Northern Seoul Rice wine, Monks, and Sheep, Springing into Success: My Blooming Awards Collection, #11 in 100 Best Travel and Lifestyle Blogs 2023, What You Do Matters! Numbers 13:32-33 tells us the whole story of the mistakes made just this side of glory but to sum it all up quickly, THEY REFUSED TO HAVE FAITH THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL. What does the passage tell us about faith? They know more about whats ahead of them than we will know whats ahead of us. Notice how the grasshopper mentality is demonstrated. For the foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than mans strength. As noted above, other than the lands existing inhabitants, the only subject of interest to the spies is food, and the only physical evidence they bring home is edible. KJ21. The fruit the spies show to their fellow Israelites was already mentioned in the brief account of the 40 days they spent touring the land. read more, Scripture: Where does that kind of confidence come from? Numbers 13:33-14:9, Denomination: Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. Numbers 13:33. Its interesting to see Gods response to the unbelief of His people. Both, they and we, are bounded by Gods promise to do good to those who belong to Him. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and helpless to do anything about it? THEME: How to live on the mountain while living in the valley. And now they hear through Moses what God has said. All the people we saw there are of great size. Have you ever noticed that before? A naysayer will only see part of the picture instead of the whole thing. Like Grasshoppers. God chose Moses to lead them out of Egypt into a land that he had promised them. Speak words of life to us. These naysayers doubted the Word of God. Ten spies bring a negative report. I cant serve because I dont know where to start. All you have to do is ask. Let's begin reading with verse 23: "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and . For whatever reason, they believe the lies that have been imposed on them in some form or another that says, I am not good enough.. When my back is against the wall and Ive got nowhere else to go and events are pressing down on me, the question Im always having to ask is, Am I willing to trust God here? Turn away from every other false hope because it brings nothing. That just makes them a bigger target. Amen. We want to look at this grasshopper complex later in the message. Everest. Power is an amazing tool of deception. The purpose of God will propel them into the land eventually. Its about making us cynics. God uses trials, as you know, and hardships in our lives for many things; things really too numerous to mention. His perspective is worth looking at as we close. Weve got decisions to make, weve got roles to play, things to do that cant wait on whether or not God might show up. The Three Lessons of the Grasshopper. Should there be questions regarding grammar or theological content, the reader should presume any website error to be with the webmaster/transcriber/editor rather than with the original speaker. Please note that the posts on The Blogs are contributed by third parties. Will we have fooled ourselves? We shape our understanding of the world around us and the relationships that give texture to it by trusting what God has said to us about Himself, about us, and about everything around us, as well as the future ahead of us. God is your refuge .read more. I hear the birds. says the boy. He shows bravery and courage. Our 3000+ year-old tradition of wisdom and learning, Our community right here and communities like it across the Jewish world, Our Jewish belief that better days are ahead of us, not behind us, These doctors, these nurses who brought healing with their hands and their hearts their intellect, Our tikvah our hope that our world can be perfected, that it will be perfected and that WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE in our world today, we can make things better, more just, more loving, more peaceful. 2 Chronicles 7:12 The Lord appeared to him [Solomon] at night and said: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. Heres the context: God tells Moses to send scouts to spy out the land of Canaan, to see what the land is like, what types of agriculture it supports, what the people who inhabit it are like, are they strong or weak, are their cities fortified or not? I remember recently watching the most recent movie version of The Count of Monte Cristo. Its about time to go. And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of This article is adapted from a sermon given at the San Francisco (California) Central church on November 19, 2011. . We scorn Him. Ill stop the moment He shows up. Unbelief tells us, God wont be showing up. Thats the attitude of the spies who bring the bad report. Grasshoppers have the ability to jump away from any kind of predator. Well, were not standing before the land but were standing before an unknown year. The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. God had made them giant-killers, but they chose to see themselves as mere grasshoppers. 23:7). After an eleven day journey from Sinai, they find themselves here at the wilderness of Paran, Kadesh Barnea. Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days "Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your sons third grade class. I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. The nourishing of faith is all of our individual responsibility. We can do it. He brings dead sinners to life. Well, I am glad to know you are not a grasshopper, but our Bible story today is about some people who thought they were like grasshoppers. I give a weekly parsha shiur at Beit Moses home for the elderly in Jerusalem. Would that we had died in this wilderness! WHY DO WE TAKE OUR EYES OFF THE ONE WHO CAN WALK ON WATER WHEN THE STORM IS RAGING ALL AROUND US? In fact, you will remember that the apostle Paul describes saving faith as the gift of God. We dont come to saving faith, that is, the confidence that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are sufficient to reconcile us to God and cause us to be adopted as His sons and daughters. When they saw the Nepthalim they said they became like grasshoppers. Responding with fear, not courage. There is no room for stinking thinking. In addition to being a people of the Word, lets be a people of faith, trusting God to lead us and to carry us through hardships, to carry us through undesirable circumstances to the place of rest and security that He has for us. Any creature of exceptional size. But its also a community effort. Think about who these people were they had seen God bring plague and hardship on the nation of Egypt and been delivered completely from slavery. They sent spies into the land to check it out. Numbers 13:30Then Calebsilenced the people before Moses and said, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. 31But the men who had gone up with him said, We cant attack those people; they are stronger than we are.32And they spread among the Israelites a bad reportabout the land they had explored. For full copyright, reproduction and permission information, please visit the First Presbyterian ChurchCopyright, Reproduction & Permission statement. You and the stranger shall be the same before theLord:16The same laws and regulations will apply both to you and to the stranger residing among you.. Joel Osteen (May-16-2022) Today's Word: Grasshopper Disease. The report has three parts. read more, Scripture: Finally, back in our parsha, the challah offering thats specified in Numbers 15 becomes obligatory once the Israelites have eaten their first meal in the land: Numbers 15:17 TheLordsaid to Moses,18Speak to the Israelites and say to them: When you enter the land to which I am taking you19and you eat the food of the land,present a portion as an offering to theLord. It happened with the Israelites. Imagine how he felt when he realized the signal he was getting was coming from his steel-toed boots. As a result, they respond to the chirps of other grasshoppers and do what they do. Numbers 13:32-33 tells us the whole story of the mistakes made just this side of glory but to sum it all up quickly, THEY REFUSED TO HAVE FAITH THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL.. Since then, since the realization of that promise, Hes made abundant promises to His people that have to do with His presence, with our wellbeing, with the bright future Hes planned for all that are His. 1 a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability When that happens, division happens. We give You thanks. I cant serve you God more because I dont have time. Really? Caleb, one of two spies who bring a more hopeful account of the land, tries to calm the people and tells them: We should go up at once and possess the land for surely we are able to do so! Before I moved to Israel in 2011, I was a Fellow of Newnham College, Cambridge (1997-2006), and a Reader in Hebrew Bible and Jewish Studies at King's College London (2007-2011). The doubt-caster begins with we cant and moves to exaggerated truth. Two of them carried it on a pole between them, along with some pomegranatesand figs. Numbers 14:27How long will this wicked community grumble against me? I can say only that injustice has many tentacles, but it stings individuals. The Israelites had a commander in chief that was knowledgeable and had been with God. All rights reserved. God is your refuge So get Christ today. When they were originally brought to the border of the promised land just this side of the Jordan river, they sent in twelve spies to survey the land and it was a good land because they came back each and every one with a good report of the unspeakable, uncontainable blessings of a Holy and righteous God. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. They saw the provision of water from the rock, daily manna, quail when they longed for meat, the visual display of Gods ongoing presence in the pillar of cloud and the pillar of fire over them, and following those signs through the wilderness as God led them on their way. Do you see that? And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near. We have an obligation as the church of God to nourish faith among each other. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2022 Copyright Wesaidgotravel. Trust Christ today. But here is what . Their case comes to court on 30th June. Indeed, Moab was filled with dreadbecause of the Israelites. They werent enough. It never is as we sit down to open Your Word. We know that God adds His blessing to His Word as we read it and hear it together. On a mountain where 90 Part two develops the other theme thats central in the parsha: the lands inhabitants are powerful: the people we saw there were very large. Romans 5:1-32. I cant serve the Lord because its too hard. Sometimes in life and in our spirituality we have to understand that nothing worth having comes easy. Again, we go back to David preparing to approach Goliath alone on behalf of his people. Numbers 13:17-33. Well see much at home and at work, among friends and coworkers and extended family that will make us feel like grasshoppers insufficient, weak, unable, unprepared. If we have any other hope of personal goodness or personal ability, dash it, because Jesus is all. The spies who go out into the land see many things but what, ultimately, do they understand? The twelve spies whom Moses sent in to report on the Promised Land saw the same things. They walked on dry ground through the Red Sea and were fed manna and quail from heaven, given water from a rock and god had even taken this ragtag bunch of nobodies and made them into a great army defeating armies of other kings. The fear of the Israelites caused them to have to wander the wilderness for 38 more years. We need to teach one another that language. 27They gave Moses this account: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! I remember it from re-runs. This post presents a new please correct me if Im wrong reading of what the spies in this weeks parsha mean when they say that they were like grasshoppers in their own eyes and in the eyes of the existing inhabitants of the Promised Land. While grasshoppers struggle to hear, they have magnified sight. They are too many and too large and still, there are giants in the land! While two of the spies, Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh say, We can take the land! If we can be apathetic, then really it doesnt matter very much about God at all. As people appear to God looking down from the heavens, so the Israelites looked to the existing inhabitants of the promised land. We saw the Nephilim. Certainly their attitude was picked up by the majority of the people who say in verse 2 of chapter 14, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? A naysayer is person that does not believe anything good can come out of the situation. We cant send spies into 2020. Numbers 13:33 said: "There we saw the giants (the sons of Anak . I have called you by name; you are mine. Hes a non-factor. Theres no reckoning of confidence in God as they make their report. their childs preschool education, With the resoureces of Gods Promise, His Provision and His Presence, Christians can overcome the grasshopper complex. Shaalu Shalom Yerushalayim activists visit the Sumarin family at their home in East Jerusalem, January 2020. That last sentence is the one that really stands out to me. Suffering from a degenerative eye disease, he lost his sight when he was 13, but that didnt stop him. David is mining Gods truth to discover how to understand the world he finds himself living in. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. The spies are certain that the Canaanites see them as but grasshoppers. I cant serve the Lord because of what I have done in my past. If that were true, none of us could serve. As Rabbi Steven Kushner puts it: their sin wasnt simply that they lost faith or that the scouts had misrepresented what they had seen Their failure wasnt even that they had low self-esteem, that they saw themselves as grasshoppers. ( Someone bigger than what is considered Indeed, we need words of life. But let's not allow the "naysayers" to rob us of our confidence in the Lord. If you would open your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. And I would call us to examine our hearts today to know that indeed we trust none other save Christ. The same thing happens with a grasshopper mentality. Rather it was their preoccupation with how others saw them that was their sin., Lesson number three, young grasshoppers: Worry less about how others see you and more about, Who Are We? Ask Patricia Schultz, 1000 Places to See Before You Die, Millie Goes encourages people to step outside their comfort zone, Who Tells Vivid Visual Stories? When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? There are not many references to grasshoppers in the Tanakh. that the Anakites were strong and tall. He was in despair, even to the point of saying, All in vain have I kept my heart clean and washed my hands in innocence, for all the day long I have been stricken. Then he says this, If I had said, I will speak thus, I will say these things out loud, I would have betrayed the generation of Your people. Asaph understands something. We dont know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. There we saw the giants . We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them., Todays message is called, Overcoming Grasshopper Mentality.. We allow these folks to determine our self-worth. Now I see it differently. I cant serve you because I dont have the right opportunity. Unbelief always sees the obstacles but faith sees the opportunities. Now only can we see grasshopper mentality in this passage defined and demonstrated, because of the grace of God, we can see it dissolved! Lets be a people who are intentional about trusting God, not just when the whim lands upon us, but intentional as we face things that we dont want to be involved in or things that seem too big for us, to trust God to see what He might do to help us accomplish all that He intends for us to accomplish as individuals, as families, as a congregation of His people. Sometimes we feel like grasshoppers, small and insignificant. A naysayer will allow what is big to become irrationally bigger. Please try again or choose an option below. Lesson number two comes from the Midrash. He tells the cautious Israelites not to worry about the existing inhabitants because they will be our bread (Numbers 14:9).

Mehmi Caste Belongs To Which Category, Nathan's Serving Crossword, Habiba Abdul Jabbar Net Worth, Martin County Traffic Accidents Yesterday, How To Shred Lettuce In Cuisinart Food Processor, Articles W