Good morning and welcome to our
services here at Sovereign Grace Baptist Church here in the Dalles,
Oregon. We're glad for those who have
joined us through Zoom. We're glad for those who will
join us through Sermon Audio. We're glad for those who are
here today, our friends, our family. We're going to be going
to the book of Numbers chapter 13 this morning in our continuing
study of the book of Numbers, the gospel according to the book
of Numbers. And on your way there, I would
like you to keep your finger there, but I'd like you to turn
with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10,
there's a verse of scripture that I'd like to read that has
so much importance in this passage of scripture that we're going
to look at today. There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man. 2nd 1st Corinthians excuse
me 1st Corinthians chapter 3 verse 1st Corinthians chapter 10 verse
13 excuse me there hath no temptation taking you but such is as is
common to man but God is faithful. That's the title of my message
today. God is faithful. Who will not suffer you to be
tempted above that you are able, but will with the temptation
also make a way of escape that ye may be able to bear it. Now
this phrase from this verse of scripture is a passage or a thought
or a phrase that is contained in so many verses of scripture,
passages of scripture throughout the Bible that share with us
this wonderful quality that the church depends on. God is faithful. All right, turn with me back
to the book of Numbers, if you would. The book of Numbers, there
in chapter 13 of the book of Numbers. and we're going to read
a large portion of this scripture this passage of scripture this
morning and we'll make a few comments as we go through it
but we truly would like to look at some verses that share with
us that God is faithful in the seemingly tragedy that took place
in this passage of scripture and the Lord spake unto Moses
saying now this is this is a message that the Lord is going to give
to Moses Moses is going to share it with the children of Israel.
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,
ye shall send a man everyone a ruler among them. And Moses,
by the commandment of the Lord, sent them from the wilderness
of Paran all those men who were the heads of the children of
Israel." Now there's a phrase in this verse 2 that I want to
repeat here as we continue on in reading this passage of scripture.
It says there in verse 2, that they may search the land of Canaan
which I give unto the children of Israel. God says, I give it
to them. All right. Now, let's down here
in verse 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, and 15 are the
tribes are listed and the individual that was chosen to go in to follow this commandment that
moses is going to give them uh... their names are mentioned here
and i want us to remember that these people are all cousins
i don't know how close the cousins they may have been but they're
all related to abraham they're all related to isaac they're
all related to jacob they are members of the twelve sons of
jacob of israel and they have a relationship they've been born
in this relationship, and probably from outside appearance, they
all look pretty much the same. And then we notice here in verse
16, these are the names of the men which Moses sent to spy out
the land. And Moses called Oshiah the son
of Nun, Jehoshua. 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 mountains, and see the land,
what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they
be strong or weak, few or many, just keep in remembrance what
we just read there in verse two, that God had promised to give
them the land, 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 strongholds, and what the land is, whether it
be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein or not. and be
of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the
time was the time of the first ripe grapes. So they went up
and searched the land from the wilderness of Zion unto Rehob,
as men came unto Hema. And they ascended by the south,
and came into Hebron, where Ahimeh and Jeshiah, Ai, and Ptolemy,
and the children of Anak were. Now Hebron was built seven years
before Zoan in Egypt. And they came unto the brook
of Eschol, 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. And the place was called
the Brook of Eskol because of the cluster of grapes which the
children of Israel cut down from thence. And they returned from
searching of the land after 40 days. Now the instructions that
Moses give them, if you follow this as best we can, we find
out that they were asked to go in and look at quite a section
of this property, this Canaan that had been given to Abraham
and that they were to go in there and God had said it was a land
that flowed with milk and honey that Moses brings up. Take a
look at it. See whether the land is good or bad, whether the cities
are tense or whether they be strongholds. He goes back and
forth and shares quite a few things here about what to look
for in that land. And they came back after 40 days
of being in the land and they went and came to Moses and to
Aaron and to all the congregation of the children of Israel. You
know, I just can't help but think that when word got back that
these spies were back in camp, how people just gathered because
they were very interested in wanting to know what these people
had to say. They were over there in the land that they were headed
for. They wanted to know what kind
of land it was, what it looked like, what kind of fruits, what
kind of terrain it was, all that information about where they're
planning on making their home. And it tells us there, we came
into the land where thou sent us, and surely it floweth with
milk and honey, and that the fruit of it. So they've taken
a look at it, and they've noticed these words that are commonly
used with regard to the description of this land, and that is, it
floweth with milk and honey. Now that just means it is a good
land, it is an abundant land, it has many high qualities. Nevertheless,
we find in verse 28, they bring up this word, nevertheless, nevertheless, They just have this doubt in
their minds as they bring up this subject and said here, nevertheless,
the people be strong that dwell in the land and the cities are
walled and very great. And moreover, we saw the children
of Anak there. The Amlekites 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. 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. But all the men that went
up with him, said, We be not able to go up against the people,
for they are stronger than we. 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
saw it in it and are men of great stature and there we saw the
giants, the sons of Anak which come of the giants and we were
in our own sight as grasshoppers and so we are in their sight
well it doesn't end here we don't have time to read chapter fourteen
to go along with this and we'll do that in the future but we
just notice the plight that the children of Israel are in at
this time Now, if we look at those who went in to spy it out,
we find that there were ten that came back with a report that
God is not faithful, that God cannot accomplish what he said
he would do. Now, God often declares that
he is faithful, and when it comes to this Canaan land, there are
a number of verses of scripture that share with us what God has
said about the children of Israel and the possession of that land.
Now, I just want to make it clear, it's going to be the national
Israel, And God is going to put that in a way that He says you
can have it for eternity. It's yours forever. This is what
you have to do in order to keep it. And then we find out even
after they went in under Joshua, they were like they were all
the way through the wilderness. They just could not keep what
God required. from mount sinai to where we
are at this point in the book of numbers chapter thirteen as
just over on the other side here we can look into canaan from
this point back to sinai is about a hundred and fifty miles we
may think that that's a lot farther if we're going to have to travel
by foot but a hundred fifty miles they've traveled from mount sinai
approximately that from mount sinai over here to where they
are and it may have taken them a month or two But we're gonna find out that
they're gonna wander in the wilderness for another 38 years over this
one incident. They are so close and yet so
far away. Well, let's look at some of the
verses of scripture that share with us that God's word about
the land these Hebrews are right next to. These verses share with
us what happened upon the return of these 10 spies It was just
as normal as the sun coming up. We're going to see that, because
these ten did not have eyes to see, ears to hear. They could
not understand that God was absolutely going to deliver them from all
the problems that were there, just like He said. join me if
you would as we look at a few verses of scripture that do share
with us that God is faithful when God brought up this issue
many many many years before this he shares with us as he shared
with Abram he wasn't even called Abraham at the time in the book
of Genesis chapter 13 in the book of Genesis chapter 13 we
have here a passage of scripture two verses we're going to read
In Genesis 13 verses 14 and 15 The Lord said unto Abram now
this Lord if you notice in your in most translations It's capitalized
all letters are capitalized. This is Jehovah the Lord or Jehovah
said unto Abram After that lot was separated from him lift up
now thine eyes and look from the place where thou art northward
and southward and eastward and westward for all the land which
thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever."
Now this is a promise that God made to Abraham. He's Abram at
the time, Abraham will be coming along. Now we find in the scripture
that by faith, Abraham. Now faith is the substance of
things hope for, the evidence of things not seen. And it also
tells us there in the eleventh chapter of the book of Hebrews
that without faith it is impossible to please God. All right, let's
follow this theme for a few verses of scripture here through the
Old Testament and find out that God has promised time and time
again, and every generation has heard this promise, all of the
generations of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, The twelve tribes and
those that have followed have heard these words. It is part
of their history, it is part of their culture, it is part
of what they've been hanging on to. All right, now turn with
me to Genesis chapter 24. In Genesis chapter 24 and verse
6, we read here, And Abraham said unto him, Beware thou that
thou bring not my son thither again, the Lord God of heaven,
which took me from my father's house, and from the land of my
kindred, and which spake unto me, and sware unto me, saying,
Unto thy seed will I give this land. He shall send his angel
before thee, and thou shalt take a wife unto my son, from fence
now this is the instruction that abraham gives concerning his
son isaac and a wife or don't get anybody from around here
go back home and there'll be the right person there and it
tells us here in this verse seven unto thy seed will i give this
land and he shall send his angel before the so the land has been
promised by god abraham brings this up when there is a the need
for a wife for his son isaac All right, let's follow this
a little further as we find in Genesis chapter 26. In Genesis
chapter 26, this again is brought up. It's not something that is
just here and there, but it is throughout the Old Testament,
in the early books particularly, about this land that God has
promised to give to the children of Israel from a nationalistic
standpoint. It tells us here in the book
of Genesis chapter 26 verses 1 through 3. And there was a
famine in the land beside the first famine that was in the
days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech
king of the Philistines in Gerar. And the Lord appeared unto him
and said, Go not down unto Egypt or into Egypt. dwell in the land
which I shall tell thee of, sojourn in this land, and I will be with
thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee and unto thy seed
I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which
I swear unto Abraham thy father. I made a promise to Abraham.
And now we're going to have this promise is going to be passed
on to Isaac, the promise is going to be passed on to Jacob, and
the promise is going to be passed on to the twelve sons of Jacob.
So as we follow this through a little further, join me in
the book of Genesis chapter 35. Genesis chapter 35, again the
subject is brought up. God has made a promise. God has
made a promise to Abraham. a covenant. God has made a promise
with Isaac. God has made a promise with Jacob
as we follow this out. In Genesis chapter 35 and verse
10, the scriptures share this. And God said unto him, Thy name
is Jacob. Thy name shall not be called
any more Jacob, but Israel shall be thy name. And he called his
name Israel. And God said unto him, I am God
Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply. A nation
and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come
out of thy loins. and the land which I gave Abraham
and Isaac to thee will I give it and to thy seed after thee
will I give the land and God went up from him in the place
where he talked with him. So once again, we have someone
else in the line, the covenant line of God to man, Abraham,
Isaac, and now Jacob, who is going to be Israel. This message
is brought up and is continuously brought up to these people. It's
part of their life, it's part of their heritage, that this
is what they're going to get. All right, in the book of Genesis
chapter 50, Genesis chapter 50, we read this passage of scripture
in Genesis chapter 50 we read chapter 50 verse 24 through 26
it says and Joseph said unto his brethren I die and God will
surely visit you now this is one of the sons of Jacob of Israel
remember he's been sold by his brothers sold out into egypt
now he's very much in charge of what's going on in egypt he's
in charge of the storehouses down there and it tells us that
he's about to die a i'd die and god will surely visit you and
bring you out of this land onto the land which he swear to abraham
to isaac and to jacob And Joseph took an oath of the children
of Israel, saying, God will surely visit you, and ye shall carry
up my bones from hence. So Joseph died, being an hundred
and ten years old, and they embalmed him and he was put in a coffin
in Egypt. Now there's nothing said that
he was put in one of those great pyramids. There's nothing said
that he's even buried. He's been put into a coffin and
that coffin is going to be here for over four hundred years waiting
for the promise the promise that the children of israel made to
joseph about what to do with his bones let's follow this through
just a little bit in exodus exodus chapter thirteen four hundred
years have transpired the children of israel have been comes become
slaves down in egypt they still are the children of the twelve
tribes twelve uh... children sons of of jacob of
israel and here in the book of exodus chapter thirteen Exodus
chapter 13, we're going to see this passage of scripture as,
once again, 400 years have passed, they're getting ready to leave
Egypt, the Passover and so forth, and it says here in verse 19,
and Moses took the bones of Joseph, with him, for he had straightly
sworn the children of Israel, saying, God will surely visit
you, and you shall carry my bones away hence with you. So the promise
was the children of Israel promised Joseph that his bones would not
be left in Egypt. They have been sitting there
for 400 years. The right time comes to the very
day, 400 years to the very day that they've been in servitude
and God's going to set them free. The Passover is instituted. God
has taken care of Egypt with all the plagues. And even though
they follow him, they're going to be taken care of there at
the Red Sea. But with them as they traveled was the bones of
Joseph, who said, God will surely visit you, and he will give the
land which he promised unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob. Well,
just a little side note here, a little rabbit trail. Would
you join me in looking at Joshua chapter 24? in joshua chapter
twenty four we find out what happened to the bones of our
brother joshua chapter twenty four verse thirty two we have
that after this uh... victories in canaan and the settlement
in joshua chapter twenty four verse thirty two the bones of
joseph which the children of israel brought up out of egypt
buried they in Shechem, in a parcel of ground which Jacob bought
of the sons of Hamor, the father of Shechem, for a hundred pieces
of silver, and it became an inheritance of the children of Joseph." So
the bones of Joseph were brought out of Egypt. They were carried
through the wilderness. They came up, you know, all those
folks 600,000 soldiers all those folks came up to almost entering
into this land carrying the bones of joseph and now as a result
of them bringing back those 10 bringing back an evil report
they're gonna be carrying these bones for a 38 more years before
they cross into the land so but As it's recorded here, the promise
was fulfilled. God was gracious. God purposed. God gave them grace to do it. And they brought the bones of
Joseph. Now, just another verse that
we'd like to look at along this line. Would you turn with me
to the book of Hebrews? Hebrews chapter 11. Hebrews chapter
11. We have one more verse of scripture
we'd like to read with regard to the bones of Joseph. Joseph
said, I'm going to die. Don't bury me here. Take my bones
with you. We find that they sat in Egypt
for about 400 years. They're taken into the wilderness
and they wander there with the children of Israel for 40 years. Then they're taken into the land
and they are buried there as we recorded there in the book
of Joshua. And now we find this statement
made in the book of Hebrews chapter 11. chapter 11 verse 22 this
is mentioned here by faith joseph when he died made mention of
the departing of the children of israel and gave commandment
concerning his bones now this man by faith he knew and understood
that what god had to say was going to come to pass absolutely
purposed it he's going to carry it out he's not a man like we
are that tells lies, but he tells the truth and he's always faithful. God is faithful. So just following
that through, we find that Joseph's desire, his command concerning
his own body was carried out. And by faith, Joseph, when he
died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel. All
right, would you join me going back into the book of Exodus
for a few more verses of scripture along the line that we're looking
at, and that is the number of times that God shares with the
people that He is going to give them this land. He's going to
give it to them. He's not going to hold back. He's not going to debate them
and then switch. He's not going to be an advertisement
story that isn't fulfilled. He's going to give that. He's
promised to give that land to them. Well, here in the book
of Exodus, going back to the book of Exodus, and there in
the sixth chapter of the book of Exodus, Exodus chapter six,
we have these words recorded, verse seven, eight, and nine. And I will take you to be to
me for a people, and I'll be to you a God, and ye shall know
that I am the Lord your God, which bringeth you out from under
the burdens of the Egyptians. And I will bring you unto the
land concerning that which I swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, and I will give it you for a heritage. I am the
Lord. And Moses spake so unto the children
of Israel, but they hearkened not unto Moses for anguish of
spirit and for cruel bondage. Now we notice here that many
of them were not capable of believing what Moses had to say. They just
did not believe it. Well, it doesn't matter. God
had promised it to them. God has made a promise. Let's
follow this just a little further. He spoke to Moses there about
it in Exodus chapter 12. In Exodus chapter 12 and verse
25, He brings this subject up again. It's just throughout the
scriptures. God is faithful I have promised it shall come to pass
in Exodus chapter 12 and verse 25 and it shall come to pass
When you become to the land, which the Lord will give you
According as he hath promised that ye shall keep this service
now, that's the service of the Passover but when you get there
The Lord will give it you according to that which he hath promised."
And then in Exodus chapter 13, we find here again in this gospel
according to Exodus, in chapter 13 and verse 5, God is again
spoken. He says, And it shall be when
the Lord shall bring you now bring thee into the land of the
Canaanites and the Hittites and the Amorites and the Hivites
and the Jebusites which he swear unto my thy fathers to give thee
a land flowing with milk and honey that thou shalt keep this
service in this month so when you get here here's the description
of the promise this is what you must do when you get there keep
this service so as we follow this a little further in Exodus
chapter 33 in Exodus chapter 33 the subject is brought up
again and in verse 1 and 2 of Exodus 33 the Lord said unto
Moses depart and go up hence thou and the people which thou
has brought up out of the land of Egypt unto the land which
I swear unto Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, saying, Unto thy
seed will I give it, and I will send an angel before thee, and
I will drive out the Canaanite, and the Amorite, and the Hittite,
and the Perizzite, and the Hivite, and the Jebusite." Now, how long
this is before they get over there? It's not that long when
this promise was made, but he's listing the people that the 10
Spies that came back with the evil report said they're the
enemy we can't deal with them and right here The Lord has shared
with Moses an angel. I will go before I'll drive out
the Canaanite and the Amorite and the Hittite and the parasite
and the Hivite and the Jebusite and in verse 3 unto a land flowing
with milk and honey For I will not go up in the midst of thee
for thou art a stiff-necked people lest I consume thee in the way
All right, let's follow this just a little further into the
scriptures. Well, I need to back up just
one little section to Exodus chapter 23. In Exodus chapter
23 verse 27, in Exodus chapter 23 verse 27, I will send my fear
before thee and destroy all people to whom Thou shalt come and I
will make all thine enemies turn their backs unto thee. Now this
is the promise of God before they're going in. And yet, as
we just, it's not that long. From this point to where we read
in the book of Numbers chapter 13, it's just a few months, a
couple of years. God gave them, he said, I will
destroy all the people. And in verse 28, And if you have
ever been in a hornet's nest, you know that they can take care
and drive you away. And I will send hornets before
thee, which shall drive out the Hivite and the Canaanite and
the Hittite from before thee. And I will drive them out from
before thee in one year, lest the land become desolate and
the beasts of the field multiply against thee. What a statement
God has made here. I will drive out them. I will
send hornets to drive them out. There's not going to be an issue,
a problem here concerning this, and God is faithful. God is going
to do what he said he would do. So as we follow this through,
we find a little more said. Let's go over here to the book
of Numbers chapter 10. In Numbers chapter 10, this is
brought up again. Numbers chapter 10 verse 29.
The scriptures share this with us. It says, Numbers chapter
10, verse 29, and Moses said unto Hobab, the son of Reguel,
the Midianite, Moses' father-in-law, we are journeying unto the place
of which the Lord said, I will give it to you. Come thou with
us and we will do thee good, for the Lord has spoken good
concerning Israel. We are journeying unto the place
of which the Lord said, I will give it you. I will drive him
out. I will send hornets. I'll take
care of it. I promised, I promised Abraham. I promised Isaac. I
promised Jacob. I promised the 12 sons. I promised
Israel to this day. And here it is. And then we go
to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13 and verses
one and two. Numbers chapter 13 verses 1 and
2. And this is where we started this morning, as we began this
message in Numbers chapter 13. And the Lord spake unto Moses,
saying, Now this is not just some small, itty-bitty person
speaking to Moses. This is not just some counselor
that he had. This is not just some human that
he had. This is God Almighty speaking to him. And he said
here in verse 2, Send thou men that they may search the land
of Canaan, which I give unto the children of Israel. I give
unto the children of Israel." Now, we know, we have an inside
track here. If you've ever read this passage
of scripture, the book of Numbers, you know what's going to happen.
They're going to come back. They did bring back that wicked
report that God cannot do what he said he would do. And we're
going to find out in the next 38 years, 600,000 footmen are going to die. Families are
going to die. They're going to be buried in
the wilderness there, and we're going to read something about
that in just a few minutes over in the book of Hebrews. But after
the fact, after the children of Israel do go into the land
under Joshua, after they do defeat Jericho under Joshua, he is the
captain of the army But he is under the captain of the army
of the Lord. He's going to meet him. He's
going to visit with him. He's been told to take his shoes
off. He's on holy ground. He's visiting with God. God said
he'd win the battle here. There's very few of all the years
that it took them to subdue that land. There's very few that we
read that were killed in the battles except at Ai. It appears
that God was faithful in all of the rest of that, and he gave
them the cities. He gave them the cities. Now,
there was some sweat, there was marching that went on, but we
don't read that any cemeteries were filled by those who died
in those battles except at Ai, and that's another story that
we'll look at. All right, here in the book of Joshua, after
the fact, though, after the fact, in retrospect in looking back
after they did come into the land in the book of joshua we
find that that joshua was the one that god used to take them
into the land his name means savior just as we find jesus
naming savior and in joshua chapter twenty one verse four we have
this passage of scripture that comforts us in whatever Excuse me. I want to have to
go to Joshua 23 verse 1 Joshua 23 and verse 1 Joshua chapter 23 and verse 1
as we look at this Verse one it says, and it came to pass
a long time after that the Lord had given rest unto Israel from
all their enemies round about that Joshua waxed old and stricken
in age. And there in verse two, and Joshua
called for all Israel and for their elders and their heads
and all their judges and for their officers and said unto
them, I am old and stricken in age. You have seen all that the
Lord your God hath done unto all these nations Because of
you for the Lord your God is he that hath fought for you and
in verse 14 of that chapter and behold this day I'm going the
way of all the earth and ye know in all your hearts and in all
your souls That not one thing hath failed of all the good things
which the Lord your God spake concerning you, all are come
to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed thereof." Not
one thing. It's mentioned twice in this
book. Joshua chapter 21 I was there
I had written down the wrong verse, but here it is in verse
44 Verse 43 and verse 44 and the Lord gave unto Israel all
the land which he swore to give unto their fathers and they possessed
it and dwelt therein And the Lord gave them rest round about,
according to all that he swore unto their fathers. And there
stood not a man of all the enemies before them, and the Lord delivered
all their enemies into their hands. Well, that's Joshua's
words, and whatever is said today about it, I'm going to stick
with Joshua's words, and I'm going to look at one other passage
that shares with us, many, many years after this, in retrospect
again, we find in the book of 1 Kings, chapter 8. In 1 Kings,
chapter 8, and verse 56. 1 Kings chapter 8 1 Kings chapter 8 verse 56 this is the dedication of the temple
Solomon said blessed be the Lord that hath given rest to all his
people all his people Israel according to all that he promised
there hath not failed one word of all his good promise which
he promised by the hand of Moses his servant now this is what Solomon had to say about the
matter now we do read that God is not a man that he should lie
neither the son of man that he should repent Hath he said, and
shall he not do it? Or hath he spoken, and shall
he not make it good? This is who we are observing
in all the passages about God. We're talking about the Sovereign
King, the Sovereign Ruler, the Sovereign Blesser, the One who
can promise and has the power to fulfill that promise. We come
here in the book of Numbers and we find out that there are 10
leaders of Israel and they represented 80%. 80% of those who were sinning came
back with what is known as an evil report, a wicked report. And what is a wicked report?
That's a bad report about God. that he cannot do what he said
he would do. That is a wicked report, that's
an evil report, and natural man is filled with that kind of report.
Join me, if you would, and what is the problem then? What is
the real problem that was faced over there in the book of Numbers,
chapter 13, when 12 spies were sent into the land? And then
we'll read that there were two of them that stood up and said,
God is able, God is able, God is able. And 10 of them says,
no, he's not, no, he's not, no, he's not. Well, who's right in
the matter? God is faithful. That's his promise. He will be faithful. Well here
in the turn with me if you would to the book of Hebrews once again
in the book of Hebrews We have much said here Book of Hebrews chapter 3 verse
10 Hebrews chapter 3 verse 10 11 and 12 it says here that Hebrews chapter 3 verse 10. Wherefore I was grieved with
that generation. Now he's making comment here
about what we just read over in the book of Numbers chapter
13. I was grieved with that generation and said they do always err in
their heart and they have not known my ways. So I swear in
my wrath they shall not enter into my rest. Why can't they
enter into the Lord's rest? Because they're not the Lord's.
They have no heart for the Lord. They've not been given a heart
of the Lord. The Lord did not give them a heart to believe.
Let's look at verse 12. Take heed, brethren, lest there
be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief. That is the issue
here of unbelief. Natural man does not believe
God. Natural man does not believe
God's word. Natural man does not believe
God's ways. Natural man does not believe
about God. They have gods, but they do not
know this God. And then if you drop down to
verse 17, 18, and 19, it says, but With whom was I grieved forty
years? Was it not with them that had
sinned, whose carcasses fell in the wilderness? And to whom
swear he that they should not enter into his rest? but to them
that believe not." So we see that they could not enter in
because of unbelief. That's the problem that these
ten have. And we're going to find out that there's a whole
bunch among the rest of the folks that have the same attitude towards
the Lord. They have the same attitude towards
the Lord's Word. They have the same attitude towards
the Lord's salvation. They believe not. It is a natural
thing to not believe God. It takes the grace of God to
overcome that. What an opportunity was presented
to express a positive free will. If man had a free will, here
is the opportunity to express it in a positive sense. But we
actually see what free will does. It is in bondage, the bondage
of the will. We will not choose God. We will not choose anything about
God. We will choose our own way because of unbelief. What an opportunity they had.
What an opportunity they had to show all these people that
believe in free will, they could choose freely God, but they did
not because they could not choose freely God. They choose freely
unbelief. The issue, they could do nothing
about what they did. In the book of Deuteronomy, chapter
29 and verse 4. Jump back there and then we're
coming back here to Hebrews in a little while. But in Deuteronomy
chapter 29 is a verse of scripture that is worth pondering because
here's the key to the whole matter. In Deuteronomy chapter 29 and
verse 4 Here's why. They did not have a good report. This is why they brought back
an evil report. Even though it was a land that flowed with milk
and honey, and they could see all of the rich blessings that
God had said would be there. You know, these are the same
folks that crossed the Red Sea. These are the same folks who
are going to see many miracles of God, and still it did not
change their heart one bit. here in the book of Numbers chapter
excuse me Deuteronomy chapter 29 verse 4 yet the Lord hath
not given you a heart to perceive and eyes to see and ears to hear
unto this day that is the issue they did not have a heart they
did not have eyes they did not have ears that were towards god
only god can do that only god can do that these people believe
that god was unable to do what he said he would do that their
entering in was of the power of god and not themselves that
is how we enter in it's not of ourselves we do the same thing
that these folks did now listen to caleb as he tried and cried
on the behalf of the power of god in numbers chapter 13 verse
30 notice here in Numbers chapter 13 and verse 30 Numbers chapter
13 and verse 30 we have these words from Caleb And Caleb still the people before
Moses and said let us go up at once and possess it for we are
well able to overcome it and and the men that went up said
no we can't well turn with me to the next chapter of the book
of numbers and we'll be covering this again a little less rapid
but in numbers chapter 14 verse 7 and they speak spake unto all
the company of the children of Israel saying the land which
we pass through to search it is an exceeding good land if
the Lord delight in us then he will bring us into this land
and give it us a land which floweth with milk and honey only rebel
not ye against the Lord neither fear ye the people of the land
for they are bread for us their defense is departed from them
the lord is with us fear them not that's a believer speaking
that's caleb speaking that's the one that went over and came
back and had a report only rebel not against the lord now in chapter
fourteen the same chapter and verse uh... uh... verse twenty
four let's read that verse of scripture God says, but my servant
Caleb, because he had another spirit with him, there's the
key. God had visited him with the
new birth. God had given him salvation.
God had brought the gospel to him. My servant Caleb, because
he had another spirit with him and had followed me fully. Him
will I bring into the land, whereunto he went, and his seed shall possess
it. And in the same chapter in verse
30, it says here, doubtless ye shall not come into the land
concerning which I swear to make you dwell. Therein say Caleb,
the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua, the son of Nun. We've got two
here that are going to go into the land. Two spies that came
back with a report that God is able. You know what? They could
have never been a spy. They could have never went over
there and visited that land and they just still said, we can
do it. They went over there and saw it and saw how wonderful
it was and all of God's promises and they came back and said,
we can do it. God is with us. All right. In the book of Numbers
chapter 26, would you turn there with me? Numbers chapter Don't leave chapter 14 for just
a second. Verse 38 of chapter 14, But Joshua
the son of Nun, and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, which were
the men that went to search the land, lived still. Now if you go with me to Numbers
chapter 26. This subject is going to be brought
up again about these two that were faithful to God. Why? Because
God had given them faith. The faith of God's elect is what
they had. In Numbers chapter 26 and verse
65, the Bible shares this. For the Lord had said of them,
They shall surely die in the wilderness. And there was not
left a man of them, save Caleb the son of Jephunneh, and Joshua
the son of Dan. These all died in unbelief."
That's what Hebrews says. They died in unbelief. And in
chapter 32 and verse 12 Numbers chapter
32 and verse 12 again. This is brought up and it says
there save Caleb the son of Jephunneh the Kinezite and Joshua the son
of Nun for they have holy Followed the Lord. How can you do that?
How can you wholly follow the Lord? It wasn't their efforts,
it was God's effort in them. God's work in them. It's the
only way we can truly follow Him is He has given us that grace. His grace. He followed completely. He's given us, He's imputed to
us that righteousness. He followed completely. The only
way that we can truly follow the Lord is because He has drawn
us with His Holy Spirit. He draws us. He brings us along.
He's given us that very blessing to look to Him, the fruit of
the Spirit, faith. Well, as we follow through, we
find that Joshua and Caleb were the only ones that could go in.
You know, the Scriptures tell us that they can overcome the
natural rebellion towards God by natural man. What can overcome
that? Only God. Only God. He had given Joshua and Caleb
that, a new spirit, a different spirit, a spirit, the Holy Spirit. And they were faithful in their
house. Only God can do this. Natural man is unable to push
off this natural rebellion. Romans, it tells us to be carnally
minded as death in Romans chapter 8. We're not subject to the law
of God, neither indeed can be the carnal mind, the carnal. And flesh cannot please God.
The flesh cannot please God. And in Ephesians chapter 1, we
find exactly how God does His business. He took care of all
these things before the foundation of the world. He predestinated
us. He purposed us. He purposed Joshua
and Caleb. You know what? He also purposed
the rest. He has an elect, and the rest
He hardens. We find in the second chapter
of the book of Ephesians, and I just want to go there and read
a couple of verses before we close this morning. we find that
the gospel has been preached unto them as well as unto us
here in the book of Ephesians chapter 2 we have some of this
brought out Ephesians chapter 2 the scriptures share these
wonderful truths you cannot enjoy the book of Ephesians chapter
2 if you have not been able to enjoy Ephesians chapter 1 Ephesians
chapter 2 in verse 1 And you hath he quickened, who were dead
in trespasses and sins. Wherein in time past ye walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. Among whom also we all had our
conversation in times past, in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling
the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature
the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich
in mercy, for his great love, wherewith he loved us, even when
we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. By grace
ye are saved." So this is how Joshua and Caleb were able to
be different. It's not what they did. They
didn't reform to get this quality. They didn't study scripture to
get this quality. They didn't go to church to get
this quality. It was given by God. God had given this in salvation,
in the new birth. God deals with the real problem
among men. Left to themselves, left to ourselves,
they'll not turn aside to God. God must be the first cause in
all things, and that His first cause must be involved in the
salvation of His people. For unto us was the gospel preached,
Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 2, as well as unto them But the
word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it. They had the gospel preached
unto them, just like it's being preached today. No doubt there
are those even here in this congregation that will walk out today and
say, I don't believe it. unbelief is a death knell and
in Hebrews chapter 11 verses 1 and 2 it says for by it the
elders obtained excuse me in chapter 11 verse 1 I need to
get there before I mess that up Hebrews chapter 11 verse 1 it says here Now faith is the
substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
And you try to describe that in yourself, you can't do it.
We just don't have that faith. It's God-given faith. And then
in verse two it says, for by it the elders obtained a good
report. Joshua and Caleb obtained a good
report because of faith. The ten spies did only what they
could do, for they did not have the faith of God's elect. And
there in Titus chapter 1 and verse 1, Paul a servant of God
and an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's
elect and the acknowledging of the truth which is after Godliness. Now those folks that came back,
they just could not believe what had been said from generation
to generation. what had been said to Abraham,
to Isaac, to Jacob, to the twelve tribes, and then through the
wilderness wanderings up those two years, up to the time they
got there, and then they came back with a report, the only
one that they could truly see, and that is, God is not faithful. The only ones that realize that
God is faithful is the church. And we have that represented
by Joshua and Caleb, they came back with a good report, They're
the only ones of that generation that was able to go into the
promised land. They crossed the Red Sea and
glorified God in it. They got water from the rock
and glorified God in it. They got manna from heaven and
quail from heaven and glorified God. Bunch of complainers, the
rest of them were, but these two glorified God. Not to say
that there weren't others. Moses, Aaron, Miriam, others
that glorify God and yet only those that knew God could go
in. He's the one that said, and now
when we apply that to spiritual things, God has made all the
promises, all promises, and only the church can say, I believe
God, I believe God, I believe God. We're going to stop there
for this morning. We trust that you will receive
a blessing. We pray that you would pray for
us here. And Lord helping us, we'll pray
for you. May God bless you.