We Are Not Grasshoppers!

Numbers 13:1-2, 17-33, 14:1-9
By Deb Wiles
Senior Pastor, Abilene Brethren in Christ Church

I am ashamed to say that when I was ready to interview for teaching positions waaaay back in the spring of 1981, I never consulted the Lord. I didn’t ask him to show me where he wanted me to go. Know why? I wasn’t a Christian then. Oh, I went to church like any good Catholic girl would do, but it was mostly out of duty and it was the “right thing to do.”

Well, when I searched for open teaching positions in English, I found a couple out in this neck of the woods: one at Concordia (that also included the library) and a position at Centre. I sent my resume and paperwork to both districts, found out that I was really not qualified for the Concordia position due to not having any library training, so Centre was where I was headed for an interview. Now you need to keep in mind that this was early in the spring...early March. Many districts don’t realize openings until April. But I was a naive 22-year old. I was just flat excited about having an interview. And in my young dreams I wanted to teach in Western Kansas. I just thought it would be cool!

I carefully chose and purchased my interview outfit: a brown/black tweed suit with a ruffled blouse (ruffles were IN back then) and a nice pair of heels. I prepared myself as best as I could for any questions the interviewers might throw my way. And off I went in my 1978 LTD II and headed southwest out of Atchison.

But here is one thing I didn’t do...I didn’t scout out the school ahead of time. I didn’t check out to see if Centre had a “good” or “bad” reputation in the area. I didn’t research the communities surrounding the school. I didn’t check into what kind of housing was available. I didn’t check into the salary schedule. I didn’t check into anything! I was just excited to have an interview! And I guess you could say that all these other “things” really didn't matter to me. I was just excited to embark on a new adventure for which I had been preparing since third grade! The obstacles to get there didn’t matter.

And I interviewed and was offered the position on the spot. I said, “Give me some time to think on it...” I thought for about an hour and called them back the next day...I’ll take it! I thought, “What do I have to lose? It’s my first job.” After all, I wanted to teach in Western Kansas, and I thought this would be a good stepping stone! But as you can tell, this is as far as I got!

Now, even though I didn’t ask the Lord to guide me along the way, he knew what he wanted to do with me anyway, and I firmly believe he orchestrated circumstances to get me where I am today. But what a chance he took! I could have unknowingly bucked him all the way, but I didn't.

Now if he can guide the “mindless” one, imagine what he can do with those who are ready for an adventure they KNOW God is taking them on.

Well, we are going to read about and investigate an adventure that took place hundreds and hundreds of years ago, where the people DID scope out the territory. Here’s the passage from Number 13:

1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the Israelites. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders."

17 When Moses sent them to explore Canaan, he said, "Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)

21 So they went up and explored the land from the Desert of Zin as far as Rehob, toward Lebo Hamath. 22 They went up through the Negev and came to Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, lived. (Hebron had been built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) 23 When they reached the Valley of Eshcol, they cut off a branch bearing a single cluster of grapes. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranates and figs. 24 That place was called the Valley of Eshcol because of the cluster of grapes the Israelites cut off there. 25 At the end of forty days they returned from exploring the land.

Report on the Exploration

26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadesh in the Desert of Paran. There they reported to them and to the whole assembly and showed them the fruit of the land. 27 They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large. We even saw descendants of Anak there. 29 The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan."
30 Then Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said, "We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it."

31 But the men who had gone up with him said, "We can't attack those people; they are stronger than we are." 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, "The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them."

The People Rebel

Numbers 14:1-9

1 That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

5 Then Moses and Aaron fell facedown in front of the whole Israelite assembly gathered there. 6 Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes 7 and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us. 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD. And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us. Do not be afraid of them."

I love this passage, especially when we look at it in terms of vision. And there are so many lessons we can learn from it, but I am going to focus on two aspects of this passage: The Visionaries and the Naysayers.

Envision the scene here: The Israelites have been freed from Egypt by the mighty hand of God. They witnessed incredible miracles in their exodus. If any people should have had some kind of an inkling as to the power of God, it should have been the Israelites (followed by the Egyptians!).

So God tells them, “Go! Check out this land I'm giving to you! It’s yours!” Notice the directives God gives them:
"Go up through the Negev and on into the hill country. 18 See what the land is like and whether the people who live there are strong or weak, few or many. 19 What kind of land do they live in? Is it good or bad? What kind of towns do they live in? Are they unwalled or fortified? 20 How is the soil? Is it fertile or poor? Are there trees on it or not? Do your best to bring back some of the fruit of the land." (It was the season for the first ripe grapes.)
Now, God wasn’t giving them these directives for them to gather information so they could make a wise decision as to whether to take the land or not. These Israelites didn’t have to make a choice whether to go in there or not. GOD WAS GIVING IT TO THEM! Perhaps God at this point was like the excited Father watching his children open up their presents at Christmas time. “GO! LOOK! SEE WHAT AWESOME PLACE I HAVE FOR YOU! CHECK IT OUT!”

Well, the men went in—one from each tribe of Israel—and they scouted the land for over a month. And out of these 12 men, only two (Caleb and Joshua) were flat excited about the prospect of living in such a land; they were visionaries. The other men were the “naysayers.”

1. The Naysayers
- acknowledge things could be great; however, there is always the "but".
Numbers 13:27-28a
They gave Moses this account: "We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! Here is its fruit. 28 But. . .
What kind of “buts” do we come up with when God has something great for us to pursue?

But we don’t have the finances.
But those people will laugh at me.
But I’m too busy.
But I’ve done my time when it comes to my work for the Lord. It’s time to relax. Someone else can take the mantle.
But I don’t have the skills or I can’t speak right or they won't listen to me. (Sounds kind of like Moses, doesn’t it?)
But I have no credibility in that arena.

- focus on the giants rather than God.
Numbers 13:28
But the people who live there are powerful, and the cities are fortified and very large.
How many times have we made the “giants” that oppose what God would desire BIGGER than God? The naysayers in this group did not look beyond the obstacles (or more positively...the opportunities for God to prove his power).

A simple illustration of this from the sporting world is a hurdle race. When I coached young hurdlers, they would often begin by focusing on the hurdles (the obstacles). Their entire focus was just trying to get over the hurdles, and they rarely focused on the finish line 100m down the track. But as the young hurdlers got better, they became more focused on the finish line, the goal of the race, and less focused on the hurdles. The good hurdlers learned to simply “run” over the hurdles rather than try to jump over them. When God gives a vision to a church or an individual, the focus needs to be on him and his power. He’ll help the focused individual or church to “run over the hurdles” and race toward the prize.

- spread their negativity.
Numbers 13:32
And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored.
Now picture this: There are probably two to three million Israelites—men, women, and children—milling about in the desert. These twelve men come back with their observations and reports. During their report, the naysayers told of the giants in the land, the large fortified cities, and the like. Suddenly, the people are murmuring among themselves and Caleb had to silence them. He sensed what was coming, so being the visionary and one with great faith in God, he tells Moses and the people they need to go into the land and take it over.
Picture the debate that ensues: Immediately, the naysayers try to refute what Caleb was telling the people. They conclude, “We seemed like grasshoppers not only in the giants’ eyes, but in our own eyes as well!” Why did they act this way? God really knows, but I would have to say much of it was out of fear and out of very little faith.

- long for the familiarity of yesteryear, regardless of how crummy it was.
Numbers 14:1-4
That night all the people of the community raised their voices and wept aloud. 2 All the Israelites grumbled against Moses and Aaron, and the whole assembly said to them, "If only we had died in Egypt! Or in this desert! 3 Why is the LORD bringing us to this land only to let us fall by the sword? Our wives and children will be taken as plunder. Wouldn't it be better for us to go back to Egypt?" 4 And they said to each other, "We should choose a leader and go back to Egypt."

Embracing change and a new vision is not easy. Even though life in Egypt was extremely difficult and in some cases downright deadly, the Israelites were familiar with such a life. Think of it: Everyone in the camp was born into slavery (with the exception of Moses). It was the only life they ever knew! The thought of leaving the “security” of slavery would have been pretty unnerving, but they took that risk anyway. They were being led by the God of all security.

But when the opportunity came up to take the Promised Land, they lost sight that if they would choose to obey and follow God alone, he would provide more than they could have ever imagined! The PERCEIVED obstacles that lay before them made Egypt look like a picnic in their eyes.

In a nutshell, naysayers take their eyes off God, focus on the obstacles before them, and shrink back from the tremendous opportunities God has for them.

Let’s quickly look at Caleb and Joshua’s response to the exploration of the Promised Land. I will call them the visionaries.

2. The Visionaries

- "but's" lead to faith. Numbers 14:9b
but the LORD is with us.

- place their confidence in God. Numbers 14:9b
Their protection is gone, but the LORD is with us.

- are not fearful of the giants. Numbers 14:9b
And do not be afraid of the people of the land, because we will swallow them up. Their protection is gone,. . . Do not be afraid of them."

- ache for what God wants to bless them with. Numbers 14:6
Joshua son of Nun and Caleb son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had explored the land, tore their clothes. . .
Picture Joshua and Caleb so frustrated with the million plus Israelites that they tear their clothes out of grief and shame at the disobedience of the Israelites in not boldly going into the land of Canaan. Moses and Aaron fall prostrate on the ground.
Have you ever been so sure of anything in your life and despair in utter frustration when no one else sees what you are seeing? Your insides just about bust open with longing and aching for others to understand and embrace your passion as well. These honest men...Caleb and Joshua...are broken-hearted at their Israelite brothers and sisters.

- are ecstatic about what can and will be. Numbers 14:7-8
and said to the entire Israelite assembly, "The land we passed through and explored is exceedingly good. 8 If the LORD is pleased with us, he will lead us into that land, a land flowing with milk and honey, and will give it to us.

It’s kind of like the old joke about the young child and a pile of horse poop. The kid is digging around like crazy in the pile. When dad wonders why, the child exclaims, “With all this poop, there’s gotta be a pony under here somewhere!” Joshua and Caleb would say, “With all this land of milk and honey, there's got to be tremendous blessings afoot!” The “poop” of the giants didn't matter to them. They had the utmost faith and confidence in God that he would continue to lead them, protect them, sustain them, and care for them.

Of course, we know how the story ends: God was so angry with the discontent and grumbling of the Israelites, he was ready to annihilate them on the spot. Moses spoke with God and God’s anger was appeased, but he did promise that not one of the Israelites twenty years and older would see the Promised Land. They were destined to die in the desert. Only Joshua and Caleb would get the privilege and honor of entering the land to dwell.

We need to keep in mind that we are not grasshoppers when we humbly follow the Lord in whatever he has for us to do. God is constantly revealing to his people the grand plans he has: the Promised Land he wants his people to enter and conquer. Are you a Caleb or a Joshua...a person who looks at the Promised Land and sees tremendous opportunities or are you like the other ten, who focused instead on the giants and fortresses of the land? I pray we all have the spirit of Caleb and Joshua!

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