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So, the cause of their discouragement was (1) dependence on men not God; (2) listening to the many not the few; (3) heeding the bad news not the good. But we mustnt let our fears get the better of us. Or, perhaps, as fierce and clever warriors. They saw that this was indeed everything that God had told them it was BUT TEN OF THOSE TWELVE EXPLORERS NOTICED THE SIZE OF THE ENEMY WAITING TO BE DEFEATED. But the most compelling support for my reading comes from other encounters between the Israelites and hostile foreign powers. TEXT: Numbers 13: 25-33; 14: 6-10; Josh. Try, If The Preacher Is Dead, The Sermon Will Be Dead, Chasing The Dream, Preaching Greatness, And Knowing Your Audience. Grasshopper Disease - Joel Osteen Today's Word (May-16-2022) WE ARE AS GRASSHOPPERS IN THEIR SIGHT. And what does the passage teach us about our responsibility to one another? With that in mind, lets pray and lets look at a few verses, and well pull in from the wider narrative as well. (In case you couldn't already tell that from the title of this post.) Gen 6:4 There were giants in the earth in those days We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them., See the self-infliction? Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. In verse 27, they call the promised land the land which you sent us. If you study other scriptures that describe the promised land, you will see language that is described as the land which the Lord swore to give them. They were afraid and fear made them feel disqualified. Our confidence is in Him to glorify Himself and to accomplish all the good He intends with us and for us. I serve on the Boards of Jerusalem Culture Unlimited (JCU) and Hassadna Jerusalem Music Conservatory. 28So tell them, As surely as I live,declares theLord, I will do to youthe very thing I heard you say:29In this wilderness your carcasses will fallevery one of you twenty years old or morewho was counted in the censusand who has grumbled against me. He tells the cautious Israelites not to worry about the existing inhabitants because they will be our bread (Numbers 14:9). 5They will cover the face of the ground so that it cannot be seen. Father, we thank You that Your ways are good towards us. Should there be questions regarding grammar or theological content, the reader should presume any website error to be with the webmaster/transcriber/editor rather than with the original speaker. Still nothing. read more, Scripture: But lets go forward confident in the God who equips the available, who enables the unable, who empowers the powerless, who gives unforeseen and unknown wisdom to the unprepared for the doing of His will, all for His glory and our good. And there were giants: we were like grasshoppers in their sight . We need the language of confidence in God. Its interesting to see Gods response to the unbelief of His people. Fear is keeping you from your Promised Land. Hes carried us this far ultimately just to do us in.. 8-But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died Perspective matters. Theres nothing new under the sun, but still I want to offer what to my knowledge is a fresh perspective on the grasshoppers. Agriculturally speaking, they say, the land indeed flows with milk and honey. They and two other species are the only insect-like creatures its permissible to eat: Leviticus 11:20All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. They may have been giants who were strong and tall. a great leader. We stand at the edge of a new year, one that will be full of joys and blessings and sorrows and obstacles. I have called you by name; you are mine. You think I cannot see, says the master. Unbelief tells us that who God is and His attitude and intentions towards us dont really matter in the way events fall out. Numbers 13:33 - Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary - StudyLight.org When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? He took it out to a field to try it out for the first time. When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? I see grasshopper mentality demonstrated in this passage in three ways. That person will always say no and have a pessimistic or negative view of the outcome. Joel Osteen (May-16-2022) Today's Word: Grasshopper Disease. You and I are rarely enough to face what is before us, but its not all the truth either. In verse 32, we see that the doubt-casters spread the word. We seemed . "Mrs. Smith, something unusual happened today in your sons third grade class. Numbers 15:14For the generations to come,whenever a stranger or anyone else living among you presents a foodofferingas an aroma pleasing to theLord, they must do exactly as you do. . 7-For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. Numbers 13:25-33 For they are stronger than we - , .. Their protection is removed from them and the Lord is with us. WHY DO WE TAKE OUR EYES OFF THE ONE WHO CAN WALK ON WATER WHEN THE STORM IS RAGING ALL AROUND US? And then, after just praising the land for its bounty, they now spread lies about it, calling it a land devours its inhabitants . 2016? The question is which one are you? We end one year and prepare to begin another. And so, when we are afraid, let it be Calebs voice we hear when we close our eyes, telling us: We can do it. John 3:16 In order to do so, we have to resolve that there is nothing bigger than God Almighty. The writer of Hebrews sees that same thing. To ourselves we seemed like grasshoppers, and we must have seemed the same to them." Numbers 13:33 We even saw the Nephilim there--the descendants of Anak Fear not, I have redeemed you. Those big people in Canaan did not say to the spies, "Hey, you little fellows look like grasshoppers to us.". Grapes, Giants, Grasshoppers and God Numbers 13:17-13:33 Prayer The reality of time as God has created it will propel us forward into 2020, whether we want it to or not. I remember it from re-runs. What does the passage tell us about faith? He cares for you. If you would open your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. Gods love is unconquerable. If we can be untrusting we can be apathetic. John Milton said: The Mind in its own place can make a heaven or hell. A godly vision requires risk-taking & must be intentional in glorifying God. As noted above, other than the lands existing inhabitants, the only subject of interest to the spies is food, and the only physical evidence they bring home is edible. 1 John 4:7-12, Denomination: They looked only at the size of the obstacle and the threat of the enemy instead of fixing their eyes on. 'We were like grasshoppers': a new reading - The Times of Israel The same thing happens with a grasshopper mentality. Imagine how he felt when he realized the signal he was getting was coming from his steel-toed boots. Yet for all they have experienced about God, for the good report they could have given at testimony time, they lacked the faith to enter the promised land. Your favorite preaching resources have a brand-new look. What do you care how you appear in the eyes of others. (Itturey Torah, 5, p. 83), their sin wasnt simply that they lost faith or that the scouts had misrepresented what they had seen Their failure wasnt even that they had low self-esteem, that they saw themselves as grasshoppers. Well see much at home and at work, among friends and coworkers and extended family that will make us feel like grasshoppers insufficient, weak, unable, unprepared. Matthew 10:18-19. That is, next to the existing inhabitants of the land, we felt and looked small and inconsequential. The grasshopper mentality always begins with a low estimate of ourselves. He can preach sermons by the yard . Thats not a problem. It was the teacher from her sons school. One interesting fact is that they have ears on their bellies. David, 1 Samuel 17, upon seeing Goliath and hearing his taunts to the army of Israel for the first time, asks this question. We are still grappling with the challenge of how to rule justly a land in which the strangers who live among us are the people we once conquered. The Bibles in the bookstore are all gone, those one-year chronological Bibles, but were ordering more tomorrow if you want to participate just call the church office. Moses had said: "Be courageous" (13:20). Asaph is decrying the prosperity of the wicked while the righteous, it seemed, know only suffering. Thank You, our Father, that Your thoughts are not our thoughts and Your ways are not our ways. The grasshopper mentality was a self-concept. More food. He is the only hope we have to be right with God, to be reconciled to Him, to be adopted by Him as His sons and daughters. Easter People | Welcome and thank you for joining us as we wrap up our For the foolishness of God is wiser than mans wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than mans strength. ); and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight." Now, that's natural. THEME: How to live on the mountain while living in the valley. Numbers 13:30Then Calebsilenced the people before Moses and said, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. 31But the men who had gone up with him said, We cant attack those people; they are stronger than we are.32And they spread among the Israelites a bad reportabout the land they had explored. W. A. Criswell Sermon Library | I Feel Inferior, What Shall I Do? Your email address will not be published. You discern my going out and my lying down; If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. God is not good. There is no other save Christ. These spies were defeated before they started. Their eyes. PDF Grasshoppers or Giant-Killers? Numbers 13:26-33 David is mining Gods truth to discover how to understand the world he finds himself living in. Enter your email address and we will send you a link to reset your password. We allow these folks to determine our self-worth. We saw the Nephilim. Certainly their attitude was picked up by the majority of the people who say in verse 2 of chapter 14, Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! The naysayers of the grasshopper mentality will eventually make doubt-casters. Required fields are marked *. If I say, Surely the darkness will hide me. THE HOLY SPIRIT WANTS TO EMPOWER US AND FILL US WITH GRACE SO THAT WE CAN BE A LIGHTHOUSE TO A LOST AND DYING WORLD AROUND US. They will devour what little you have leftafter the hail, including every tree that is growing in your fields. Joshua 14:6-14, Denomination: If you think you're an insect, don't be surprised when everybody around you treats you like an insect - looks upon you like a worm, or a beetle, or a bug! God had already promised them the promised land. Theres no reckoning of confidence in God as they make their report. This transcribed message has been lightly edited and formatted for the Web site. John the Baptist ate locusts and honey. But take heart! you were bought at a price. When you pass through the waters I will be with you, and through the rivers, they will not overwhelm you. It is curiously odd that people who are filled with horrified indignation whenever a cat kills a sparrow can hear the story of the killing of God told Sunday after Sunday and not experience any shock at all. Print This Post. We give You thanks. Heres the context: God tells Moses to send scouts to spy out the land of Canaan, to see what the land is like, what types of agriculture it supports, what the people who inhabit it are like, are they strong or weak, are their cities fortified or not? Well make sure you have a Bible. I have heard the complaints of these grumbling Israelites. Numbers 14:27How long will this wicked community grumble against me? To say the above statement was made by elders and leaders commissioned by God to lead His people to their place of rest and destiny is absurd, would be an understatement . The oft-repeated description of the land as flowing with milk and honey occurs twice in this episode, once in the spies initial report (above), and again in a speech by Joshua (Numbers 14:8). We need a new language. We can be cynical, we can be untrusting. It runs throughout the parsha. So, he would dig some more. On a mountain where 90 Ten spies bring a negative report. How do we nourish that? But its also a community effort. When we limit the power of God in our life to accomplish the impossible, To save items to a SermonFolder, please sign in to your account. Before we pray and read our passage, lets think about where this passage kind of finds us. This post presents a new please correct me if Im wrong reading of what the spies in this weeks parsha mean when they say that they were like grasshoppers in their own eyes and in the eyes of the existing inhabitants of the Promised Land. After an eleven day journey from Sinai, they find themselves here at the wilderness of Paran, Kadesh Barnea. Suffering from a degenerative eye disease, he lost his sight when he was 13, but that didnt stop him. ( Someone bigger than what is considered We dont come to that realization on our own. If you would open your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. read more, Scripture: Spot on for me today. God is with us and not with them. The people are at the edge of an unknown place, a place into which God will lead them. "Of all things," says the boy, "to live in . How long will they not believe in Me, in spite of all the signs that I have done among them? The Hebrew word that the English Standard Version translates despise also means to scorn or abhor. Thats what you and I do when we make a choice to refuse to trust God. They are too many and too large and still, there are giants in the land! While two of the spies, Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh say, We can take the land! We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. I talk to many people that have this mentality. Part one continues the theme of food and eating: The land eats its inhabitants. What is the purpose of this verse? read more, Scripture: The men said they seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. They had a grasshopper mentality. Grasshoppers rub their legs together to make chirping sounds. The twelve spies | Life Center A naysayer is person that does not believe anything good can come out of the situation. A very large person; impressive in size or qualities, Someone who is abnormally large Northern Seoul Rice wine, Monks, and Sheep, Springing into Success: My Blooming Awards Collection, #11 in 100 Best Travel and Lifestyle Blogs 2023, What You Do Matters! We can. read more, Scripture: You can get started a little late but you can catch up also. Grasshoppers can eat half their body weight in a day. We despise Him. God is your refuge Well, one last thing. even the darkness will not be dark to you; you knit me together in my mothers womb. 22He sits enthronedabove the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. Part 14 - Matthew 10:18-19 - GRASSHOPPER, EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED! Perhaps they acted like He promised to give His people the land of Canaan. Grasshoppers have the ability to jump away from any kind of predator. They prepare for Why is the Lord bringing us to this land to fall by the sword? Its about making us cynics. KJ21. Will we have fooled God? HERO Def: We cant find out what August will be like. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). Charlie brown, I read this week of some fears that And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another all the more as you see the day drawing near. We have an obligation as the church of God to nourish faith among each other. Thank you for reading this article. Numbers 13:33. We also invite you to comment below. A couple of months ago, David Strain was preaching through 1 Peter chapter 2 and he preached on the passage where Peter is urging the people of God to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word. One is, What does the passage teach us about faith? As holy men? Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. Note with me that these are the children of those who have died in the desert because of their doubt and unbelief. The twelve spies whom Moses sent in to report on the Promised Land saw the same things. One or two people start some type of negativity, and before long, the whole group is negative. In this world you will have trouble. read more, Scripture: Lesson number three, young grasshoppers: Worry less about how others see you and more about who you are and about who you are capable of becoming. The other groups would have never been as united and their efforts would have failed. The promise of God made to Abraham is about to become reality. They couldn't hear God tell them how they were going to take the promised land because their eyes were too busy focusing on the challenges. The Kotzker is upset that the spies should care how they looked to others. But theres another thing we do as well. This article is adapted from a sermon given at the San Francisco (California) Central church on November 19, 2011. . And there we saw the Nephilim, the sons of Anak, who come of the Nephilim: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight. We mine Gods Word for what He has promised. The Hebrew word translated here as multiplied greatly is more often rendered swarmed. Its come from reflecting on the fact that God has brought them this far not to forsake them. Unbelief operates with an unwillingness to factor God, and most particularly the goodness of God, into our evaluation of circumstances and need. Being part of something larger and lasting, McCarthy extols ties at Knesset, vows full support for Israeli security against Iran, White House reiterates Netanyahu to get invite but visit not currently planned, Levin accuses US administration of cooperating with judicial overhaul opponents, Gantz: No progress in talks with government on judicial reform compromise, Report: Israel got intel on Irans secret nuclear weapons program from executed spy, TA police chief refuses to discuss transfer with commissioner: An invalid procedure. In verse 33, We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). If we can be apathetic, then really it doesnt matter very much about God at all. Accomplish all that You intend with Your Word this day as we make our prayer in the name of the Lord Jesus, our Shepherd, our Elder Brother, our Savior. I hear the birds. says the boy. More significantly, parshat Balak, which is coming up soon, opens with statements by the Moabites and their king that mirror exactly the sentiment I think the spies have in mind when they describe themselves as grasshoppers. 2 Chronicles 7:12 The Lord appeared to him [Solomon] at night and said: I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a temple for sacrifices. And in our own eyes, we were like grasshoppers, and so we were in their eyes as well . A naysayer will allow what is big to become irrationally bigger. I give a weekly parsha shiur at Beit Moses home for the elderly in Jerusalem. Its natural for the scouts to be afraid they are a group of former slaves who must imagine what it would mean to conquer a land populated by other nations with armies and fortified cities and men of great stature. . Indeed, we need words of life. Overcoming Grasshopper Mentality - Faithlife Sermons Let's begin reading with verse 23: "And they came unto the brook of Eshcol, and cut down from thence a branch with one cluster of grapes, and they bare it between two upon a staff; and they brought of the pomegranates, and . When the Israelites said the giants made them feel like grasshoppers We know that God adds His blessing to His Word as we read it and hear it together. From each ancestral tribe send one of its leaders. Will He help? And Ive found that the more I trust Him, the more I choose to believe Him, the more I love Him; the more I love Him, the more deeply I want to know Him. We can be more. They were spread all over the land and could not have easily or quickly come together. To start saving items to a SermonFolder, please create an account. read more, Scripture: Heres the lesson we mustnt allow our fears to paralyze us. Numbers 13 1 The Lord said to Moses, 2 Send some men to explore the land of Canaan, which I have given to the Israelites. The naysayers focused on what was seen instead of the One who was allowing them to see. This is the first sermon in a series on. In demonstrating the grasshopper mentality, there are the naysayers, the doubt-casters, and that which is self inflicted. I remember as a kid watching the TV series called "KUNG FU" staring David Caradine. Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. We'll take a moment to orient ourselves to the passage. "You cannot see," the boy says when he meets the master for the first time. Numbers 13:26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadeshin the Desert of Paran. The Israelites far outnumbered all of these groups combined. They embraced the grasshopper mentality. When division happens, the devil is tickled because he is fulfilling his mission of killing, stealing and destroying as Jesus mentions in. Please add your name to the petition/email campaign to protect the Sumarin family here. Part 14 - Matthew 10:18-19 - Grasshopper, Expect The Unexpected! We mine Gods Word for what He has promised. God sets the barrier very high. We are not grasshoppers but we are called to BEWARE. Everest. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. In fact, if we humans could jump like they do, we could jump the length of a football field. INTRODUCTION: Do you believe God is a loving God? Or sign uphere to join Shaalu Shalom Yerushalayim, Seek Peace Jerusalem, religious activists against evictions in East Jerusalem. How to live on the mountain while living in the valley. Saving faith is the first priority of faith. 1 a : a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability Well, lets think a bit about the ten spies and their judging the challenge before the nation with no reckoning of confidence in God. You must be born again by the Spirit of God. And as God causes us to be born again, He gives us saving faith which we place in Christ and now we have new life in Him. The doubt-caster begins with we cant and moves to exaggerated truth. God chose Moses to lead them out of Egypt into a land that he had promised them. I hope you had a marvelous celebration of Christmas with family and friends and loved ones and that you have a festive beginning of the new year. 1. We cant send spies into 2020. asks the Kotzker Rebbe. Have you not understoodsince the earth was founded? Why did you go, Why did you die? And Father, Your intention and promise is to send forth Your Word that it would accomplish all that You intend before it returns to You. Grasshoppers and locusts are of the same insect order. Grapes, Giants, Grasshoppers And God - Jesus-is-Savior.com If you have hope in anything else, get Christ today. Are you going to think like a grasshopper or a child of the King. Here is its fruit. He told Moses to send some men over to explore the land. Jack Hyles Sermon: Giants or Grasshoppers The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Do you hear your own heartbeat? asks the master. We allow insecurity to creep into our lives. They were powerful because they appeared that way. They are called upon to trust God for that very enterprise. read more, Scripture: Do so here this day. Turn away from every other false hope because it brings nothing. One more word about being a doubt-caster. The boy looks down and sees the grasshopper. Psalm 78:41, Numbers 13:1-33, Denomination: If we have any other hope of personal goodness or personal ability, dash it, because Jesus is all. Numbers 13:33. But the spies were right to be concerned.