Transcription
Hello everyone. This is Mike Howard and I am here with Beverly Howard. We're going to do a Bible study. This is our third lesson in the book of Numbers. We're in chapter 13 this week. We'll be chapter 14 next week. Turns out last week we had two lessons in one. This week we have a lesson that will actually cover two weeks. So it'll be a lesson to be continued. Interesting. And there's more. Continue next week. And next week we this week we're going to talk about uh Israel thinking about going into the promised land and then making the decision not to. And then next week God's response to them. So it's rebellion and judgment is next week's lesson. The story is really isn't about something that happened just to Israel thousands of years ago. This is a story that's happening this very day. It's happening to every person who hears the good news and makes a decision whether to accept it by faith or reject it and rebel. So this story really is for us today.
In Numbers 13, which is today's lesson, 12 leaders, one from each tribe, are sent to explore the promised land. 10 of those leaders when they returned said, "We can't do it. We can't go in. It's too scary." Next week, we'll talk about Numbers 14. And God is going to respond because Israel has refused to enter their enter the promised land based on being afraid, on doubt, on fear. And God is going to respond to that by saying to that generation, they will never enter my rest. So right away we find out that the promised land is the same thing as entering into God's rest. So let's get started with the lesson. I'll go back and catch the first couple of verses in chapter 13 to kind of set up the focal verses starting in verse 17. So the Lord said to Moses, "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan which I am giving to the Israelites." So this is the land that God promised Abraham. You lo those many years ago when he called Abraham out of the land of her. So which I'm giving to the Israelites and choose one from each ancestral tribe. And then verses 3-16 gives us the name of each one of those people. Well, the only two names that are worth remembering there are Caleb and Joshua. and we'll find out why. So in verse 17, those people are assembled, those explorers, and sometimes they're called spies, and Moses gives them a set of instructions about what he wants them to look for. So when Moses sent the 12 to explore Canaan, he told them, "Go up through the Ngev from south to north and on into the hill country." And this is the path that they took. Now the nation of Israel was camped down here in Kadesh Barnea. And they sent the 12 explorers up from the south into the north up to the area where Mount Hermon is. So that's the northernmost part of Israel. And he said, "While you're going on that path," and it was about 300 miles. Took him 40 days, 20 days, I guess, to go up and 20 days to come back. While you're on your journey, I would like for you to look for some things. I want you to see what the land is like, whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many? What kind of land do they live in? Is it good land or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or are they fortified? How's the soil? Is it fertile or is it poor? Are there really trees on it or is it just a desert? Do your bre do your best, he says, to bring back some of the fruit from the land. And because it was the season for the first ripe grapes. So that was a series of instructions that Moses g Moses gave this group of 12. He said, "Basically, let us know what the land is like. We'd like to know the people, the land, the fruit, the soil, the trees, all of the things that you can bring back to tell us what we're going to experience when we finally go into the promised land."
So, they left. Verse 21, they went up and they explored the land from the desert of Zen as far as Rehab and toward Lebo Hamath. And then they went up to through the Ngev and they came to Hebron. Now Hebron is a city in Judah that's not that far from Jerusalem. And this was a city where when David became the king of Judah, he set up his headquarters and he stayed in Hebron for seven and a half years and had children there. Later he was uh anointed or he was made king of not only Judah but all of Israel and when that happened he conquered Jerusalem and moved his headquarters to Jerusalem where he stayed. So this is the same Hebron that David set up shop in. But at this point, Hebron was occupied by some people who were pretty fierce and fearsome. So verse 22, this group of 12 went up through the Ngev came to Hebron. And when they came to Hebron, they met three giants, a Ahmon, Shashi, and Talmi. And they were descendants of Anoch. And Anoch was a giant. And so were these three sons or descendants or offspring of Anoch. Now the name Anoch means uh one who strangles or one who wears a necklace. Those two ways they can be interpreted. But when you think of strangling somebody, you think of cutting off their breath or their life breath. And so you think of someone who is a killer and well that's the the image that we get of giants. They're terrifying and they're fierce. And uh of course David when he's just still a teenager runs into a giant named Goliath. And uh that we all know how that battle ended. So let me go back and get back focused here. Uh so they're going to meet three three giants that are offspring from Anoch who is their dad. And he says and then there's a parenthesis here. It says Hebrine had been built seven years before Zohan in Egypt. Now what is that all about? Well Zoan was the headquarters of the Pharaoh in Egypt. So it was the the capital at that time of where the it's where the pharaoh lived. It's where he ruled Egypt from. Not supposed to end a sentence in a preposition, but it's from where he he ruled Egypt. Okay. Now, why did Moses put this in? Well, Moses grew up in Zoan. Uh and therefore what he was telling us is the same way that the pharaohs ruled Egypt from that capital, so too the giants ruled that part of Canaan from Hebron. So that explains that.
So we they met three giants on their way and they're also going to pick up some grapes on their way back. When they reached the valley of Eshko, Eshko means a cluster, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes, two of the 12 carried that cluster on a pole between them along with some pomegranates and figs. I don't know how heavy these this how big or how heavy these this cluster of grapes was, but it weighed enough that one person couldn't carry that cluster on his back. So they had a pole put the grapes the cluster on the pole and carried them between them. So that place was called the valley of Eshko because the cluster of grapes because of the cluster of grapes that the Israelites cut off there. Now, they've saw they've seen trees. They've seen cities. They've seen different and they're about to tell us all the different people that live in this promised land and the fortified cities that they lived in. And then they've cut off some fruit and they've brought that back. So, this is the end of their 40 days of spying out the promised land. At the end of the 40 days, they returned from exploring the land. They came back to Moses and Aaron and then the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the desert of PN. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. They said, "See this giant bunch of grapes, the land is really does flow with milk and honey." And that's kind of a euphemism for saying that it's a very uh abundant land. So let's find out the details of their report. it. They were doing fine until they got to this part of the report. So, they said it's a land with milk and honey. It's got a lot of wonderful things there, but and here's the butt, but the people who live there, they're powerful. And the cities that are there, they're fortified and they're very big. And we even saw giants there, descendants of Anoch. They went on to say this. The Amalachites live in the in the Ngev. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites, they live in the hill country. And the Canaanites, they live over by the sea along the Jordan. In other words, the land is already fully occupied. So, we're going into a promised land where not only are there giants, but there are also other nations with fortified cities. That scares us. So now the 10 who have done this report, this doesn't include Caleb or Joshua. So they've got everybody scared, senseless, but Caleb steps in and he says this. While they're basking in the fear of these giants and these cities, Caleb is basking in faith. Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and he said this. Look, we should go up. We should take possession of the land for we can certainly do it. At this point, Caleb is 45 years old. Let me do an aside. We'll get to it when we get to Deuteronomy. 40 years later when Caleb goes into the promised land, Joshua says, "Caleb, what area would you like to occupy?" And Caleb says, "Give me Hebron where the giants are. That's where I want to go." Caleb is now 85 years old. You know, I'm old now and I don't think I'm able to go up against giants. But Caleb said, "I no question to me. Give me the hill country. Give me Hebron. That's where the giants are. That's where I want to go." And he did. And he killed all three giants. How cool is that story? Very cool. I know. Verse 31. Now, Caleb and Joshua are going, "Hey, we got this because we've got God. You're talking about giants. You're talking about fortified cities. We're talking about the creator of the universe, our father, God. He's on our side. We can do this." But the men, the 10 who had gone up with him with Caleb said, "No, no, no. We can't do that. We can't attack those giant people. They are stronger than us. As a matter of fact, uh they and then they go on to exaggerate their fears. You remember how many giants they met? Three. Watch this. They the 10 spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land that they had explored. They said, "Look, the land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. Everybody there is a giant. How many giants did they meet? Three. How many giants did they remember? Everybody was a giant. As a matter of fact, we saw the Nephilim. Now, I'll tell you who they are in just a second. They are the descendants there. They are the descendants of Anoch come from the Nephilim. That's another parenthesis. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own hour on in our own eyes and we looked like grasshoppers to them. So they were giants and we looked like grasshoppers and they look like we looked like grasshoppers to them and they thought they also saw us as as if we were grasshoppers. So there's just no way I there's no way that those giants even knew they were probably. And yet they going on they're going on to say everybody's a giant everybody is ferocious. You know they kill everybody they see. There's no way we can survive. So who who are these Nephilim that they're talking about? Well in Genesis 6:4 we find out that the Nephilim were were also were on the earth in those days. That's before the flood. And then also afterward. Also afterward means also after the flood. We don't know how they survived the flood, but I'm guessing and now watch this. When the sons of God, that would be uh the angels, the demons, okay? The sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had hybrid children with them. They were half human and half demon. And these they say were they were the heroes of old men of renown. So apparently the demons came after the flood and also mated with women on the earth after that. Although we're not clear, the commentaries are all divided. Most of the commentaries believe that the Nephilim just are you translate that giants. U and so when the Israelites are talking about are talking about giants and they they equate them to Nephilim, they're talking about just people who are fierce, mean uh and hate God's people. And that would fit pretty much the description of Nephilim.
So, let me do a little bit of a a summary of that. That's the narrative story. Next week, we'll get to the part of the story where God responds to their lack of faith. But let me talk a little bit about the land itself and then the giants and what they represent. So, the land, this promised land, that promise of a promised land is a progressive promise. It's a promise that God gave to Abraham that Abraham never saw come true. Never saw it come true. Okay? It's a promise that the patriarchs, the Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, he it was their promise. They never saw that promise. They never occupied the promised land. Okay? They lived there, but they didn't occupy it. They didn't own it. Okay? And then Israel when they were finally there got kicked out of the promised land because of their idolatry and then came back and then they got scattered. So they really have never fully occupied that promised land either. So the promise that God gave of this promised land is a progressive promise. In other words, no, none of these people in the Old Testament actually realized the ultimate promise. And we're going to find out from Hebrews why that is. So, it's a progressive promise to both Israel and it's a promise ultimately of heaven. So, the original promised land can be found in Genesis 12:1. The Lord had said to Abram, "Go from your country, which was around Babylon, your people, and your father's household to the land that I will show you. To your offspring, I will give this land." In other words, you're not going to live long enough, but it will be given to your offspring. By the way, in Hebrews, we find out those offspring are people like Abraham who believe by faith, not just the nation Israel. Well, in Moses's day, the promised land was that nation uh that we now call Israel. In Deuteronomy 1:8, "See, I have given you this land. Go in, take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to their descendants after them." So, remember, it's a progressive promise. And then in Hebrews we find out that they were just looking at physical land and what God was promising was something else. Hebrews chapter 4:8. For if Joshua, remember Moses says Joshua is going to lead you into this land. Okay? And Hebrews is author of Hebrews is going to tell us this. If Joshua had given them this promised land, this land of rest, God would not have spoken later about it about another day there. Verse nine, there remains then a Sabbath rest. Now, Sabbath rest is the promised land. What the writer of Hebrews is saying is the promised land is the rest of God. It's God's rest. It's resting with God. It's returned to God. It's made the righteousness of God. It's dwelling with God. So, for anyone who enters God, God's rest also rests from their works just as God did from his.
So, it's a progressive promise. It's a place where God dwells with his people. You remember the Garden of Eden? Well, that's where God dwelt with Adam and Eve. They got kicked out. And God promised Abram that he would restore Abram and his descendants, people of faith, to that promised land, to that place where God dwells with them. Okay? So during the for Christians, he now dwells where he dwells in our hearts. We still fight the flesh just the way that that the Israelites are going to fight all of those p giants and people. We still fight the flesh, but Christ is in us. Later on, when Christ returns, there will be a 1,000year reign. And then but sin and death are going to still be present during that 1,000 years. But then at the end there will be a new heaven and a new earth. And that will be the ultimate fulfillment of the promised land. That will be heaven. There will be no sin. There will be no death. Now, Jesus conquered sin and death on the cross, but they will continue to carry on until the new heaven and the new earth. So, it's progressive. So, that's the land that I want to make clear. The land is not the nation of Israel. The land is is first of all, it's in our hearts now because God dwells in our hearts. But then ultimately, it is going to be in the new heaven and the new earth. So, that's the land. Then, now let me talk just a second about the giants. Well, not only are are we told in the Bible that there are lots and lots of giants, but these giants are also made equivalent to something called a serpent or a beast. We find out about the beast of a serpent in Revelation. We find out about serpents in Genesis and in the middle there are a lot of giants. So giants in the Bible, a giant is considered in the Bible a foe or an enemy that is bigger and stronger than you but always smaller than God. And these are some examples. The first serpent/giant was or dragon was Satan. The next that we hear about is the Nephil Nephilim and they were the pre flood hybrid halfh human half demon. Then we run into another giant with the teenage David who's called Goliath and he had a father, children, and brothers that we read about in scripture later. By the way, David conquers them as well. Then we read as they're about to enter the promised land uh just before they cross the Jordan, they do battle with another giant, a man named Og, the king of Bashan in Deuteronomy chapter 3. We don't know how tall Goliath was. There are reports that he was 6'6 and there are other reports that he was over 9 ft tall. Not clear. I think I lean toward the 9 ft, but who knows? Og was called a giant. His bed, we know how big his bed was. We don't know how big OG was. OG's bed was 13 feet long and 6 feet wide. I assume he was a pretty tall guy, too. There are also the sons of Anoch that the 12 explorers ran into. And then we find out in Revelation there's this beast and false prophet. Those are also giants. So, a giant is anyone that is a foe of God's people. They're stronger than we are individually, but they're weaker than God is. The giants really look scary. Giants represent tyranny that oppresses God's people. You think of King Og and you think of Goliath as being really prototypes of giants that oppress God's people. They also represent sexual immorality that corrupts that. The Nephilim were created out of sexual immorality in Genesis. They also represent those who rebel against God. They thrive both on violence and hatred. Just this week, Charlie Kirk was murdered uh in u we are all uh pretty much grieving over that. He was murdered for uh espousing uh beliefs that are based on the Bible. He was telling people the gospel and they hated him for it and they killed him the same way they killed Jesus and other people who were martyed for sharing the gospel. It's sad not only because he was young and a father and had children. Uh but it's also sad because now tens of thousands if not millions of people are celebrating his murder on social media. And that makes me sad because these are people who are on team Satan. And I want so much for those people to hear and to believe the gospel. They too can receive forgiveness. right now they're on the wrong team and they're believing that violence and hatred is going to stamp out what cannot be stamped out and that is the love of God in Christ Jesus.
So how do we apply this? Number one, how do we apply God's rest? Number two, how do we apply our understanding of giants? Number one, God's rest is the promised land. Abraham entered it by faith. God said, "Leave your land and go to this land that I'm promising." And Abraham said, "By faith, I will do it." Joshua and Caleb were two of the 12. And instead of being afraid, they said, "Let's enter by faith." And they did. All who place their faith in G in who Jesus is on his in his resurrection and what he did on the cross, they have now entered in to not the promised land but entered into God's rest which is the promised land. Number two, who are the giants? Well, according to Paul in Ephesians 6:12, our struggle is not against people who shoot us with a gun. It's not against people at all. It's against not against flesh and blood, but it's against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world. It's against the giants that are part of Satan's demonic army and against spiritual forces of evil. And where in the heavenly realms, what is their fate? Well, I've got good news for those of us who are on team Jesus. Genesis chapter 3:1 15 God explains to the serpent Satan what his fate is. I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring. Remember look what he says here. This is he's talking to the servant. He's talking to Satan. And yet he says Satan's offspring that is people on team Satan. you between your offspring and between her offspring. He he goes on to say who he's now talking about the Messiah and Jesus. He will crush your head and you will strike his heel. And that happened on the cross. Both of those happened on the cross. Are they really defeated? Are the giants really defeated? Even though people are still being murdered for their faith, not just Charlie Kirk, but all over the world, people Christians are being murdered for their faith being martyed. Christ defeated Satan, sin, and death on the cross. And in John 16, he says this, "I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. Now in this world, you're going to have trouble, but take heart. I have past tense overcome the world. Peace can be found in a troubled world because peace is having Christ within. Christ defeated Satan's sin and death on the cross. All of those giants, Satan, sin, and death. Huge giants that are to be feared by others, but not by us. Because those giants have been defeated. He says this, "I have told you these things that in me you may have peace. I have overcome the world." Colossians chapter 2:1 15 says this. Jesus having disarmed the powers and the authorities the giants he made a public spectacle of them by triumphing o them over triumphing over them by the cross. We have victory in Jesus. These people who hate Christians may try to kill us, but they can only kill our bodies. They cannot kill our souls. And Jesus says in Matthew 10, "Don't fear people who can kill your bodies only, but fear the one who can kill not only your body, but your soul in hell, and that is only God."
Pray with me. Father, Israel gets right up to the edge and they look into the promised land and they see even though they've watched God do 10 miracles to get them out of Egypt, divide the Red Sea, give them mana, give them water, all these miracles. And yet they look at these giants and they're afraid. And sure enough, they couldn't do it without God. But with God, all things are possible. We ask that in your son's name. Amen. Amen. Join me next week for the second part of this lesson, and that is God's response to their lack of faith. Till then, we love you guys. Pray hard. Byebye. Yes. Bye-bye.