October 24, 2024

Numbers 13:1-25  (HCSB)
Scouting Out Canaan
13 The Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Send men to scout out the land of Canaan I am giving to the Israelites. Send one man who is a leader among them from each of their ancestral tribes.” 3 Moses sent them from the Wilderness of Paran at the Lord’s command. All the men were leaders in Israel. 4 These were their names: Shammua son of Zaccur from the tribe of Reuben; 5 Shaphat son of Hori from the tribe of Simeon; 6 Caleb son of Jephunneh from the tribe of Judah; 7 Igal son of Joseph from the tribe of Issachar; 8 Hoshea son of Nun from the tribe of Ephraim; 9 Palti son of Raphu from the tribe of Benjamin; 10 Gaddiel son of Sodi from the tribe of Zebulun; 11 Gaddi son of Susi from the tribe of Manasseh (from the tribe of Joseph); 12 Ammiel son of Gemalli from the tribe of Dan; 13 Sethur son of Michael from the tribe of Asher; 14 Nahbi son of Vophsi from the tribe of Naphtali; 15 Geuel son of Machi from the tribe of Gad. 16 These were the names of the men Moses sent to scout out the land, and Moses renamed Hoshea son of Nun, Joshua.
17 When Moses sent them to scout out the land of Canaan, he told them, “Go up this way to the Negev, then go up into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like, and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 Is the land they live in good or bad? Are the cities they live in encampments or fortifications? 20 Is the land fertile or unproductive? Are there trees in it or not? Be courageous. Bring back some fruit from the land.” It was the season for the first ripe grapes. 21 So they went up and scouted out the land from the Wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob near the entrance to Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were living. Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt. 23 When they came to the Valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes, which was carried on a pole by two men. They also took some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut there. 25 At the end of 40 days they returned from scouting out the land.

Rachel Raley
My first car was a white corvette, and it was given to me as a gift from my dad, Jimbo. When I first got in to drive, I wasn’t thinking “Will this car be reliable?” or “What if a part falls off while I drive it?!” I never questioned its reliability. I mean everyone else on the road should have been scared, but I wasn’t! You know why? Because my dad would not have given it to me in the first place if it wasn’t going to keep his girl safe. Of course, you can never put your complete trust in a man-made object, but you know where I am going with this! Why is it so hard for us to trust and place faith in what God gives us? If God is giving the land of Canaan to the Israelites, why must they check it out first before entering it? God has promised to be with them every step of the way and that they will end being victorious... yet there is a group that is being told to scout out the land. Isn’t that just like us living life? We trust God in a way, but also we want to be in control and need a “sneak peek” on the situation in front of us.