Canaan

Bible Study Guides – Lessons from Book of Joshua – God Directs the Conquest

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February 23 – February 29, 2020

Key Text

“As the Lord commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the Lord commanded Moses” (Joshua 11:15).

Study Help:  Patriarchs and Prophets, 510, 511.

Introduction

“The Lord promised Joshua that He would be with him as He had been with Moses, and He would make Canaan an easy conquest to him, provided he would be faithful to observe all His commandments.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 156, 157.

Sunday

FORMIDABLE FOES

  • What happened to southern Canaan soon after the victory at Beth-horon? Joshua 10:40–43.

Note: “The victory at Beth-horon was speedily followed by the conquest of southern Canaan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510.

  • What did the kings of northern Palestine do when they heard of the success obtained by the Hebrew nation? Joshua 11:1–5.

Note: “The tribes of northern Palestine, terrified by the success which had attended the armies of Israel, now entered into a league against them. At the head of this confederacy was Jabin, king of Hazor, a territory to the west of Lake Merom. ‘And they went out, they and all their hosts with them’ (Joshua 11:4). This army was much larger than any that the Israelites had before encountered in Canaan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510.

Monday

VICTORIES FOR THE FAITHFUL

  • What should we observe from the way the Lord encouraged Joshua and again intervened for His faithful people? Joshua 11:6–8. What can we learn from this?

Note: “Near Lake Merom he [Joshua] fell upon the camp of the allies and utterly routed their forces.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510.

“God will do marvelous things for those who trust in Him. It is because His professed people trust so much to their own wisdom, and do not give the Lord an opportunity to reveal His power in their behalf, that they have no more strength. He will help His believing children in every emergency if they will place their entire confidence in Him and implicitly obey Him.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 163.

“The faith of the consecrated worker is to stand every test brought to bear upon it. God is able and willing to bestow upon His servants all the strength they need and to give them the wisdom that their varied necessities demand. He will more than fulfill the highest expectations of those who put their trust in Him.” The Acts of the Apostles, 242.

  • What was done with the horses and chariots of the conquered army? Why? Joshua 11:9; Psalm 20:7–9.

Note: “The chariots and horses that had been the pride and boast of the Canaanites were not to be appropriated by Israel. At the command of God the chariots were burned, and the horses lamed, and thus rendered unfit for use in battle. The Israelites were not to put their trust in chariots or horses, but ‘in the name of the Lord their God’ (Psalm 20:7).” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510.

  • Unlike at Jericho, what was Israel to do with the doomed cities, livestock, and spoil? How faithful were they in following God’s directions? Joshua 11:10–14.

Note: “One by one the cities were taken, and Hazor, the stronghold of the confederacy, was burned.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510.

Tuesday

REACHING THE GOAL ASSIGNED

  • What summarizes Joshua’s procedure in the conquest of Canaan? Joshua 11:18, 19.

Note: “The war was continued for several years, but its close found Joshua master of Canaan.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 510, 511.

  • When the Lord had promised to rid Canaan of all the wicked nations that dwelt therein, what plan had He put before the Israelites? Against what danger had He cautioned them? Deuteronomy 7:21, 22.
  • Despite all the bloodshed in these conquests, what was the Almighty’s goal for the overall benefit of humanity? Deuteronomy 7:23–26. What reveals that God also called for a pause in this violent task? Joshua 11:23.

Note: “That which corrupts the body tends to corrupt the soul. It unfits the user for communion with God, unfits him for high and holy service.

“In the Promised Land the discipline begun in the wilderness was continued under circumstances favorable to the formation of right habits. The people were not crowded together in cities, but each family had its own landed possession, ensuring to all the health-giving blessings of a natural, unperverted life.” The Ministry of Healing, 280.

“Though the power of the Canaanites had been broken, they had not been fully dispossessed. On the west the Philistines still held a fertile plain along the seacoast, while north of them was the territory of the Sidonians. Lebanon also was in the possession of the latter people; and to the south, toward Egypt, the land was still occupied by the enemies of Israel.

“Joshua was not, however, to continue the war.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 511.

Wednesday

A NECESSARY TASK

  • Who had fixed the borders of the land in advance? To whom had the division of the land been entrusted? Numbers 34:1, 2, 13, 17, 18.

Note: “There was another work for the great leader to perform before he should relinquish the command of Israel. The whole land, both the parts already conquered and that which was yet unsubdued, was to be apportioned among the tribes. And it was the duty of each tribe to fully subdue its own inheritance. If the people should prove faithful to God, He would drive out their enemies from before them; and He promised to give them still greater possessions if they would but be true to His covenant.

“To Joshua, with Eleazar the high priest, and the heads of the tribes, the distribution of the land was committed, the location of each tribe being determined by lot. Moses himself had fixed the bounds of the country as it was to be divided among the tribes when they should come in possession of Canaan, and had appointed a prince from each tribe to attend to the distribution.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 511.

  • How was the location of each tribe to be determined, and what rule was to be followed respecting the size of each one? Numbers 26:54–56.
  • What inheritance did the Levites receive? Numbers 18:20, 21; 35:1–3, 7, 8.

Note: “The appointed ministers of the sanctuary, the Levites received no landed inheritance; they dwelt together in cities set apart for their use, and received their support from the tithes and the gifts and offerings devoted to God’s service. They were the teachers of the people, guests at all their festivities, and everywhere honored as servants and representatives of God. To the whole nation was given the command: ‘Take heed to thyself that thou forsake not the Levite as long as thou livest upon the earth.’ ‘Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his brethren; the Lord is his inheritance’ (Deuteronomy 12:19; 10:9.)” Education, 148, 149.

Thursday

NO EXCUSES

  • What claim did the children of Joseph make because of their numbers, and how did Joshua respond? Joshua 14:4, 5; 17:14–18.

Note: “In consideration of their superior numbers, these tribes [Ephraim and Manasseh] demanded a double portion of territory. The lot designated for them was the richest in the land, including the fertile plain of Sharon; but many of the principal towns in the valley were still in possession of the Canaanites, and the tribes shrank from the toil and danger of conquering their possessions, and desired an additional portion in territory already subdued. The tribe of Ephraim was one of the largest in Israel, as well as the one to which Joshua himself belonged, and its members naturally regarded themselves as entitled to special consideration. ‘Why hast thou given me but one lot and one portion to inherit,’ they said, ‘seeing I am a great people’ (Joshua 17:14)? But no departure from strict justice could be won from the inflexible leader.

“His answer was, ‘If thou be a great people, then get thee up to the wood country, and cut down for thyself there in the land of the Perizzites and of the giants, if Mount Ephraim be too narrow for thee’ (verse 15).

“Their reply showed the real cause of complaint. They lacked faith and courage to drive out the Canaanites. …

“Being a great people, as they claimed, they were fully able to make their own way, as did their brethren. With the help of God they need not fear the chariots of iron.” Patriarchs and Prophets, 513, 514.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1     What should give us courage when faced with a foe bigger than we have ever experienced?

2    What “chariots and horses” might I be leaning on too heavily in my life?

3    Although God told Joshua to conquer Canaan, why did He give a pause?

4    What was promised to each tribe if they would be true to the covenant?

5    How was the spirit of Joshua different from those among his tribe?

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

A Finished Work—The March

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In previous articles of this series, we have studied about “The Challenge” that a finished work is for us today [December 2005], and “The Method” of finishing the work [January 2006]. Each of God’s people around the world must be involved in the finishing of the work, doing their part through personal testimony and personal witness to those around them. In this article, we will consider “The March” in the Christian’s life.

Jesus said, in John 4:34, “My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.” If Jesus’ food was to do the will of the One that sent Him and to finish the work, is that our food and drink today—to do the will of Him that has sent us and to finish His work? God is calling us today to partake of this food and drink and to make it our purpose for living.

The first chapters of the Book of Joshua record the experience of the children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land. Uncertainty, fear, and trepidation gripped many of them, because they had been told about the giants in the land. God had given Joshua direction to cross over the Jordan to Canaan, and it was only through explicit obedience to His direction that Canaan was conquered.

Triumphant March

In Joshua 6, very specific directions from the Lord for embattling with and conquering Jericho are recorded. This city was a formidable obstacle in the conquest of the rest of Canaan. In verses 6, 7, and 10, we read: “And Joshua the son of Nun called the priests, and said unto them, Take up the ark of the covenant, and let seven priests bear seven trumpets of rams’ horns before the ark of the Lord. And he said unto the people, Pass on, and compass the city, and let him that is armed pass on before the ark of the Lord.” “And Joshua had commanded the people, saying, Ye shall not shout, nor make any noise with your voice, neither shall [any] word proceed out of your mouth, until the day I bid you shout; then shall ye shout.”

What interesting battle plans! Not since this time have battle plans ever been laid like this. The directions were for a small, armed group to go first, followed by seven priests blowing on seven trumpets. The Ark of the Covenant was to follow the priests, with the entire armed host marching after it. As they marched, they could not be laughing and talking or conversing in any way. The instruction was, “You shall not shout, nor shall you make any noise.” They were to march in silence together for six days.

Then, we know the rest of the story: “And it came to pass at the seventh time, when the priests blew with the trumpets, Joshua said unto the people, Shout; for the Lord hath given you the city.” Verse 16. On the seventh day, as they finished that seventh circuit, they were to shout! Oh to have heard that shout!

Obey the Orders

For six days, the entire armed host was silent as it marched around the city, but on the seventh day, the seventh time marching around the city, when the priests blew the trumpets with a loud blast, every person gave a loud shout. The walls of the city came down, and Jericho was conquered without a fight.

Think this through for a moment. Suppose they had decided that it was not that important whether or not they were quiet during the first six days of marching around the city, and they engaged in talking and conversing with their friends. Do you think the victory would have been won? No. What if some were growing weary of the silent marching, so they decided to shout on the fifth lap or the sixth lap around the city? Would the victory have been won? No. Without united effort, without marching in unity, without explicitly following the instruction of God, Jericho would never have been conquered.

In the finishing of our work today, unless we learn as they did to march in unity, the work will not be finished by us. God will use others who will march in unity. A disunited army could not conquer Canaan, and a disunited army is not going to finish the work today.

Imagine how the situation would have unfolded if they had taken the orders from Joshua, which came directly from the Captain of the host of the Lord, and said, “All right, we will march around the city.” And then Ephraim had begun marching around the city clockwise as Judah had begun marching around it counterclockwise. Or perhaps Dan had started at the West Gate while Naphtali had started at the East Gate. Another tribe had started marching at 7:00 a.m., but another group had not gotten started until noon. Perhaps they had greeted one another or had waved to the curious onlookers as they marched. Would the plan have worked? Definitely not.

An army that fights like that is not ready to face any foe. It is very easy for us, as we stand up against sin and against apostasy, to begin standing up against our brethren too, and not march in unity.

Smiting Fellowservants

In Matthew 24, Jesus concludes His message on the signs of the times—what is to precede His coming and what His coming will be like. He tells a parable of two servants—a faithful servant and a wicked servant. Jesus brings, at the end of this discourse of last day events, a very interesting conclusion. Note verses 48 and 49: “But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite [his] fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken.” Is there anything absolutely terrible, any grave sin, we might say, with which this evil servant is condemned? He does not even verbalize it; He just says in his heart, “My Lord is delaying His coming.” And that leads him to smite his fellowservants.

Can we be guilty of this? Is it possible to smite our fellowservants with more than just a fist? A tongue can smite our fellowservants too, can it not? The Lord says, of those who are smiting their fellowservants and of those who are not marching in unity, that their portion is going to be with the hypocrites when He comes. Their portion is going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth, because they did not join the army that was marching shoulder-to-shoulder in conquest of Canaan.

We need to forget our silly differences and pray that the Lord will help us to not be smiting our fellowservants, because anyone that is smiting his fellowservants will not be in the army that is going to finish the work. We need to realize who the enemy really is. The enemy is not one another. The enemy is not those who disagree with us or have different ideas; the enemy is the prince of the unconquered and unwarned world.

One Mind

“Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: That ye may with one mind [and] one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 15:5, 6.

What an amazing passage! It directs that we are to have one mind and one mouth. What do we do with our minds? We think. Our ideas, our thought processes, come from our minds, and here Paul says that we are to have one mind. The church is to have one mind, one purpose, one goal, one mouth. What do we do with our mouths? We speak. We are not to be saying multiple different things. We are to have one mouth, and we are to be speaking one thing.

How can that happen? Philip-pians 2:2 tells us,” Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, [being] of one accord, of one mind.” Paul says that we are to “fulfill my joy, be likeminded.” And then he tells us how that is possible. We are to have the same love. We are not going to have the same mind, the same mouth, or march shoulder-to-shoulder until we have the same love. Do we have the same love today?

Brotherly Love

On the first night of one of my trips to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, my travel companions and I discovered that the people whom we were visiting had been preparing a mud hut for us. It was actually quite large. They had gone out of their way to make what we would call a mud mansion. But they were not completely finished with it by the time we arrived. There were not yet any doors on the hut, but we were very tired, only wanting a place to sleep, as we had been traveling for many, many hours by multiple conveyances.

During the night, we were awakened by sounds outside of the hut. Peering outside, we noticed that the kerosene lantern was burning, and there beside it was a brother who had not yet been baptized. He wanted to make sure that we were safe, so he stayed awake the entire night to be a guard for us. When I learned that he had stayed sitting upright in a chair all night just to make sure no one harmed us, I felt so badly for him, but he had love.

This man was baptized while we were there. He had been a member of the Baptist Church. He had discovered a little bit about the Advent message from a sign along the road, and he had received Bible studies. He took the studies back to his church and other Baptist churches, and the members accepted what they learned from the lessons and wanted to know more about the Seventh-day Adventist message. They accepted the Sabbath. He was there at our location as their representative. We were never able to visit the other members, as they were 160 kilometers—about 100 miles—away. We did not have time to walk there, but 15 Baptist churches had sent him to learn more of the Adventist message. One reason God could work in their hearts, I believe, was because they had a love in their hearts for the brethren and for the message.

God is going to work in our churches; the more love and the more unity we have, the more He is going to work with us. Ellen White wrote: “The success of our work depends upon our love to God and our love to our fellowmen. When there is harmonious action among the individual members of the church, when there is love and confidence manifested by brother to brother, there will be proportionate force and power in our work for the salvation of men.” Testimonies to Ministers and Gospel Workers, 188.

March Shoulder-to-Shoulder

We need to march in unity. We need to march shoulder-to-shoulder if we are going to conquer Canaan. So often, though, we think that the method to which God has called us is the only method, and everybody must use that method. We think that anybody who is not doing what we are doing is just not quite as sanctified as we are.

My friends, we need to all march in unity. There is a work to be done in literature work, but literature work alone is not going to finish the work. There is a work to be done in medical missionary lines, but that alone is not going to finish the work, even though it was given for evangelism. It was not just given to educate our churches; it was not just given so we could treat those among our number that become sick.

Do you remember that Loma Linda University used to be called the College of Medical Evangelists? Medical missionary work was given as a part of finishing the work and of evangelism. Ellen White often used an interesting phrase: “gospel medical missionary evangelist.” (See, for instance, Medical Ministry, 56.) The purpose of medical missionary work is to do evangelism. The purpose of literature work is to do evangelism, public evangelism, personal work among the members of the church.

We have to march shoulder-to-shoulder and work together to finish the work, because there are those who will respond to literature work but who will not respond to other work. There are those who will respond to medical missionary work who will not respond to something else. There are those who will respond to public evangelism and personal testimony who will not respond to other methods. God has called us, just as He called the army that was to conquer Canaan. He has called us to march shoulder-to-shoulder.

Achieving Unity

How can we march shoulder-to-shoulder? How can we work together in unity? My favorite sermon titles are the ones that begin with “How”! I like practical things, and we are given some practical counsel regarding unity.

“The unity that exists between Christ and His disciples does not destroy the personality of either. In mind, in purpose, in character, they are one, but not in person. By partaking of the Spirit of God, conforming to the law of God, man becomes a partaker of the divine nature. Christ brings His disciples into a living union with Himself and with the Father. Through the working of the Holy Spirit upon the human mind, man is made complete in Christ Jesus. Unity with Christ establishes a bond of unity with one another.” Sons and Daughters of God, 286.

We can be united with one another by striving to be united with Christ.

“The cause of division and discord in families and in the church is separation from Christ. To come near to Christ is to come near to one another. The secret of true unity in the church and in the family is not diplomacy, not management, not a superhuman effort to overcome difficulties—though there will be much of this to do—but union with Christ.” The Adventist Home, 179.

When there is a lack of unity, when there is division, when there is discord, we have to examine our hearts. We individually must ask, “Lord, am I in union with You? Am I the cause of this disharmony? Am I marching in a direction different from the rest of my brethren, or am I marching shoulder-to-shoulder? Am I in union with Christ?”

Another interesting area that we are told will affect unity is also given: “Those who would be overcomers must be drawn out of themselves.” Fundamentals of Christian Education, 207. Do you want to be an overcomer? If we are not overcomers, we are not going to finish the work. If we are not overcomers, we are not going to enter into the Holy City.

Be Overcomers

How can we overcome? How can we be drawn out of ourselves? She says, “The only thing which will accomplish this great work, is to become intensely interested in the salvation of others.” And then she says, “This does not mean that you are to convert men to your way of doing, or to compel them to view things in the same light as you do; but you are to seek to present the truth as it is in Jesus.” Ibid.

Continuing, Ellen White says, “Missionary effort will become more general, and the example of one zealous worker, working in the right direction, will influence others, and they also will go forth to preach the gospel. The missionary spirit will pass from house to house, and the brethren will find something to talk about of more interest than their grievances.” Ibid., 208.

Have you ever been in a church where there are discussions about grievances? If so, it means that there is not enough missionary work being done, because she says that if we had greater missionary work being done, we would not find time to talk about our grievances. We would have more important things to discuss.

She goes on: “They will be interested in displaying the jewels of truth which the Bible contains, and churches will be established, meetinghouses erected, and many will come to the help of the Lord.” And notice what the result will be: “The brethren will be united in bonds of love, and will realize their unity with experienced Christians in all parts of the world, as they are one in their plans, one in the object of their interest.” Ibid. [Emphasis supplied.]

What brings about this unity? It is brought about by union with Christ and an intense interest in the salvation of others and by missionary effort that leads us to forget about talking about grievances and problems in the church. These different things become nothing when we have the goal of a finished work before our eyes.

I am always amazed how this works! Every time a church is involved in active evangelism, there is greater unity than at previous times. I have noticed this played out every year with the youth class at camp meeting. Each time we have gone out door-to-door in the community, the spirit is always different when the young people get back into the van than when they got out. When they return, they are talking about the person they met at one door, and the person that signed up for Bible studies at another, and the literature they gave away. There is a common spirit and more of a unity, just in that van.

That is what we need in our churches. We have to look those giants in the face, and we have to march forward shoulder-to-shoulder, being as aggressive in our work as possible. We have to look at the giants in our hearts and ask the Lord to bring those giants in our hearts down, that we might have a closer unity with Christ and that we, as a church, can march in unity—because God’s work will be finished by His church marching in unity, shoulder-to-shoulder around Jericho.

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.