Morgan County republican. (Versailles, Mo.) 1906-1914, 1907-08-29
The Two Reports
Of the Spies
Surday School Lsssonior Sept. I, 1907
Specially Prepared Zoe This Paper

US; fear them not fs.
T1ME.-July or August. The Time OF
the first ripe grapes" tNum. B:2Wi IL G,
400 by the common chronology. This
was two or three months after they left
Sinai on the Goth day OF the second
month, sometime In May.
pBACE-kedesh-barneA An n-days
Journey (Deut. l:g Of continued travel,
rs modern travellers have found [Robin-
son was exactly II days.; |. O., 100 or l7p
miles route from Sinai. II II 50 miles
south OF Beersheba on the southern
border of Palestine.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
For two or three months the PEG.
pie of Israel, men, women, and chill
dren, slowly marched through the
great and terrible wilderness" from
Sinai, a journey which ordinary trav'
elers could make in eleven days. The
slow march and long rests were nee
essary both on account Of the children
and the 1ocks, and on account OF The
need OF longer training. Moreover,
the difficulties and privations OF h
desert would make them more anx.
ious to enter the land flowing with
milk and honey"
Kadesh-barneR. At length, some
time In July or August, they reached
Kadesh.barnea, Ain Qadees, so miles
south of Beersheba. Just at the foot OF
the range Of hills which are the south
ern boundary OF Palestine.
From Kadesh the people can see,
rising before them toward the north
west, the steep ascent which leads
into the hill country, the destined in
heritance Of the tribe Of Judah"
The gates TO their new home were
before them, wide open. The fertile
oasis to which they had come was a
foretaste OF their inheritance. Only a
steep climb and they can set their feet
on the land OF promise.
Then Moses said unto them: RE-
hold. Jehovah thy God hath set the
land before thee: go up, take posses
sion, as Jehovah. the God Of thy ia.
Tiers, hath spoken unto thee; fear
not, neither be dismayed.-CDeut,
1:21.)
They had only TO trust God and go
forward. and in less than two years
from leaving Egypt the land would
have been theirs. The God who had
delivered them with a mighty hand,
who had made a path through the sea,
who had rained mama. and brought
water from a rock, and spoken from
Sinai, and entered into covenant with
them, and was leading them by his
visible p~resence,-he babe them go
up and take possession of the prom.
Used la d.
The people were afraid to 20 for
ward. They were not a warlike peo-
pie. Abraham's attack on Chedorlao-
mer and his army in rescue Of Lot, in
the far distant past, and their battle
with the Amalekites. a year before
this time, are The only battles record
ed in the whole history Of their race.
The whole people (Deut. 1927 asked
Moses TO first send out spies 10 In.
v~estlgate. This was wise under the
| circumstances, that is, the next wisest
thing TO gong forward trusting in
God, and therefore Moses agreed to
the plan (Deut. 1921, and it vas SO
directed by God Mum. 1881, ~.
The Committee Of investigation
Accordingly, Moses selected twelve
leading men best fitted for the ser.
vice, whose James are giyeD in VS..
Ais.
spy Out the L~and."--The object
o. this expedition was % to learn
what were the attractions of the coun.
try: (2) the difficulties in the way Of
taking possession; 49, the best ways
of reaching the country; "a the prep
a~rations It was necessary to make.
Get you up this way southwark" Bet.
ter as in X. v, by the south, no. re-
ferring at all to the direction form the
Israelite's camp, but to a wel!-defined
tract OF territory forming the south.
ernmost and least fertile portion OF
the land of Canaan. 1t was called
The Negeb" or the South Country.
literally, the dryness." In the same
way we speak Of the South no
matter in what direction We approach
Il.
The Two Reports.-The timld spies
we're like Elisha's servant e Kings
6:l6. 10, who saw the enemy, but
did not see the heavenly chariqts and
horsemen ranged on the hills round
about. They saw the giants, but were
blind to God.
The report was evil because II
omitted the essential factor in the
case.
The minority report OF Caleb and
Joshua was a good report because
while II accepted all the material
facts Of the other, 1t embodied the
one essential Of faith in God with its
outcome of obedience and courage.
The difference between the two lay
In this: that the ten looked at Goo
through the difficulties, as when you
look at the sun through a reversed
telescope, and 1t seems indefinitely
distant and shorn of its glory; Will,
the two looked at diricultics through
God,-F. b. Meyer.
/, Practical Points.
God summons US to go up now, i'm
, mediately. and possess the land, eter
nal life began in this world and in GU
youth.
? II Is right that we should know tn,
s difficulties and dangers and self-de
| malls, as well as the good things in tn
e land TO which we are called.
Every real good, like success, edu
cation, usefulness, has great din Gu.
= ties and many enemies in the way.
Those make an evil report who Sc
a the enemies more clearly than IN
4 goodness Of the land, and than tn
power and love Of God