divided loyalty is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is blown and tossed by the wind. 7 Such people should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. 8 Their loyalty is divided between God and the world, and they are unstable in everything they do.

Application: Ask God for wisdom for all matters pertaining to our lives on earth. Put our faith on God alone. Do not waver.

* Joshua 2:8-11 NLT Rahab’s account of the truth about the Canaanites (totally unlike what the ten earlier scouts had presumed and misled their whole nation)

⁸ Before the spies went to sleep that night, Rahab went up on the roof to talk with them. ⁹ “I know the Lord has given you this land,” she told them. “We are all afraid of you. Everyone in the land is living in terror. ¹⁰ For we have heard how the Lord made a dry path for you through the Red Sea when you left Egypt. And we know what you did to Sihon and Og, the two Amorite kings east of the Jordan River, whose people you completely destroyed.¹¹ No wonder our hearts have melted in fear! No one has the courage to fight after hearing such things. For the Lord your God is the supreme God of the heavens above and the earth below.

A final note: What makes Joshua, Caleb, and Rahab stand out in history is their true knowledge of God and having a close relationship with God. They believe and do not waver in their belief in Him. Why? Because they know He is real. The reality of God is the only thing that really matters to all believers to whom Jesus has promised an abundant life on earth. When we know that God is real and hold fast to this truth in making all decisions, we become the overcomer.

kainotes, 2022-01-13

True prophets: Daniel One

Prophet Daniel was of royal lineage. He and his friends were known for their uncompromising obedience to God, and received favor from God and even foreign kings. Nebuchadnezzar carried the Jews captive into Babylon (about 605  B.C.), and Daniel was chosen to be taken to Babylon and trained for service in the king’s court. He was a righteous and godly man and sensitivity to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, greatly favored of God. The Lord blessed him with the gift of interpreting dreams and visions. He became the Lord’s longstanding minister to at least four foreign kings (over a span of around seventy years). He was made head of the wise men, chancellor of the equivalent of a national university, ruler of all the Hebrew captives, and, as governor of the province of Babylon, in both the Babylonian and Persian Empires.

The Babylonian queen mother described Daniel as,  “There is a man in your kingdom who has within him the spirit of the holy gods. During Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, this man was found to have insight, understanding, and wisdom like that of the gods.” (5:11)

Most importantly, God has described Daniel (through an angel messenger) as, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” (10:11) “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer.” (10:12) “Don’t be afraid’, he said, “for you are very precious to God. Peace! Be encouraged! Be strong!” (10:19) “Those who are wise will shine as bright as the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever.” (12:3) “As for you, go your way until the end. You will rest, and then at the end of the days, you will rise again to receive the inheritance set aside for you.” (12:13)

Today’s reading: Daniel 1 New Living Translation (NLT)

1 During the third year of King Jehoiakim’s reign in Judah,^[a] King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. ² The Lord gave him victory over King Jehoiakim of Judah and permitted him to take some of the sacred objects from the Temple of God. So Nebuchadnezzar took them back to the land of Babylonia^[b] and placed them in the treasure-house of his god.

³ Then the king ordered Ashpenaz, his chief of staff, to bring to the palace some of the young men of Judah’s royal family and other noble families, who had been brought to Babylon as captives. ⁴ “Select only strong, healthy, and good-looking young men,” he said. “Make sure they are well versed in every branch of learning, are gifted with knowledge and good judgment, and are suited to serve in the royal palace. Train these young men in the language and literature of Babylon.^[c]” ⁵ The king assigned them a daily ration of food and wine from his own kitchens. They were to be trained for three years, and then they would enter the royal service.

⁶ Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four of the young men chosen, all from the tribe of Judah. ⁷ The chief of staff renamed them with these Babylonian names:

Daniel was called Belteshazzar.
Hananiah was called Shadrach.
Mishael was called Meshach.
Azariah was called Abednego.

⁸ But Daniel was determined not to defile himself by eating the food and wine given to them by the king. He asked the chief of staff for permission not to eat these unacceptable foods. ⁹ Now God had given the chief of staff both respect and affection for Daniel. ¹⁰ But he responded, “I am afraid of my lord the king, who has ordered that you eat this food and wine. If you become pale and thin compared to the other youths your age, I am afraid the king will have me beheaded.”

¹¹ Daniel spoke with the attendant who had been appointed by the chief of staff to look after Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. ¹² “Please test us for ten days on a diet of vegetables and water,” Daniel said. ¹³ “At the end of the ten days, see how we look compared to the other young men who are eating the king’s food. Then make your decision in light of what you see.” ¹⁴ The attendant agreed to Daniel’s suggestion and tested them for ten days.

¹⁵ At the end of the ten days, Daniel and his three friends looked healthier and better nourished than the young men who had been eating the food assigned by the king.¹⁶ So after that, the attendant fed them only vegetables instead of the food and wine provided for the others.

¹⁷ God gave these four young men an unusual aptitude for understanding every aspect of literature and wisdom. And God gave Daniel the special ability to interpret the meanings of visions and dreams.

¹⁸ When the training period ordered by the king was completed, the chief of staff brought all the young men to King Nebuchadnezzar. ¹⁹ The king talked with them, and no one impressed him as much as Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. So they entered the royal service. ²⁰ Whenever the king consulted them in any matter requiring wisdom and balanced judgment, he found them ten times more capable than any of the magicians and enchanters in his entire kingdom.

²¹ Daniel remained in the royal service until the first year of the reign of King Cyrus.^[d]

Footnotes:

1. 1:1 This event occurred in 605 B.c., during the third year of Jehoiakim’s reign (according to the calendar system in which the new year begins in the spring).
2. 1:2 Hebrew the land of Shinar.
3. 1:4 Or of the Chaldeans.
4. 1:21 Cyrus began his reign (over Babylon) in 539 B.c.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~Reading from New Testament:

 God has spoken about Jesus as follows:

Luke 1:35 New Living Translation (NLT)

³⁵ The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.

Luke 2:40 

⁴⁰ There the child grew up healthy and strong. He was filled with wisdom, and God’s favor was on him.

Luke 3:21-22

²¹ One day when the crowds were being baptized, Jesus himself was baptized. As he was praying, the heavens opened, ²² and the Holy Spirit, in bodily form, descended on him like a dove. And a voice from heaven said, “You are my dearly loved Son, and you bring me great joy.^[a]”

Luke 9:35 

³⁵ Then a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, my Chosen One.^[a] Listen to him.”

Footnotes:

1. 9:35 Some manuscripts read This is my dearly loved Son.

Daniel and lions