Message Notes

YOUTH WORSHIP 1 March 2025
Title: “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan”
Text: Numbers 13:1-33

THE PLAN OF THE LORD

1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.”

Numbers 13:1-2

1. God commanded Moses to send spies to the land of Canaan

2. Choice men were to be selected for this mission

a. Leaders

b. One from each tribe

c. These represented the best of Israel

3. Underlying this plan was God’s promise to give Israel the land of Canaan
(Cf. Exodus 3:8)

4. The people selected Numbers 13:3-16

a. They were heads of the children of Israel

b. They were most likely leaders who were younger because of the physical energy and swiftness needed for this spy mission

c. They made up the “next generation”

d. They were meant to be full of potential; outstanding in their own right

MOSES’ ELABORATION OF THE LORD’S PLAN TO SPY THE LAND

17 Then Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up this way into the South, and go up to the mountains, 18 and see what the land is like: whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, few or many; 19 whether the land they dwell in is good or bad; whether the cities they inhabit are like camps or strongholds; 20 whether the land is rich or poor; and whether there are forests there or not. Be of good courage.
And bring some of the fruit of the land.” Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes.

Numbers 13:17-20

1. Clear directions were given on how to spy the land

a. Enter from the South

b. Go up into the mountains

c. See what the land is like

2. Features that the spies were meant to look out for:

a. People

i. Strong or weak

ii. Few or many

b. Land

i. Good or bad

ii. Rich or poor

c. Cities
Camps or strongholds

d. Forests
Forests or plains

3. Moses instructed them to bring back some of the fruit as well

a. This gives us some clue to the purpose of the spy mission

b. More than it just being a mission to gather military intelligence, it was meant to strengthen the faith of the Israelites

c. To show to the people that the land God had promised to them was indeed rich and good

THE REPORT OF THE TWELVE SPIES: POSSIBILITIES VS PROBLEMS

1. The mission took them forty days

a. They surveyed the land extensively

b. They brought back fruit
One cluster of grapes needed to be carried by two men!

2. The report of the spies

a. The land was flowing with milk and honey

b. But instead of looking at the possibilities of occupying the land, the (ten) spies focused on its problems

28 Nevertheless the people who dwell in the land are strong; the cities are fortified and very large; moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites dwell in the land of the South; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the mountains; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea and along the banks of the Jordan.”

Numbers 13:28-29

i. The strength of the inhabitants

ii. Their fortifications

iii. The presence of the descendants of Anak (giants)

iv. Other groups of enemies

3. This caused unrest among the people of Israel Numbers 13:30

4. The ten also continued to exaggerate the problems Numbers 13:31-33

a. We are not able to go up against the people for they are stronger than we

b. The land devours its inhabitants

c. The men who live there are of great stature

d. We were like grasshoppers in comparison

5. The result: The congregation of Israel was badly affected Numbers 14

a. They cried and wept

b. They complained

c. They even sought a mutiny against Moses

IMPORTANT LESSONS TO TAKEAWAY

1. God has good plans for us, in accordance with His gracious promise to bless us

2. He has also given us every potential to succeed

3. But we must prove ourselves

a. Can we see beyond the problems that are present?

b. Can we move into the possibilities of

i. Trusting in the promises of God

ii. Overcoming by the power of God

iii. Reaping the rewards of God?

4. The disappointing example of the ten spies

a. There was much potential

b. But they faltered just as they were about to enter the land

c. They could not see past the problems, to enter the exciting possibilities of God

TO PROVE OURSELVES WELL

1. To prove oneself well
It is not to assert ourselves forcefully or egotistically

2. It is to wholly follow:

a. God Himself

i. Believing in His promises

ii. Obeying His commands, even though there may be challenges

b. God’s chosen leader

i. To trust in his leading

ii. To be loyal to him

iii. To stand together with him

3. The inspiring example of Caleb

a. He stood up and spoke for the Lord and Moses Numbers 13:30

b. This was God’s own words regarding Caleb

35 ‘Surely not one of these men of this evil generation shall see that good land of which I swore to give to your fathers, 36 except Caleb the son of Jephunneh; he shall see it, and to him and his children I am giving the land on which he walked, because he wholly followed the LORD.’

Deuteronomy 1:35-36