The Daily Guide. grow. pray. study. from The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, United States "A frightening report from 10 of 12 spies" for Friday, 23 September 2016
Numbers 13:1 Adonai said to Moshe, 2 “Send men on your behalf to reconnoiter the land of Kena‘an, which I am giving to the people of Isra’el. From each ancestral tribe send someone who is a leader in his tribe.” 3 Moshe dispatched them from the Pa’ran Desert as Adonai had ordered; all of them were leading men among the people of Isra’el.
17 Moshe sent them to reconnoiter the land of Kena‘an, instructing them, “Go on up to the Negev and into the hills, 18 and see what the land is like. Notice the people living there, whether they are strong or weak, few or many; 19 and what kind of country they live in, whether it is good or bad; and what kind of cities they live in, open or fortified. 20 See whether the land is fertile or unproductive and whether there is wood in it or not. Finally, be bold enough to bring back some of the fruit of the land.”
When they left it was the season for the first grapes to ripen.
25 Forty days later, they returned from reconnoitering the land 26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra’el at Kadesh in the Pa’ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: “We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey — here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the ‘Anakim there. 29 ‘Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y’vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena‘ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden.”
30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, “We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are”; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N’filim, the descendants of ‘Anak, who was from the N’filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!”
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Reflection Questions"
With the law given (and re-given) at Sinai, God instructed Moses to lead the people toward the Promised Land. As they got close, Moses sent out 12 spies, one from each tribe, to scout the land. After all, none of them had ever been there. They reported that yes, it was a good, fruitful land. But 10 of the 12 spies were also gripped by fear, and said they didn’t dare try to take the land. They seemed to utterly forget that God’s power, not their own, had brought them this far.
• Notice how the report of the 10 changed as their fears deepened. At first they said they saw “the descendants of the Anakites”—tall people (maybe 6’4”) who were supposed to be
descended from “the Nephilim” (a legendary angel/human hybrid people). The second time
through, they’d seen “huge men,” and the Nephilim themselves, in the land! Have you ever been in the grip of a fear that kept magnifying the danger of a situation beyond what it actually was?
• One of the spies, Caleb, refused to join in the others’ fear-driven report. “We are more
than able to do it,” was his resolute, courageous report to the people. What kind of inner spiritual/psychological compass does it take to speak out with courage and hope when
everyone around you is gripped by fear? Have you ever had the privilege of knowing
a Caleb?
Prayer: Lord God, this is such a sad story. Everything you’d promised was right there in
reach—but their fear blocked the way. Help my faith and courage to keep growing, so that I do not let fear block me from whatever you call me to. Amen.
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Insights from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.
Considering today’s passage, I thought we could “visit” with Mr. Fide, Chairman of The Society To Assess Menaces & Perils in the Every Day Environment. (S.T.A.M.P.E.D.E. for short.)
DL: So, Mr. Fide, what does your group do?
Terry Fide: Please call me Terry. Our Fear Engineers help our clientele evaluate the dangers & risks that they might encounter during a given day. Only with this complete appraisal, can our patrons make wise decisions on whether to get out of bed or not.
DL: I would guess your enterprise is quite successful in this day & age. I know I’ve even had fears writing these Insights – like the fear of grammatical mistakes. But I realized it was nothingto be afraid of. of which to be afraid. (Don’t end with a preposition. – Editor.) Anyway…
Terry Fide: We do have a busy market. We have to constantly update our clients & assess the uncertainties related to terrorism, the environment, crime, the economy, natural disasters, technological advances, &, well, I’m even afraid I may have left something out!
For example, we’ve had a fun case in Florida last week where we were even able to double dip. On one hand we had clients fearful of mosquitoes transmitting the Zika virus. On the other hand, when mass spraying was proposed to kill these same mosquitoes, we had clients fearful of the use of pesticides. Ca-Ching!
DL: Surely, this is just a blip in time.
Terry Fide: I hope not. We got our start with Y2K and have been rolling ever since. We now even have college students fearful of hearing opposing viewpoints in a lecture, so they enlist us to assess the danger of attending a speech. We’ve just developed an app for easier access. We call it the App-Rehensive.
DL: Clever. You know, today’s passage outlines a similar fear. 12 spies go to the Promised Land &, even though 2 positive reports come back, the Israelites are so persuaded by the 10 negative reports they opt to wait 38 years before attempting to enter the Promised Land.
Terry Fide: Ah, yes. I love this story! By the way I don’t call them spies, but rather consultants. They were just doing their job & helping to gauge the perils presented in the Promised Land. And the Israelites eventually got the land, so it all worked out in the end.
DL: But, an entire generation missed out on living their lives to the fullest & experiencing life as God intended.
Terry Fide: Well, yes. And to be honest, I would submit there was probably a lot of “Group-Think” going on. You know how committees work. Once one spy presented his “concerns” another spy probably chimed in with what he found “troubling” & another lists those things that he found “disquieting” & it snowballs from there. You see the same thing today when the same phrases start re-appearing in multiple news sources. But I don’t complain. As we say, “Every fear means another great year!”
DL: But what if we learned from the Israelite’s negative example & didn’t cave into that “group-think?” What if we recognized that, yes there are legitimate fears in every day life, but that we aren’t alone – that we can rely on God to be ever-present & to help us ultimately reach our own personal version of God’s Promised Land?
Terry Fide: Actually, I’m afraid that could work. Whoa, I need to run. We have family movie night tonight before our trip to Myrtle Beach on Saturday.
DL: Thanks for your time. What movie are you watching?
Terry Fide: Jaws.
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“'Don’t rebel against the LORD'—but they did"
Saturday, 24 September 2-16
Numbers 14:1 At this all the people of Isra’el cried out in dismay and wept all night long. 2 Moreover, all the people of Isra’el began grumbling against Moshe and Aharon; the whole community told them, “We wish we had died in the land of Egypt! or that we had died here in the desert! 3 Why is Adonai bringing us to this land, where we will die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken as booty! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”
5 Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before the entire assembled community of the people of Isra’el. 6 Y’hoshua the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Y’funeh, from the detachment that had reconnoitered the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the whole community of Isra’el, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is an outstandingly good land! (iii) 8 If Adonai is pleased with us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us — a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Just don’t rebel against Adonai. And don’t be afraid of the people living in the land — we’ll eat them up! Their defense has been taken away from them, and Adonai is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 But just as the whole community were saying they should be stoned to death, the glory of Adonai appeared in the tent of meeting to all the people of Isra’el.
20 Adonai answered, “I have forgiven, as you have asked. 21 But as sure as I live, and that the whole earth is filled with the glory of Adonai, 22 none of the people who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice, 23 will see the land I swore to their ancestors! None of those who treated me with contempt will see it. 24 But my servant Kalev, because he had a different Spirit with him and has fully followed me — him I will bring into the land he entered, and it will belong to his descendants.
25 “Now, since the ‘Amaleki and the Kena‘ani are living in the valley, tomorrow turn around and get yourselves into the desert along the way to the Sea of Suf.”
-------
Reflection Questions:
The Israelites, panicked by the negative report of ten of the twelve men who’d “spied out” the Promised Land, were ready to mutiny. Two of the spies—Caleb and Joshua—begged Israel to trust God, and not refuse to go into the Promised Land. But the people were ready to stone them (and Moses) to death, and choose another leader to take them back to Egypt—until God’s glory intervened. Fear would not win out to that absurd extent. But God did honor their negative choice. Except for Caleb and Joshua, God said, Israel would stay in the wilderness until all of those who didn’t want to go into the Promised Land reached the end of their lives.
• Read verses 6-9 again, aloud if you can. Feel the pathos, the desperation, in Caleb and Joshua’s plead to the people. Imagine their feelings the next day as they packed up their tents and marched, not toward the “exceptionally good land” they had seen briefly on their scouting trip, but away from it, into the desolate Sinai landscape. God offers you an exceptionally good life, full of purpose, challenge and meaning, leading to eternity in a world made new with all the good things God has always intended for human life. Yet it can be scary to choose that life. How can you keep fear from making you turn your back on God’s exceptionally good life? How can you set your life’s course firmly in the direction of God’s promised land?
Prayer: O God, lead me ever onward. Guard my heart and mind from the lure of nostalgia for
the “Egypt” from which you have set me free. Keep my path steady all the way to an eternity with you. Amen.
Family Activity: In all families, we can say words that give courage and strength, or words that tear down and discourage. Read Ephesians 4:29[Ephesians 4:29 Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them.]. Create a family jar of encouragement and faith. Cut out 30-40 slips of paper. On each slip, write a word or phrase of love, support, care or hope. Think about what words lift you up and include those as a blessing to others. Place all of the slips in a jar. Any time a family member has spoken words that hurt, he or she can then pull out a slip of paper, apologize, then (from the heart) say something encouraging. Better yet, work toward not speaking hurtful words at all. When you need help, go to the jar for ideas and inspiration! Ask God to help you use your words for good.
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Scott Bayles and family on the death of his mother Glady Bayles, 9/10
• Meredith Bell and family on the death of her grandmother Glady Bayles, 9/10
• Jon Bevan and family on the death of his mother Sally Bevan, 9/9
• Loretta Graham and family on the death of her mother Evangeline Sins, 9/9
•BJ Martin and family on the death of her mother Marcie Osborn, 9/8
•Brian Wilson and family on the death of his stepfather Gene Schwulst, 9/2
17 Moshe sent them to reconnoiter the land of Kena‘an, instructing them, “Go on up to the Negev and into the hills, 18 and see what the land is like. Notice the people living there, whether they are strong or weak, few or many; 19 and what kind of country they live in, whether it is good or bad; and what kind of cities they live in, open or fortified. 20 See whether the land is fertile or unproductive and whether there is wood in it or not. Finally, be bold enough to bring back some of the fruit of the land.”
When they left it was the season for the first grapes to ripen.
25 Forty days later, they returned from reconnoitering the land 26 and went to Moshe, Aharon and the entire community of the people of Isra’el at Kadesh in the Pa’ran Desert, where they brought back word to them and to the entire community and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 What they told him was this: “We entered the land where you sent us, and indeed it does flow with milk and honey — here is its fruit! 28 However the people living in the land are fierce, and the cities are fortified and very large. Moreover, we saw the ‘Anakim there. 29 ‘Amalek lives in the area of the Negev; the Hitti, the Y’vusi and the Emori live in the hills; and the Kena‘ani live by the sea and alongside the Yarden.”
30 Kalev silenced the people around Moshe and said, “We ought to go up immediately and take possession of it; there is no question that we can conquer it.” 31 But the men who had gone with him said, “We can’t attack those people, because they are stronger than we are”; 32 and they spread a negative report about the land they had reconnoitered for the people of Isra’el by saying, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is a land that devours its inhabitants. All the people we saw there were giant! 33 We saw the N’filim, the descendants of ‘Anak, who was from the N’filim; to ourselves we looked like grasshoppers by comparison, and we looked that way to them too!”
-------
Reflection Questions"
With the law given (and re-given) at Sinai, God instructed Moses to lead the people toward the Promised Land. As they got close, Moses sent out 12 spies, one from each tribe, to scout the land. After all, none of them had ever been there. They reported that yes, it was a good, fruitful land. But 10 of the 12 spies were also gripped by fear, and said they didn’t dare try to take the land. They seemed to utterly forget that God’s power, not their own, had brought them this far.
• Notice how the report of the 10 changed as their fears deepened. At first they said they saw “the descendants of the Anakites”—tall people (maybe 6’4”) who were supposed to be
descended from “the Nephilim” (a legendary angel/human hybrid people). The second time
through, they’d seen “huge men,” and the Nephilim themselves, in the land! Have you ever been in the grip of a fear that kept magnifying the danger of a situation beyond what it actually was?
• One of the spies, Caleb, refused to join in the others’ fear-driven report. “We are more
than able to do it,” was his resolute, courageous report to the people. What kind of inner spiritual/psychological compass does it take to speak out with courage and hope when
everyone around you is gripped by fear? Have you ever had the privilege of knowing
a Caleb?
Prayer: Lord God, this is such a sad story. Everything you’d promised was right there in
reach—but their fear blocked the way. Help my faith and courage to keep growing, so that I do not let fear block me from whatever you call me to. Amen.
-------
Insights from Darren Lippe
Darren Lippe helps facilitate Journey 101 “Loving God” classes, guides a 7th-grade Sunday school class, is a member of a small group & a men’s group, and serves on the Curriculum team.Considering today’s passage, I thought we could “visit” with Mr. Fide, Chairman of The Society To Assess Menaces & Perils in the Every Day Environment. (S.T.A.M.P.E.D.E. for short.)
DL: So, Mr. Fide, what does your group do?
Terry Fide: Please call me Terry. Our Fear Engineers help our clientele evaluate the dangers & risks that they might encounter during a given day. Only with this complete appraisal, can our patrons make wise decisions on whether to get out of bed or not.
DL: I would guess your enterprise is quite successful in this day & age. I know I’ve even had fears writing these Insights – like the fear of grammatical mistakes. But I realized it was nothingto be afraid of. of which to be afraid. (Don’t end with a preposition. – Editor.) Anyway…
Terry Fide: We do have a busy market. We have to constantly update our clients & assess the uncertainties related to terrorism, the environment, crime, the economy, natural disasters, technological advances, &, well, I’m even afraid I may have left something out!
For example, we’ve had a fun case in Florida last week where we were even able to double dip. On one hand we had clients fearful of mosquitoes transmitting the Zika virus. On the other hand, when mass spraying was proposed to kill these same mosquitoes, we had clients fearful of the use of pesticides. Ca-Ching!
DL: Surely, this is just a blip in time.
Terry Fide: I hope not. We got our start with Y2K and have been rolling ever since. We now even have college students fearful of hearing opposing viewpoints in a lecture, so they enlist us to assess the danger of attending a speech. We’ve just developed an app for easier access. We call it the App-Rehensive.
DL: Clever. You know, today’s passage outlines a similar fear. 12 spies go to the Promised Land &, even though 2 positive reports come back, the Israelites are so persuaded by the 10 negative reports they opt to wait 38 years before attempting to enter the Promised Land.
Terry Fide: Ah, yes. I love this story! By the way I don’t call them spies, but rather consultants. They were just doing their job & helping to gauge the perils presented in the Promised Land. And the Israelites eventually got the land, so it all worked out in the end.
DL: But, an entire generation missed out on living their lives to the fullest & experiencing life as God intended.
Terry Fide: Well, yes. And to be honest, I would submit there was probably a lot of “Group-Think” going on. You know how committees work. Once one spy presented his “concerns” another spy probably chimed in with what he found “troubling” & another lists those things that he found “disquieting” & it snowballs from there. You see the same thing today when the same phrases start re-appearing in multiple news sources. But I don’t complain. As we say, “Every fear means another great year!”
DL: But what if we learned from the Israelite’s negative example & didn’t cave into that “group-think?” What if we recognized that, yes there are legitimate fears in every day life, but that we aren’t alone – that we can rely on God to be ever-present & to help us ultimately reach our own personal version of God’s Promised Land?
Terry Fide: Actually, I’m afraid that could work. Whoa, I need to run. We have family movie night tonight before our trip to Myrtle Beach on Saturday.
DL: Thanks for your time. What movie are you watching?
Terry Fide: Jaws.
-------
“'Don’t rebel against the LORD'—but they did"
Saturday, 24 September 2-16
Numbers 14:1 At this all the people of Isra’el cried out in dismay and wept all night long. 2 Moreover, all the people of Isra’el began grumbling against Moshe and Aharon; the whole community told them, “We wish we had died in the land of Egypt! or that we had died here in the desert! 3 Why is Adonai bringing us to this land, where we will die by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will be taken as booty! Wouldn’t it be better for us to return to Egypt?” 4 And they said to each other, “Let’s appoint a leader and return to Egypt!”
5 Moshe and Aharon fell on their faces before the entire assembled community of the people of Isra’el. 6 Y’hoshua the son of Nun and Kalev the son of Y’funeh, from the detachment that had reconnoitered the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the whole community of Isra’el, “The land we passed through in order to spy it out is an outstandingly good land! (iii) 8 If Adonai is pleased with us, then he will bring us into this land and give it to us — a land flowing with milk and honey. 9 Just don’t rebel against Adonai. And don’t be afraid of the people living in the land — we’ll eat them up! Their defense has been taken away from them, and Adonai is with us! Don’t be afraid of them!”
10 But just as the whole community were saying they should be stoned to death, the glory of Adonai appeared in the tent of meeting to all the people of Isra’el.
20 Adonai answered, “I have forgiven, as you have asked. 21 But as sure as I live, and that the whole earth is filled with the glory of Adonai, 22 none of the people who saw my glory and the signs I did in Egypt and in the desert, yet tested me these ten times and did not listen to my voice, 23 will see the land I swore to their ancestors! None of those who treated me with contempt will see it. 24 But my servant Kalev, because he had a different Spirit with him and has fully followed me — him I will bring into the land he entered, and it will belong to his descendants.
25 “Now, since the ‘Amaleki and the Kena‘ani are living in the valley, tomorrow turn around and get yourselves into the desert along the way to the Sea of Suf.”
-------
Reflection Questions:
The Israelites, panicked by the negative report of ten of the twelve men who’d “spied out” the Promised Land, were ready to mutiny. Two of the spies—Caleb and Joshua—begged Israel to trust God, and not refuse to go into the Promised Land. But the people were ready to stone them (and Moses) to death, and choose another leader to take them back to Egypt—until God’s glory intervened. Fear would not win out to that absurd extent. But God did honor their negative choice. Except for Caleb and Joshua, God said, Israel would stay in the wilderness until all of those who didn’t want to go into the Promised Land reached the end of their lives.
• Read verses 6-9 again, aloud if you can. Feel the pathos, the desperation, in Caleb and Joshua’s plead to the people. Imagine their feelings the next day as they packed up their tents and marched, not toward the “exceptionally good land” they had seen briefly on their scouting trip, but away from it, into the desolate Sinai landscape. God offers you an exceptionally good life, full of purpose, challenge and meaning, leading to eternity in a world made new with all the good things God has always intended for human life. Yet it can be scary to choose that life. How can you keep fear from making you turn your back on God’s exceptionally good life? How can you set your life’s course firmly in the direction of God’s promised land?
Prayer: O God, lead me ever onward. Guard my heart and mind from the lure of nostalgia for
the “Egypt” from which you have set me free. Keep my path steady all the way to an eternity with you. Amen.
Family Activity: In all families, we can say words that give courage and strength, or words that tear down and discourage. Read Ephesians 4:29[Ephesians 4:29 Let no harmful language come from your mouth, only good words that are helpful in meeting the need, words that will benefit those who hear them.]. Create a family jar of encouragement and faith. Cut out 30-40 slips of paper. On each slip, write a word or phrase of love, support, care or hope. Think about what words lift you up and include those as a blessing to others. Place all of the slips in a jar. Any time a family member has spoken words that hurt, he or she can then pull out a slip of paper, apologize, then (from the heart) say something encouraging. Better yet, work toward not speaking hurtful words at all. When you need help, go to the jar for ideas and inspiration! Ask God to help you use your words for good.
-------
Prayer Requests – cor.org/prayer
Prayers for Peace & Comfort for:
•Scott Bayles and family on the death of his mother Glady Bayles, 9/10
• Meredith Bell and family on the death of her grandmother Glady Bayles, 9/10
• Jon Bevan and family on the death of his mother Sally Bevan, 9/9
• Loretta Graham and family on the death of her mother Evangeline Sins, 9/9
•BJ Martin and family on the death of her mother Marcie Osborn, 9/8
•Brian Wilson and family on the death of his stepfather Gene Schwulst, 9/2
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The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection
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