Deuteronomy 1:23
The plan seemed good to me, so I selected twelve men from among you, one from each tribe.
Sermons
The Unbelief in Sending and in Hearkening to the SpiesR.M. Edgar Deuteronomy 1:19-33
Irrecoverableness of Wasted OpportunityD. Davies Deuteronomy 1:19-46
The Mission of the SpiesJ. Orr Deuteronomy 1:22-32














We see from two instances in this chapter how God's plans leave wide room for the independent action of the human mind. Moses got the suggestion of appointing judges from Jethro; the idea of sending spies to reconnoiter the Holy Land originated with the people. The source from which it came made the motive of it doubtful, but as in itself a measure of prudence, Moses was well pleased with it, and, with God's permission, adopted it. We have here -

I. A POLICY OF CAUTION. Caution is in itself a virtue. It is never wise to rush into undertakings without well-planned measures. The more knowledge we have to guide us in entering upon difficult duty the better. The sending out of these spies was fitted to procure for the Israelites valuable information as to the nature of the land, the best mode of attack, the state of feeling among the inhabitants, etc. The Church would do well to improve upon the hint thus given, and have men out on the field, to keep a sharp watch on the fortifications and movements of the enemy, and bring back intelligence which may encourage, guide, or otherwise help those whose time and thought are devoted to the actual warfare.

II. AN UNEXPECTED RESULT OF THAT POLICY. The spies, with two exceptions, brought back a most disheartening and ill-advised report. We see here the danger of a policy of caution, when that springs from over-fearfulness or an original indisposition to advance. When caution is divorced from courage, and gets the upper hand, its natural tendency is to neutralize enthusiasm, to concentrate attention on difficulties, to play into the hands of those who don't want to do anything, and to furnish them with excuses and arguments for delay. It was so here. The real secret of the desire of the people to have spies sent out was their lurking disbelief and fear. The spies themselves shared in this fear. With the exception of Caleb and Joshua, they seem to have had an eye for little else than difficulties. They admitted the goodliness of the land, and brought with them a splendid sample of its fruit (ver. 25). But in every other respect their report was calculated to dispirit, It is a sad thing for the Church when those who ought to animate and encourage her begin themselves to show the craven spirit. Yet over-cautious people are apt, often unwittingly, to do the very work of these spies, by magnifying difficulties, looking only to discouragements, and standing in the way of plans and efforts which would do great good.

III. A REBELLION OF THE PEOPLE. That rebellion was the result of downright unbelief (ver. 32), and illustrates its work (cf. Hebrews 3:19). We see in it how unbelief:

1. Looks only to the seen. They thought only of the size of the people and the strength of the cities (ver. 28). The help of their invisible King was to them as if it were not. They had not the slightest hold upon the reality of it.

2. Looks only the discouragements of duty. There was a bright side as well as a dark one to the report brought to them, but nothing would make them look at the bright one. The same two sides - a bright and hopeful side, and a side of difficulty - exist in every situation, and it is a test of character which we are most given to dwell upon.

3. Misreads the providence of God. What greater perversion of God's kind dealings could human nature be guilty of than that in ver. 27?

4. Is blind to the lessons of the past. They had just been delivered from Egypt, had seen mighty miracles, had been brought across the Red Sea, had been strengthened to conquer the Amalekites, etc.; but all is already forgotten.

5. Issues in flat refusal to do God's will. That is the upshot of unbelief, wherever it exists. The report of the spies, confirmed by the grapes of Eschol, suggests that there is very much in the world which makes it worth conquering for Christ (genius, art, beautiful natural characteristics, etc.). - J.O.

The Lord...hath set the land before thee.
There is a heritage of grace which we ought to be bold enough to win for our own possession. All that one believer has gained is free to another. We may be strong in faith, fervent in love, and abundant in labour; there is nothing to prevent it; let us go up and take possession. The sweetest experience and the brightest grace are as much for us as for any of our brethren. Jehovah has set it before us; no one can deny our right; let us go up and possess it in His name. The world also lies before us to be conquered for the Lord Jesus. We are not to leave any country a corner of it unsubdued. That slum near our house is before us, not to baffle our endeavours, but to yield to them. We have only to summon courage enough to go forward, and we shall win dark homes and hard hearts for Jesus. Let us never leave the people in a lane or alley to die because we have not enough faith in Jesus and His Gospel to go up and possess the land. No spot is too benighted, no person is so profane as to be beyond the power of grace. Cowardice, begone! Faith marches to the conquest.

( C. H. Spurgeon.)

Moses recounted what had occurred in the wilderness of Paran about two years after the Israelites went out of Egypt. They had reached Kadesh on the verge of the Negeb or South Country. They resolved to send spies before them to reconnoitre. This resolve, as the sequel proved, showed a want of faith on the part of many, and even a determined desire on the part of some to find an excuse for returning to Egypt. The majority of the spies, while extolling the country, magnified the difficulties which seemed to be on the path to its conquest. Only two of the spies were on the Lord's side. But the latent unbelief of the people brushed aside their arguments. Only too ]ate the people repented of their folly, and were driven back before the Amorites to their forty years of wandering. Moses dwelt on this incident because it showed the folly and punishment of unbelief, and was thus a warning example. So it is to the Christian Church (1 Corinthians 10:6). It shows —

I. SOME HINDRANCES TO FAITH.

1. The history is typical of what often occurs in the Christian life. Many come to the borders of the kingdom of God and fail to enter.

2. The causes of failure are similar, the chief cause is unbelief. Because of this the Israelites could not enter. The proofs God had given of His power and willingness aggravated this unbelief. Every step of the journey proved the Divine goodness. But they forgot all God had done. Unbelief frustrated all.

3. So is it with individual men. Barriers to entrance to the Divine kingdom are raised by themselves. They do not trust in the Divine promises. They are troubled by the thought that they are too sinful — that they must repent, prepare themselves, etc. But salvation does not depend on these things, though they may show that our hearts are set on it. The slave who is offered freedom does not need to attempt to purchase it. So sinful men may enter the strait gate in the Divine strength, through Christ. It was not their preparedness that entitled the Israelites to enter into the land of promise, but their faith in the Divine promises.

II. DIFFICULTIES IN THE WAY OF SPIRITUAL PROGRESS.(1) The desert life, the hardship of conquest, were not to the taste of many of the Israelites. In Egypt they enjoyed many luxuries now denied them. So not a few wished to return to Egypt. But this was folly — the way to death, to fall into the hands of the enraged Pharaoh.(2) This is a faint type of those who turn their backs on the spiritual kingdom, lured by the pleasures of the world.(3) Do not let any think, as some in Israel seemed to do, that if God intends us to overcome He will enable us to do so without effort. Israel could not possess Canaan till the Amorites and other foes were overcome, the strong cities overthrown, etc. This the Israelites in unbelief thought could not be accomplished.(4) This is the plea of many at the entrance of the spiritual life. The way is too difficult, the enemies are too strong, we cannot overcome. But the New Testament word is, "If God be for us, who can be against us?" Christ. has commanded us to strive and agonise to enter.(5) Let no man be deterred by this. Every noble life is a struggle. Good men, from the very constitution of things, must suffer. Even goodness incarnate was rewarded by the world with a cross. These difficulties are raised by the adversary.(6) There are some events peculiarly saddening. A ship wrecked at the harbour mouth — a runner fainting when close to the goal — an heir bartering his inheritance for a mess of pottage. But sadder still — a sight fit to make angels weep — is it to see an heir of immortal glory turning from his father's house back to the far country and the swine troughs!

(W. Frank Scott.)

People
Amorites, Anakites, Caleb, Canaanites, Eshcol, Isaac, Israelites, Jacob, Jephunneh, Joshua, Laban, Moses, Nun, Og, Seir, Sihon
Places
Arabah, Ashtaroth, Bashan, Dizahab, Edrei, Egypt, Euphrates River, Hazeroth, Heshbon, Horeb, Hormah, Jordan River, Kadesh-barnea, Laban, Lebanon, Moab, Mount Seir, Negeb, Paran, Seir, Suph, Tophel, Valley of Eshcol
Topics
Matter, Pleased, Saying, Seemed, Selected, Tribe, Twelve
Outline
1. Moses' speech in the end of the fortieth year
6. briefly rehearsing the history of God's sending them from Horeb
14. of giving them officers
19. of sending the spies to search the land
34. of his anger for their incredulity
41. and disobedience

Dictionary of Bible Themes
Deuteronomy 1:23

     1654   numbers, 11-99

Deuteronomy 1:19-40

     5923   public opinion

Library
Foretastes of the Heavenly Life
Early in the year 1857. NOTE: This edition of this sermon is taken from an earlier published edition of Spurgeon's 1857 message. The sermon that appears in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, vol. 45, was edited and abbreviated somewhat. For edition we have restored the fuller text of the earlier published edition, while retaining a few of the editorial refinements of the Met Tab edition. "And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 45: 1899

Preventive against Backsliding.
It is most instructive to note how exceedingly anxious the early Christians were, that, as soon as a man was converted, he should be "filled with the Holy Ghost." They knew no reason why weary wastes of disappointing years should stretch between Bethel and Peniel, between the Cross and Pentecost. They knew it was not God's will that forty years of wilderness wanderings should lie between Egypt and the Promised Land (Deut. i. 2). When Peter and John came to the Samaritans, and found that they were
John MacNeil—The Spirit-Filled Life

Afraid of Giants
'And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain; 18. And see the land, what it is; and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many; 19. And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strong holds; 20. And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Philo of Alexandria, the Rabbis, and the Gospels - the Final Development of Hellenism in Its Relation to Rabbinism and the Gospel According to St. John.
It is strange how little we know of the personal history of the greatest of uninspired Jewish writers of old, though he occupied so prominent a position in his time. [173] Philo was born in Alexandria, about the year 20 before Christ. He was a descendant of Aaron, and belonged to one of the wealthiest and most influential families among the Jewish merchant-princes of Egypt. His brother was the political head of that community in Alexandria, and he himself on one occasion represented his co-religionists,
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

A Plain Description of the Essence and Attributes of God, Out of the Holy Scripture, So Far as Every Christian must Competently Know, and Necessarily Believe, that Will be Saves.
Although no creature can define what God is, because he is incomprehensible (Psal. cxliii. 3) and dwelling in inaccessible light (1 Tim. vi. 16); yet it has pleased his majesty to reveal himself to us in his word, so far as our weak capacity can best conceive him. Thus: God is that one spiritual and infinitely perfect essence, whose being is of himself eternally (Deut. i. 4; iv. 35; xxxii. 39; vi. 4; Isa. xlv. 5-8; 1 Cor. viii. 4; Eph. iv. 5, 6; 1 Tim. ii. 5; John iv. 24; 2 Cor. iii. 17; 1 Kings
Lewis Bayly—The Practice of Piety

The Mountainous Country of Judea.
"What is the mountainous country of Judea? It is the king's mountain." However Judea, here and there, doth swell out much with mountains, yet its chief swelling appears in that broad back of mountains, that runs from the utmost southern cost as far as Hebron, and almost as Jerusalem itself. Which the Holy Scripture called "The hill-country of Judah," Joshua 21:11; Luke 1:39. Unless I am very much mistaken,--the maps of Adricomus, Tirinius, and others, ought to be corrected, which have feigned to
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Kadesh. Rekam, and that Double. Inquiry is Made, Whether the Doubling it in the Maps is Well Done.
The readers of the eastern interpreters will observe, that Kadesh is rendered by all Rekam, or in a sound very near it. In the Chaldee, it is 'Rekam': in the Syriac, 'Rekem': in the Arabic, 'Rakim'... There are two places noted by the name Rekam in the very bounds of the land,--to wit, the southern and eastern: that is, a double Kadesh. I. Of Kadesh, or Rekam, in the south part, there is no doubt. II. Of it, in the eastern part, there is this mention: "From Rekam to the east, and Rekam is as the
John Lightfoot—From the Talmud and Hebraica

Barren Fig-Tree. Temple Cleansed.
(Road from Bethany and Jerusalem. Monday, April 4, a.d. 30.) ^A Matt. XXI. 18, 19, 12, 13; ^B Mark XI. 12-18; ^C Luke XIX. 45-48. ^b 12 And ^a 18 Now ^b on the morrow [on the Monday following the triumphal entry], ^a in the morning ^b when they were come out from Bethany, ^a as he returned to the city [Jerusalem], he hungered. [Breakfast with the Jews came late in the forenoon, and these closing days of our Lord's ministry were full of activity that did not have time to tarry at Bethany for it. Our
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

In the Temple at the Feast of Tabernacles.
(October, a.d. 29.) ^D John VII. 11-52. ^d 11 The Jews therefore sought him at the feast, and said, Where is he? [It was now eighteen months since Jesus had visited Jerusalem, at which time he had healed the impotent man at Bethesda. His fame and prolonged obscurity made his enemies anxious for him to again expose himself in their midst. John here used the word "Jews" as a designation for the Jerusalemites, who, as enemies of Christ, were to be distinguished from the multitudes who were in doubt
J. W. McGarvey—The Four-Fold Gospel

Moses and his Writings
[Illustration: (drop cap W) Clay letter tablet of Moses' time.] We now begin to understand a little of the very beginning of God's Book--of the times in which it was written, the materials used by its first author, and the different kinds of writing from which he had to choose; but we must go a step farther. How much did Moses know about the history of his forefathers, Abraham and Jacob, and of all the old nations and kings mentioned in Genesis, before God called him to the great work of writing
Mildred Duff—The Bible in its Making

Appendix ii. Philo of Alexandria and Rabbinic Theology.
(Ad. vol. i. p. 42, note 4.) In comparing the allegorical Canons of Philo with those of Jewish traditionalism, we think first of all of the seven exegetical canons which are ascribed to Hillel. These bear chiefly the character of logical deductions, and as such were largely applied in the Halakhah. These seven canons were next expanded by R. Ishmael (in the first century) into thirteen, by the analysis of one of them (the 5th) into six, and the addition of this sound exegetical rule, that where two
Alfred Edersheim—The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah

The Blessing of Jacob Upon Judah. (Gen. Xlix. 8-10. )
Ver. 8. "Judah, thou, thy brethren shall praise thee; thy hand shall be on the neck of thine enemies; before thee shall bow down the sons of thy father. Ver. 9. A lion's whelp is Judah; from the prey, my son, thou goest up; he stoopeth down, he coucheth as a lion, and as a full-grown lion, who shall rouse him up? Ver. 10. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come, and unto Him the people shall adhere." Thus does dying Jacob, in announcing
Ernst Wilhelm Hengstenberg—Christology of the Old Testament

Deuteronomy
Owing to the comparatively loose nature of the connection between consecutive passages in the legislative section, it is difficult to present an adequate summary of the book of Deuteronomy. In the first section, i.-iv. 40, Moses, after reviewing the recent history of the people, and showing how it reveals Jehovah's love for Israel, earnestly urges upon them the duty of keeping His laws, reminding them of His spirituality and absoluteness. Then follows the appointment, iv. 41-43--here irrelevant (cf.
John Edgar McFadyen—Introduction to the Old Testament

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