HelpFinder Bible - Flipbook - Page 530
D EU T ERO N O MY 2
Scouts Explore the Land
19 “Then, just as the Lord our God commanded
us, we left Mount Sinai and traveled through
the great and terrifying wilderness, as you
yourselves remember, and headed toward the
hill country of the Amorites. When we arrived at
Kadesh-barnea, 20 I said to you, ‘You have now
reached the hill country of the Amorites that the
Lord our God is giving us. 21 Look! He has placed
the land in front of you. Go and occupy it as the
Lord, the God of your ancestors, has promised
you. Don’t be afraid! Don’t be discouraged!’
22 “But you all came to me and said, ‘First,
let’s send out scouts to explore the land for us.
They will advise us on the best route to take and
which towns we should enter.’
23 “This seemed like a good idea to me, so I
chose twelve scouts, one from each of your tribes.
24 They headed for the hill country and came
to the valley of Eshcol and explored it. 25 They
picked some of its fruit and brought it back to us.
And they reported, ‘The land the Lord our God
has given us is indeed a good land.’
Israel’s Rebellion against the LORD
26 “But you rebelled against the command of the
Lord your God and refused to go in. 27 You complained in your tents and said, ‘The Lord must
hate us. That’s why he has brought us here from
Egypt—to hand us over to the Amorites to be
slaughtered. 28 Where can we go? Our brothers
have demoralized us with their report. They tell
us, “The people of the land are taller and more
powerful than we are, and their towns are large,
with walls rising high into the sky! We even saw
giants there—the descendants of Anak!”’
29 “But I said to you, ‘Don’t be shocked or
afraid of them! 30 The Lord your God is going
ahead of you. He will fight for you, just as you
• Family
D E U T E R O NO MY 1 :3 1
In the wilderness God demonstrated
parental love and care. Caring families
produce strong family bonds. Ruth
cared for Naomi, though she was related
through marriage only, not blood (Ruth
1:16-18). Matthew 15:6 speaks of care
for aging parents as a command from
God. Luke 9:48 reminds us that when
we care for a little child, we are showing
how much we care for Christ himself.
First Thessalonians 2:7 tells us of the
tender care of a mother who feeds and
nurtures her children. The concept of
caring is built right into the concept
of family.
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saw him do in Egypt. 31 And you saw how the
Lord your God cared for you all along the way
as you traveled through the wilderness, just as
a father cares for his child. Now he has brought
you to this place.’
32 “But even after all he did, you refused to
trust the Lord your God, 33 who goes before you
looking for the best places to camp, guiding you
with a pillar of fire by night and a pillar of cloud
by day.
34 “When the Lord heard your complaining,
he became very angry. So he solemnly swore,
35 ‘Not one of you from this wicked generation
will live to see the good land I swore to give your
ancestors, 36 except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He
will see this land because he has followed the
Lord completely. I will give to him and his descendants some of the very land he explored
during his scouting mission.’
37 “And the Lord was also angry with me because of you. He said to me, ‘Moses, not even
you will enter the Promised Land! 38 Instead,
your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will lead the
people into the land. Encourage him, for he will
lead Israel as they take possession of it. 39 I will
give the land to your little ones—your innocent
children. You were afraid they would be captured, but they will be the ones who occupy it.
40 As for you, turn around now and go on back
through the wilderness toward the Red Sea.*’
41 “Then you confessed, ‘We have sinned
against the Lord! We will go into the land and
fight for it, as the Lord our God has commanded
us.’ So your men strapped on their weapons,
thinking it would be easy to attack the hill
country.
42 “But the Lord told me to tell you, ‘Do not
attack, for I am not with you. If you go ahead on
your own, you will be crushed by your enemies.’
43 “This is what I told you, but you would not
listen. Instead, you again rebelled against the
Lord’s command and arrogantly went into the
hill country to fight. 44 But the Amorites who
lived there came out against you like a swarm of
bees. They chased and battered you all the way
from Seir to Hormah. 45 Then you returned and
wept before the Lord, but he refused to listen.
46 So you stayed there at Kadesh for a long time.
Remembering Israel’s Wanderings
“Then we turned around and headed back
across the wilderness toward the Red Sea,*
just as the Lord had instructed me, and we wandered around in the region of Mount Seir for a
long time.
2 “Then at last the Lord said to me, 3 ‘You have
been wandering around in this hill country long
enough; turn to the north. 4 Give these orders to
the people: “You will pass through the country belonging to your relatives the Edomites,
2
1:40 Hebrew sea of reeds. 2:1 Hebrew sea of reeds.