Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark
"After that, the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran. The Lord said to Moses, "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." So at the Lord's command Moses sent them out from the Desert of Paran. All of them were leaders of the Israelites. These are their names: from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki. These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.) When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 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? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on 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.)"
"So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 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.) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, 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. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit." Numbers 12:16, 13:1-27
The people of Israel had gone through a lot of traveling after leaving Egypt. God had delivered them into the wilderness where their faith and obedience were put to the test. All along, God praised where praise was warranted and disciplined where it was needed but never swayed from the end goal…to complete His covenant promise by leading Israel into Canaan…the Promised Land.
After Aaron and Miriam were corrected and punished by God, we read where "the people left Hazeroth and encamped in the Desert of Paran." The northernmost part of the desert bordered the southernmost border of the Promised Land so it was accessible for Israel. They were close to the finish line. Before they crossed over, we read where the Lord said to Moses, "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." In essence, God was sending an advance party to go into Canaan and return to make report of their findings to Moses and the Israelites.
So Moses obeyed God and sent a group, all leaders of Israel, out from the Desert of Paran toward Canaan, telling them to, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 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? How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on 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.)" Here were the names of those selected:
"…from the tribe of Reuben, Shammua son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel son of Sodi; from the tribe of Manasseh (a tribe of Joseph), Gaddi son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel son of Maki. These are the names of the men Moses sent to explore the land. (Moses gave Hoshea son of Nun the name Joshua.)"
So the men went as God had commanded through Moses and were gone for forty days. They "explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 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.) When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, 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. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there."
After forty days, the men returned and the people of Israel had to have been waiting with eager anticipation to hear about the land that God had promised them. Would it be as He said it would? The returning leaders confirmed it as they "reported to them (Israel) and to the whole assembly", showing them the "fruit of the land." Specifically, scripture says they told Moses, "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit." The people had to be overjoyed to not only hear about what awaited them but also to see it first hand. The fruit had to be very welcome sight after so many days of manna. As we’ll see in tomorrow’s study, not all the news was good news from the returning men but the people had to at least be encouraged about what they reported…about the land that was flowing with milk and honey.
No less than 21 verses in the bible speak about Canaan as the land flowing with milk and honey. God had promised to lead Israel there and He had made good on His word. Indeed, this is something that we need to always remember about our Almighty Father. He is a God who keeps His promises and does just what He says He will do.
Paul wrote the following words in the Book of Acts that illuminate the truth that God always keeps His promises, connecting our Old Testament covenant with the New Testament covenant found in His Son, our Savior Jesus:
"We tell you the good news: What God promised our fathers he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: " 'You are my Son; today I have become your Father. The fact that God raised him from the dead, never to decay, is stated in these words: " 'I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.' So it is stated elsewhere: " 'You will not let your Holy One see decay.' "For when David had served God's purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his fathers and his body decayed. But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses." Acts 13:32-39
God had led Israel to the promised land…the land flowing with milk and honey. He then gave all of us Jesus to lead us to an even greater promised land…the eternal land where the Father and His Son reside…the place flowing with everything worth living for. If deliverance from Egypt and subsequent entry into the Promised Land of Canaan was good news for the people of Israel, how much more so is the deliverance from sin and the coming entry into the promised eternal life in Heaven through Jesus Christ good news for us today. What a blessing it is to serve such an awesome God…a God who delivers on His promises yesterday, today and forever. Alleluia! Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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