Latest / Bible in a Year with Jack Graham / The Borders of Canaan - The Book of Numbers

Transcript

The Borders of Canaan - The Book of Numbers · Bible in a Year with Jack Graham

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: And see the land, what it is, and the people
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few
• 0:07
  Speaker 1: or many. Numbers 13.18 Heavenly Father, I refuse to forget
• 0:14
  Speaker 1: all the ways that you've come through for me. As
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: I move forward, I will not replace your favor with strategy,
• 0:22
  Speaker 1: as the children of Israel did in Numbers 13.14. When
• 0:26
  Speaker 1: you give the command for me to scope out my
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: promised land, I will look at the house, the business,
• 0:32
  Speaker 1: the new clients, the land, and the territory through the
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: eyes of Caleb and Joshua, who saw the impossible as possible,
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: because they knew who was on their side, you, Lord.
• 0:47
  Speaker 1: I declare with boldness, God, that you have already given
• 0:51
  Speaker 1: me the victory. I will not look at my promises
• 0:54
  Speaker 1: with a defeated mindset. I command all fearful thoughts to
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: leave my mind in the name of Jesus. My promise
• 1:04
  Speaker 1: is in front of me, and I will not forget
• 1:06
  Speaker 1: who is going before me and who surrounds me. The
• 1:10
  Speaker 1: land is mine. The promise is mine. And I will
• 1:15
  Speaker 1: leave a legacy for all those who come after me. And,
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: like Joshua, we will eat the fruit of the land.
• 1:27
  Speaker 1: In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for making prayer a
• 1:33
  Speaker 1: priority in your day. To learn more about the Bible,
• 1:37
  Speaker 1: stay tuned for today's story. Brought to you by BibleInAYear.com.
• 1:50
  Speaker 2: The Borders of Canaan In our last story, we learned
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: how Miriam and Aaron gave in to the spirit of Cain,
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: raging with jealousy and contempt for Moses. As they schemed
• 2:03
  Speaker 2: against him, God called them into the tent of meeting
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: and struck Miriam with leprosy. He healed her at the
• 2:11
  Speaker 2: request of Moses. In this story, we learn how Moses
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: sends spies to scope out the land of Canaan and
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: how some Israelites tremble in fear. while others rise in
• 2:23
  Speaker 2: hope as inspired by the book of Numbers.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: We're so glad you joined us on the Bible in
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: a Year podcast today. The Bible in a Year podcast
• 2:35
  Speaker 3: is an outreach of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come
• 2:38
  Speaker 3: to you each week through the support of listeners just
• 2:41
  Speaker 3: like you. Your support today is so important that we
• 2:44
  Speaker 3: want to thank you for your gift by giving you
• 2:46
  Speaker 3: a copy of my book called The Jesus Book. It
• 2:50
  Speaker 3: is a powerful guide that shows how every book of
• 2:52
  Speaker 3: the Bible points to Jesus and how his living word,
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: the truth of God's word, will transform your life. So
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: to get a copy of the Jesus book, simply go
• 3:02
  Speaker 3: to jackgraham.org slash Jesus. That's jackgraham.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 3:10
  Speaker 3: you for your support. In yesterday's episode, we saw what
• 3:13
  Speaker 3: happened to Miriam and Aaron when they tried to undermine
• 3:16
  Speaker 3: Moses as a leader. We learned how God disciplined them
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: because of their defiance. We also saw Moses stepping in
• 3:24
  Speaker 3: and advocating for his sister, sparing her from the ultimate
• 3:28
  Speaker 3: punishment of death. As we closed out the episode, Moses
• 3:31
  Speaker 3: and the Israelites set off again toward the promised land.
• 3:35
  Speaker 3: And today we'll hear as they arrive near Canaan, Moses
• 3:40
  Speaker 3: will send out spies to report on the new land
• 3:42
  Speaker 3: that they are about to enter. However, What should be
• 3:46
  Speaker 3: a time of great rejoicing and celebration in the fulfillment
• 3:50
  Speaker 3: of God's promise turns into a time of fear and faithlessness.
• 3:55
  Speaker 3: But there will be voices that bring hope and faith.
• 3:58
  Speaker 3: Which voices will win out? Let's hear today's reading to
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: find out.
• 4:05
  Speaker 2: It was finally within reach. The Israelites could feel the
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: gentle spring breeze dance along the grassy plains below the valley.
• 4:14
  Speaker 2: Springs of living water flowed from every direction, and the
• 4:17
  Speaker 2: birds chirped to the same joyful melody. The promised land
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: was close. Canaan, the land promised to Abraham, was only
• 4:27
  Speaker 2: miles away. God instructed Moses to send twelve of his
• 4:32
  Speaker 2: best men to scope out the land and spy on
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: its inhabitants. The faithful twelve left in the dead of night,
• 4:39
  Speaker 2: remaining unnoticed by the Canaanites. Their orders were to dwell
• 4:43
  Speaker 2: in the shadows for forty days and come back with
• 4:46
  Speaker 2: a report. So for forty days the men spied. They
• 4:50
  Speaker 2: assessed the height of their walls and the strength of
• 4:53
  Speaker 2: their men. They explored the cities and picked the fruit.
• 4:58
  Speaker 2: They searched for strongholds, weaknesses, camps, and armies. Silently and carefully,
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: the men gathered all they could and brought it back
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: to Moses. The spies returned after forty days. The elders
• 5:13
  Speaker 2: and many of the people gathered together to hear their report.
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: It was night, and Moses sat and listened to the
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: men while peering into the large fire. It is just
• 5:24
  Speaker 2: as God said. The land is flowing with milk and honey,
• 5:28
  Speaker 2: one of the spies exclaimed. However, the people there are mighty,
• 5:33
  Speaker 2: and their cities are well built and fortified. Another spy
• 5:38
  Speaker 2: chimed in, saying, It gets worse. The Amalekites, the Hittites,
• 5:43
  Speaker 2: and all of our enemies dwell in the hill country
• 5:46
  Speaker 2: above them. Concerned mumblings could be heard around the fire.
• 5:51
  Speaker 2: People turned to one another, clearly disturbed by their report.
• 5:55
  Speaker 2: Yet Moses still remained silent, poking the fire in front
• 5:59
  Speaker 2: of him. The mumbles turned into loud cries of concern
• 6:03
  Speaker 2: and arguments. The crowd began to erupt with discomfort. Caleb,
• 6:08
  Speaker 2: one of the spies, quieted the crowd. Listen, he yelled.
• 6:12
  Speaker 2: The people ceased their banter and looked up at Caleb.
• 6:16
  Speaker 2: Let us go and take the land. We can overcome
• 6:19
  Speaker 2: whoever dwells there. Caleb spoke with confidence. His eyes glowed
• 6:24
  Speaker 2: with the reflection of the fire, yet they also reflected hope. Lunatic,
• 6:30
  Speaker 2: another spy shouted from the other side. They are far
• 6:34
  Speaker 2: stronger than we ever will be. Again the crowd erupted
• 6:38
  Speaker 2: with concerned banter. It did not take long for the spies'
• 6:42
  Speaker 2: bad report to spread like wildfire. Rumors, tall tales, and
• 6:47
  Speaker 2: half-truths plagued the entire camp like a virus. They are
• 6:52
  Speaker 2: all giants, some people shouted. I heard they are cannibals,
• 6:57
  Speaker 2: some more would whisper. Soon all hope seemed lost for
• 7:02
  Speaker 2: the people of Israel, and a faith in God was
• 7:05
  Speaker 2: replaced by fear and rumor. The congregation raised a loud cry,
• 7:10
  Speaker 2: and weeping could be heard for miles. Moses and Aaron
• 7:14
  Speaker 2: were inundated with complaints day and night. We would have
• 7:19
  Speaker 2: much rather died in Egypt than be devoured by cannibals
• 7:22
  Speaker 2: or fall by sword, they said. Our wives and little
• 7:26
  Speaker 2: ones will become their prey. And they said to one another,
• 7:30
  Speaker 2: Let us choose another leader and return to Egypt. Moses
• 7:35
  Speaker 2: and Aaron were overwhelmed by the people. They bowed their
• 7:38
  Speaker 2: faces to the ground before them, unable to handle the
• 7:42
  Speaker 2: onslaught of complaints, threats, and requests. Joshua and Caleb stood
• 7:47
  Speaker 2: before the people with swords in their hands. The people
• 7:51
  Speaker 2: fell silent as they saw Joshua raise his fist high
• 7:54
  Speaker 2: in the air. It is good land, Joshua shouted. He
• 7:59
  Speaker 2: paced the room, meeting everybody's eyes. If God delights in us,
• 8:03
  Speaker 2: he will give us victory. Stop rebelling, for by doing
• 8:07
  Speaker 2: so you ensure our defeat. Do not fear the people
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: in the land. They will be our bread. Joshua spoke passionately,
• 8:16
  Speaker 2: but to no avail. The people surrounded Joshua and Caleb
• 8:20
  Speaker 2: with stones. They cursed him, and fear drove them forward
• 8:24
  Speaker 2: to kill them. Their eyes burned red-hot with rage and terror.
• 8:29
  Speaker 2: Joshua and Caleb braced themselves for the onslaught of stones
• 8:33
  Speaker 2: and fists. The people leapt forward to kill them, when
• 8:38
  Speaker 2: all of the sudden the glory of God appeared as
• 8:41
  Speaker 2: a rushing wind. God's fury interrupted their acts of fear
• 8:46
  Speaker 2: and hatred.' How long?' God asked Moses. How long will
• 8:51
  Speaker 2: these people refuse to believe in me? After every sign, deliverance,
• 8:58
  Speaker 2: and provision, they still despise me. God's anger could be
• 9:03
  Speaker 2: felt in the air as Moses listened. They will be
• 9:07
  Speaker 2: striked down, God said. Moses fell before God again. Let
• 9:13
  Speaker 2: your glory and your power be known through your steadfast
• 9:18
  Speaker 2: love and forgiveness, he asked. He implored of God to
• 9:22
  Speaker 2: spare the people. Please pardon them according to your greatness,
• 9:27
  Speaker 2: for you have shown mercy to them from Egypt all
• 9:29
  Speaker 2: the way until now. I will show mercy, God said,
• 9:35
  Speaker 2: but I have been despised long enough. I freed the
• 9:39
  Speaker 2: people from Egypt out of slavery. I parted seas. I
• 9:43
  Speaker 2: cleansed water for them to drink. I sent manna from
• 9:47
  Speaker 2: the sky and quail from the land. I have appeared
• 9:50
  Speaker 2: in thunder, lightning, smoke, and fire. I have protected them
• 9:55
  Speaker 2: from their enemies, and now they stand at the precipice
• 9:58
  Speaker 2: of all I promised them. Moses could sense a grief
• 10:01
  Speaker 2: in God's voice, like a father who wanted to bless
• 10:05
  Speaker 2: his son, but his son was content to play in
• 10:08
  Speaker 2: the mud. None of the men who have seen my
• 10:11
  Speaker 2: glory and still hate me will see the promised land.
• 10:15
  Speaker 2: All but Caleb and Joshua, God said. God then gave
• 10:21
  Speaker 2: a message to Moses to give to the people, a
• 10:24
  Speaker 2: sentencing to all those who grumbled in the wilderness without faith.
• 10:29
  Speaker 2: Your bodies will fall and rot here in the wilderness.
• 10:33
  Speaker 2: Every single one of you over the age of 20
• 10:35
  Speaker 2: shall die here without even a glimpse of the promised land.
• 10:39
  Speaker 2: Caleb and Joshua shall see my glory for their faith,
• 10:43
  Speaker 2: but you all will decompose into the dust. You feared
• 10:47
  Speaker 2: that your little ones would become prey, but it is
• 10:50
  Speaker 2: them who will be brought into the land that you rejected.
• 10:53
  Speaker 2: Your dead bodies will fall in the wilderness for animals
• 10:56
  Speaker 2: to gorge, yet your children will walk in the newness
• 11:00
  Speaker 2: of life. For forty years your children will be shepherds
• 11:04
  Speaker 2: in the land, as Moses was when I first called him.
• 11:07
  Speaker 2: They will wait forty years for you all to perish.
• 11:11
  Speaker 2: Then they will have their reward. I have spoken. and
• 11:15
  Speaker 2: my word is final. All of Israel mourned that day.
• 11:21
  Speaker 2: In a desperate attempt to reclaim God's favor, the people
• 11:24
  Speaker 2: of Israel rose early in the morning to seize the land.
• 11:28
  Speaker 2: But Moses said, Why do you go now? You know
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: the Lord is not with you. He will not give
• 11:34
  Speaker 2: you this land. But the people did not listen. They
• 11:38
  Speaker 2: thought strategy would replace God's favor. They armed themselves and
• 11:42
  Speaker 2: descended upon the land to capture it. Righteous cries could
• 11:46
  Speaker 2: be heard as Moses sat in his tent. Neither Moses
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: nor the Ark of the Covenant went with them. Miles away,
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: the screams of slaughtered Israelites could be heard. The Amalekites
• 11:58
  Speaker 2: and the Canaanites lived in the hill they chose to take,
• 12:01
  Speaker 2: and it was painted red with the blood of God's people.
• 12:05
  Speaker 2: The cries of war were replaced with silent loss. It
• 12:09
  Speaker 2: was still within reach. They could still feel the gentle
• 12:13
  Speaker 2: spring breeze brush against their cheeks. The springs of living
• 12:17
  Speaker 2: water were red from the blood of Israelite soldiers. The
• 12:20
  Speaker 2: birds were still chirping. The promised land was close yet
• 12:25
  Speaker 2: further than it had ever been. Canaan, the land promised
• 12:29
  Speaker 2: to Abraham, was 40 years away.
• 12:35
  Speaker 3: After months of travel through unknown lands, hard terrain, even
• 12:39
  Speaker 3: dangerous territory, the Israelites were at last getting close to Canaan.
• 12:45
  Speaker 3: The land that God had promised their forefathers Abraham, Isaac,
• 12:48
  Speaker 3: and Jacob was right in front of them. But they
• 12:51
  Speaker 3: couldn't just march in and settle. There were other people
• 12:54
  Speaker 3: living there, so God instructs Moses to send spies to
• 12:57
  Speaker 3: get a good look. This was going to be in
• 13:01
  Speaker 3: many ways a big test of the Israelites' trust and
• 13:04
  Speaker 3: faith in God. Would they see the obstacles ahead and
• 13:08
  Speaker 3: complain again and even turn back? Or would they remember
• 13:11
  Speaker 3: that God delivered them from Pharaoh and gave their untrained
• 13:14
  Speaker 3: army a great victory over the fearsome Amalekites? Would they
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: see the bounty before them or the barriers ahead? The
• 13:21
  Speaker 3: spies were gone for 40 days. It was a mission
• 13:25
  Speaker 3: of espionage. They reported back to the people. It was
• 13:28
  Speaker 3: indeed a land, a beautiful land, flowing with milk and honey,
• 13:32
  Speaker 3: a prosperous land. The manna that they were so tired
• 13:35
  Speaker 3: of would be a thing of the past, and they
• 13:37
  Speaker 3: would live in the bounty and the blessing of this
• 13:40
  Speaker 3: land of promise. But there are giants in the land,
• 13:45
  Speaker 3: powerful men, fortified cities, and it appeared on the surface
• 13:49
  Speaker 3: that there was no way to defeat them. So they're
• 13:52
  Speaker 3: filled with fear, and the people forgot that God was
• 13:57
  Speaker 3: their commander. But two of the spies, men named Caleb
• 14:01
  Speaker 3: and Joshua, speak up. They trust God. And they urged
• 14:05
  Speaker 3: the people to have faith. They said, this is God's
• 14:08
  Speaker 3: land and now it's our land, just as he promised.
• 14:12
  Speaker 3: But the people chose fear over faith. They said, we
• 14:16
  Speaker 3: feel like grasshoppers in the sight of these giants. And
• 14:19
  Speaker 3: so they rebel against Moses and turn their sights to
• 14:22
  Speaker 3: Egypt again. They're ready to turn back and to go
• 14:25
  Speaker 3: back to the land of bondage. Sometimes we do the same.
• 14:30
  Speaker 3: preferring to return to the change in the past rather
• 14:33
  Speaker 3: than face the challenges of the future. Sometimes fear keeps
• 14:37
  Speaker 3: us from receiving all that God wants to give. Joshua
• 14:41
  Speaker 3: and Caleb tried to plead one more time, but the
• 14:43
  Speaker 3: people wanted to stone them. They refused to hear the truth.
• 14:49
  Speaker 3: God has had enough. His anger burns against their sinfulness
• 14:54
  Speaker 3: and their distrust, and he says, I will take out
• 14:56
  Speaker 3: the whole generation and start again with Moses. Moses once
• 15:02
  Speaker 3: again intercedes. He tells God to consider the witness to
• 15:06
  Speaker 3: the nations. Killing the people would tell the world that
• 15:09
  Speaker 3: God was not able to do as he promised. But
• 15:12
  Speaker 3: then Moses pleads for mercy. Moses asks God to forgive
• 15:16
  Speaker 3: the people, much as Christ asked God from the cross, Father,
• 15:20
  Speaker 3: forgive them, for they do not know what they do.
• 15:24
  Speaker 3: Moses was an imperfect intercessor, but God honored his request.
• 15:31
  Speaker 3: But we have a perfect intercessor, the Lord Jesus Christ,
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: who always intercedes on the behalf of his children and
• 15:39
  Speaker 3: seeks their forgiveness each day. God has mercy on them,
• 15:44
  Speaker 3: but there will be a cost to their lack of faith.
• 15:47
  Speaker 3: They will wander in the desert until the last of
• 15:49
  Speaker 3: that generation dies out. Not a single person, except for
• 15:53
  Speaker 3: Caleb and Joshua, will ever see this land that God
• 15:56
  Speaker 3: would give them. They were on the brink of blessing,
• 15:59
  Speaker 3: so close to the promised land, and yet they would
• 16:03
  Speaker 3: never enter because they chose fear over faith. Dear God,
• 16:08
  Speaker 3: we all face challenges that seem impossible, insurmountable, giants. And
• 16:13
  Speaker 3: yet in those times, we know that we can trust you.
• 16:17
  Speaker 3: So right now, we choose faith over our fears. Help
• 16:21
  Speaker 3: us to know that you will always fulfill your promises
• 16:24
  Speaker 3: in our lives, always. Help our faith to be a
• 16:27
  Speaker 3: witness to others that they might trust you also. In Jesus' name, amen.
• 16:33
  Speaker 3: Thank you for listening to today's Bible in a Year podcast.
• 16:37
  Speaker 3: And before we go, I wanted to let you know
• 16:39
  Speaker 3: that the Bible in a Year podcast is an outreach
• 16:42
  Speaker 3: of PowerPoint Ministries and can only come to you each
• 16:45
  Speaker 3: week through the support of listeners like you. Your support
• 16:50
  Speaker 3: today is so important that we want to thank you
• 16:53
  Speaker 3: for your gift by giving you a copy of my
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: book called The Jesus Book. This book is a powerful
• 16:59
  Speaker 3: guide that shows how every book in the Bible points
• 17:02
  Speaker 3: to Christ and how you can better read and understand
• 17:04
  Speaker 3: the Bible and how God's Word transforms our lives. So
• 17:09
  Speaker 3: to get your copy of The Jesus Book, simply go
• 17:12
  Speaker 3: to jackgram.org slash Jesus. That's jackgram.org slash Jesus. And thank
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: you for your support.