Session 11: Numbers 13-14

Session 11: Numbers 13-14

Summarize

I. God commands Moses to send scouts to explore the Promised Land(1-25)

A. One representative of each tribe is sent(3-16)

B. The scouts are sent during harvest and told to report on the quality of the land and disposition of the inhabitants. (17-20)

C. The scouts bring back produce from the land. (23)

II. The scouts give a report of the land (26-29)

A. The scouts give a good report on the produce of the land(27)

B. 10 of the scouts are overcome with fear and lead the people to not trust in God (28-29)

III. Caleb encourages the people to trust God(13:30-14:1)

A. Caleb encourages the people to be bold(30)

B. The other spies lead the people to distrust God(31-33)

IV.The Israelites distrust God (14:2-10)

A. The Israelites want to go back to Egypt(14:1-4)

B. Joshua and Caleb exhort the people to trust God(6-9)

C. God is offended by the Israelites(14:10-12)

V. Moses intercedes for the Israelites(11-38)

A. Moses Reminds God of His covenant and begs Him to show mercy(13-19)

B. God keeps the Israelites from entering the land for distrusting Him(28-35)

C. God rewards the faith of Caleb and Joshua by permitting them to enter the promised land(30)

D. The people disregard God and try to take the land on their own(40-45)

Analyze

Read Numbers 13:17-20

1. What does Moses command the scouts/spies to do?(17)

a. What kind of encouragement/command does he give to them?(20)

b. What is the significance of vs 20? How does God's promise in Exodus to lead them to a "land flowing with milk and honey" frame what the scouts/spies are doing?

c. How does this example of testing the reliability/faithfulness of God influence how you approach your relationship with God?(Mal 3:10, Ps. 34:8)

Read Numbers 13:26-29

2.  How does the report of the scouts confirm the promise of God?

a. What overshadowed the scouts good report about the faithfulness of God?

b. How does the scouts example inform us of what we need to beware of when seeing the faithfulness of God?(1 Tim 6:6-8, Heb 13:5)

Read Numbers 13:30-33

3. What gave Caleb the confidence to say what he says in vs 30?

a. What does Caleb's response tell us about where and who he places his confidence in?

b. When facing life circumstances both difficult and easy ones where/who do you place your confidence in? When are you most susceptible to placing your confidence in yourself rather than God?(2 Cor 3:5, 12:9-10)

Read Numbers 14: 2-10

4. What does the response of the Israelites to the report of the scouts tell us about where they placed their confidence?

a. How is their response offensive to God? How can forgetfulness offend God?

b. What habits can you build into your lifestyle to keep from following the example of the Israelites?

Read Numbers 14:11-38

5. What does God say in vs 11-39 that reveal how forgetfulness/distrust hinders our relationship with God?

a. What is Moses response to God in vs 11-12?

b. How does the dialogue between God and Moses help you understand the Sovereignty of God? How does it help you to understand the

Read Numbers 14:39-45

6. How did the Israelites respond to the consequences of their distrust?(39)

a. What does Moses response in vs 41 communicate about the futility of action without and apart from God?(Jn 15:4-8)

b. How does this narrative help you understand the importance of your decisions and your connection to the consequences of your decisions?(Gal 6:7-8)

Contextualize

1. God wants us to trust Him
2. We are responsible for the consequences of our decisions
3. We are prone to forgetting God’s faithfulness.

Actualize

Start a thank you journal that keeps track of the things you can thank God for.  Record at least 3 things you can thank God for every day this week.