The St. Louis Republic., 1902-08-16
THE SUNDAY-SCH00L LESSON.
For August q, "The Report of the
Spies" Numb. xiii 2G,
TO xiv, T.

C0NTEST-After the erection and conse-
Grafton of >he tabernacle. studied last week.
for whole month. During that time the
service of the sanctuary was arranged as
set forth in the book of Leviticus After
that a census was taken and the tribes
were stationed in their appointed order
Shortly after the death OF Nadab and abb
hu. sons of Aaron. occurred for Offering
strange fire on the altar OF incense, and a
man was stoned for blasphemy. At length
the word of Jehovah came commanding the
people to depart from the mountain and
Journey toward Canaan. the land OF their
destination. On the twentieth day of the
second month tMay 20. 1890 B. c. the cloud
lifted. the tabernacle was taken down. and
the advance call OF the trumpets was sound
ed The general direction to be taken was
northward. and after eleven days the tents
were pitched at Kadesh Barnea. a distance
OF leo miles from Sinai Thence as mil
itary precaution. Moses sent out twelve
spies, one from each tribe to view the
land Their report on returning constitutes
THE LAND-Verses 26 and 20. The in
structions OF Moses required the spies to
naan. whether 1t be fat OF lean. and
whether there be wood therein" Verse 20)
Accordingly they went through the country
from south TO north. even to Rehob. which
was afterward given to the tribe of Asher.
Gosh. xix, 2S) They gathered at Fschal
Verse 81 on their return trip. a huge bunch
OF grapes and Sa NIPPLES OF pome egranates and
figs. Standing before Moses and Aaron and
the congregation Cprobabiy the elders) of
Israel they displayed the fruit and declared
that the land was one of rare fertility ana
that II flowed with milk and honey" using
figure. OF speech then common. and highly
expressive, This description accorded per-
fectly with the promises that had been
made to Israel (Ex. iii, Sd when God ap-
peared to Moses N the wilderness and COM
missioned him TO be the leader and deliverer
from Egyptian bondage. The new home by
actual exploration was found to he all
THE PEOPLE-Verses Is and 29 At
that time Canaan QenGely cd h.
the Hittites. PerriZZi:es and other tribes
which were to be expelled. CEx xiii. ~
structed the spies to inquire concerning
these people verse 1S). whether they be
strong or weak" that he might the better
Judge how great an undertaking was before
him As a good general. he needed to
know all he might about his enemies Q.uke
xiv. ~ The spies reported. giving the To-
cation of the several tribes-the Amaiekites
in the south. the Hittites. Jebusites and
Amorites in the mountains, an1 the Ca
naanites by the sea and the Jordan. They
walled. presenting formidable defenses
against any approach of foe. But what
especially impressed them, they saw the
children of Anak. who were giants Cversa
80. men of immense stature and fierce
looks. warriors to be dreaded and Stunned.
This was in no sense an exaggerated state
THE PRoPosAL-verse 9o,. This intel
ligence caused dismay in the hearts of those
who heard il, and expressions of fear spread
rapidly through the assembly. 1t was felt
that 3,Oo0O 900 of slaves, only one year out of
Egypt. who had scarcely become a nation.
were unable to dislodge those who were
well prepared to defend their homes. BUT
TWO Two OF the sples. C~ateo ~ ana joshua sNumn;
the tribe of judah, and the
other the tribe of EDhraim (Vumb. xiii.
So the victorious tribes of Israel. whose
character had been predicted by Jacob Gen.
xix. s-22-2F. from whom came the Kings
Joshua. as the Lieutenant of Moses, the
hero of the battle with Amalek eek. xvii.
49, stood in silence, sanctioning the words
OF Caleb who declared that they were able
to overcome, and urged an immediate ad-
vance It was a brave proposal, made by
brave men.
THE RESPONSE-Verse 81. Caleb ard
Joshua were doubtless controlled by faith
They must have considered that the land
had been given by the Almighty to Israel.
Gen. Nv. 49, that the exodus had been or
dered with the view ia possess it, (Esx. ii,
IN. that God was in the midst of the people,
his presence being manifest In the taber-
nacle, and that therefore that was no 'oc-
casion TO fear. But the other ten spies
looked to the human conditions ssis forgot