The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1919-02-28
LESSON FOR MARCH 2
THE REPORT OF THE SPIES.

PRIMARY TOPIC-The story of a won
derful journey. Memory Verse-Nun. 14S.
JUNIOR TOPIC-Two men against ten.
Memory Verse-Num. 1920.
INTERMEDIATE TOPIC-The folly Of
cowarGice.
SENIOR AND ADULT ToPIc-Causes
of failure in life.
I. The Spies Sent Out (13 :17-20).
Less than two years have passed
since the Israelltes 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. l: :2D but they fail be-
cause of their unbelief (Heb. 3:19).
There was threefold purpose in
sending out the spies: () to see
whether the land was as God had told
them ". 1S); (2) to see whether the
people who dwelt there were strong
or weak, few or many ". 1S); (3) to
see whether the cities were made up
Of strongholds or tents ". 19). What
lOlly IL OOu uuo SpOhCu, " QuColioh
his word is simply unbelief.
II. The Commission Executed (13:
21-25).
They entered the land from the
south and traversed 1t to its north
ern limits. They spent forty days in
this investigating exploration. 1t Is q
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 cluster Of
grapes upon a staff between them as
a witness that God had spoken the
truth about the land.
III. The Spies Rendered Report
(13 :26-33).
On their return this committee Of
explorers rendered a report to the
whole congregation. It was not unani-
nous:
1. The majority report wv. 26-29.
ta) ~The land fioweth with milk and
honey ". 27). AS a proof of it 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" (v.
2S). They seemed to stress this fact
Unbelief dwells mainly upon difficult
ties. (3) "The people live in walled
cities" ". 2s). They argued that 1t
was impossible to capture them In
such sure defenses. (N ''The land
was inhabited by giants" ". % CT ".
33). They saw themselves as grass
hoppers. Furthermore, they saw the
people 50 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 90 along to fight the battles.
2. The minority report wv. 30-30.
In part, this report agrees with the
first; 1t does not ignore the dificul-
ties, nor dispute the facts. It denies
the conclusion Of the majority. They
did not minimize the task before them,
but asserted that with Gods help they
were well 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 "voice of the
people is the voice Of Cod"
! w. The Rebellion Of the People
, II 4:1-3S).
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 fol
, thirty-eight years, during which time
they all died except Caleb and Joshua
This was followed by proposition tt
/ organize for the return to Egypt
They proposed to select captain as
: their leader. The protest of JoShus
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 vindicaton of the
! loyalty of Joshua and Caleb.
/ Holding the Trenches.
E,oo ho raoI1y fSnvotp6 man n0y