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Numbers Chapter
Thirteen
Numbers 13
Chapter Contents
Twelve men sent to search the land of Canaan, Their
instructions. (1-20) Their proceedings. (21-25) Their account of the land.
(26-33)
Commentary on Numbers 13:1-20
A memorable and melancholy history is related in this and
the following chapter, of the turning back of Israel from the borders of
Canaan, and the sentencing them to wander and perish in the wilderness, for
their unbelief and murmuring. It appears, Deuteronomy 1:22, that the motion to search out
the land came from the people. They had a better opinion of their own policy
than of God's wisdom. Thus we ruin ourselves by believing the reports and
representations of sense rather than Divine revelation. We walk by sight not by
faith. Moses gave the spies this charge, Be of good courage. It was not only a
great undertaking they were put upon, which required good management and
resolution; but a great trust was reposed in them, which required that they
should be faithful. Courage in such circumstances can only spring from strong
faith, which Caleb and Joshua alone possessed.
Commentary on Numbers 13:21-25
The searchers of the land brought a bunch of grapes with
them, and other fruits, as proofs of the goodness of the country; which was to
Israel both the earnest and the specimen of all the fruits of Canaan. Such are
the present comforts we have in communion with God, foretastes of the fulness
of joy we expect in the heavenly Canaan. We may see by them what heaven is.
Commentary on Numbers 13:26-33
We may wonder that the people of Israel staid forty days
for the return of their spies, when they were ready to enter Canaan, under all
the assurances of success they could have from the Divine power, and the
miracles that had hitherto attended them. But they distrusted God's power and
promise. How much we stand in our own light by our unbelief! At length the
messengers returned; but the greater part discouraged the people from going
forward to Canaan. Justly are the Israelites left to this temptation, for
putting confidence in the judgment of men, when they had the word of God to
trust in. Though they had found the land as good as God had said, yet they
would not believe it to be as sure as he had said, but despaired of having it,
though Eternal Truth had engaged it to them. This was the representation of the
evil spies. Caleb, however, encouraged them to go forward, though seconded by
Joshua only. He does not say, Let us go up and conquer it; but, Let us go and
possess it. Difficulties that are in the way of salvation, dwindle and vanish
before a lively, active faith in the power and promise of God. All things are
possible, if they are promised, to him that believes; but carnal sense and
carnal professors are not to be trusted. Unbelief overlooks the promises and
power of God, magnifies every danger and difficulty, and fills the heart with
discouragement. May the Lord help us to believe! we shall then find all things
possible.
── Matthew Henry《Concise Commentary on
Numbers》
Numbers 13
Verse 1
[1] And
the LORD spake unto Moses, saying,
Speak unto Moses — In
answer to the peoples petition about it, as is evident from Deuteronomy 1:22. And it is probable, the people
desired it out of diffidence of God's promise.
Verse 2
[2] Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan, which I give unto
the children of Israel: of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man,
every one a ruler among them.
A ruler — A
person of wisdom and authority.
Verse 8
[8] Of
the tribe of Ephraim, Oshea the son of Nun.
Oshea —
Called also Joshua, Numbers 13:16.
Verse 11
[11] Of
the tribe of Joseph, namely, of the tribe of Manasseh, Gaddi the son of Susi.
Of Joseph —
The name of Joseph is elsewhere appropriated to Ephraim, here to Manasseh;
possibly to aggravate the sin of the ruler of this tribe, who did so basely
degenerate from his noble ancestor.
Verse 16
[16] These are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses
called Oshea the son of Nun Jehoshua.
Jehoshua —
Oshea notes a desire of salvation, signifying, Save we pray thee; but Jehoshua,
or Joshua, includes a promise of salvation, He will save. So this was a
prophecy of his succession to Moses in the government, and of the success of
his arms. Joshua is the same name with Jesus, of whom Joshua was a type. He was
the Saviour of God's people from the powers of Canaan, Christ from the powers
of hell.
Verse 17
[17] And
Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up
this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
Southward —
Into the southern part of Canaan, which was the nearest part, and the worst
too, being dry and desert, and therefore fit for them to enter and pass through
with less observation.
Into the mountain —
Into the mountainous country, and thence into the valleys, and so take a survey
of the whole land.
Verse 18
[18] And
see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be
strong or weak, few or many;
What it is —
Both for largeness, and for nature and quality.
Verse 19
[19] And
what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities
they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds;
In tents — As
the Arabians did; or in unwalled villages, which, like tents, are exposed to an
enemy.
Verse 20
[20] And
what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or
not. And be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the
time was the time of the firstripe grapes.
Fat —
Rich and fertile.
Verse 21
[21] So
they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as
men come to Hamath.
Zin — In
the south of Canaan, differing from the wilderness of Sin, which was nigh unto
Egypt.
To Hamath —
From the south they passed through the whole land to the northern parts of it;
Rehob was a city in the north-west part, Hamath, a city in the north-east.
Verse 22
[22] And
they ascended by the south, and came unto Hebron; where Ahiman, Sheshai, and
Talmai, the children of Anak, were. (Now Hebron was built seven years before
Zoan in Egypt.)
By the south —
Moses having described their progress from south to north, more particularly
relates some memorable places and passages.
They came —
Heb. He came, namely, Caleb, as appears from Joshua 14:9,12,14. For the spies distributed
their work among them, and went either severally, or by pairs; and it seems the
survey of this part was left to Caleb.
Anak — A
famous giant, whole children these are called, either more generally, as all
giants sometimes were, or rather more specially because Arbah, from whom Hebron
was called Kiriath-arbah, was the father of Anak, Joshua 15:13. And this circumstance is mentioned
as an evidence of the goodness of that land, because the giants chose it for
their habitation.
Before Zoan —
This seems to be noted to confront the Egyptians, who vainly boasted of the
antiquity of their city Zoan above all places.
Verse 23
[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 of the figs.
Upon a staff —
Either for the weight of it, considering the, length of the way they were to
carry it, or for the preservation of it whole and entire. In those eastern and
southern countries there are vines and grapes of an extraordinary bigness as
Strabo and Pliny affirm.
Verse 24
[24] The
place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of grapes which the
children of Israel cut down from thence.
Eschol —
That is, a cluster of grapes.
Verse 25
[25] And
they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
They returned after forty days — 'Tis a wonder the people had patience to stay forty days, when they were
just ready to enter Canaan, under all the assurances of success they could have
from the Divine power, proved by a constant series of miracles, that had
hitherto attended them. But they distrusted God, and chose to be held in
suspence by their own counsels, rather than to rest upon God's promise! How
much do we stand in our own light by unbelief?
Verse 26
[26] And
they went and came to Moses, and to Aaron, and to all the congregation of the
children of Israel, unto the wilderness of Paran, to Kadesh; and brought back
word unto them, and unto all the congregation, and shewed them the fruit of the
land.
Kadesh —
Kadesh-barnea, which some confound with Kadesh in the wilderness of Sin, into
which they came not 'till the fortieth year after their coming out of Egypt, as
appears from Numbers 33:37,38, whereas they were in this
Kadesh in the second year, and before they received the sentence of their forty
years abode in the wilderness.
Verse 27
[27] And
they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither thou sentest us, and
surely it floweth with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
They told him — In
the audience of the people.
Verse 29
[29] The
Amalekites dwell in the land of the south: and the Hittites, and the Jebusites,
and the Amorites, dwell in the mountains: and the Canaanites dwell by the sea,
and by the coast of Jordan.
The Amalekites in the south — Where we are to enter the land, and they who were so fierce against us
that they came into the wilderness to fight with us, will, without doubt,
oppose us when we come close by their land, the rather, to revenge themselves
for their former loss. Therefore they mention them, though they were not
Canaanites.
In the mountains — In
the mountainous country, in the south-east part of the land, so that you cannot
enter there without great difficulty, both because of the noted strength and
valour of those people, and because of the advantage they have from the
mountains.
By the sea —
Not the mid-land sea, which is commonly understood by that expression, but the
salt or dead sea, as appears, 1. Because it is that sea which is next to
Jordan, 2. Because the Canaanites dwelt principally in those parts, and not
near the mid-land sea. So these guard the entrance on the east-side, as the
others do on the south.
Verse 30
[30] And
Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and
possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
Caleb —
Together with Joshua, as is manifest from Numbers 14:6,7,30, but Caleb alone is here
mentioned, possibly because he spake first and most, which he might better do,
because he might be presumed to be more impartial than Joshua, who being
Moses's minister might be thought to speak only what he knew his master would
like.
Stilled the people —
Which implies either that they had began to murmur, or that by their looks and
carriage, they discovered the anger which boiled in their breasts.
Before Moses —
Or, towards Moses, against whom they were incensed, as the man who had brought
them into such sad circumstances.
Let us go up and possess it — He does not say, Let us go up and conquer it. He looks on that to be as
good as done already: but, Let us go up and possess it! There is nothing to be
done, but to enter without delay, and take the possession which our great Lord
is now ready to give us! Thus difficulties that lie in the way of salvation,
vanish away before a lively faith.
Verse 31
[31] But
the men that went up with him said, We be not able to go up against the people;
for they are stronger than we.
The men —
All of them, Joshua excepted.
Stronger —
Both in stature of body and numbers of people. Thus they question the power,
and truth, and goodness of God, of all which they had such ample testimonies.
Verse 32
[32] And
they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the
children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it,
is a land that eateth up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we
saw in it are men of a great stature.
Eateth up its inhabitants — Not so much by civil wars, for that was likely to make their conquest
more easy; but rather by the unwholesomeness of the air and place, which they
guessed from the many funerals, which, as some Hebrew writers, not without
probability affirm, they observed in their travels through it: though that came
to pass from another cause, even from the singular providence of God, which, to
facilitate the Israelites conquest, cut off vast numbers of the Canaanites
either by a plague, or by the hornet sent before them, as is expressed, Joshua 24:12.
── John Wesley《Explanatory Notes on Numbers》
13 Chapter 13
Verses 1-20
Send thou men, that they may search the land of Canaan.
Glimpses of the better land
I. The search.
II. The retreat,
III. An emblem of
God’s dealings with His people.
1. The children of Israel were sent back to the wilderness on account
of their sin.
2. While they are sent in judgment, they go back of their own accord.
3. Though the fruit of sin, and the token of God’s righteous
displeasure, all was overruled for their good.
4. Though chastened they are not cast off.
IV. Improvement.
1. Let young believers be not high-minded, but fear.
2. Let backsliders remember and weep.
3. Let tried and troubled saints take fresh courage. (Islay Burns,
D. D.)
The sending forth of the spies
I. The origin of
this expedition (cf. Deuteronomy 1:20-25).
1. God had Himself declared to them the excellence of the land (Exodus 3:8; Exodus 33:3).
2. He had promised to guide them to the land (Exodus 32:34; Exodus 33:2; Exodus 33:14). Moreover, He was visibly
present with them in the majestic pillar of cloud and fire.
3. He had promised to drive out the heathen nations and give them
possession of the land (Exodus 23:20-33; Deuteronomy 1:8).
4. He commanded them to “go up and possess” the land (Deuteronomy 1:8; Deuteronomy 1:21).
5. Yet their answer was, “We will send men before us, and they shall
search us out the laud,” &c. (Deuteronomy 1:22). Clearly their duty was
not to send men to search out the land, but trusting in God, to obey His voice
and go and take possession of the land. God may allow us to carry out our
unbelieving plans to our own confusion. If we will “lean unto our own
understanding,” He will let us take our way until we find what utter folly our
fancied wisdom is.
II. The agents in
this expedition. “Of every tribe of their fathers shall ye send a man, every
one a ruler among them,” &c. (Numbers 13:2-16). Three points here
require notice.
1. The wisdom of this arrangement.
2. The scarcity of worthy leaders. We see here that a large
proportion of even these leading men, these “rulers” and “heads of the children
of Israel,” were unworthy of the position which they occupied.
3. The diversity of human fame. The names of these twelve men have
been handed down to the present time; but how different are the positions which
they occupy! History perpetuates the memory of Nero as well as of St. Paul, of
Judas Iscariot as well as of Jesus Christ. We are making our posthumous
reputation now; let us take heed that it be of a worthy character.
III. The aims of
this expedition. They were to report as to the condition of--
1. The land, whether it was fertile or barren, whether it was wooded
or bare, &c.
2. The towns, whether they were walled and fortified or open and
unprotected, &c.
3. The people, whether they were strong or weak, whether they were
few or many, &c.
IV. The spirit
appropriate to this expedition. “And be ye of good courage.” (W. Jones.)
The twelve spies
I. Their
selection.
1. One from each tribe. That each tribe, without preference or
distinction, might be represented.
2. Each was a man of mark. “Every one a ruler.” “Heads of the
children of Israel.” Men of judgment and discretion. This the more needful--
3. They were chosen and sent by Moses. Their various characters prove
the impartiality of Moses. He could doubtless have found in each tribe a man
after his own heart. Probably he allowed the people of each tribe to have a
voice in the matter.
II. Their
commission.
1. They were to spy out the whole land. Not to give a report upon
some few favourable or unfavourable aspects of it.
2. They were to
observe the people, and note especially their numbers, character, habits, and
strength.
3. They were to bring particulars of the dwellings of the people; whether cities,
tents, or otherwise. From this, their habits and power of resistance might be inferred.
4. They were carefully to examine the soil, whether fit for pasturage
or tillage, whether it was fat or lean.
5. To confirm and illustrate what they might say of the soil, they
were to bring of the fruit of the land.
6. They were to be fearless. God would have them in His keeping.
III. Their journey.
1. In the glorious summer-time, thus commissioned, they set out on
their enterprise. Time when the country looked most beautiful.
2. They passed up through the whole country, from the south to the
extreme north; even to Hamath.
3. Returning, they visited Hebron. Should not the remembrance of him
who dwelt there (Abraham) have encouraged them to believe in their conquest of
the country?
4. At a place afterwards called Eshcol (the place of grapes, or the
cluster), they cut down a large bunch of grapes; and collecting also some figs
and pomegranates, they returned with much information after forty days.
IV. Their report.
1. Things in which they agreed. Concerning the country, soil, fruit,
people. They showed the fruit they had brought.
2. Things about which they differed. Their ability to conquer this
wonderful country.
3. Effect of their representations.
4. Only Joshua and Caleb faithful; these were silenced and out-voted.
Minorities have often been in the right. Reason: goodness and wisdom generally
with the few. (J.
C. Gray.)
Wise travellers
To us at this day the use may be twofold. First, to such as travel
to see foreign countries, that they observe fit things in them, so make good
use of their travel, not neglecting things profitable, and sucking up all
venom, that the corruption of those places may yield, as too many do, to their
own, not only temporal, but eternal woe, and to the poisoning of many others
when they return. Secondly, to magistrates, ministers, and all of good
disposition, it may be a pattern of care and endeavour, according to the places
and power they have, to work liking in men of the true Canaan that shall endure
for ever, and a daily disliking of the pleasures of Egypt, this transitory and
sinful world, that bewitcheth so many to their endless woe and confusion. (Bp.
Babington.)
The promised land
We have a heavenly Canaan, towards which we are journeying;
and we are told by an oracle, even more sure than the Urim and Thummim, “There
remaineth therefore a rest for the people of God.” This, then, being the case,
can we do better than apply to ourselves the injunction in the text, and
“search out the land” which is our promised abode? True it is, we cannot send
men as the Jews did, for “who shall ascend into heaven, save the Son of God
which came down from heaven?” The city which we seek is no fancy of the
imagination. But shall we open the book of their record, and note what inspired
lips have spoken concerning the New Jerusalem? Shall we tell you of the gates,
each made of a single pearl, and the foundations of twelve manner of precious
stones? When the gates of that city shall close upon the ransomed spirit, will
it be on these things that the undying eye will be fixed, or rather upon the
face of “Him who sitteth upon the throne,” the triune Jehovah, the glorified
Jesus? He who hath “washed us in His own blood, and made us kings and priests
to God and to the Lamb,” will be the supreme object of our admiration and
worship. Such is the land towards which we are hastening--an inheritance not
doubtful, but secured to us by two “immutable things, by which it is impossible
for God to lie.” And now, having heard this good report, shall we gird on our
swords and prepare, as disciples of the Lord, to “fight the good fight of
faith,” and declare in the heart-stirring words of Caleb, “Let us go up and
possess it, for we are well able to overcome it.” Press forward, then; the
voice of our Captain is cheering us onward--“Fear not, it is your Father’s good
pleasure to give you the kingdom.” Angels are rejoicing at our progress; and
not only so, but fighting on our side; Satan and his apostate legions are
fleeing before the triumphant cross. Shall we plead our terrors at the Anakim,
while the sword of the Eternal is drawn on our behalf? Away with the thought;
“though they hedge us in on every side, in the name of the Lord we will destroy
them.” Yet let us
not go on this warfare “without counting the cost”; the enemies against whom we
have to contend are giants indeed. “We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but
against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” These our foes are
watchful as well as powerful; they are most malignant; they know our weak
parts, and can tempt
us most craftily; they are in league with the corruption of our own nature, and
are often most dangerous when least suspected. Are we prepared, against such antagonists as
these, not only to draw the sword, but to cast away the scabbard? (H.
Christmas, M. A.)
Moses called Oshea . . .
Jehoshua.--
The change of Joshua’s name
Originally called Hoshea, or Salvation, this name was changed,
when he led the spies, to Jehoshua, or The Lord is Salvation. And it has never
ceased to seem significant to the Christian that this name of Joshua should
have been that by which our Lord was called. In its Greek form, “Jesus,” it was
given to Him because He was to save His people from their sins. By His
distinctive name among men He was linked to Joshua, and in the salvation He
accomplishes for His people we are therefore led to expect the same leading
characteristics as distinguished the salvation of Israel by Joshua.
1. We are, in the first place, reminded by this parallel that the
help afforded to us in Christ is God’s help, and this in a fuller sense than
was true in Israel’s case.
2. Again, we are reminded by this parallel, that as in the conquest
of the land by Joshua, so in our salvation, is there a somewhat perplexing
mixture of miracle and hard fighting. Sometimes the rivers that flow deep
before us open at our approach, and we pass over dryshod. At other times we are
allowed to fall into ambuscades. And just as the Israelites, when they found
the Jordan open before them and the walls of Jericho fall down, supposed that
the conquest of the land was to be completed without their drawing their
swords, and were in consequence defeated before Ai, so are the great mass of
those who enter the Christian life presuming that God will give them the land
of uprightness, purity of heart, and holiness of life, with scarcely an effort
on their part. And therefore, though there was miracle on the side of Israel,
yet this rule was distinctly laid down as the rule by which the territory was
allotted to the tribes, that each was to have what each could take, and hold
against the enemy. This is the law of our acquisitions also. What becomes
really ours is what we fight for inch by inch, killing as we go, slaughtering
the obstinate foe on his own soil, so that the property be left to us
uncontested. God’s grant is useless to us if we will not draw the sword and conquer
it, if we will not wield the axe and clear it. These two united form the
strongest of titles, God’s grant and our own conquest. (Marcus Dods, D. D.)
Verse 23-24
The place was called the brook Eshcol, because of the cluster of
grapes.
Grapes of Eshcol
I. The true
inquirers into the divine will ever have their reward. There are grapes for
every student of God’s Book.
II. The region
promised to the good is rich in blessing. Their highest enjoyments on earth are
only the taste of a few grapes of the heavenly world.
III. The vast
majority of the human family have ever been marked by meanness of soul. Not
only did these
specimens fail to inspire the millions of Israel to go and take possession of
the land, but even ten out of the twelve discoverers lost heart. Talk not of
majorities! (Homilist.)
Glimpses of the promised land
I. Consider the
narrative itself.
1. The evil report. Not one word of encouragement do they offer--no
reference do they make to that Divine protection which they had experienced
during their perilous search--no exhortation do they utter, urging the people
to obey the Divine command. Their report was essentially an “evil” one,
calculated to dishearten the people--to raise prejudices in their minds. Now
the conduct of these spies has always, and I think rightly, been regarded as
illustrative of the conduct of those who are dismayed by the difficulties which
attend a religious life. For it cannot be denied that these are numerous and
formidable. This does not admit of a doubt and it ought not to be concealed.
2. Very different was the testimony which Caleb and Joshua bore.
These faithful men thought and acted for themselves. Singularity for its own sake
is always to be avoided, since it may arise from a desire to attract notice and
thus be the mere offspring of vanity. But when truth is concerned, then, though
we should stand alone, it becomes us to avow it. There never was a more false
or dangerous maxim than that the voice of the people is the voice of God: it is
much more frequently the voice of the devil--the voice of impulses which he has
excited and of passions which he has stirred.
II. Consider the
spiritual lessons which this narrative suggests. Glimpses of the promised land!
No Christian is without them, for there are foretastes of heaven even on earth.
1. There are glimpses of the promised land which we obtain by faith.
God has discovered to us in His Word a better country, and though a wise reserve
is maintained, yet much information is afforded us with regard to it.
2. There are glimpses of the promised land which we obtain when we
possess the first-fruits of the Spirit. In the grace that you now receive you
have a type of the glory which is yet to be revealed. In the peace which you
now enjoy, you have a type of the perfect happiness you will soon experience.
In the purity which you now possess you have a type of the spotless holiness in
which you will be hereafter arrayed. In the communion which you now hold with
God you have a type of that more intimate fellowship which is the privilege of
heaven.
3. Glimpses of the promised land are often vouchsafed to the
Christian at an early stage of his experience. But there was much for us to
learn, and God sent us into the wilderness to learn it. After all, our
experience was superficial--our feelings were stronger than our principles--our
faith needed trial, and so, like the Israelites we have been “led about and
instructed.” Do not complain, therefore, because your experience is not what it
once was. God gave you, at the outset of your Christian career, a glimpse of
the promised land, and the memory of this may cheer you now when you mourn
because of the travel and toil of the wilderness.
4. Glimpses of the promised
land are often enjoyed by the believer at the close of life. This is not
invariably the case, but it frequently is so, as a reward for eminent piety. (H.
J. Gamble.)
A cloister of gospel grapes
Strabo states that in Bible times and in Bible lands there were
grape-vines so large that it took two men with outstretched arms to reach round
them, and he says there were clusters two cubits in length, or twice the length
from the elbow to the tip of the long finger. And Achaieus, dwelling in those lands,
tells us that during the time he was smitten with fever one grape would slake
his thirst for the whole day. No wonder, then, that in these Bible times two
men thought it worth their while to put their strength together to carry down
one cluster of grapes from the promised land. But I bring you a larger cluster
from the heavenly Eshcol--a cluster of hopes, a cluster of prospects, a cluster
of Christian consolations; and I am expecting that one taste of it will rouse
up your appetite for the heavenly Canaan.
1. First, I console you with the Divinely sanctioned idea that your
departed friends are as much yours now as they ever were. That child, O
stricken mother! is as much yours this morning as in the solemn hour when God
put it against your heart and said as of old, “Take this child and nurse it for
Me, and I will give thee thy wages.” It is no mere whim. It is a
Divinely-planted principle in the soul, and God certainly would not plant a
lie, and He would not culture a lie!
2. But I console you again with the fact of your present
acquaintanceship and communication with your departed friends.
3. I console you still further with the idea of a resurrection. On
that day you will get back your Christian dead. There is where the comfort
comes in. And oh, the reunion; oh, the embrace after so long an absence!
Comfort one another with these words. (T. de Witt Talmage.)
Eshcol
Contemplate that cluster which they bear--that earnest of rich
fields. These grapes are proof of Canaan’s exuberant fertility. So, too, there
is a heavenly Eshcol before faith’s eye. It shows delicious clusters. The joy
before Christ cheered His heart. The joy before us should gird up our loins.
This cluster was the vine’s perfection. So, too, perfection is the essence of
our heaven. Nothing can enter there to stain, &c. Oh, what a contrast to
our present state I In the true Eshcol’s cluster there is this richer fruit;
Jesus is seen. This is the crown of heaven. The rising of the sun makes day.
The presence of the king constitutes the court. The revelation of the Lord,
without one intervening cloud, is the grand glory of the endless kingdom.
Believer, what will it be to gaze on the manifested beauty of Him who is
altogether lovely! What, to comprehend all that Jesus is! What, never to lose
sight of Him! Are you a traveller towards this heaven? (Dean Law.)
Foretastes of heaven
Land-birds of beautiful plumage greeted Columbus days before his eye caught a
glimpse of the New World. A more southern voyager found himself in the fresh
water of the Amazon before discovering the continent whence they came. So at
the close of life’s voyage do birds of paradise come hitherward, careering on
bright wings, and the river of life sends its refreshing current far out into
the briny sea of this world.
The pomegranate
People in the East have always been fond of using fruits and
flowers as symbols. Thus lots of pomegranates were carved as sacred emblems
upon Jachin and Boaz, the two chief pillars in the temple (1 Kings 7:18), embroidered on the
priest’s garments (Exodus 28:33).
I. Our religion
should be delightful. The pomegranate is delightful to every sense; for it
gladdens the eye, and is a favourite ornament. Its leaf is bright green and
lustrous; its wood is yellow and graceful; its blossom is well shaped and
scarlet. The good is the beautiful, beautiful with God’s beauty. The
pomegranate is also very fragrant. It sweetens the air and breathes benediction
all around. You should behold flowers and plants not with the eyes of the
gardener who plants them, nor of the child who plucks them, nor of the merchant
who buys them, but of the Christian who finds in them sweet suggestions of the
love of God. The pomegranate is also delightful to the taste, for its juice is
very delicious. It was also in Bible times very delightful to the mind: for,
like the olive it was an emblem of peace. Invading armies cut down the
fruit trees, and one of the first to fall before the sword and fire was the
pomegranate, as it was a shrub rather than a tree. This was one reason why it
was so popular, as it was a sign of long-continued peace. It was thus a token
of the religion of peace.
II. Our religion,
like the pomegranate, should be very useful. It was good for medicine. Every
part of it had healing virtue, and it heals several of the diseases that are
most common in the East--sore throat, dysentery, &c. You know that all
green things are literally for the healing of the nations. The religion of
Jesus, when real in the heart, always sweetens the breath of society and heals
many sores. Our plant is also good for drink. It is very juicy, and has a
remarkable quality of quenching thirst in these hot climes. Its delicate juice
is often manufactured into wine, and is a great favourite with the sick, and
indeed with all classes. It is also good for food. Do not suppose that the
religion of Jesus is good for the world to come but not good for this. It is the
sincere Christian alone who gets out of this present life all the good it can
yield him. Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things shall be
added unto you.
III. Our religion,
like the pomegranate, should be very fruitful--fruitful both in ourselves and
in the world. When our Saviour speaks of the fruit bearing of His disciples, He
means such rich fruit as you find on the Syrian soil, and under the
wonder-working Syrian sun. We never see anything like it in our cloudy clime.
Why, the seeds in one pomegranate might soon fill a grove, if none of them were
spoiled. I was allured the other day to a splendid horse-chestnut. I pulled one
of its blossoms, but I was disgusted with it, and at once flung it away. It was
ruffled and bedashed with rain, bored through by flies, discoloured with
dust--I flung away the ragged, blighted, deflowered thing. Many a beautiful and
promising young life soon becomes like that outcast blossom. One of the darkest
things to me in the world is the ease with which a fine young life is sometimes
injured. But if you yield your heart early to Christ, and gladly take Him as
your Teacher, Saviour, and Guide, how delightful, useful, and fruitful your
life may become--it may grow as the pomegranate. You can set no bounds to the possibilities
of good that belong to the very humblest Christian. A portrait of Dante was
discovered lately; he was ,holding a pomegranate in his hand. Perhaps it had
charmed the poet as an emblem of what he desired to be. (James Wells, D. D.)
Verse 27
It floweth with milk and honey.
A land flowing with milk and honey
The idea suggested is, that the true disciples of the Lord Jesus
are expected to show to the world some illustration of the nature of the
heavenly country to which they are journeying. In a sense they have been there,
and have come back. But in what sense?
1. The idea with many persons is, that the future condition of man is
so completely different from this, that it is out of the question to attempt to
form a conception of it. Now, it is true, St. Paul tells us, “that eye hath not
seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things
which God hath prepared for them that love Him.” But it is also true, as the
apostle goes on to say, that “ God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit.”
Some people, then, are in a position to understand what the heavenly kingdom is
like. They have true ideas about it--foretastes. In fact, “heaven” is really
the expansion of a life begun here below. “He that hath the Son hath life.”
2. What, then, has the true disciple to show as specimens of the
produce of this unseen and unknown country? Briefly, the character of Christ
reproduced in him, by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is faintly, imperfectly
reproduced; still it is reproduced (see 2 Corinthians 1:21, “Hath Christed
us”). There is the strength which overcometh the world, the peace which passeth
understanding, the blessedness of communion with God, the soul-thirst for God
ever renewed and ever satisfied.
3. It is by the presentation of these fruits of the land that souls
are won. No doubt there are some persons in the world to whom Christ and
everything belonging to Christ, are only repulsive; and these will scrutinise
the disciple with an unfriendly eye, and rejoice if ever they find, or fancy
they find, any inconsistency in his conduct. But there are also many others of
a different temper. They are halting between two opinions. They say, not of course in words,
but by their feelings and manner, “Be Christ to us; let us see in you and
through you what the Divine Master is, and how He will treat us if we venture
to apply to Him”--or, to express it differently, “Show us the fruits of the
heavenly land, of which you think so much and speak so much. You are amongst us
as a citizen of the heavenly city (Philippians 3:20). Enable us to gather
from your conduct what are the characteristics of that noble land, of that
bright and glorious companionship.”
4. And lastly, what is the practical conclusion to be drawn from the
whole subject thus discussed? Surely it is this--that we, who profess to serve
the Lord Jesus Christ, should be careful to recognise the responsibility laid
upon us to give a good report, like Caleb and Joshua, and not a bad report,
like the ten other spies, of the unseen land. We shall give a bad report if our
lives are not attractive, and are not consistent. We shall give a good report
if our characters glow, even feebly, with the inner light of the life of
Christ; and if, by deed as well as by word, we cry, “ The conflict may be a
formidable one, but it is not too formidable”; and if we trust as we should do,
and may do, that we shall be more than conquerors through Him that loved us. (G.
Calthrop, M. A.)
Verse 30
Let us go up at once, and possess it.
The ancient Canaan a type of heaven
I. In what
respects the ancient canaan was a type of heaven.
1. It was a promised land, and the right of possession was founded on
the promise.
2. It was a land in which God was peculiarly present.
3. It was a land of fruition.
4. It was a free gift.
II. The Israelites
had dangers, difficulties, and discouragements in the wilderness, in their way
to Canaan; so have Christians in their progress to heaven.
1. There are formidable foes to be encountered. The corrupt heart,
the evil world, and that apostate spirit, the devil.
2. There are adversaries in timid and faint-hearted associates.
3. The Israelites in their progress were made dependent on the Lord
for all things.
III. The
resolution--“let us go up at once, and possess it.”
1. The title to it is sure. It is pledged in Christ; as heirs of God
and joint heirs with Christ. He is our Joshua and is gone to take possession
for us.
2. We have means and ordinances by which needed strength is supplied,
and we are invited and enjoined to feed in the spiritual manner, and to drink
of the spiritual rock.
3. Here we have many foretastes of the good land. (Sketches of
Four Hundred Sermons.)
Difficulties in the way
1. The kingdom of heaven challenges the inquiry of all men. It
addresses an appeal to human reason, and to human trust. Though itself a
revelation, and therefore not to be handled as a common thing, nor to be tested
by common instruments, yet Christianity invites the most careful inquest. It does
not seek to rest upon the human intellect as a burden, but to shine upon it as
a light. ]f Christianity may be represented under the image of a land, such as
ancient Canaan, then it is fair to say of it, that it offers right of way over
its hills and through its valleys, that its fruits and flowers are placed at
the disposal of all travellers, and that he who complains that the land is shut
against him speaks not only ungratefully but most falsely.
2. Different reports will, of course, be brought by the inquirers.
The result of the survey will be according to the peculiarities of the
surveyors. As streams are impregnated by the soils over which they flow, so
subjects are affected by the individualism of the minds through which they
pass. Thus Christianity may be said to be different things to different minds.
To the speculative man it is a great attempt to solve deep problems in
theology; to the controversialist it is a challenge to debate profound subjects
on new ground; to the poet it is a dream, a wondrous vision many-coloured as
the rainbow, a revelation many-voiced as the tunes of the wind or the harmonies
of the sea.
(a) We don’t escape by false reasoning.
(b) We don’t escape by fear.
Application:
1. Some have shown the spirit of Caleb--what is voter testimony?
2. Will you resolve, in Divine strength, to follow the Lord fully? (J.
Parker, D. D.)
The decision and exertion incumbent upon Christians in all things
I. The passage
serves to illustrate the believer’s duty in general. “Go forward.” This is the
command of God to His people, with reference to every obligation that devolves
upon them, and at every critical moment, amidst all our difficulties we
encounter from the world. Nothing but this heroism will suit the dignity and
the decision of Christian character.
II. The passage
serves to illustrate the more special duty of the people of God with reference
to missionary exertion. And that I conceive to be one of the pressing duties of
the Church of Christ in the present day. (W. H. Cooper.)
The magnanimous character and wisdom of Caleb
1. He “stilled the people.” Stillness engenders thoughtfulness.
2. He seeks to secure unity of faith. “Let us go up.”
3. Promptness. “At once.”
4. He directs their minds to their ability.
Conclusion: The world belongs to Christ by creation and by
preservation. In God’s name the Church may claim Christ’s prerogative for the
conquest of the world. (W. Mudge.)
Good witnesses for God
I. God hath ever
had some witnesses of his truth Nicodemus. Joseph of Arimathea. And how can it be
otherwise, for the truth shall never decay from the earth, but be spread abroad
from place to place, and from generation to generation for ever (Psalms 119:89). We perish, for all flesh
is as grass, and all the glory of man is as the flower of the field, but the
word of the Lord abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:24). God will have this
never to die, never to wither. He hath the hearts of all men in His own hand,
to turn them at His pleasure (Acts 9:15). So saith Christ, “I tell you
if these should hold their peace, the stones would cry” (Luke 19:40), and therefore He can never
be without some witness to maintain His truth.
1. This teacheth us that God is most glorious and powerful, and will
be known in the earth (Psalms 8:1-2; Matthew 21:15; Acts 14:17).
2. Great is His truth and prevaileth; He hath always had a Church
upon the face of the earth, and He never forsaketh it, though multitudes
conspire against it, it shall have the upper hand at last.
3. Be not discouraged when the truth is oppressed, because God is
able to maintain it, and raiseth up His enemies oftentimes to defend it.
4. This should persuade every one of us how to carry ourselves,
namely, that we should not take any approbation or liking of the evil of other,
neither ought we to imitate any in sin, how holy soever they seem to be,
neither give consent to them by our practice, forasmuch as God’s hand hath
overtaken them at one time or other.
II. The evil of
others, yea, although they be many, may not re followed of us. The reasons.
1. Whatsoever is in itself evil cannot be made good and lawful by any
example, nor by many examples. It cannot be warranted by the law of man, much
less by the pure law of God Himself.
2. No greatness, no multitude can save a man from judgments due to
the least sin; for though hand join in hand, the wicked shall not go unpunished
(Proverbs 5:1-23; Proverbs 11:21). This serveth to reprove
many carnal and formal Christians that oftentimes encourage themselves in evil,
and strengthen themselves by the example of others.
3. We may gather from hence a reproof of ignorant recusants grounding
only upon their forefathers; such as can give no other reason of their religion
but that they were born and bred in it (Psalms 78:8).
III. It is the duty:
of God’s children to exhort and stir up one another to good things. And that
for divers reasons.
1. We are quickly hardened in sin. We are quickly dull to all good;
exhortation made by others setteth an edge upon us, and putteth life into us (Proverbs 27:17).
2. Such as continue to the end are made partakers of Christ, and with
Him of all other graces; this ought to provoke us to practise this duty, the
rather seeing so great fruit cometh by it, the blessing of all blessings,
Christ Jesus is made ours (Hebrews 3:13-14).
3. We have other reasons used by the same apostle (Hebrews 10:25-26). Fearful judgments remain
for all backsliders.
4. The day of the Lord draweth near, and we must take heed that it
take us not unprepared; we must therefore stir up ourselves and others to look
for it and to long after it. Lastly, we see evil men do it in evil and to evil.
They labour by all means to make others as bad as themselves. This also we see
in this place, much more therefore ought we to teach and instruct one another,
and be helpers to the most holy faith one of another. (W. Attersoll.)
A campaign for God
The Israelites sent twelve spies into Paran and Kadesh to
reconnoitre. I suppose they wanted to see if God’s word was true. That’s always
the way with unbelievers. God had said to them, “Go over. I’ll help you. It
will be yours. It’s a land flowing with milk and honey. All you’ve got to do is
to go and take it.” But they thought they would first find out for themselves
what it was worth, and whether they would be able to take it. They brought back
what we would call in these days a majority and minority report. Ten said that
it would be impossible to take the country. All admitted that what God had told
them was true about the milk and honey. Only Caleb and Joshua confirmed the
Lord in regard to taking the land. All admitted that the land was good, but ten
said they saw giants, and walls, and castles, and that the Israelites would not
be able to overcome these. I can imagine these fellows in camp, telling their
comrades that they had stood alongside these giants, and had been obliged to
look up to see their faces, and that they were to them but as grasshoppers.
When we believe, we are able to overcome giants, and walls and everything. A
lie generally travels faster than the truth. It is an old saying that a lie
will go round the world before the truth can get his boots on to follow him.
The world always seems to rejoice whenever anything goes wrong with religion. So thus
he went round the camp and found favour with the Jews. “I would rather go back
to Egypt and make bricks without straw again. I would rather hear the crack of
the slaveholder’s whip again, than encounter these terrors.” That’s the way the
Israelites talked, and that is the talk of the unbeliever. I am one of the
spies sent out to look at the promised land. I have found it flowing with milk
and honey. Let us say whether we fear anything now. Let us go up at once and
take the land. I tell you that it is good. If Caleb’s voice had prevailed, the
Israelites might have saved forty years in the wilderness. To-day I say that
four-fifths of the professed children are not able to reach the land, simply on
account of their unbelief. Many persons have told me that I mustn’t expect so
great a success as I had in the old country. If I don’t expect it, I won’t have
it. We must go at once and take the land. We are able to do it. “Their defence
has gone from them.” How easy it is for God to pour out His blessings in such
profusion that we will not be able to receive them. That was the difference
between Caleb and Joshua and the ten. The ten got their eyes on the walls and
the giants, but Caleb and Joshua lifted theirs above and saw Him on His throne.
They said that it was easy for God to give them that country as He promised.
They remembered how easily He had taken them across the Red Sea; how He had fed
them with manna in the wilderness, and how He had made the water gush forth
from the barren rock. If God wishes to aid you, then you are well able to go up
and take the land. That is the difference between a man who has God with him,
and the one who has not. The greatest difficulty we have to encounter is,
therefore, the unbelief so current among Christians. Oh, would that God would
sweep it away! Our God is able to do it. Let us not limit the power of the Holy
One of Israel. Look upward and see Him who sitteth on the right hand of God,
and press forward. (D. L. Moody.)
Caleb’s spirit
Was Caleb, then, a giant--larger than any of the sons of Anak? Was
he a Hercules and a Samson in one? Was his arm so terrific that every stroke of
it was a conquest? We are not told so; the one thing we are told about Caleb is
that he was a man of “another spirit.” That determines the quality of the man.
Character is a question of spirit. It is an affair of inward and spiritual
glow. Caleb had been upon the preliminary search; Caleb had seen the walls, and
the Anakim, and the fortresses, and he came back saying, We can do this, not
because we have so many arms only, or so many resources of a material kind, but
because he was a man of “another spirit.” In the long run, spirit wins; in the
outcome of all history, spirit will be uppermost. The great battles of life are
not controversies of body against body, but, as far as God is in them, they are
a question of spirit against body, thought against iron, prayer against
storming and blustering of boastful men. While the cloud hangs over the field,
and the dust of the strife is very thick, and the tumult roars until it deafens
those who listen, we cannot see the exact proportions, colours, and bearings of
things; but if we read history instead of studying the events of the day which
have not yet settled themselves into order and final meaning, we shall discover
that spirit is mightier than body, that “knowledge is power,” that
“righteousness exalteth a nation,” and that they who bear the white banner of a
pure cause ultimately triumph because God is with them. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Difficulties may be overcome
“It is impossible!” said some, when Peter the Great determined on
a voyage of discovery; and the cold and uninhabited region over which he
reigned furnished nothing but some larch-trees to construct his vessels. But,
though the iron, the cordage, the sails, and all that was necessary, except the
provisions for victualling them, were to be carried through the immense deserts
of Siberia, down rivers of difficult navigation, and along roads almost
impassable, the thing was done; for the command of the sovereign and the
perseverance of the people surmounted every obstacle.
Verse 32-33
They brought up an evil report.
The report of the spies
I. God’s promises
will always bear investigation. It is true that none of us has entered heaven;
but Jesus, who has gone on in advance to take possession of it in His people’s
name, has sent back an Eshcol cluster of its vintage, that we may know
something of what we should expect. He has given us “the earnest of the Spirit
in our hearts.” The believer already has everlasting life; for the regeneration
which he has here experienced needs but to be expanded and elevated and
sublimated, to become the life of heaven. It is a confirmation of Jehovah’s
word to him; it is the seal of God Himself to the truthfulness of His promise
that he shall yet enter into heaven’s own rest.
II. There are Anakim
to be encountered in the conquest of every promised land. Christ has said, “If
any man will come after Me,” &c., and has urged us to count the cost before
we commence to raise our tower. So He would prepare us for self-denial,
hardship, and long-continued struggle; but we must not suppose that in all this
the gospel is an exception to the general law. No Canaan of success, in any
pursuit, can be gained save by the conquest of the Anakim. He who would rise to
a position of eminence in the department of literature, for example, must learn
to “scorn delights, and live laborious days.” He must deny himself many
pleasures in which others allow themselves to indulge, and must keep himself,
in a sense, secluded from the world, living in his library and at his desk. The
man of business who would climb the steep that leads to wealth, must pursue a
similar course. He cannot leave his place; he keeps himself chained to the oar;
he knows that nothing will avail but work--hard and continuous work; for so
only can he conquer those influences that stand in the way of his attainment of
his object. It is the same with the artist; and, on a lower platform, with the
athlete. All of them have to go into training; and, in every pursuit, a
campaign, with its perils and fatigues, comes before a victory. We cannot
complain, there-tore, if the same law holds in the spiritual life. The giants
with whom we have to contend are mainly in ourselves, in the shape of evil
principles and sins that most easily beset us; and it is only through
self-conquest that we can pass to any external victory. We cannot vault by one
spasmodic leap up to the height of holiness, any more than the Israelites could
all at once obtain possession of the Land of Promise. “By little and little” it
has to be done. It needs prayer, and watchfulness, and constancy; and if we
decline to enter upon the conflict, we shall fall short of the inheritance.
III. The true
believer is always able to conquer his spiritual adversaries with the help of
God. It is not a question of feebleness, but of faith. Whether the work we set
before us be our own sanctification, or the evangelisation of the city, or the
conversion of the world, the principle is still the same. We can do all things
through Christ strengthening us; and if we attempt great things, trusting in
Him, we may expect to do great things, not otherwise.
IV. There is a
point beyond which it is no longer possible to repair the follies of the past.
They who will not when they may, shall not when they will. You see this in every
department and pursuit of life. Up to a certain limit it seems to be in a man’s
power, if he choose, to make up for the past; but beyond that limit it is no
longer possible, whether he choose or not. (W. M. Taylor, D. D.)
The spies
I. In the first
place, the ungodly world are not to be excused for that which must,
nevertheless, be admitted to be a very natural matter, namely, that instead of
investigating religion for themselves, they usually trust to the representation
of others.
1. The worldly man looks at a Christian to see whether his religion
be joyful. “By this,” says he, “shall I know whether there is that in religion
which will make a man glad. If I see the professor of it with a joyous
countenance, then I will believe it to be a good thing.” But hark, sir! hast
thou any right to put it to that test? Is not God to be counted true, even
before we have proved Him?
2. Again, you say you will test the holiness of Christ’s religion by
the holiness of Christ’s people. You have no right, I reply, to put the
question to any such test as that. The proper test that you ought to use is to
try it yourselves--to “taste and see that the Lord is good.” By tasting and
seeing you will prove His goodness, and by the same process you must prove the
holiness of His gospel. It will be in vain for you to say at the day of
judgment, “Such and such a man was inconsistent, therefore I despised
religion.” Your excuse will then be discovered to be idle, for you shall have
to confess that in other respects you did not take another man’s opinion. In
business, in the cares of this life, you were independent enough; in your
political opinions you did not pin your faith to any man’s coat; and,
therefore, it shall be said of you at last, you had enough independence of mind
to steer your own course, even against the example of others, in business, in
politics, and such like things; you certainly had enough of mental vigour, if
you had chosen to have done so, to have stood out against the inconsistency of
professors, and to have searched for yourselves.
II. With that, by
way of guard, I shall now bring forth the bad spies. I wish that the men
mentioned in the text had been the only spies who have brought an evil report;
it would have been a great mercy if the plague that killed them had killed all
the rest of the same sort. Remember, these spies are to be judged, not by what
they say, but by what they do; for to a worldling words are nothing--acts are everything. The
reports that we bring of our religion are not the reports of the pulpit, not the reports that we utter
with our lips, but the report of our daffy life, speaking in our own houses, and
the every-day
business of life.
1. Welt, first, I produce a man who brings up an evil report of the
land, and you will see at once that he does so, for he is a dull and heavy
spirit. If he preaches he takes this text Through much tribulation we must
inherit the kingdom.” Somehow or other he never mentions God’s people without
calling them God’s tried children. As for joy in the Lord, he looks upon it
with suspicion. “Lord, what a wretched land is this!” is the very height of
poetry to him. He is always in the valley where the mists are hovering; he
never climbs the mountain brow, to stand above the tempests of this life. He
was gloomy before he made a profession of religion--since then he has become
more gloomy still.
2. But there is another class of professors who bring up a bad report
of the land. And this I am afraid will affect us all; in some measure we must
all plead guilty to it. The Christian man, although he endeavours uniformly to
walk according to the law of Christ, finds still another law in his members
warring against the law of his mind, and consequently there are times when his
witness is not consistent. Sometimes this witness is, “The gospel is holy,” for
he is holy himself. But, alas! with the very best of men there are times when
our witness contradicts our faith. When you see an angry Christian, and when
you meet with a Christian who is proud, when you catch a Christian overtaken in
a fault, as you may sometimes do, then his testimony is not consistent. He
contradicts then what he has at other times declared by his acts.
III. Thus I have
brought forth the evil spies who bring up a bad report; and now we have some
good spies too. But we will let them speak. Come, Joshua and Caleb, we want
your testimony; though you are dead and gone you have left: children behind
you; and they, still grieved as you were at the evil report, rend their
clothes, but they boldly stand to it that the land they have passed through is
an exceeding good land. One of the best spies I have ever met with is an aged
Christian. I remember to have heard him stand up and tell what he thought of
religion. He was a blind old man, who for twenty years had not seen the light
of the sun. His grey locks hung from his brow and floated over his shoulders.
He stood up at the table of the Lord, and thus addressed us:--“Brethren and
sisters, I shall soon be taken from you; in a few more months I shall gather up
my feet upon my bed, and sleep with my fathers. I have not the tongue of the
learned, nor the mind of the eloquent, but I desire, before I go, to bear one
public testimony to God. Fifty and six years have I served Him, and I have
never found Him once unfaithful. I can say, ‘Surely goodness and mercy have
followed me all the days of my life, and not one good thing hath failed of all
the Lord God has promised.’“
IV. And now I want
to press with all my might upon every professing Christian here the great
necessity of bringing out a uniformly good testimony concerning religion. One
of Napoleon’s officers loved him so well that when a cannonball was likely to
smite the emperor he threw himself in the way, in order that he might die as a
sacrifice for his master. Oh, Christian, you would do the same, I think. If
Christ were here you would run between Him and insult--yea, between Him and
death. Well, then, I am sure you would not wantonly expose Christ; bug
remember, every unguarded word you use, every inconsistent act, puts a slur on
Christ. The world, you know, does not find fault with you--they lay it all to
your Master. If you make a slip to-morrow, they will not say, “That is John
Smith’s human nature”; they will say, “That is John Smith’s religion.” They
know better, but they will be sure to say it. Do not allow Christ to bear the
blame--do not suffer His escutcheon to be tarnished--do not permit His banner
to be trampled in the dust. Then there is another consideration. You must
remember, if you do wrong, the world will be quite sure to notice you. They
never think of looking at the virtues of holy men; all the courage of martyrs,
and all the fidelity of confessors, and all the holiness of saints, but our
iniquities are ever before them. Please to recollect that wherever you are, as
a Christian, the eyes of the world are upon you; the Argus eyes of an evil
generation follow you everywhere. If a Church is blind the world is not. And
remember, too, that the world always wears magnifying glasses to look at
Christians’ faults. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
The evil reporters
1. In these wicked reporters see how Moses, that worthy governor, was
deceived, for thinking there had been a good choice made of faithful men, the
greater part was naught,
even ten of the twelve that were sent. So may good men be abused when they mean
well, and must not be censured for that which falleth out against their wills.
Again, so is the proverb verified “All is not gold that glittereth.” The Lord
is to be prayed unto to direct our choices; for weak is the wisdom of man,
unless the wisdom
of our all-seeing God go before and direct.
2. In that they confess it was land that flowed with milk and honey,
observe the rich blessings God bestoweth upon men, and make such use in your
own particular as he did that said, “O Lord, thou givest to me all things fat
and fair, I give to Thee all things lean and foul.” Again, since the country
was so good, and the inhabitants so wicked, let it make you remember the
religious houses, planted most usually in places that flowed with milk and
honey, and yet the possessors so idolatrous, and every way evil, as the world
now taketh notice they were. Happy men are they that consider the Lord’s
superabounding goodness to them, and make it an argument to press them daily to
thankfulness, love, and all obedience to Him both in soul and body.
3. Note the manner of their praising of the land. It is with a “but”;
surely say they, it floweth with milk and honey; “but,” but what? “But the
people be too strong, and we are not able to go up to possess it.” Thus do
slanderers ever set out their praises. Such an one is a good man, “but.” Such a
woman is a good woman and a good neighbour, “but.” The preacher to-day made a
good sermon, “but.” No man hath a better servant, “but.” So ever with one “but”
or other they abate their praise, and sting the party or matter praised in the
minds of them they speak unto. The Lord of lords and Judge of judges well seeth
this their dealing, yea, the world noteth it, and even they, to whom they,
howsoever they hold their peace, secretly in their hearts abhor such smoothing
calumniation. The end of it with God may appear by this example as fearful a
one as may be read in any history. Which you may see was this, that six hundred
thousand of them died in the wilderness, and never entered into the Land of
Promise, and the infamy of these “butting” reporters abide chronicled to this
day in the Book of God, the chronicle to be feared above all chronicles. In
county and country, with great and small, these “buts” towards our brethren and
good matters are used. God in mercy work the remove of them. (Bp. Babington.)
Difficulties
I. There is the
Anak speculative. He is bred by much of the scientific tendency of the time.
Men make everything of law, and forget a personal God.
1. While science has revealed law, it has also revealed marvellous
manipulation of law to special uses, viz., telegraph, telephone, phonograph.
Now, if man can so use law to special ends without breaking law, cannot God use
His own laws, so that they shall come to focus in blessing on my head, and
without breaking them?
2. The most capacious mind is most attentive to details. The infinite
mind does not find details burdensome. Therefore God can care for me, and help
me.
3. The revelation of the Divine Fatherhood; and fatherhood always
means care, love, help, particular attention.
II. There is the
Anak experimental. He takes such shapes as these--I cannot believe, it is hard
to serve God; I cannot make myself love; I have no assurance, &c., &c.
If we will only confront this son of Anak by a determined doing of
precisely what Christ tells us, we shall soon discover that he cannot stand
before us and prevent entrance into the Canaan of forgiveness and of peace.
III. There is the
Anak volitional. And he is the main Anak that really prevents us. Two sailors
going to their boat past midnight, and getting into it that they might row
themselves to their ship yonder, with brains fuddled by a spree on shore, laid
hold of the oars and tugged and tugged; and when the morning broke found they
had not moved an inch. And with clearer brains and in the advancing light they
discovered the reason--they had not lifted the anchor. Ah, how often an
unlifted anchor of some known sin is the real Anak keeping back and holding
back! (W. Hoyt, D. D.)
Difficulties determine character
Character, like Achilles in disguise at the court of
Lycomedes, does not disclose itself till the trumpet blast is sounded, and
there is a rush for armour as besuits it.
I. Intellectual.
Schoolboy finds pathway beset with difficulties. They grow, rather than
diminish. Nothing will tell its own mystery: how far we shall proceed will
depend upon an unconquerable will and intensest application. As answers, we
have illiteracy, scholarship, genius.
II. Social Problems
of life and government complex and infinite. A few lead; the multitude follow.
III. Industrial. We
seek and find our own work. Just what is in us will come out.
IV. Religious.
Here, too, difficulties will not remove themselves. Just how we approach them
will reveal the infidel, athiest, or Christian. Conclusion: Life, in all its
departments, is of one piece and like texture; and its difficulties are for
trial, discipline, and mastery. (L. O. Thompson.)
The report of the spies; or, The difference between truth and facts
This was a mean report, it was hardly a report at all--so nearly
may a man come to speak the truth, and yet not to be truthful, so wide is the
difference between fact and truth. Many a book is true that is written under
the name of fiction; many a book is untrue that lays claim only to the dry
arguments of statistics and schedules. Truth is subtle; it is a thing of
atmosphere, perspective, unnameable environment, spiritual influence. Not a
word of what the truth says may have occurred in what is known as literal fact,
because it is too large a thing ever to be encompassed within the boundaries of
any individual experience. The fact relates to an individuality; the truth
relates to a race. A fact is an incident which occurred; a truth is a gospel
which is occurring throughout all the ages of time. The men, therefore, who
reported about walled cities, and tall inhabitants, and mountain refuges, and
fortresses by the sea, confined themselves to simply material considerations;
they overlooked the fact that the fortress might be stronger than the soldier,
that the people had nothing but figure, and weight, and bulk, and were
destitute of the true spirit which alone is a guarantee of sovereignty of
character and conquest of arms. But this is occurring every day. Again and
again we come upon terms which might have been written this very year. We are
all men of the same class, with an exceptional instance here and there; we look
at walls, we receive despatches about the stature of the people and the number
of their fortresses, and draw very terrible conclusions concerning material
resources, forgetting in our eloquent despatches the only thing worth telling,
namely, that if we were sent by Providence and are inspired by the Living God
and have a true cause and are intent to fight with nobler weapons than gun and
sword, the mountains themselves shall melt whilst we look upon them, and they
who inhabit the fortresses shall sleep to rise no more. This is what we must do
in life--in all life--educational, commercial, religious. We have nothing to do
with outsides and appearances, and with resources that can be totalled in so
many arithmetical figures; we have to ascertain, first, Did God send us? and
secondly, if He sent us, to feel that no man can drive us back. (J. Parker,
D. D.)
The testimony of a Christian life
“Now lads,” said the late Duncan Mathieson, the Scottish
Evangelist, to a lot of boys who had been converted at his meetings, “the
people here are not in the habit of reading their Bible to learn what God says
to them, but I’ll tell you what they’ll read. They’ll read your lives and ways
very carefully to see if you are really what you profess to be. And mind you
this, if they find your lives to be inconsistent with your profession, the
devil will give them this for an excuse in rejecting Christ.” Very true indeed
are these words. Would that we could lay them more constantly to heart t The
life of the professing Christian is the only book of evidences that many people
ever read in reference to Christianity. The Christian professor’s life is thus
the world’s Bible. When there are inconsistencies and flaws in it, then the
world makes these a plea against religion. Let us remember that the world’s
eyes are upon us. Let us keep our book of evidences clear and pure.
Reason better than imagination
I think it was Henry Ward Beecher who used to relate how when he
was a boy there was no stove in the church which he then attended. Some of the
worshippers began to think that they might be better with a fire, but they were
opposed by others, who thought that a stove should have no place in the house
of the Lord, indeed that they could not get to heaven from a church with a
stove in it but, despite their fierce opposition, the elders by a narrow
majority ultimately decided to have it, and accordingly it was procured and
placed in the church. On the following Sunday the doubters mustered strong.
Some complained of being very warm, and others declared they were nearly
stifled, while a few boldly pronounced that the stove had no right to be there
at all, and together they made a rush for the offending piece of furniture, to
turn it out of the building, when lo, to their surprise, they found it was
empty. These people were very bad reasoners, but had a great imaginative
faculty.
Folly of exaggerating the enemy’s strength
It is a bad plan to exaggerate the enemy’s strength; to do so is
to increase it. Our English warriors have owed many a victory on land and sea
to the confidence with which they entered the fight. Francis Drake was playing
bowls on the Hoe at Plymouth when information was brought him of the appearance
of the terrible Armada. Some were for hurrying away at once; but the great
sailor insisted on finishing the game, gaily assuring his comrades: “ There
will be plenty of time to beat the Spaniards.” It is with something of the same
dauntless spirit that we should enter upon our holy war. There was real wisdom
in the lad’s answer when asked what he thought of the first two chapters of
Job. He had but just learned to read, and had set himself with firm resolve to
read the Bible through from Genesis to Revelation. He had now come to Job, and
his friend asked, “Well, what do you think of it?” “Well,” replied the child,
“I don’t like that Satan a bit; and when I get to learn to write and when I
have to write Satan, I will always write Satan with a small ‘s.’” Alas! too
many of us would have to write the word in large capitals if our writing
expressed our feelings. Fear and timidity magnify the foe. Let us learn a
holier and braver lesson. (G. Howard James.)
──《The Biblical Illustrator》