Day 62: Spies Sent to Canaan

Numbers 12:1-16 Out of envy, Miriam and Aaron complained about Moses’ leadership and consequently received a prompt reprimand from God. Because she voiced her criticism, Miriam was afflicted with leprosy for several days. Envy is a form of covetousness that is accompanied by dislike and even hatred toward a person because of his or her goods or blessings; it is FORBIDDEN by the Ninth and Tenth Commandments. (CCC 2514)

Ch 12:13-14 Moses’ closeness to God made him a great intercessor for the people of Israel. His humble prayer for his sister's healing shows how his petitions were always directed toward the good of others. (CCC 2577)

Ch 13:1-33 Spies who were sent to assess the Promised Land returned with reports of several large armies in the region. The leader of the spies urged Moses to press forward, but the other spies believed Israel was too outnumbered to succeed in battle. The Church teaches that one of the conditions for a JUST WAR is the REASONABLE CHANCE OF SUCCESS. (CCC 2309)

Ch 13:16 Joshua: The name means “Yahweh saves.” Joshua succeeded Moses as the leader of the Israelites and actually took them into the Promised Land. Some of the Church Fathers view Joshua as a type (TYPOLOGY!!) of Christ, whose name, Jesus, is a Latin form of the Greek, Iesous, which is DERIVED FROM JOSHUA! (CCC 430, 452)

Deuteronomy 11:8-17 God instructed the Chosen People that the new land gratuitously given to them would yield many blessings as long as they were faithful to God’s covenant expressed in the Mosaic Law. It also guarantees its viability and fertility for raising crops and herding animals, “a land flowing with milk and honey.” Unlike the desert, the Promised Land will benefit from the rains that will water the fields and bring forth the harvest. Hardship and woe, however, would follow if they would choose to alienate themselves from the covenant. (CCC 1334)

Ch 11:18-19 The proper education and religious formation of children is the responsibility of the parents and one of the primary objectives of marriage. This training should include catechesis and practices of piety. (CCC 2221-2223, 2688)

Psalm 94 God of vengeance: Here the term means “the God who establishes justice.” 

He who planted...not hear?: God, who created all things, knows every aspect of each person, including our every thought and sentiment.

Blessed is the man...chasten: It is a sign of God’s love that he disciplines his people. Disciplining a person under one’s tutelage in order that he or she might improve is a sign of love just as a good parent sometimes disciplines a child in order to teach and form.

The Lord has become my stronghold: This verse does not mean that God has changed his dispositions but rather the person in question now seeks God as a bulwark of strength and protection. God, unlike human beings, is eternal and does not undergo a change of heart. (CCC 2817)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• A third crisis occurs when Miriam and Aaron speak against Moses and question his authority. 

• They put themselves forward as leaders, claiming that God speaks not only through Moses but also through them. 

• In response, God reminds them that when he speaks to a prophet, it is often in a dream, but God speaks to Moses directly. 

• Indeed, God says that Moses is “entrusted with all my house” (Nm 12:7). 

• This phrase recalls Joseph, who was entrusted with all of Potiphar’s house and then all of Pharaoh’s house, being made, in effect, the prime minister of Egypt. 

• If Yahweh is King, then by entrusting Moses with his house, he has made Moses a kind of prime minister. 

• While Aaron, because of his priestly service, is not made unclean, Miriam is struck with leprosy as a result of her challenge. 

• Aaron turns to Moses and calls him “lord,” now recognizing Moses’ authority, and begs forgiveness and healing. 

• Moses intercedes, and Miriam is healed after a week of being sent out of the camp, which is the law for lepers, who are considered unclean. 

• Rebelling against God’s covenant leader is, in fact, rebellion against the One from whom the covenant leader receives his power and authority. 

• Nevertheless, thanks to Moses’ intercession, God is also Israel’s healer. 

• These crises began among the margins of the people, so God’s anger burned on the periphery of the camp. 

• Miriam and Aaron’s challenge of Moses’ authority shows that the cancer of criticism and rebellion has now reached the very marrow and heart of the people. 

• This movement of dissent from the margins of the camp to the vital leaders surrounding Moses points out just how far and fast Israel is falling.

• All three of these challenges occur just three days’ distance from Sinai. 

• Recall that one year earlier, just three days out from Egypt, Israel also had begun to complain about the food and water and had questioned Moses’ authority, yet their rebellion and murmurings were met with mercy. 

• On the way from Sinai to the Promised Land, however, Israel’s complaining is met with plagues and judgment. 

• Why the change? 

• The difference is found in what happened at Sinai. 

• There, Israel had willingly entered into a covenant with Yahweh, swearing that “all that the Lord has spoken we will do” (Ex 19:8). 

• Having experienced the revelation at Sinai, and having bound themselves in covenant, Israel is held to a higher standard. 

• Faithfulness to this covenant brings abundant blessings, but unfaithfulness also has consequences.

• As Israel approaches the borders of the Promised Land, Moses selects twelve spies to scout out the land, one from each of the tribes of Israel (except Levi, the priestly tribe). 

• Moses changes the name of one of the scouts from Hoshea to Joshua —signaling to the reader that Joshua will play a vital role in the unfolding story. 

• Hoshea means “salvation,” while the name Joshua is a slight adaptation of that name, meaning “Yahweh saves.” 

• As the spies embark on their mission, the name change of one of their prominent men to “Yahweh saves” is perhaps a sign of encouragement, to remind them that they should look at the challenge of taking the land from the perspective of faith. 

• Moses’ last words before the spies’ journey confirm this, as he exhorts them to “be of good courage, and bring some of the fruit of the land” (Nm 13:20). 

• The spies enter from the southern border through the wilderness of Zin. 

• From there they make their way up to the north of Israel. 

• Special note is made of their visit to Hebron, where the large and strong descendants of Anak dwell. 

• In the stories of the Patriarchs, Hebron was simply a place where shepherds gathered and the place where Abraham purchased a cave to bury Sarah. 

• Now, however, it has become a thriving and well-fortified city that is compared to the large Egyptian city of Zoan, located on the northeast corner of the Nile delta. 

• The old homeland has gone through quite a building boom and, to the spies’ dismay, retaking it will not be easy. 

• The spies also discover that the land is extraordinarily fruitful (note the contrast with the “cursed ground” of Genesis 3:17). 

• In the valley of Eshcol, which means “cluster,” they find a single cluster of grapes that is so large it takes two men to carry it on a pole between them. 

• They also find pomegranates and figs. 

• Upon their return to the camp of Israel, they profess that the land “flows with milk and honey” (Nm 13:27), confirming God’s promise at the burning bush. 

• Yet this confirmation of God’s promise is not enough for ten of the twelve spies. 

• They give an “evil report” of the good land, praising its fruitfulness but discouraging the prospects of taking and living in it. 

• They claim that Israel is not strong enough to take back the land of their forefathers, for the people of Anak are like the fabled Nephilim (a reference to a people of great stature before the flood; Gn 6:4) and now dwell in the large and fortified city of Hebron. 

• In contrast to the people of Anak, the ten spies say, “we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers” (Nm 13:33). 

• This exaggerated discrepancy between their statures is an inaccurate picture painted out of fear. 

• Indeed, later in the story, Caleb will take the city of Hebron with no mention of the people being giants. 

• The people respond by crying out in fear and weeping through the night in despair of ever reaching their destination. 

(*Walking With God: A Journey Through the Bible by Tim Gray and Jeff Cavins)

• Numbers 12 and 13 are kind of a big deal

• Numbers is the “real-time” story, the Israelites have been free from Egypt for 1-2 years or so

• Deuteronomy is “remember back when…” Moses is telling the Israelites what happened back in the day

• Aaron, Miriam, and Moses are having a typical sibling fight

• Aaron and Miriam are mad because Moses married a Cushite woman

• There are theories about what issues they had with the marriage

• There isn’t necessarily AN ANSWER

• But in many families, we may not like the in-law for whatever reason

• Maybe it’s their background

• Maybe it’s because of how they act

• Maybe it’s because they aren’t like us 

• Scripture doesn’t necessarily specifically tell us WHY they don’t like Moses’ wife

• The issue though, is that Moses had been CHOSEN as the Lord’s Prophet

• He speaks specifically WITH God and also ON BEHALF of God

• He was GIVEN this role

• Even though he married a Cushite woman, he hasn’t done anything wrong or God would have said something about his marriage

• His siblings are essentially badmouthing him

• Only Miriam gets punished for this

• Why?

• One reason is that there are consequences for our actions

• The second reason is that when Miriam gets leprosy, IMMEDIATELY that unites Aaron and Moses

• Aaron goes to Moses and asks for him to PRAY ON HER BEHALF

• Then, Moses PRAYS ON HER BEHALF

• How often does something like this happen?

• Here is a division within a family and maybe one of them gets mortally sick

• That unites the family

• They realize the differences they have are less important than THEIR RELATIONSHIP 

• Miriam gets leprosy and the three of them are UNITED IN PRAYER

• The 12 Spies get sent to Canaan to scout it out (Key Event!!)

• God promised them it will be the land of milk and honey

• Moses wants some reconnaissance about the people of Canaan

• How are the people?

• Are they strong or weak?

• Is the city fortified?

• The Israelites are not yet a warring people

• They don’t know how to fight yet

• They have spent their lives as slaves

• They see these cities that are fortified and filled with strong people

• Even in spite of the fact that God had JUST freed them from slavery in THE MOST POWERFUL NATION IN THE WORLD, they are like “NOPE, CAN’T DO IT, WON’T DO IT.”

• God makes it clear, “You’re right. YOU can’t. I CAN.”

• But at this point, they do not have the TRUST in the Lord that they NEED in order to enter the Promised Land and take possession of it

• Stay tuned to find out what happens ;)

• Deuteronomy: Moses again reminds the people what is going to happen

• They will go into the land and it will be great

• They are going to be among people there that they will want to be like

• They will want to forget who they, the Israelites, are

• They will want to forget WHOSE they are

• Moses NEEDS them to remember his word, and what he had done for them

• Remember the Phylactery? 

• Remember the Mezuzah?

• These are containers that are worn on the head and mounted on the doors of people’s houses, respectively

• They contain Scripture that REMINDS them what GOD HAS DONE

• We are also called to keep the Lord’s actions, His Presence before us ALWAYS

• That is why as Catholic Christians we have the Crucifix because IT IS A REMINDER OF GOD’S LOVE FOR YOU

• Here is the REMINDER OF THE PRICE OF SIN

• Here is the REMINDER OF THE GREATEST MIRACLE THAT HAS EVER HAPPENED

• The INCARNATION, CRUCIFIXION, AND RESURRECTION 

• That’s why we have icons, crosses, and ALL THESE REMINDERS

• That is also why we are going through THE BIBLE IN A YEAR

• We do not want to forget WHAT GOD HAS DONE FOR US

• SO REMEMBER REMEMBER THE FIFTH OF NOVEMBER....no wait, that’s not it

• Oh yeah, REMEMBER REMEMBER WHAT THE LORD HAS DONE

• DO NOT FORGET IT IN TIMES OF DISTRESS

• DO NOT FORGET IT IN TIMES OF ABUNDANCE

• DO NOT FORGET TO PRAY FOR FR MIKE AND EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr Mike: “Father in Heaven, we give you praise and we thank you for your word. We thank you for speaking to us. We thank you for not only speaking to us in your Word and letting that Word that you have spoken shape our minds and our hearts and teaching us what to love and what to hate. But we also just thank you for choosing us. We thank you for letting us belong to you. We ask that you please give us the grace not only to have our minds and hearts shaped like yours, but also to let ourselves be chosen. Give us the grace to give you permission to love us like you want to love us and to call us how you want to call us. Give us the grace to be able to say yes to you in everything this day. We make this prayer in Jesus’ name. Amen.”