Caleb

Bible Study Guides – Early Life in Canaan

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Lessons from the Book of Joshua

March 1 – 7, 2020

Key Text

“And the whole congregation of the children of Israel assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the tabernacle of the congregation there. And the land was subdued before them” (Joshua 18:1).

Study Help:  Patriarchs and Prophets, 512–518.

Introduction

“The land to which we are traveling is in every sense far more attractive than was the land of Canaan to the children of Israel. They were led by the hand of God. Christ Himself gave them a description of the country in which they were to find a home; for He wished to place before them every incentive to press on with hope and courage. … They had need of courage and constant faith.” The Review and Herald, November 29, 1881.

Sunday

A MAN OF COURAGE

a. Before the land was distributed, what did Caleb testify of his experience from forty years prior? Joshua 14:6–9. How had he shown courage before?

b. What can we learn from God’s promise to Caleb? Numbers 14:22–24.

Note: “While the doubting ones talk of impossibilities, while they tremble at the thought of high walls and strong giants, let the faithful Calebs, who have ‘another spirit’ (Numbers 14:24), come to the front. The truth of God, which bringeth salvation, will go forth to the people if ministers and professed believers will not hedge up its way, as did the unfaithful spies. Our work is aggressive. Something must be done to warn the world; and let no voice be heard that will encourage selfish interests to the neglect of missionary fields. We must engage in the work with heart and soul and voice; both mental and physical powers must be aroused. All heaven is interested in our work, and angels of God are ashamed of our weak efforts.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 380, 381.

Monday

THE FAITH OF AN AGED WARRIOR

a. What refreshing request did 85-year-old Caleb make? Joshua 14:10–12. How is his amazing courage and trust in God inspiring to us?

Note: “Zeal and energy must be intensified; talents that are rusting from inaction must be pressed into service. The voice that would say, ‘Wait; do not allow yourself to have burdens imposed upon you,’ is the voice of the cowardly spies. We want Calebs now who will press to the front—chieftains in Israel who with courageous words will make a strong report in favor of immediate action. When the selfish, ease-loving, panic-stricken people, fearing tall giants and inaccessible walls, clamor for retreat, let the voice of the Calebs be heard, even though the cowardly ones stand with stones in their hands, ready to beat them down for their faithful testimony.” Testimonies, vol. 5, 383.

b. How was Caleb’s faithful claim blessed? Joshua 14:13–15.

Note: “Caleb’s faith now was just what it was when his testimony had contradicted the evil report of the spies. He had believed God’s promise that He would put His people in possession of Canaan, and in this he had followed the Lord fully. He had endured with his people the long wandering in the wilderness, thus sharing the disappointments and burdens of the guilty; yet he made no complaint of this, but exalted the mercy of God that had preserved him in the wilderness when his brethren were cut off. Amid all the hardships, perils, and plagues of the desert wanderings, and during the years of warfare since entering Canaan, the Lord had preserved him; and now at upwards of fourscore his vigor was unabated. He did not ask for himself a land already conquered, but the place which above all others the spies had thought it impossible to subdue. By the help of God he would wrest his stronghold from the very giants whose power had staggered the faith of Israel. It was no desire for honor or aggrandizement that prompted Caleb’s request. The brave old warrior was desirous of giving to the people an example that would honor God, and encourage the tribes fully to subdue the land which their fathers had deemed unconquerable.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 512, 513.

Tuesday

 FAITH THAT WORKS

a. Explain how Caleb’s courageous faith was demonstrated in works, even in his old age. Joshua 15:13, 14

Note: “Caleb obtained the inheritance upon which his heart had been set for forty years, and, trusting in God to be with him, he ‘drove thence the three sons of Anak’ (Joshua 15:14). Having thus secured a possession for himself and his house, his zeal did not abate; he did not settle down to enjoy his inheritance, but pushed on to further conquests for the benefit of the nation and the glory of God.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 513.

b. Explain the difference in outcome between the experience of Joshua and Caleb versus that of the unbelieving spies. Numbers 14:30–32; 1Corinthians 10:5.

Note: “The cowards and rebels had perished in the wilderness, but the righteous spies ate of the grapes of Eschol. To each was given according to his faith. The unbelieving had seen their fears fulfilled. Notwithstanding God’s promise, they had declared that it was impossible to inherit Canaan, and they did not possess it. But those who trusted in God, looking not so much to the difficulties to be encountered as to the strength of their Almighty Helper, entered the goodly land.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 513.

c. What does God want us to realize about the power of faith? 1John 5:4.

 Note: “All things are possible to him that believeth; and whatsoever things we desire when we pray, if we believe that we receive them we shall have them. This faith will penetrate the darkest cloud and bring rays of light and hope to the drooping, desponding soul. It is the absence of this faith and trust which brings perplexity, distressing fears, and surmisings of evil. God will do great things for His people when they put their entire trust in Him.” Testimonies, vol. 2, 140.

Wednesday

SHARING BURDENS IN UNITY

a. Which tribes were located (a) on the east side of the Jordan; (b) on the west side of the Jordan? (To view the division of Canaan among the twelve tribes, see a Bible map.) Numbers 34:14, 15; Joshua 13:7, 8.

Note: “Two of the tribes of Israel, Gad and Reuben, with half the tribe of Manasseh, had received their inheritance before crossing the Jordan. To a pastoral people, the wide upland plains and rich forests of Gilead and Bashan, offering extensive grazing land for their flocks and herds, had attractions which were not to be found in Canaan itself, and the two and a half tribes, desiring to settle here, had pledged themselves to furnish their proportion of armed men to accompany their brethren across the Jordan and to share their battles till they also should enter upon their inheritance. The obligation had been faithfully discharged. When the ten tribes entered Canaan forty thousand of ‘the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh … prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho’ (Joshua 4:12, 13). For years they had fought bravely by the side of their brethren. Now the time had come for them to get unto the land of their possession. As they had united with their brethren in the conflicts, so they had shared the spoils; and they returned ‘with much riches … and with very much cattle, with silver, and with gold, and with brass, and with iron, and with very much raiment’ (Judges 22:8), all of which they were to share with those who had remained with the families and flocks.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 517, 518.

b. Where was the headquarters of the nation? Joshua 4:19; 10:6, first part.

 Note: “Here [at the first encampment in Canaan], Joshua ‘circumcised the children of Israel’ (Joshua 5:3); ‘and the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover’ (verse 10). … And the Lord declared to Joshua, ‘This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you’ (verse 9), and in allusion to this the place of their encampment was called Gilgal, ‘a rolling away,’ or ‘rolling off.’ ” Patriarchs and Prophets, 485, 486.

Thursday

A NEW HEADQUARTERS

a. After the claim of Joseph’s children had been settled, to where was the tabernacle moved? Joshua 18:1, 10. Why? How long was it there?

Note: “Heretofore Gilgal had been the headquarters of the nation and the seat of the tabernacle. But now the tabernacle was to be removed to the place chosen for its permanent location. This was Shiloh, a little town in the lot of Ephraim. It was near the center of the land, and was easy of access to all the tribes. Here a portion of country had been thoroughly subdued, so that the worshipers would not be molested. [Joshua 18:1 quoted.] The tribes that were still encamped when the tabernacle was removed from Gilgal followed it, and pitched near Shiloh. Here these tribes remained until they dispersed to their possessions.

“The ark remained at Shiloh for three hundred years, until, because of the sins of Eli’s house, it fell into the hands of the Philistines, and Shiloh was ruined. The ark was never returned to the tabernacle here, the sanctuary service was finally transferred to the temple at Jerusalem.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 514.

b. What valuable practice was later instituted at Shiloh? Judges 21:19.

Note: “As a means of education an important place was filled by the feasts of Israel. In ordinary life the family was both a school and a church, the parents being the instructors in secular and in religious lines. But three times a year seasons were appointed for social intercourse and worship. First at Shiloh, and afterward at Jerusalem, these gatherings were held.” Education, 41, 42.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1    Why did God say Caleb had “another spirit” suited to the promised land?

2    How can I develop an attitude more like Caleb than like Joseph’s children?

3    What do I need to realize about faith that perhaps I have not seen before?

4    What kind of faith was exercised by those tribes east of the Jordan?

5    Name some of the blessings reaped by the location of Shiloh.

© 2019, Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia 24019-5048, U.S.A.

A Different Spirit

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The most terrible thing that could happen to us today, is if the blood of Christ on the cross was poured out in vain for us. It does not need to happen, but for the majority of the people in this world, the cross will have been in vain.

The apostle John reduces the teaching of the gospel to one Greek word, Pistos. In our English translations of the Bible, it is most commonly translated faith; in the gospel of John, it is very often translated believe.

Wonderful Things

Hebrews 11 is sometimes called the faith chapter. No one is going to the kingdom of heaven without faith. Verse 6 says, “But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” It is impossible to please God without faith, and nobody is going to the kingdom of heaven without faith. If you have faith, wonderful things can happen to you, things that most people cannot even believe.

What are some of the wonderful things that can happen if you have faith? Verse 33 talks about people in the Old Testament: “Who through faith subdued kingdoms.” Do you know anybody in the Old Testament who, through faith, subdued a whole kingdom? How about Jonathan and his armour bearer? Two people subdued the whole kingdom of the Philistines! (See 1 Samuel 14.)

Hebrews 11:33 says, they “worked righteousness,” they “obtained promises.” The Bible is full of promises, but the promises do not do any good unless you believe them. When people who were blind, maimed, lame, or diseased came to Jesus to be healed, Jesus would often say, “According to your faith be it on you.” (See Matthew 9:29.) The Bible promises will not do you any good without faith, but if you have faith, you are going to receive the promise. If you do not have faith, you will not receive the promise. That is why the Bible is a dead book to so many people. They do not have faith, so they do not receive anything. They do not think that God is real or that religion is real.

Faith in Action

Verse 33 continues, “Obtained promises, stopped the mouth of lions.” Do you know any place in the Old Testament where, because of faith, the mouths of lions were stopped? Daniel was thrown into the lions’ den, and by faith the mouths of those lions were stopped. (See Daniel 6.) More examples of things that can happen if you have faith are given in verse 34: “quenched the violence of fire.” Did anyone in the Old Testament escape being burned to death because they had faith? The three Hebrew worthies certainly did! (See Daniel 3.)

There are many, many stories in the Old Testament about people who, by faith, “escaped the edge of the sword.” Just one would be Ehud, the second judge. (See Judges 3.)

Then it says in Hebrews 11:34, “…out of weakness were made strong.” Are you afraid, because you know that you are weak? Did you know that the more you are aware of your weakness, the stronger you can become? People who are weak, and who realize they are weak, will become strong when they look to the Lord. The Lord told Paul, “‘My strength is made perfect in weakness.’” 11 Corinthians 12:9. When you choose to put your trust in the Lord, the weaker you know you are, the stronger you are going to become.

The people of the world find that hard to believe. They cannot understand it, but that is what the Bible teaches. It says, they “became valiant in battle.” Hebrews 11:34. Oh, there are so many stories in the Bible about that, including the three mighty worthies or King David himself. Remember the story that King Saul told David? He said, “If you kill 100 Philistines, I will give you my daughter for a wife.” David said, “All right,” and he went out and killed 200. (See 1 Samuel 18.)

Hosts of Darkness will Flee

There are many stories in the Bible of people who turned to flight the armies of the aliens. When David met Goliath, he turned the entire army to flight. They started to run. (See I Samuel 17:38–52.) I want to tell you, if you have faith, the day is coming when all the hosts of darkness are going to be running from you, too, no matter how many there are. That is what faith is going to produce.

In this world, people become afraid; they say the forces against them are too many. But if you have faith, that does not matter. In fact, if you have faith, the less numbers you have, and the greater the number of enemies you have, the bigger the victory is going to be, because God never loses! Jesus is not only a Saviour, He is a General who has never lost a battle.

If you have faith in Him, you are on the winning side, and you can know that right now. They “became valiant in battle, turned to flight the armies of the aliens.” Ibid. The trouble is, God cannot do very much for His children who do not have faith.

Claiming In Faith

Matthew 13:53–58 tells the story of Jesus being rejected in Nazareth. It says, in verse 58, “Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Could they have seen wonderful things happen? They could have, but they did not have enough faith, so they did not see much.

That is the way with a lot of people’s religious experience. They say, Well, I do not see God doing very much in my life—and they do not. God is not doing much in their life, because they do not have much faith; they do not trust Him. Now, faith is not complicated. Faith is just trusting that if God says something, and if you believe it and follow the conditions, it will happen. You do not need to know how you are going to receive it. Mrs. White makes the statement that God has a thousand ways to provide for us of which we know nothing! (See The Ministry of Healing, 481.)

A Christian man I knew was in financial difficulty. We prayed together. He said, “Lord, it looks to me that this would be a way that my financial difficulties could be solved. You have told me that You have 1,000 ways to provide for me of which I know nothing. If this is not the way You have in mind, any other one of the 999 will be fine!”

When people put their trust in the Word, and start fulfilling the conditions, becoming obedient and trusting God, God starts working miracles in their lives.

A True Man of God

One of the great stories in Scripture is about a man called Caleb, who had this kind of faith. He was one of the twelve who were sent from the leaders of the tribes of the Children of Israel to search out the land of Canaan. They came back, it says, with a bunch of grapes so big that it took two men to carry it. (See Numbers 13.)

It was a wonderful place! In fact, today, they still dig the soil by the Red Sea and ship it all over the world, fertile soil that drained off from the land of Canaan. In ancient times it must have been one of the most fertile of all the countries in the world. It had a sub-tropical climate; you could grow most everything there. The climate was so health- giving that the descendants in that land had not degenerated as much as the rest of the people in the world. The men of Canaan must have been more than 12 feet tall.

The Israelite men saw these giants in Canaan, and they were afraid, because they did not have faith. They said, “Oh, there are giants there! We looked like grasshoppers in our own sight, and we cannot overcome them.” (See Numbers 13:33.)

A Different Report

The men were saying that the cities were strong and fortified and there were giants. Numbers 13:30 says, “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’”

Now how did he know that? Nobody else knew it. Had he seen the giants? Yes, he had seen the giants, just as the others had. Had he seen the fortified cities? He had seen them. Did he know about all the difficulties that they were going to have? He knew just as much about it as the rest of them.

Well, then, why did he bring back such a different report? Because he had faith. He knew what everybody should have known. God had promised them this land. He had made that promise to Abraham, and He had renewed it to Isaac and to Jacob. He had worked miracles through Moses to bring them out of the land of Egypt. They had seen God desolate the land of Egypt. They had seen Him dry up the Red Sea so that they could walk through. They had seen all of those things. In fact, they had been living on miracle food and miracle water. They had experienced one miracle after another that God had worked to bring them to this land, and they should have known He was not going to leave them now.

Have you ever met somebody who said to you, “I have committed so many sins, I am not sure whether I can be saved or not”? That was exactly the situation with the ten spies! The Bible says, in Philippians 1:6, that the One who has begun a good work in you is going to finish it. I sometimes ask these people, who often are baptized members of the church, “Has God done anything good in your life?”

“Oh, yes,” they reply, and they start to tell me some good things that God has done for them.

I remind them that if God has done some good things in their life, that He who began a good work in their life is going to finish it. Do you believe that?

The Undefeated

Caleb knew that God would not work all those miracles to bring the people out of the land of Egypt and then just leave them in the wilderness. He knew that God was going to give them the land. Since he knew that, he said, “Let us go take it.”

This is a type of the last days. This earthly Canaan was an earthly type called the Promised Land. Has God promised us some land? Yes, the Bible says that the righteous, the meek, are going to inherit the earth. The whole thing!

Caleb said, “Let us go take it! The Lord has promised it to us.”

But the others said, “No, we are not ready. We cannot make it. We are too weak. They are stronger than we are.”

Remember, if you have faith, you are in the service of a General who has never lost a battle. Never! The fewer your numbers are, and the bigger the hosts of the enemy are, the bigger and the more dramatic the victory is going to be!

Let me also state the negative part of it. You cannot be part of the victory, or even part of the battle, unless you have faith, unless you trust in God.

Faith, the Bible says, comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. (See Romans 10:17.) Are you studying your Bible every day so that your faith is growing? Do you have more faith now than you had at the end of last year? Is your faith growing, or are you one of the ten spies who say, “Life is so terrible, I just cannot make it”?

Caleb said, “Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.” Numbers 14:34 tells us what the people decided to do. They decided to accept the report of the majority and to reject the report of the minority. This is just one of the times in Holy Scripture where you find that the majority is not always right. In fact, in spiritual things, even in the church of God, the majority has been wrong more often than right.

Because they accepted the report of the majority, instead of the report of the minority, the Children of Israel had to stay in the wilderness for forty more years. “According to the number of the days in which you spied out the land, 40 days, for each day you shall bear your guilt one year, namely forty years, and you shall know My rejection [breach of promise].” Ibid.

A Terrible Disappointment

That was a terrible disappointment. In fact, they were so disappointed that when God told them that they could not go in to the Promised Land, they decided to go in anyway. Moses told them not to do it, but they tried anyway and were beaten back. (See Numbers 14:39–45.) Do you know, friend, that we are not going to go into the heavenly Canaan until God says it is time?

In God’s Time

This world is getting so bad; people wonder how long we are going to be here. We are going to be here, friends, until the Lord says it is time to go home. When will the Lord say that? He will say it when He has a people who have a spirit like Caleb.

What was Caleb’s spirit? “‘Because all these men [the ten spies] who have seen My glory and the signs which I did in Egypt and in the wilderness, and have put Me to the test now these ten times, and have not heeded My voice, they certainly shall not see the land of which I swore to their fathers, nor shall any of those who rejected Me see it. But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.’” Numbers 14:22–24.

Caleb had a spirit of faith. The Lord said he would go in to the land, and of that generation, there were only two who went in to the land. Caleb was one of them, and Joshua was the other. Why? Because they brought back a good report, and they said, We are able to go in.

Heaven is a Good Place

“But Joshua the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes; and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ‘The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land.’” Numbers 14:6–8. Friends, heaven is an exceedingly good place!

As you study your Bible, you will see that the land to which we are going, Heaven, is an exceedingly good land. If you or your loved ones are sick, when you get to that place, the Bible says, there will be no sickness. In Revelation 21:4, the Bible says there is no pain in that place. I have never yet visited a person in the hospital who has not enjoyed hearing that text. We are living in a world where there is all kinds of pain, all kinds of sickness, all kinds of trouble and weakness, but the Bible says there is coming a time when there will be no more pain.

The Bible also says, “There shall be no more death.” Ibid. You will never go to a funeral again, ever! There are no funeral parlors, no undertakers, no mortuaries, no cemeteries and no hospitals, because they do not need them! It is a good place, not just because of the negative things that will not be there, but the Bible says the redeemed of the Lord are going to return to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads. They will obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and sighing will flee away. (See Isaiah 35:10.)

If the Lord delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Do you want to go now, or do you want to wait 40 years?

Caleb and Joshua did not figure that they were strong enough, in their humanity, to conquer the people in the land of Canaan. They said, If the Lord delights in us, He will give it to us. It was not the Lord’s will for them to have to gain that land by force of arms. He had a much better plan in mind. He has a much better plan in mind for us, too.

Trials and Tribulations

As I travel around the world, I find that many of God’s people are exceedingly concerned about what we are going to do in the future.

The Bible says that there is coming a time of great tribulation on this world. It says that there is coming a time of trouble such as was not since there was a nation, and many people are alarmed about this. (See Matthew 24:21.) A gentleman told me he could help me get some property in a country where nobody would know where I was. There are lots of people who want to go someplace where nobody will know where they are, so when the New World Order, or the great tribulation, or whatever, comes, they do not need to worry about it, because nobody will even know where they are.

Seeking Safety

You can never go to a place in this world where you are perfectly safe. Crime and criminals are everywhere.

In the early eighties, a couple from Australia was getting ready to retire. They looked over a map of the whole world, and they said, We are going to find a place to live where it is safe. They chose a little island that was unknown to most people. This island, at that time, had never been involved in a major war, and it was a peaceful island. “We are going to retire there, and we will be safe,” they said, and they did. The island, that they thought would be the safest place in the world, was in a group called the Falkland Islands. Argentina and Great Britain got into an argument over those islands within a few months after they moved there. There were bombers, fighters, ships, and troops all over that island within a few months after they arrived. They found out that the place that they thought would be the safest place in the world was not safe at all.

My dear friends, if you are looking for some cave, for some mountain hideaway, for someplace nobody else knows about, what you need, more than that place, is faith in God and trust in Jesus. You are a lot safer and better off in prison, if Jesus is with you, than in some cave without Him.

Hiding in Thee

Friends, you are never going to be able to find a perfectly safe place in this world. Perfect safety, in this world, is found only in Jesus. If you do not want to have a nervous breakdown, a heart attack, high blood pressure, or something else, because of all the uncertainties and of all the terrible things going on in this world, what you need more than anything else is faith and trust in Jesus.

God’s people are going to get through the times of trouble that are coming. The Bible says, “Come, My people, enter your chambers, And shut your doors behind you; Hide yourself, as it were, for a little moment, until the indignation is past. For behold, the Lord comes out of His place To punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity; The earth will also disclose her blood, And will no more cover her slain.” Isaiah 26:20-21.

Are there times of trouble coming? Yes, there are. The Bible tells us there is coming a time when God Himself is going to come to punish this world for the lawlessness down here, and it is going to be so bad that “The earth will no more cover her slain.” Ibid. It has never before been that bad.

I have seen pictures from World War II showing where they took bulldozers and dug huge mass graves. They did not even know who the skeletons and the people were. They just put thousands of people in these mass graves and buried them. It was terrible!

A time is coming, according to this prophecy, when God is going to come to punish the inhabitants
of this world for their lawlessness. It is going to be so bad, there will be so many people dying, that they will not be able to bury them. Psalm 91:7 says that “a thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand.” That is not a figure of speech; that is what the Bible says. How are we going to be ready for it? The only way to be ready is to be protected by Christ and by His angels.

Oh, friend, do you and I have the different spirit that Caleb had? Notice what happened to Caleb and Joshua. They had faith, and the rest of God’s professed people did not. The people wanted to stone them. In fact, within a few minutes, they already had the stones in their hands. They were not just talking; they were ready to take action. They said, We are going to get rid of Caleb and Joshua, because they are going to lead us into a battle where we will all be killed, so it is better that we kill them first.

The Stoning System of Today

So they decided to stone them. Now that was just in the long ago, was it not? We would never ever stone somebody and take their life today. We do not believe in that do we? As I have studied the stoning system, I have realized that, from the divine point of view, you are actually better off if you are being stoned than if you are doing the stoning.

Look at Matthew 23:34, 35: “Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.”

A lot of people are like that still today. They are afraid that if you proclaim the Three Angels’ Messages openly, you are going to be killed, so you better not do it.

Jesus said to the Jews, Which of the prophets have ye not stoned? (See Acts 7:52.) It is very dangerous to be a spokesperson for God, to God’s professed people, because history indicates that you are likely to be killed. You are likely to be stoned. But we are living in a different age; we would not do something like that. We are a little more refined. Listen, we do the same thing; we just do it differently!

A long time ago Ellen White had a dream about the stoning system. The people involved in the stoning were Seventh-day Adventist ministers. This is the dream she had:

“I had a dream. I saw A [Dr. Kellogg] in close conversation with men and with ministers. He adroitly would make statements born of suspicion and imagination to draw them out, and then would gain expression from them. I saw him clap his hands over something very eagerly. I felt a pang of anguish at heart as I saw this going on. I saw in my dream yourself [probably Haskell] and B [Elder Butler] in conversation with him. You made statements to him which he seemed to grasp with avidity, and close his hand over something. I then saw him go to his room, and there upon the floor was a pile of stones systematically laid up, stone upon stone. He placed the additional stones on the pile and counted them up. Every stone had a name—some report gathered up—and every stone was numbered.

“The young man who often instructs me came and looked upon the pile of stones with grief and indignation, and inquired [of A] what he had and what he proposed to do with them. A [Dr. Kellogg] looked up with a sharp, gratified laugh. ‘These are mistakes of C [Elder White]. I am going to stone him with them, stone him to death.’ The young man said, ‘You are bringing back the stoning system, are you? You are worse than the ancient Pharisees. Who gave you this work to do? The Lord raised you up, the Lord entrusted you with a special work. The Lord has sustained you in a most remarkable manner, but it was not for you to degrade your powers for this kind of work. Satan is an accuser of the brethren.”

“I thought A seemed very defiant and determined. Said he, ‘C is trying to tear us to pieces. He is working against us, and to save our reputation and life, we must work against him. I shall use every stone to the last pebble here upon this floor to kill him. This is only self-defense, a disagreeable necessity.’

“And then said the young man solemnly, ‘What have you gained? Have you in the act righted your wrongs? Have you opened your heart to Jesus Christ, and does He sit there enthroned? Who occupies the citadel of the soul under this administration of the stoning system?

“‘You have a higher calling, a more important work. Leave all such work of gathering stones for the enemies of God’s law. You brethren must love one another, or you are not children of the day, but of darkness.’

“I then saw C engaged in a similar work, gathering stones, making a pile and ready to begin the stoning system. [They were going to stone each other, evidently.] Similar words were repeated to him with additional injunctions and I awoke.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 12,10, 11. (See also Ellen G. White, The Lonely Years, by Arthur L. White, 161, 162.)

Whose Child Are You?

You see, the stoning system is still here, we just do it differently. We find out the mistakes that somebody has made and then we use those mistakes to try to destroy them. Jesus said, You do not love each other. You are not My children. You are the children of the prince of darkness.

We profess to be His people; people in Numbers 14 professed to be God’s people, too. They wanted to stone Caleb for bringing a good report, for telling the truth. How is it? Are we really God’s children? If we are really God’s children we will demonstrate it by loving each other, by protecting each other, by taking care of each other, by having a regard for each other, by watching out for each other, by trying to help each other, by trying to help somebody get up when they make a mistake, instead of knocking them down farther.

Let us look at it again. It is too strong for me to say in my own words: “You brethren must love one another, or you are not children of the day, but of darkness.” Ibid.

Oh, my friend, as Jesus looks into your family, into your church, into the lives of His professed people all over the world, whose child does He see? Whose child are you? Are you one of the children of the day, or are you one of the children of darkness?

You demonstrate who you are by whether or not you love your brothers and sisters and by what spirit you have. What spirit do you have toward the Calebs in the church, the people who have faith and who want to go into the kingdom now? Are you stoning each other with your mistakes? You demonstrate whose child you are by your spirit, by whether or not you love your brothers or sisters or whether or not you want to stone them to death because of their mistakes.

Do You have the Right Spirit?

This is very important. It has everything to do with whether or not we are really going to go to the Promised Land or whether we are going to perish in the wilderness. There are a lot of professed Christians who are going to perish in the wilderness of this world and never go to heaven, because they do not have faith, and they do not have the right spirit. They do not love their brothers and sisters. They are ready to stone the people with whom they do not agree.

Can You Pass the Test?

I hope, when you read the story of Caleb, you will think it through and apply it to yourself. Do you have a spirit like Caleb, or not? Do you love your brothers and sisters, as well as your enemies? That is the test. Jesus said, in the Sermon on the Mount, If you love your own brethren, that does not count. Even the tax collectors, even the harlots, the ones considered the lowest people in their society, love their own friends. (See Matthew 5.) That is not the test.

The test is, do you love your brothers and sisters when they see something totally different than you do? When you know that they are wrong and you are right, do you still love them, or are you ready to stone them to death for their mistakes?

God cannot take people to heaven who do not have faith. You cannot please Him without faith. There are going to be some who are going to go in like Caleb. The Lord lengthened his life, after all the rest had died, he not only went in, he went in to some of those giants and he destroyed them and took over their land, just like the Lord promised he would be able to do. He was over 80 years old when that happened.

There are going to be some Calebs again. Of the great mass of professed Christians, Jesus made it very clear, not only in the gospels but also in the book of Revelation, that the great mass of the Christian world is not going to make it—not because they cannot be saved, but because they will not be saved in God’s appointed way, trusting and obeying Jesus.

Caleb was the kind of a person who said, Lord, if that is where we are going, I am going with You. If you are willing to go with the Lord, the Lord will go with you and take you to the Promised Land. It does not matter how many people oppose you; it does not even matter how many people are trying to stone you.

The fewer there are, the more enemies there are, the greater will be the victory! But you are going to have to have a spirit like Caleb. The Lord will work that miracle in your life. He will take out all the bitterness, the hatred, and all those negative emotions that have kept you enslaved. You can have it all! Just trust and obey, as did Caleb.

A Finished Work—The Challenge

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Nothing should fill our hearts with greater joy, expectation, and zeal than thinking of the work that needs to be done—not just the work that needs to be done, but the climax and the finishing of this work.

Romans 9:27, 28 says, “Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved: For he will finish the work, and cut [it] short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth.” It is not going to take a large number of people to finish God’s work. This passage says that although the children of Israel will only be a remnant, they will be saved, for the Lord will quickly finish the work upon the earth. This is a promise for which we should be glad, because God has said that He is going to finish the work.

How can we be a part of the finishing of God’s work? I believe that God, in His Word, has given us the battle plan for how the work will be finished in this day and age. This battle plan was given thousands of years ago, but it was not finished. There is a significant difference between the times in which we are living and the days of Israel. We must succeed where our forefathers failed in the finishing of this work.

Conquest of Canaan

Let us look at the finished work as typified in the conquest of Canaan. The Book of Numbers contains stories that are very familiar to us, but I believe they are stories that teach us what our position and duty are today. We find there the children of Israel journeying to that land of promise. We can imagine the joy and the expectation that filled their hearts as they came closer and closer to that land that had been promised to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob and to which all of their fathers had looked forward.

We pick up the story at the point when they had been traveling for about a year. Often, when we have been traveling for a period of time, our greatest desire is to return home! I have never traveled for a year, but I have been away from home for about three months at a time, and when I am able to return home, I am very, very happy. I can imagine that the children of Israel were longing for a permanent home, not continuing their journey in the wilderness and dwelling in tents.

They decided to send spies into the land. We can only imagine them waiting for the spies to return, waiting for the messages they would bring. Twenty days go by; then thirty days go by. Every day they are studying the horizon to see if the spies are returning with a message that they soon can enter this land of promise.

The Spies’ Report

Thirty-nine days passed, and then, on the fortieth day, the news began to spread throughout the camp—“The spies are here! They are going to give their report to Moses!” I am sure quite a crowd gathered rapidly, as they anticipated the report of the spies.

In Numbers 13:27, we read, “And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this [is] the fruit of it.” Oh, they reported, “The land is flowing with milk and honey,” and then they showed a cluster of grapes so large that it took two individuals to carry it. The grapes were the size of grapefruits. Those grapes must have looked quite enticing to the wilderness wanderers! As they looked and as they listened, their joy rose even higher, until the spies continued, “Nevertheless the people [be] strong that dwell in the land, and the cities [are] walled, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.” Verses 28, 29. Suddenly the hopes, the joy, and the expectations of the entire congregation deflated like a balloon. They thought, “Here is this good land, but it is so strongly guarded, so strongly fortified, we cannot take it.”

Effect of Discouraging Words

Even though Caleb urged that they go forward and possess the land, the other spies repeated how terrible it was, how strong the people were, how walled the cities were, and how large the giants were. The description became even more discouraging. (Verses 30–33.) The effect of these few discouraging words brought the death of hundreds of thousands of men and women. We never know what the effect of just a few discouraging words might be.

Have you ever noticed how, when you think about your trials or you repeat them, the giants seem to grow? This is what happened here. The giants grew. That is why we should never speak a discouraging word.

As a result of this unfaithful report brought back by the spies, the children of Israel, the Bible says, wept all night, and in the morning, they decided that the only safe recourse would be to return to Egypt. They saw only the difficulties. Were they real, legitimate difficulties? Yes, they were. There really were large giants in the land of promise. There really were strong tribes. The cities were strongly walled. Those were legitimate difficulties and challenges, but they allowed the difficulties to lead them to forget God’s power. Their response revealed the rebellion and the unbelief in their hearts, because when God told them to go up, they said, “No.” But when God commanded them to return back to the wilderness, they said, “Let us go up!” Because the difficulties and the obstacles in the way hindered them, they wandered in the wilderness for 39 additional years.

What is ironic about this is that the work got even harder while they were wandering. They went up to battle, but because God was not with them, they were unable to conquer the Canaanites. They were totally defeated before their enemies. The Canaanites, who had been afraid to attack the Israelites because of what they heard had happened in Egypt and because of what they heard had occurred at the Red Sea, decided these were just false rumors. They decided it would not be so difficult to resist the Israelites, and as the children of Israel wandered in the wilderness, and it appeared that they were going nowhere and doing nothing, the Canaanites became emboldened. Because the children of Israel were hindered and discouraged by the difficulties and the obstacles in the way, the work was made much more difficult by their delay and by their wandering in the wilderness.

Giants in the Land

As we look at the work to be done today, are there giants in the land? Yes, there are giants in the land. Before our gaze today lies an unconquered Canaan, and God has commissioned us with a work to do—a work to warn the world, to bring His Word and His message to a complete and quick fulfillment. This is God’s calling to us. It is why we are here, but as we look about us, the people appear to be strong. They are hardened in sin. The cities are walled about on every side. There is television. There are movies. People seem to have everything they need; there are strong walls about them. There are giants in the land.

There are false doctrines that intoxicate the world such as, once you are saved, you are always saved, and the rapture theory that suggests you do not need to worry about the prophecies, because you are going to be raptured away. Yes, there are giants in the land. And there are the Jebusites and the Amorites and the Canaanites; there are already strong religions inhabiting the land. But God has called us to conquer Canaan. He has called us to fight the giants in the land. He has called us to take this message to anyone and everyone who will hear, but like the ancient Israelites, when we see the challenges and the difficulties, when we see the giants in the land, we want to go the other way. The challenges are formidable. No one is going to deny that, but the power of God is stronger than the formidable challenges in the world.

Work More Difficult

We have been wandering. Over a hundred years ago, we were told that if the church had done its appointed work, Christ would have come ere this. (Review and Herald, October 6, 1896.) We have wandered, and as we have wandered, the work has become more difficult, as we have been told it would. Ellen White wrote, “The time is coming when we shall not be able to travel over the country as freely and easily, or get access to the people as readily as we do now.” The General Conference Bulletin, April 5, 1901.

Is that time here? It is here. All we have to do to realize this is to go knocking on doors. People are afraid to open their doors. I visited a man one time who had been attending a seminar I was conducting. I knocked on his door—a solid door that you could not see through. I told him my name and why I was there. When I identified myself, he opened the door and said, “I know who you are and why you are here; that is why I did not shoot you,” and he took the gun he was holding from behind his back and put it on the desk.

People are afraid; it is harder to get access to the people, but this must not keep us from doing the work that God has given us to do.

In the book Evangelism, 31, Mrs. White wrote, in 1903, that the favorable time to enter the cities has passed. But then, in 1909, she said that we must enter the cities and do all we can while we still can. The favorable time is past, but that does not mean we can recline in ease. We must enter the cities and do all that we can now. When we look at Seventh-day Adventist evangelism, we realize that that statement is very true. During the time these words were penned, all that was needed was to set up a tent. The tent alone was enough advertisement to bring hundreds of people there to hear the message, but from that time the work has gotten progressively harder. It has become more difficult, because we have wandered in the wilderness.

“We have warnings now which we may give, a work now which we may do; but soon it will be more difficult than we can imagine.” Testimonies, vol. 6, 22. I believe the time referred to in this quote is here. When we think of Joseph Bates going into a town and in two or three days raising up a church, it is definitely more difficult now than what they could have imagined. The giants have grown taller through our unbelief and rebellion in the wilderness, and the work has become harder simply because of the sheer fact of the population increase.

A World to Warn

During the apostolic era, when the gospel went to the entire world, that was indeed a miracle of God. It is estimated that there were about 300 million people in the world at that time. During the time period that these Ellen White statements were written, around 1900, there were approximately 1.65 billion people in the world. Today, the estimate as of July 1, 2005, is that there are 6.45 billion people in the world and the number increases by 70 million a year. That is 6 million a month, almost 200,000 a day. Every second the world population increases by two people!

There is a world to warn. There is a work to do. God has admonished us to not be intimidated by the giants in the land. There is another side to the issue of giants in the land. The longer we delay doing the work God has given us to do, the taller the giants will become.

We are told, on page 33 of Evangelism, that the time is soon coming when laws will be framed that will close the now open doors. The longer we delay, the harder the work will become. In Testimonies, vol. 6, 22, we are warned that the passage from place to place will, before long, be hedged about with many dangers, and Mrs. White puts that in direct correlation with the finishing of the work.

Then, the familiar quotation of warning we perhaps all have heard, from Testimonies, vol. 5, 463: “The work which the church has failed to do in a time of peace and prosperity she will have to do in a terrible crisis under most discouraging, forbidding circumstances. The warnings that worldly conformity has silenced or withheld must be given under the fiercest opposition from enemies of the faith.” God is calling us to look the giants in the eyes and to advance as rapidly and aggressively as possible to conquer them.

A Prophet’s Burden

The burden on Mrs. White’s heart in her latter years—her last will and testament to the church—was the work in the cities. She said, “Not one thousandth part of what should be done is being done by those who understand the plan of salvation.” The Watchman, January 15, 1907. The church, during her time, thought they were doing all that they could. They held meetings, and Elder Daniells, who was then the General Conference President, wrote to Ellen White, reporting that the church leaders were heeding the counsels that she had given and had allocated $11,000 to the city work. This was a very large sum of money at that time.

Later, Elder Daniells went to counsel with Ellen White about this, but she refused to see him, because she said that he was not doing the work that God had called him to do.

She wrote to him instead, saying that when the president is converted, then he will know what to do with the message that God is sending him. She further stated that he was not converted, because he was not working the cities as God’s messenger had told him to do. (See Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Later Elmshaven Years 1905–1915, vol. 6, Review and Herald Publishing Association, Washington D.C., 1986, 219–227.)

That is a strong statement! What if we would receive a letter like it? As I see the work that we are doing, I am led to ask, Are we converted? Are we heeding the messages that God has given to us?

What are we doing with Mrs. White’s last will and testament to the church? Are we taking it up? Are we doing all that we can? I am glad for what is being done, but we need to do more. I am glad for what the little church I attend has been able to do, but we need to do more. There are 3.5 million people in its metropolitan area. I have talked to some of the members who said that they passed out literature but nobody seemed interested, so they guessed that was that. Praise the Lord that the literature got placed into people’s hands, but there is more that needs to be done.

An Army of Calebs

We are not to stop the work until the work is finished. We need the spirit of Caleb in our midst today, because when the spies presented that unfaithful report, Caleb said, “Let us go up and possess it, for we are well able to possess it.” There are giants in the land today. The giants have become taller through our delay and through our wandering in the wilderness, but let us go up and possess it, for we are well able with God’s power.

My favorite part of the story about Caleb comes when the Promised Land was being divided. Caleb went to Joshua and reminded him of how they had spied out the land and reported to Moses their findings. Caleb made one request: that he be given the mountain where the sons of Anak dwelled. He wanted the most difficult place—where the giants were dwelling. This was an 85-year-old man, yet he was asking to subdue the most difficult portion of the land, because he knew God was just as able to conquer it at this time as He was 40 years before.

We need an army of Calebs today, even 80-year-olds! We need Calebs to go door-to-door, to become involved in conducting citywide evangelistic campaigns. Whatever the work may be, we need Calebs to go out to conquer the giants in the land. May each one of us be a part of the army of Calebs who will finish the work.

Cody Francis is currently engaged in public evangelism for Mission Projects International. He also pastors the Remnant Church of Seventh-day Adventist Believers in Renton, Washington. He may be contacted by e-mail at: cody@missionspro.org.

Lessons from the Children of Israel, Part I

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Perhaps, if you are familiar with my previous articles in LandMarks, you have already determined that my favorite portion of the Bible is the Old Testament. I love the Old Testament, because it provides a foundation and a depth for our understanding of where we are today. In the Book of Ecclesiastes, we are told this very thing: “The thing that hath been, it [is that] which shall be; and that which is done [is] that which shall be done: and [there is] no new [thing] under the sun.” Ecclesiastes 1:9. Chapter 3, verse 15, says something very similar: “That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and God requireth that which is past.” When we stop and think about this, history does have a way of repeating itself. If we do not learn the lessons that are in the past for us, that which has been will be. We will go back through those cycles again. God is working with us as a people to bring us to a point where we will not be repeating history.

But, on the other side, we find that just the opposite is true. “Satan is working that the history of the Jewish nation may be repeated in the experience of those who claim to believe present truth.” Selected Messages, Book 2, 111. This is why the Old Testament is a favorite of mine to study, because we need to learn the lessons from those things that have been. We need to see how the people conducted themselves then, what failures and victories their conduct brought, and how God dealt with them, so we can cling to the promises that He has for us as we make our way into the future, looking forward to the Second Coming of Jesus.

Spy Out the Land

Eleven days after leaving Mt. Sinai, the children of Israel arrived at a little place called Kadesh, which was in the wilderness of Paran, not too far from the Promised Land. If we were to draw a parallel to see how this may apply to us, we may find ourselves at Kadesh today. As the children of Israel arrived at this point, they were not too sure what the land of Canaan held for them. They knew that God was leading them; they knew what direction they were heading, but they really did not know very much about that land.

The people approached Moses with the idea that they needed to search this land so that they might know what was there. Moses was unsure how to answer this suggestion; he did not know whether to say yes or no. So, as when we do not know what to do, the best thing that we can do is to present the situation before the Lord and ask, “Lord, what would you have us to do?” This is what Moses did. The Lord told him that it was all right to go and to select one man from each tribe for this special job. (See Patriarchs and Prophets, 387.)

This brings us, in the story, to Numbers 13:17. “And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this [way] southward, and go up into the mountain: And see the land, what it [is]; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they [be] strong or weak, few or many; And what the land [is] that they dwell in, whether it [be] good or bad; and what cities [they be] that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; And what the land [is], whether it [be] fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be ye of good courage, and bring the fruit of the land. Now the time [was] the time of the firstripe grapes.” Verses 17–20.

So the story goes that the selected men went up; they surveyed the whole land, and they returned, after being gone 40 days, with their report. News of their return, as you can imagine, spread very rapidly throughout the camp, and the people rushed out to meet these messengers, anxious to hear what the Promised Land was like.

Tell Us About It

What would the interest be if Elijah or Enoch, who dwell in the heavenly Canaan, should come down into our midst? Would we have any interest in attending the meeting where they were going to share their experiences in the heavenly Canaan? We really do not know very much about heaven. We have some little vignettes of understanding that have been given to us in Scripture and by the Pen of Inspiration, but we look through a glass very darkly (1 Corinthians 13:12). We do not begin to understand just what it is that God has in store for us in heaven. If Elijah or Enoch or Moses were here, we would be very anxious to hear what they had to say.

The same thing was true for these spies who had now been in the land that God had promised to the children of Israel, and they wanted to hear the story. What was it like? Was it lean? Was it fat? Was it a land of plenty or not? “And they returned from searching of the land after forty days. And they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this [is] the fruit of it.” Verses 25–27. Now, we can imagine how the people of the congregation felt when they heard this news.

There is a whole background of information that comes with this. They had come out of Egypt as slaves. They owned nothing. Everything they had involved plunder; they had plundered the Egyptians and brought the goods with them. Everything they had formerly belonged to the Egyptians, and now they were coming into a land that was flowing with milk and honey, a land that was filled with plenty. Imagine the enthusiasm that was circulating amongst them when they heard this story! All they wanted at that moment was to fulfill the word of the Lord that they should go up and possess the land.

When I was a student at Walla Walla College (Walla Walla, Washington), having just been converted, there was nothing more that I wanted than to see the Second Coming of Jesus take place. I went through my four-year experience in two years and eleven months, because I just knew that Jesus was going to come before I could enter His work, and I wanted to have a part in it. I knew a little bit about what it would be like to be transported into the Promised Land, and I was anxious to get there. I wanted to get into the work, so I could have a part in bringing some sheaves with me. That is the way the children of Israel were in this experience. They had heard what the Promised Land was like; now they wanted to go over and possess that land. Probably they were not any more prepared to go into the Promised Land than I was when I was making my way through Walla Walla College. It has been a long time since then. A lot of refining experiences have taken place since then. God knows what is necessary for the development of our characters. What we have failed to learn in times of ease and prosperity, we will have to learn under the most discouraging and forbidding of circumstances. During the last movements of earth’s history, those learning experiences are going to rapidly take place.

Catch of Faith

The children of Israel wanted to go up and possess that land immediately. But there was a catch to it all. They could never move forward without faith. They were called upon to have faith in what God had said, but at this point, we find that their faith was failing. God had led them in a very marked way, no question about that. Their history had been recounted to them of the wonderful things that God had worked out in their behalf, but somehow they began to fail in their faith.

After describing all the beauty and the fertility of the land that they had seen, ten of the spies began to tell about the difficulties that they would come up against. They began to tell about the nations—how strong they were, how great the walled cities were, and how strong the people were. On top of all of this, they told them about giants being in the land. Their faith began to fail.

Interestingly, what has been, is destined to be again, and either corporately or individually we are destined to repeat these kinds of things, unless we are able to get above and beyond the circumstances that were prevailing then. Do we have any giants in our experiences? As we look out across the horizon, do we see giants out there and think that what God has asked us to do seems almost impossible? As we look out, do we see walled cities that are supposedly impervious? Really, we are no different than the children of Israel. We may not have physical giants with which to contend, but there are things that loom in our minds and make it seem almost impossible for us to move forward in the experience to which God is calling us. So we hesitate, and we begin to fail in our faith, and when that begins to happen, the devil moves right in and causes an upset in the whole program.

Verses 28 and 29 say, “Nevertheless the people [be] strong that dwell in the land, and the cities [are] walled, [and] very great: and moreover we saw the children of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and by the coast of Jordan.” The spies were telling that there were people everywhere, and it did not look like they would be able to get into the Promised Land at all.

Over the years, I have sat in board meetings and business meetings where, when some path that God has brought before us seems to be beckoning us, there are suddenly giants in the land. There are walled cities that seem impervious. I have seen people who have exercised faith and climbed mountains that seemed insurmountable. Always there were those people who would try to discourage anyone from climbing the mountain for God and gaining victory. There was always some reason given why we should not move forward, even though God had said so. All the bad things that they could, with the devil’s help, bring up, they would present and would begin to dwell on the negative side of things. The devil would be allowed to come in, and he would begin to take control of their minds to such an extent that the situation being considered looked like a lost cause.

Ellen White, writing of this situation, said, “Hope and courage gave place to cowardly despair, as the spies uttered the sentiments of their unbelieving hearts, which were filled with discouragement prompted by Satan. Their unbelief cast a gloomy shadow over the congregation, and the mighty power of God, so often manifested in behalf of the chosen nation, was forgotten.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 388. Has God done great things for you in the past? Or have you just kind of wandered along in the wilderness of Paran, wondering if indeed there is a Promised Land? Do you have any reference points to which you can actually anchor, acknowledging that, yes, God manifested Himself here, and because I know that, I am going to exercise faith, and I am going to go beyond the giants and walled cities in my mind and do what God has asked me to do, regardless of what the circumstances are or what consequences may come?

Forbidding Circumstances

That is no different than what the children of Israel were facing. They saw forbidding circumstances that would swallow them up, unless they just took God at His word, stepped out in faith, and went the direction that He wanted them to go. The judgments that were upon Egypt, the crossing of the Red Sea, the manna in the wilderness, the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night were all forgotten. It was all forgotten because of what a few people had to say. Think about that for a minute.

All the experiences that you have had—that you have been able to mark down that God has done for you, that you have said, “God met me here”—under certain kinds of circumstances, can all be blown away because of what a few people say. It is something to ponder. History has a nasty way of repeating itself. Unless we learn the lessons that are there for us, we are destined to repeat those things.

Who is it that is there, trying to repeat that same kind of history? Who is it that is urging those things to take place? It is the devil. As noted previously, the devil is trying to repeat the history of the experiences of the children of Israel in those who are believers of present truth.

It is amazing how just a few people can cause real problems for the children of God—that is, if people will listen to them. Have you ever noticed that? Many times the conversation that comes from the few who try to discourage others from moving forward in God’s program does not provide enough time for us to reflect upon what God has given to us. But if we have taken the time to reflect, then our faith can continue and grow.

The children of Israel did not take time to reflect that, if God had done all of those wonderful things for them in the past and had brought them thus far, He would continue taking them on into the Promised Land. They had forgotten about all those things. They acted as if they had to depend upon their own force of arms.

That is not the way God works. He desires more than anything for us to develop a dependency on Him based upon what He has done for us in the past. He wants nothing to deter us from moving ahead and accomplishing the tasks that are yet before us. If we limit God’s power by our unbelief, as did the children of Israel, can God work for us at all? No, yet we find ourselves, so many times, doing the exact same thing. We limit God’s power as we begin to entertain the doubts and the thoughts about whether this is really what God would want for us. Can God really protect us? Can God really override circumstances and see us through a situation? We look at our lives, and we see that there are those things that we would like to accomplish or have, but they seem to be beyond our grasp. They are just too far away. Yet, all the while, God is there saying, “Move forward; move forward.” I can guarantee you this much: If God has ordained that something is to be, then He will empower us to see that it becomes a reality in our lives. It may appear to be impossible, but He can accomplish it.

Looking at the Negative

You see, the children of Israel were looking at those walled cities; they were looking at those giants, as if they had to go out and do all the conquering on their own. God said, “No, I am going to take care of all this for you. You just move ahead.”

The people, however, began to talk amongst themselves about the problem. The more they talked about the problem, the more their unbelief in God increased in their minds. As they faced the problem and as they began to exercise their unbelief, they began murmuring and complaining.

The servant of the Lord says that Caleb comprehended the situation and tried for all that he was worth to stand in defense of the Word of God. He tried to do everything in his power to counteract the evil influence of his unfaithful associates. (Patriarchs and Prophets, 388.) The spies had been in the Promised Land for 40 days. They had all been there together. Numbers 13:30 says, “Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it. But the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people; for they [are] stronger than we.”

There is always a process that takes place in situations such as this. Somehow, if we can recognize the circumstances of process, we can stop that process so that we do not get caught in the trap. There was a process taking place with the spies and the children of Israel.

“These men, having entered upon a wrong course, stubbornly set themselves against Caleb and Joshua, against Moses, and against God.” Ibid., 389. Do you know what was driving that process? It was driven by pride. That was the underlying foundation of the whole thing. Pride is of such a nature that it absolutely abhors failure.

To be continued . . .

Pastor Mike Baugher is Associate Speaker for Steps to Life. He may be contacted by e-mail at: mikebaugher@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.