Today’s message is based on two Bible studies that are in a book entitled Does Your Church Have a Prayer? that I co-authored. The premise of this book is that every follower of Jesus and every congregation of followers of Jesus should be aligned with the prayer of Jesus that is found in the 17th chapter of the Gospel of John. This is the prayer that Jesus prayed for his disciples on the night before his crucifixion. It is a prayer for his disciples who followed him in his earthly ministry as well as his disciples who follow him in his resurrected ministry.
Included in Does Your Church Have a Prayer are two Bible studies based on today’s scripture readings from the Old Testament book of Numbers. The first story, is from the 13th and 14th chapters of Numbers. The first story, from Numbers 13:1-3 and 17-33, is about Moses sending 12 spies into Canaan, the land God had promised to Abraham, and having them present a report about the Promised Land to the 12 tribes of Israel. The second story, from Numbers 14:1-10, is about the reality the Israelites chose to live in as they received the report of the 12 spies.
The Lord said to Moses, “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites; from each of their ancestral tribes you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them leading men among the Israelites.
Numbers 13:1-3
Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said to them, “Go up into the Negeb yonder, and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there is wood in it 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. So they went up and spied out the land . . . At the end of forty days, they returned from spying out the land . . . And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh; they brought back word to them and to all the congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, “We came to the land to which you sent us; it flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. Yet the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb; the Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country; and the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.”
But Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, “Let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it.” Then the men who had gone up with him said, “We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.” So they brought to the people of Israel an evil report of the land which they had spied out, saying, “The land, through which we have gone, to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants; and all the people that we saw in it are men of great stature. And there we saw the Nephilim (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim); and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.”
Numbers 13:17-21a, 25-33
The story of the 12 spies is a biblical story about how our choices influence our response to the challenges and promises of the present and the future. In this story, Moses chooses 12 spies to bring back a faithful report about the land God had promised to Abraham in the 12th chapter of Genesis. In presenting their report all 12 spies agreed in their report about what they had seen in Canaan – a land that flowed with milk and honey and a land inhabited by giants.
While all 12 agreed on what they had seen, there was a division among the spies in how they chose to respond to what they had seen. Ten of the spies chose to live in the self-imposed perceptions of their fears as they said, “we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” Two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, chose to respond to the present challenges of what they had seen by trusting in God’s envisioned reality. Their choice to live in God’s envisioned reality is reflected by Caleb who said, “let us go up at once, and occupy it; for we are well able to overcome it.”
The second biblical story, found in verses 1-10 of the 14th chapter of Numbers, is about the choice that was made by the congregation of Israel in responding to the report about milk, honey, and giants.
Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the Israelites complained against Moses and Aaron; the whole congregation said to them, “Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the LORD bringing us into this land to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become plunder; would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?” So they said to one another, “Let us choose a captain and go back to Egypt.”
Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the Israelites. And Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the Israelites, “The land that we went through as spies is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord is pleased with us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only, do not rebel against the Lord, and do not fear the people of the land, for they are no more than bread for us; their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.” But the whole congregation threatened to stone them.”
Numbers 14:1-10
The congregation of Israel had a choice to make:
- Were they going to accept the perceived reality of the 10 spies and see the challenges of the present and future through the vision of grasshoppers?
- Were they going to accept the envisioned reality of Joshua and Caleb and see the challenges of the present and future through the vision of God?
The congregation of Israel chose the perceived reality of the 10 spies as they said, “Let us go back to Egypt.” Rather than living in the promise of a God envisioned reality for the present and the future, they chose their self-perceived memories of the past as they said, “Let us choose a new captain and go back to Egypt.” Rather than living in the freedom of the promise of God’s future they chose the slavery of the past where, at least, they knew what was expected of them.
Perceived reality or envisioned reality? Great periods of change present both great challenges and great possibilities for the present and the future. The question is what reality do we choose as we face times of great change. Do we choose a perceived reality of self-imposed limitations or do we choose an envisioned reality of God’s promised future?
What is true about the perceived reality of the ten and the envisioned reality of Joshua and Caleb is still true. Every generation must choose the reality in which it shall live.
What is true about the choice made by the congregation of Israel is still true about today’s congregations of faith. Every congregation must choose whether it will live in perceived reality or envisioned reality.
All of which leads to one other important lesson from today’s scripture from Numbers. That lesson is this: both the perceived reality of the 10 spies and the envisioned reality of Joshua and Caleb were realized. The perceived reality of the 10 spies was realized as God allowed the current generation of Israel to wander for 40 years and perish in the wilderness. The envisioned reality of Joshua and Caleb was realized as a new generation of Israel was led by Joshua and Caleb into God’s promised future.
Friends, we are living in a time of great challenge and great promise. As we stand on the edge of God’s Promised Future, what reality do you choose?
What Reality Do You Choose?
by Pastor Marc Brown
August 14, 2022
Accompanying Scriptures: Numbers 13:1-3, 17-21a, 25-33, Numbers 14:1-10
Fort Hill United Methodist Church
Order of Worship for August 14, 2021
Scripture Lesson Numbers 13:1-3, 17-21a, 25-33, Numbers 14:1-10
The Good News “What Reality Do You Choose?”
Music “Lead Me Lord”
Prayer
Blessing
Closing Music “Built on a Rock” arr. Gilbert Martin
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