Five Mile Beach weekly journal., 1913-10-17

on the way, as -AksAMSD
they arrived at the -@N pa
time of the first
ripe grapes-July. Fruits and a Fertile
Kadesh Barnea, ooa"s'p'
their objective point, is q delightful
place. well watered-a sharp contrast
to the Desert of Paran. Here they
rested and refreshed themselves.
Moses, full of faith, proposed that they
proceed forthwith to enter Canaan, the
Land of Promise.
But the Israelites were timid. They
had no knowledge of war, excepting a
little experience with the Amalekites
near Mt. Sinai. Their caution over
balanced their faith. They urged upon
Moses the sending of the twelve spies.
These apparently were divided under
two lenders, Caleb and Joshua. One
party went the length of the land, and
returned in forty days; the others took
a shorter journey and returned sooner.
The spies were cautious men and
gave a truthful report of the land, de
claring that its cities had high walls
and would be difficult to overcome
They reported also that they had seen
giants. The report of the ten is de-
scribed as an evil report because they
presented the matter from the view
point of its difficulties, as in contrast
with the report made by Caleb and
Joshua, which was styled a good re-
port, because encouraging.
The spies really should have consid-
cred themselves as a committee OF
ways and means for entering Canaan.
rather thar for deciding whether it was
possible to enter. The possibilities
We're already determined by Gods
promise; Hence JoshAlrdsCalehlef left
these out OF account. If God could de-
liver them from the Egyptians and the
Amalekites He surely could fulfil His
promise to bring them into Canaan.
Did God Encourage War?
In studying this lesson, many are
perplexed. They say, 1t seems unrea-
sonable to believe that God gave such
a message to Moses and the Israelites.
Contrast this with the Seriptural dec
laration that God Twill make wars to
cease unto the ends of the EARTH
Agnostics inquire, Where is the justice
of commissioning the Israelites to steal
the lands of the Canaanites, and to ex-
terminate utterly all the people?
To understand the Bible, we must
view 1t from its own standpoint, and
not from that of our creeds formulated
In the darker days, nor from that of
our own imperfect reasoning. The BIZ
BILE is beautiful, consistent, Godlikey
only when viewed in Its own light.
We must remember that the Bible
~antagonizes Che theories Of our creeds.
which tell us that those slaughtered
Canaanites went straight to an eter-
nifty of torture because they did not
know the true God and Jesus Christ.
the Savior. Tho Bible tolls us that all
mankind are children of Adam. and
all perishing because OF his death sen
tence. When they die, they are not
alive anywhere. They are dead. They
are suffering the penalty that God pro-
nounced. Dying, thou shalt die"
1t matters not. therefore. in what
way we die. or very much whether our
experiences be longer or shorter. In
the case Of the ~Canaanites, God de-
clared that their iniquity had come to
the full. That is, God determined that
they were merely numbering the earth.
God was using the Israelites as a
typical people, through whom He was
making types and shadows of coming
blessings. He would give Canaan to
The CHRISTIANS FIGHT Israel, to illustrate
WITH SELF the DISTINCTION of