Americus times-recorder., 1919-02-26
E4PRovED UNIFoRM RTEaEArloEAA
SUNlYSpOL
LESSON
CBy Rev. P. B. FITZWATER, D. D..
Teacher OF English Bible in the Moody
Bible Institute of Chicago.)
Copyright. 1918 Western Newspaper Untonl
LESSON FOR MARCH 2
THE REPORT OF THE SPIES

LESSON TExT-Numbers I3:17-143s
GOLDEN TEXT-This is the victory
that overcometh the world, even our faith.
Il John 5:4
DEVOTIONAL READING-PsaIm IS,
PRIMARY TOPIC-The story of a won
dsrful journey. Memory verse-Num. 14:s
JUNIOR TOPIC-Two men against ten.
Memory Verse-Num. 1920
INTERMEDIATE TOPIC-The folly of
cowardice.
SENIOR AND ADULT ToPIC-causes
of failure in life.
|. The Spies Sent Out (13:17-2O).
Less than two years have passed
since the Israelites were delivered
from Egyptian bondage They are
now at Kadesh-Barnea, within sight
of the promised land. Moses urges
them to go in and take immediate pos
session (Deut. 1 :21) but they fail be-
cause of their unbelief (Heb. 3:19).
There was a threefold purpose In
sending out the spies: (1) to see
whether the land was as God had told
them ". 1S); (2) to see whether the
people who dwelt there were strong
I or weak, few or many ". 19); (3) to
see whether the cities were made up
Of stronghOlds or tents ". 10). What
folly! If God has spoken, to question
his word Is simply unbelief.
VI. The Commission Executed (13:
21-25).
They entered the land from the
south and traversed 1t to it's north
ern limits. They spent forty days In
this investigating exploration. 1t Is a
sad comment upon human nature when
men must spend forty days in finding
out the truthfulness of Gods word.
On their return from the north they
gathered some specimens Of the fruit
Of the land. Two of them, perhaps
Caleb and Joshua, bore a cluster of
grapes upon a staff between them as
a witness that God had spoken the
truth about the land.
Ill. The Spies Rendered a Report
(13 :26-33).
On their return this committee of
explorers rendered a report to the
whole congregation. It was not unani-
nous:
l. The majority report (vv. 26-29.
~ '"The land fioweth with milk and
honey ". 27). AS a proof of 1t they
exhibited the fruit They all bore
witness that this was in accordance
with what God had said. (2) 'The
people who live there are strong" ".
2o). They seemed to stress this fact.
Unbelief dwells mainly upon difficult
ties. (3) '"The people live in walled
cities ". 28). They argued that it
was impossible to capture them in
such sure defenses. (4) "The land
was inhabited by giants" ". 2S CT v.
33). They saw themselves as grass
hoppers. Furthermore, they saw the
| people so diStributed-the Amalekites
in the south country, the Hittites, Jeb-
| usites and Amorites in the mountains
and the CanaaniteS along the sea-
that it was impossible to take them.
This, no doubt, seemed reasonable from
the human side, but they displayed
their folly in that they left God out
of the question. The same God who
said to them, go, possess the land"
would go along to fight the :. .tes.
2. The minority report wv. 3O-33).
| In part, this report agrees with the
first; it does not ignore the difficult
ties, nor dispute the facts. 1t denies
the conclusion of the majority. They
| did not minimize the task before them,
| but asserted that with Gods help they
were we'll able to get possession of the
land, and urged immediate action.
The ten had their eyes on the diff
cultieS, but Caleb and Joshua fixed
their eyes upon God. Caleb lived to
see his suggestion made real The de-
cisions of the majority are not always
right. Just two men against the many
thousands, but the thousands were
wrong and the two were right. 1t is
not always true that the "yoice of the
people is the voice Of God"
w. The Rebellion of the People
14:1-38).
This rebellion began by crying Hav-
ing left God out of the question they
now weep and howl. This weeping
and bowling was followed by murmur-
ing against Moses and Aaron They
even wished that they had died In the
wilderness or in Egypt. God took
them at their word; he sent them
| back to wander in the wilderness for
thirty-eight years, during which time
they all died except Caleb and Joshua.
This was followed by proposition to
organize for the return to Egypt.
They proposed to select a captain as
their leader. The protest of Joshua
and Caleb against this resulted In the
| proposition to stone them. At this
point God interposed In their behalf.
He manifested his glory before all the
children of Israel in vindicatiOn of the
loyalty of Joshus ard 7aleb.