Numbers

Numbers 13: God gives a good land

Begin in prayer

Before the spies return with fruit and troubling news, let us ask God for hearts that believe Him. Pray that we will weigh our fears by His sure Word and look to Jesus.

Let your loving kindness also come to me, Yahweh, your salvation, according to your word.

Psalm 119:41

Father in heaven, please open our eyes as we read Your Word. Help us believe Your Word when we feel small, and show us the strength and faithfulness of Jesus. Make us more like Jesus. And please bless our family as we worship You together. In Jesus' name, Amen.

See where we're going

God sends leaders from every tribe to spy out Canaan from the wilderness of Paran. Moses tells them to examine the land, the people and their cities, and to bring back some fruit. They return after forty days with grapes, pomegranates and figs, including a cluster carried on a staff between two men. At Kadesh they report a fruitful land with strong people and fortified cities. Caleb urges Israel to go up and possess it, while the others say the people are too strong. The spies describe themselves as grasshoppers beside the people they saw.

As you read Numbers 13, look for the answers:

Reflect together

Key truth

God’s promise is trustworthy even when His people face strong enemies.

God calls Canaan the land He is giving Israel before the spies ever enter it. Their task is to see the land and its people, under a promise God has already spoken. The fruit they carry back shows a place where food grows richly. Please picture two men carrying one cluster of grapes on a staff between them. The fortified cities and strong people are real too, yet they cannot overturn God’s gift. Caleb calls Israel to go forward, while the other spies make the danger a reason to refuse. We face the same heart question when difficulty seems more certain than God’s word.

How does Numbers 13 show us that God’s promise is trustworthy even when His people face strong enemies?

God’s promise comes before the dangers His people can see.

God tells Moses to send men into the land He is giving Israel. The spies must learn what it is like, and their visit confirms its fruitfulness. They should weigh what they see in light of what God has said.

God’s good gift is seen in the fruit of the land.

The spies carry a branch with a cluster of grapes between two men. They bring pomegranates and figs as well. The food helps Israel see why this land is a gift worth receiving from the Lord.

God’s word deserves trust when enemies seem too strong.

Caleb urges the people to go up and possess the land. The others speak of strong people and large cities, and compare themselves to grasshoppers. Their report gives fear the authority that belongs to God’s promise.

Memorise

Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it!

Numbers 13:30

Looking to Jesus in my life

Ask yourself in your heart, what fear keeps me from trusting Jesus and obeying His word?

God calls Canaan the land “which I give to the children of Israel”. The spies see good fruit and strong enemies in that same land. The enemies do not change the promise God has spoken.

We have often trusted our fears more than the Lord. Our unbelief is sin, and we need forgiveness. Jesus took His people’s guilt upon Himself and died the death their sin deserved. He rose from the dead, having secured their rescue once for all. His completed work is enough to give them a place with God.

So turn from unbelief and put your trust in Jesus. Those who believe in Him receive forgiveness through His death. Please bring Him the fears you cannot master. Christ’s faithfulness gives His people reason to obey His Word, even when they cannot see how the next step will go.

Parent's note

Tell your children that trusting God means receiving what He says, and Jesus gives hope to sinners who come in faith. Please do not tell them they are saved just because they grew up in a Christian home. Call each child to turn from sin and trust Jesus, and pray that God would give them a new heart.

Pray together

Now please close your time together in prayer. Thank God for a promise stronger than the enemies Israel could see, and bring the heart question to Him. Every child can pray, so let each one say a short prayer if they want to.

Jesus said to her, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?”

John 11:40

Father, thank You that Your Word remains true when difficulties seem large. Please forgive our unbelief and turn each of us to trust Jesus. Give us hearts that receive Your promises and obey Your commands. Help us bring our fears to You instead of letting them rule our choices. Amen.