Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1888-08-30
SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON.
Lesson X, September 2, 1888.
THEME: THE SPIES SENT INTO CANAAN
Numbers 18.17-33

II. And Moses sent them TO spy out the
land. of Canaan, and said unto them, Get
you up this way southwark, and go up into
tho mountain: Is. And see the land, what
IL is; and the people that dwelleth therein,
whether they be strong or weak, few or
many; 10. And what the land is that they
dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and
tents or in strongholds 20. And what the
land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether
there be wood therein or not. And be We OF
good courage, and bring OF the fruit OF the
land. Now was the time OF the tirst-ripe
grapes. 81. So they went up, and searched
the land from the wilderness OF Tin unto
Rehob, as men come to Klamath. %. And
they assembled by the south, and came unto
| Hebron; where Altman, Sheshai and Tai
mai, the children of Anal, were (Now
Hebron was built seven years before Zion
in Egypt) %. And they came unto the
brook OF Eshcol, and cut down from thence
branch with one cluster OF grapes, and
they bare IL between two upon a staff; and
they brought OF the pomegrantes, and OF the
| hgS. "a. Tho place was called the brook
+ Eshcol, because OF the cluster OF grapes
which the children of Israel cut down
| from thence. 25. And they returned
from searching Of the land after forty
days. 20. 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 showed them the
fruit of the land o. And they told him,
and said, We came unto the land whittier
thou sentest us, and surely it howeth with
milk and honey; and this is the fruit Of il.
Nevertheless the people be strong that
dwell in the land, and the cities are walled,
and very great: and moreover VIC saw the
| children OF Anak there. %. The Amalek-
ties dwell in the land of the south; and the
Hittites, and the Jebusites, and the Amor.
ties, dwell in the mountains; and the Ca
NANTES dwell by the sea and by the coast
of Jordan. 80. And Caleb stillcd the peo-
pie before Moses. and said, Let US go up at
| once and possess IL for we are well able 10
overcome it; 81. 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. 30. And they brought up an evil
report of the land which they had searched
unto the children Of Israel, saying, The
land, through which we have gone 10 search
IT, is a land that eateth up the inhabitants
thereof; and all the people that we saw in
II are men of great stature. 49, And there
we saw the giants: and we were in our own
sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in
their sight
GOLDEN TEXT.-Let us go up at once, and
Number l3 80.
Time of the lesson the latter part of the
summer of the end year after departure
from Egypt about two months after the
breaking of camp at the foot of Sinai. The
Journey had been northward, save deilec-
ton TO the east 10 avoid high mountains.
The encampment at Kadesh-Barnea was
about fifty miles south of Beersheba' Ka-
desh signifies 1.-The holy" and Barnea,
1.-THE desert of wandering
The celebration of the passover had been
observed, and the order of religious ser
yinaG NVh on N
the second month the pillar of cloud rose
from the tabernacle as u signal for depart
ure. Israel entered the wilderness Of
Paran 5000 feet above the Mediterranean
by slightly circuitous march.
The distance from Sinai to the promised
land direct, was about 200 miles Ordinarily
camels made the journey in two weeks and
dromcdaries in one, but with women and
children, tents and baggage, fiocks and
herds, progress was slow. At the close OF
the first three days march, Israel encamp-
ed in Paran, and here they complained for
want of flesh TO eat. God sent quails in
vast numbers, and they ate TO gluttony,
so that many of them died, and the place
was known by Hebrew name signifying
1.-THE graves of gluttony."
The second march was to Nazareth,
made memorable by the jealousy Of Miriam
(the sister who watched the infant Moses
when he was hidden in tho rushes of the
Nile, and was rescued by Pharaoh's daugh-
teri; Miriam, who was a prophecies, found
fault with Zipporah, Moses Cushite wife,
because she was not of Israel, and using
this as an argument with Aaron, besought
him TO Join her in demanding for themselves
equal honors, at least, in being the mouth
piece of Cod in the direction of Israel The
point was, that Moses had defiled himself
by his marriage, while she and Aaron had
maintained their national purity. Divine
Judgment in the form Of leprosy checked
Il Tcro
The plague was removed only in answer to
Moses prayers.
The third march halted at Rithmah, "the
place of broom from desert shrub, but
the ark resting there, the name was changed
to kadesh (the holy.
DR. Trumbull, who visited this place. de-
scribes it as well adapted TO the encamp-
ment of such a company. 1t was just be-
low the ridge which constitutes the southern
boundary of Palestine, as two wells large
pool and stream of living water. The
plain, many miles in extent, is hill-encir-
cled and very fertile. Here Israel was en-
camped for nearly 80 years.
LESSON NOTES.
V. Il. And Moses sent them to syp out
the land of Canaan. Previous to this,
however, we learn, from Deut. 30, that
Moses had besought them to bravery and
courage: "Behold, the Lord, thy God,
hath set the land before thee; 90 up and
possess IL, as the Lord God of thy fathers
hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be
discouraged" Had Israel been obedient to
this admonition, in less than two years
from leaving Egypt they would have come
into possession Of Canaan.
We also learn from Deuteronomy that
Moses acquiesced to the will of the people
that "men be sent to search out the land,
and bring word what way they should go
up and into what cities they should come"
How soon the leading of the cloud gave
place to a worldly policy-not faith, but
sight.
Get you up this way southwark, that is,
go up by the south way, which led near to
Hebron; learn concerning its cities, wheth-
err strong or weak; its products and pros
poets. The latter part of verse 20 indicates
the season of the year. Early grapes ripen
in Palestine in August, and the vintage
occurs in September and October.
V. 81. They searched from Yin unto
Reheb In other words, they explored the
land from south 10 north. Gin was Just
south Of Canaan, a portion of Paran in
which was Kadesh; and Rehob north, at
the foot of Mt. Hebron, near the sources of
the Jordan. Hebron is very ancient town,
where much Of the lifetime of Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob was spent, and where they
were all entombed. Its antiquity antedates
history, being established when Abraham