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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
August 1932
deliverance for which we cry, and not vic tory, we shall find it. It is the Lord alone who can secure the victory, and from Him we take the deliverance that victory as sures. Until this lesson is learned, the ene mies will be giants and we will be grass hoppers in their sight. Lesson Questions Vs. 1-3. Why were the spies sent forth (cf. Deut. 1 :19-46) ? What good reason was there for having the group o f spies composed of rulers, representing each tribe ? Vs. 25, 26. What does the number forty signify in Scripture? What does its use imply here? To whom was the report of the spies given? How did this divide re sponsibility in regard to the final decision ? Vs. 27-33. On how many points did the spies agree? On how many did they d if fer?—What was the report o f the minor ity? Was it true that the enemies were more powerful that Israel could cope with alone? What strength did the Lord’s peo ple overlook or underestimate? How is this mistake repeated today? Golden Text Illustration In the old classic story, Hercules, the giant, sent out a challenge to wrestle with any man the world could send against him. The challenge was placarded in all the cities o f Greece, and at last the gaunt let thrown down by the mighty Hercules was taken up, not by a man of stature like himself, but by a most unlikely sort o f op ponent, a man of dwarf-like stature whose name Was Antaeus. As Goliath sneered at David, so Hercules contemptuously dis dained this man of feeble build, but An taeus demanded a trial o f strength, and the day for the contest was set. The great crowd gathered, and Antaeus was there to meet his fierce antagonist. Hercules advanced into the arena and exerted himself a bit, but the little man stood his ground. The giant went at him with greater strength, and then with greater, and then with every muscle at full tension, the sweat running from every pore; he wrestled on, but Antaeus did not go down. The great crowd laughed and jeered, and Hercules, beaten and humili ated, slunk away to his tent. That night there came to the tent o f Hercules a false friend of the strange wrestler, and whispered, “ G old ! Gold 1 Give me gold, and I will tell you the secret o f your defeat today, and how you may win tomorrow.” The gold was given, and the traitor said, “Your antagonist is Antaeus, the son of Earth. As long as his feet touch the earth, he cannot be thrown, for all the strength o f the earth passes into him. Sever that connection, and the victory is yours.” Next day, the crowds assembled again to witness once more the defeat of Her cules. Antaeus came, little dreaming that his secret was known. Hercules, advanced, and before the dwarf was aware, by a sud den turn, lifted him from his feet and crushed him in mid-air. The Lord God is our strength. Why do we do ourselves and Him this great wrong of being weak when we might be strong? I f we are going down in defeat, it is be cause we have broken connection with the source of power. A little neglect o f prayer, and a little neglect o f this and the other means o f grace, and the victory is easy for the great enemy o f your soul. But, in close touch with God, you are invincible. —W . E. B iederwolf .
BLACKBOARD LESSON
ing their own way, they lost that which was almost within their grasp, the posses sion of the promised land. The spies were carefully chosen, every tribe being represented, so there would be no jealousy, each man being a ruler or prince, so there would be no objection to the report they would bring back. They were instructed to search out the land. But had not the Lord already searched it out? Did He not know what was there? And could He not give the land to them, what ever might be the opposition? He had brought them out o f Egypt by His mighty hand; could He not now take them into Canaan? These are questions we may well ask ourselves in all the providences we meet. W e should remember the past per formances of our God when new fields or new experiences confront us. II. T he R eturn of the S pies (25, 26) The spies came back bringing samples of the fruit of the land together with their oral report. They had spent forty days spying out the land. Forty, in the Scrip tures, stands for testing. Moses spent forty years in the desert, Paul had forty days of testing, and our Lord Himself was tested by the devil for forty days in the wilder ness. So these twelve (the number o f testi mony) came back after forty days, indi cating the thorough testing and complete searching of the land. They returned to those who had sent them, not only to Moses and Aaron who were the representatives of both the gov ernmental and religious life o f the peo ple, but they came also to “all the congre gation o f the children o f Israel.” It could never be said that the final decision was made by the leaders alone. God never holds any one responsible for another’s actions. No one of lis will give account for another, but each o f us “ shall give account o f himself to God.” III. T he R eport of the S pies (27-33). The spies reported that what the Lord had said concerning the land was all true (v. 27). There is a hint here that, until the people heard this report, they had a hidden idea that possibly what the Lord had said was not true. Their unbelief was not hidden, however. They had more faith in the word of the spies than in the naked word o f God. But do not we our selves sometimes act in this manner? We say we know that all things work together for good, but do we act on that knowl edge? The spies brought back the fruit as proof that what God said was true. But did they really need ocular proof for this? What unbelief it is that demands to see before believing! “ Blessed are they that have not seen” and yet believe (John 20: 29). The report o f the spies suggested that while God had told the truth, He had not told all the truth (vs. 28, 29). In other words, while Canaan was a land flowing with milk and honey, the “people were strong, the cities great and walled,” and many enemies were to be found therein. How quickly the Israelites had forgotten what the Lord had done in bringing them out of Egypt! God had proven His power to deliver from all enemies, had revealed His power over the forces o f nature at the Red Sea, and had promised to bring them into Canaan as surely as He had brought them out o f Egypt; but the report o f the spies awakened uneasiness and dismay. Caleb then “ stilled the people . . . and
said, Let us go up at once, and possess it : for we are well able to overcome it” (v. 30). Thus faith speaks. Faith looks at both what is seen and at what is unseen. It was true that the people of Canaan were strong, the cities great, and the enemies many, but God was stronger, and greater, and all-sufficient. “Therefore,” said Caleb, “ let us go at once and possess the land.” Bringing God into the scene changed the strength of the enemies into weakness, and the weakness of Israel into strength. God had told them to go in and possess, and faith could not sit still (Jas. 2:14-26). Thus it is with the salvation which God freely offers. The word is, “ Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved,” in spite of all the opposition and the obstacles in the path, in spite of all the enemies and their strength. It needs only the heart to believe and the will to obey, and God does all the rest. This is true also for every step on the way before the Chris tian. “Have faith in God” is the funda mental requirement for receiving salva tion, for growth in salvation, for enjoy ment of the Christian life, and for power in Christian service. But Caleb’s words were quickly drowned^, by the protest of the unbelieving spies (vs. 31-33). They magnified the strength of the enemies in the land, saying, “W e be not able . . . they are stronger than we.” This was perfectly true, but it was not the whole truth. While the people o f Israel were weak in themselves, they could be almighty in their almighty God. Unbelief reminds the people o f the diffi culties in the way. “They [the unbelieving spies] brought up an evil report of the land,” saying, it was “a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof.” Here again unbe lief sees only the outward conditions. Faith would not minimize the difficulties, but would recognize them and say, “ There are more with us than with them,” and “we are well able to possess the land.” Finally, the unbelief of the spies has to do with the size of the enemies. “There we saw the giants, the sons of Anak. . . . and we were in our own sight as grass hoppers, and so we were in their sight” (v. 33). Israel alone would be insufficient for meeting enemies, even though the ene mies were not giants. Israel had yet to learn her own weakness. Faith first learns the weakness o f self, then throws that weakness on the power of God, and goes forth, not with her own power plus the power of God, but with no power except the power o f God. As long as the Chris tian thinks he has some strength, he will always find defeat, whatever enemies he may face. But when he learns that he is wholly strengthless, and even for the eas iest work must rely upon the Lord alone, then the Lord’s power becomes available. W e need to learn the lesson Paul learned long ago and cry, “ O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?” When it is
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