Podcast: Play in new window | Download ()

This week’s parasha is Shelach L’cha, which means, “send for yourself” or “send for our own sake,” and which covers Numbers 13:1-15:41. In chapter 13 the Lord speaks to Moses, instructing him to send twelve men, one chief from each tribe, to spy out the land of Canaan which He was giving to the people of Israel. Now if this is all we had to go on, we might think that it was God’s idea to send out these twelve spies; but we would be wrong. You see, in Deuteronomy chapter 1 Moses wrote that the Lord simply told them to go up and to take possession of the land. But in that passage, Israel’s apparent lack of faith showed when they asked Adonai if they could send men into the land to check it out for themselves to make sure it was as good as God said. Really?!!  It was less than two years earlier that He performed all those miracles in Egypt, destroying the army of the most feared people of that time. My, my how short our memories are!

Moses picks twelve chiefs, one from each tribe, to go out and spy out the land. The men he chooses are not the same leaders that were just mentioned in the census in chapter 10. Perhaps this is because the physical demands of such a task required the stamina of younger men.

The men leave and spend the next 40 days traveling from one end of Canaan to the other, spying out the land. When they returned they brought back a sample of fruit from the land that was better than anything the Israelis had ever seen before. They described it as a land flowing with milk and honey. This should have seemed very appealing, especially since the Jewish people had been eating Manna every day.

But here is where the account turns sad; there was a majority report and a minority report. The majority – 10 out of the 12 spies, reported that the people who dwelt in the land were very strong and their cities were fortified and large; and that the Amalekites were living in the land, as well as the descendants of Anak, a race of giants who it was thought descended from the nephilim. They compared themselves to grasshoppers, and expressed fear for their women and children.

As chapter 14 opens, the people believe the men of the majority report, become discouraged, and suggest choosing a different leader to take them back to Egypt.  Upon hearing this, Moses and Aaron fall on their faces, and Caleb and Joshua tear their clothes. The Three-In-One God has had enough of this rebellion and sends a plague that kills the 10 faithless spies. God also lets the people know that due to their lack of faith, all those who are 20 years of age and older, with the exception of Caleb and Joshua, will never see the Promised Land.  The irony is that they were worried about their children’s welfare in this new land and God promises that the only ones who will see the Land will be the children.

Adonai further states that one year will be added to their wilderness wandering for each of the forty days the spies spent searching the Land;  and that during those years all who rebelled against El Gibbor, the Mighty God, will perish. We should remember that the 10 spies, as leaders of the nation, paid a much higher price for their lack of faith than the others. This shows us that God requires a higher level of accountability for those in leadership. We read in Psalm 37:5, “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in him and he will bring it to pass.” Brothers and sisters, we should remember to trust in the Lord. He is a Promise-Keeper, not a promise-breaker.

Sadly, the folly continues. After the Lord rebukes them for their lack of faith, and consigns them to the wilderness, they decide they can do this, after all, and decide to attempt an invasion. Of course, in doing this they are leaning on their own understanding; they will be on their own and without the Lord’s blessing.  This reminds me of Proverbs 3:5-6 , “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight.”  God had just told them that they would have to wait 40 years, but they go up to face the Amalekites and Canaanites in battle, and are promptly defeated. This rebellious generation of Israel is still far from God.  And we will see that throughout these 40 years they will continue to struggle to follow God.

Even after centuries in the Land, the prophet Amos (5:25-26), declared that Israel was negligent in offering the sacrifices and offerings that God required of them. It seems hard to imagine why Israel would continually turn away from God after all that He did for them, but we should remember that not much has changed across the years. We ourselves have been given the greatest gift the Father could ever give us, His Son, who willingly gave His life for us. If we would be honest with ourselves, we are no more worthy than the nation of Israel was 3,500 years ago.

Too often Church leaders today believe that they must water down the Word to get people to believe in Yeshua.  Many who call themselves Christians have more fear of offending others than fear of the Lord. Some even think that abortion and homosexuality are good and that those who stand up for those things are heroes. Brothers and sisters, the people who commit these sins or accept these sins are no heroes. Heroes are people who stand up for what is right in the eyes of the Lord and do His will, often having to stand, like Joshua and Caleb, as a tiny minority against a godless, faithless majority. Too many of us have stood by for far too long, out of fear of offending others, when the One we should fear is the God of all creation.

In chapter 15 God further clarifies laws about sacrifice. When the people of Israel enter the land, their food offerings will include a portion of wine and oil. Also included in this section are laws about unintentional sins and the requirements for atonement.  One very important warning: the penalty for those who willfully and blatantly broke the Sabbath rule was death. Adonai also instructs Israel to wear tassels on the corners of their garments, and to put a blue cord on each corner of the tassel, in order to remember all of His commandments.

Here are some thoughts to ponder as we close this parasha.

1. If God tells us that He will do something, we must believe that He will. We can trust in Him always because He never breaks His promises. We can see in Joshua chapter 2 that God kept His promise and brought Joshua and Caleb and that next generation of Israel into the Land just as He said. And when it seems that the odds are against us, let us trust that it is God’s mighty hand that can turn the tide and bring success. The nation was afraid of the giant men as if it was up to them to do the “heavy lifting”.  Our people already knew of Abraham who, by the hand of God, conquered the armies of five kings with just 318 men. In years to come, young David would take on and kill Goliath the giant. Without the hand of God these things could not have happened.

2. God did not choose the Jewish people because we were worthy. Clearly we can see that Israel was no more worthy than any other people. In fact, it could be argued that God chose Israel because they were least likely to succeed, and so their success would reveal God’s greatness. If not for God’s blessings and His work in them, the Jewish nation would not even be here today. There have been other nations far superior to Israel in number and might that are no longer on this earth, yet the Jewish people are still here; but only by God’s grace and His will. And as we get closer to Yeshua’s return, Jews and Gentiles who believe in the Three-In-One God who are the remnant will be greatly outnumbered as well. Brothers and sisters, we should always remember that Adonai will never let go of those He chooses, and you can take that to the bank.