The Jasper weekly courier. [volume] (Jasper, Ind.) 1858-1922, 1907-08-30
The Two Reports
OF the Spies
sunday sehoolLessOnior Sept. l. 1907
seeeisiiy Prepared Tor This Piper
s'sei''ly Prepared Tor This Piper


was TWO or three months after they Ief,
Sinal on the 20th day OF the second
month, sometime In MAY.
PLACE -kedesh-barnea. An u-dav.
journey tDeut. I'D OF continued travel
as modern travellers have found Robln.
81 was exactly II days.; g. e.. le0 or 10
Hllies route from Sinai. II is 50 miles
south OF Beersheba on tile southern
border OF Palestine
Comment and Suggestive Thouqht.
For two or three months the PEG.
pie OF Israel, men. women, and chill.
dren, slowly marched through 1.-The
great and terrible wilderness" from
sinai, journey which ordinary trav.
elers could make in eleven days. The
SLOW march and long rests we're nee.
essary both on account OF the children
and the focks. and on account OF the
need OF longer training. Moreover.
the difficulties and priyations OF the
desert would make them more anx-
ious TO enter the land flowing with
milk and honey"
hadesh-barnea. At length, some
time In July or August, they reached
hadesh-barnea. Ain Qadees. 90 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 hin country. the destined in
heritance Of the tribe Of Judah"
The gates 70 their new home we're
before them. wide open. The fertile
oasis to which they had come was a
foretaste Of their Inheritance Only
steep climb and they can set their feet
on the land Of promise.
Then Moses said unto them: BE.
hold, Jehovah thy God hath set the
land before thee; go up. take posses
sion- as Jehovah. the God OF thy IA
theirs. hath spoken unto thee; fear
not. neither be dismayed.-(Deut
1:21)
They had only to trust God and 20
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 path through the sea,
who had rained mamma. and brought
water from a rock, and spoken from
Sinai, and entered into covenant with
them. and was leading them by his
visible presence,-he babe them go
up and take possession of the prom
ised land.
The people were afraid to 60 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 1929 asked
Moses TO first send out spies TO in.
vesugate. This was wise under the
that Is. the next wisest
thing to going forward trusting in
God, and therefore Moses agreed to |
he plan (Deut. 1920. and it was so
directed by God Mum. rS:1, p.
The Committee OF investigation
Accordingly. Moses selected twelve |
eading men best fitted for the ser
rice, whose names are given in VS..
Ills.
spy Out the land."-The object !
" this expedition was ID TO learn
what were the attractions OF the coun-
ry; CD the difficulties in the way of
aking possession; 90 the best ways
q raanhf,g Tho ooup4ry. fn fbo v~o-. |
'rations it, was necessary to make.
Get you up this way southwark" Bet
er as In r. ", by the south, not re-
erring at all to the direction form the
sraelite's camp, but to well-defined
ract OF territory forming the south
rnmost and least fertile portion OF
he land OF Canaan. II was called
The Negeb" or the South Country,
terally, "the dryness." In the same
ray we speak Of 1.-THE South no
natter in what direction We approach
The Two Reports.-The timid spies
Tere like Elisha's servant q Kings
lie, I'D, who saw the enemy, but
ID not see the heavenly chariots and
orsemen ranged on the hills round
bout. They saw the giants. but were
lind to God
The report was evil because IL
mitted the essential factor in the
ase.
The minority report Of Caleb and
oshua was good report because.
lille II accepted all the material
let's OF the other. 1t embodied the
ne essential Of faith in God with its
ltcome of obedience and courage.
The difference between the two lay
this: that the ten looked at God
trough the difficulties. as when you
ok at the sun through a reversed
'lescope. and II seems indefinitely
stant and shorn OF its glory; while
lie two looked at difficulties through
od.-F b. Meyer.
Practical Points.
God summons US to go up now, i'm
ediately. and possess the land, eter-
n life began In this world and In our
Juth.
II is right that we should know the
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