{"id":7805,"date":"2018-01-16T06:22:30","date_gmt":"2018-01-16T06:22:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/?p=7805"},"modified":"2017-11-30T11:29:41","modified_gmt":"2017-11-30T11:29:41","slug":"top-10-action-moments-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cvm.org.uk\/blog\/thoughts-from-the-cvm-team\/top-10-action-moments-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Top 10 Action Moments in the Bible (Pt 6\/10)"},"content":{"rendered":"

No .05 Caleb and the Spies<\/h1>\n

So, we pick up this story with Moses getting a message from God to send some spies out and check out the land that God is going to give them. Remember that bit, that\u2019s the important bit, the promise was there at the start.<\/p>\n

Moses selects the fellas and sends them out on the mission. In this blog I want to drop in some verses from the bible to tell the story:<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen they came to the Eshcol Valley, they cut off a branch with only one bunch of grapes on it. They carried it on a pole between two of them.\u201d Numbers 13:23<\/p>\n

This was some bunch of grapes, can you imagine popping down the supermarket and filling the boot up with that bad boy? You would need to get the neighbours to help you get it out the boot and into the house. I also think the bible has a funny way of wording things, these lads decided to name that area on their journey, they called it \u2018the valley of the bunch of grapes,\u2019 original lads!<\/p>\n

Point is, this all looked really good, so that\u2019s what they reported back to Moses.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWhat are the voices around you that you chose to listen to?\u201d<\/h2>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe went to the land where you sent us. It really is a land flowing with milk and honey. Here\u2019s some of its fruit. But the people who live there are strong, and the cities have walls and are very large. We even saw the descendants of Anak there\u2019.
\nNumbers 13:27-28<\/p>\n

The land was amazing, almost too good to be true but most of the spies started to show their anxiety and pessimism. Caleb is the first voice we hear of optimism. This is important, it wasn\u2019t just Caleb being unrealistic and foolhardy, remember the promise that Moses started off with? God told them, go and see the land I am giving you! This is yours!<\/p>\n

\u201cCaleb told the people to be quiet and listen to Moses. Caleb said, \u201cLet\u2019s go now and take possession of the land. We should be more than able to conquer it.\u201d Number 13:30<\/p>\n

However, even with Caleb calling out and encouraging the people to take God at his word and advance, all the others could see where mountains, problems and disappointment.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut the men who had gone with him said, \u201cWe can\u2019t attack those people! They\u2019re too strong for us!\u201d So they began to spread lies among the Israelites about the land they had explored. They said, \u201cThe land we explored is one that devours those who live there. All the people we saw there are very tall. We saw Nephilim there. (The descendants of Anak are Nephilim.) We felt as small as grasshoppers, and that\u2019s how we must have looked to them.\u201d Numbers 13:31-33<\/p>\n

Giants, failure, fear, anxiety, mountains, difficulty \u2013 this is impossible!<\/p>\n

I love this stuff. So often I am sadly the bloke calling out the mountains and giants in the way. It is a real challenge to be like Caleb, the men who are willing to remember the promises of God, stand on them with conviction and take action. Decisive action, bold and full of faith in who God is and how reliable His word to us can be.<\/p>\n

\"team-cvm-podcast_600x200\"<\/p>\n

Image Credit: Word for WORD Bible Comic<\/a><\/strong>
\nThe Word for WORD Bible Comic is a historically accurate, unabridged and untamed graphic novel of the Bible with a high view of Scripture.<\/p>\n

<\/div>