The wandering people of Israel are now on the edge of the land promised to their ancestors by the God that is God. Before going in Moses wants to see what kind of people they will have to fight. He is not worried because he knows that if Yahweh says that they will destroy their enemies then there should be no reason for doubt. The rest of the camp isn't so convinced.
There are a few interesting things that go on in these chapters that I want to focus on. First of all the people that are the first inhabitants that the scouts come across are the Amorites. If you can recall back to Genesis 15:16 Yahweh tells Abraham that the time has not come for them to take the land that is promised to them because the 'sins of the Amorites has not run its course'. This section of Numbers is used along with the passage in Genesis to show the righteousness of God's mercy and anger at sin. Yahweh allowed 400 years of time to pass between Abraham and Moses. The Amorites were given this time to change the course of their ways and come back to Yahweh. They did not and now Israel would be the tool used to impart their punishment. This does not make the Israelies righteous and able to kill whoever they please, though. Yahweh still has the final say of the matter. Later in the books you will see Yahweh use foreign pagan civilizations as the tool for the punishment of Israel.
Another group of people that the scouts report about are called the descendents of Anak. Anak was supposedly one of the surviving, or post flood, Nephilim and his people were supposed to be giants. I'm reading the book of Enoch right now, which is one of the apocrophyl books of the Jews, and it says that the Nephilim were almost a mile tall. Keep that in mind when you get to Numbers 13:33.
Again the people of Israel challenge Yahweh in impatience and again they have to be chastised. Despite the blessings placed upon them their transgressions from their Purpose in being God's chosen nation on Earth brings some pretty harsh repurcussions.
Finally, a cool story I want us to pay attention to is the story of Balaam. Just like we saw in Geneiss 18 with Melchizedek there seems to be an awareness of the god Yahweh. Not just another diety among other dieties, but a knowledge and a reverence for a single God that is all powerful. This man Balaam is known as a sorcerer of the land, and in fact there is archelogical evidence for a person of the same name and reputation in ancient history. However, in this book of Numbers we see that he is not just a sorcerer, but someone that seems to know how to worship and communicate with Yahweh. His response to the King that summons him is very interesting and shows that there are other people that belong to Yahweh and are used for various purposes.
Another group of people that the scouts report about are called the descendents of Anak. Anak was supposedly one of the surviving, or post flood, Nephilim and his people were supposed to be giants. I'm reading the book of Enoch right now, which is one of the apocrophyl books of the Jews, and it says that the Nephilim were almost a mile tall. Keep that in mind when you get to Numbers 13:33.
Again the people of Israel challenge Yahweh in impatience and again they have to be chastised. Despite the blessings placed upon them their transgressions from their Purpose in being God's chosen nation on Earth brings some pretty harsh repurcussions.
Finally, a cool story I want us to pay attention to is the story of Balaam. Just like we saw in Geneiss 18 with Melchizedek there seems to be an awareness of the god Yahweh. Not just another diety among other dieties, but a knowledge and a reverence for a single God that is all powerful. This man Balaam is known as a sorcerer of the land, and in fact there is archelogical evidence for a person of the same name and reputation in ancient history. However, in this book of Numbers we see that he is not just a sorcerer, but someone that seems to know how to worship and communicate with Yahweh. His response to the King that summons him is very interesting and shows that there are other people that belong to Yahweh and are used for various purposes.
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