Characters Two

     In Numbers chapter 13 we read the story of a group of men sent by Moses to explore the land of Canaan.  But in verses 25-33 we find that, when the 12 return, they are no longer one group but two.
     The first group said: vss. 25-29, 31-33
     The second group (Joshua and Caleb) said: vs. 30, 14:6-9
     The result: 14:1-5, 11-12

     Why did these groups bring back two different opinions?  There are at least two reasons that WERE NOT the motives:
   1) both groups had seen the glory of God (Num. 14:22)
   2) both groups had seen the promise land and its glory
     The only thing they did not have in common, in fact, was FAITH.

Faith - Heb. 11:1

1) Comes from God - Rom. 10:17 (Mark 11:22-24)
   Not from the wisdom of man - 1 Cor. 2:5
2) Is based on the Scriptures - Jn. 20:29-31
3) Is based on the resurection of Christ - 1 Cor. 15:16-17

The end:
10 spies - Num. 14:36-37
other 2 spies - Caleb Num. 14:24; Joshua 14:6-14
                Joshua Joshua 24:15

     In the New Testament we find two other groups of people:
   1) Matt. 26:67; 27:24-25, 39-40
   2) Acts 2:37-41
     It's interesting to note that both groups are made up of the same individuals.  So what was the difference?
     One of the things that made the first group different was that they were full of zeal, but the kind of zeal talked about in Rom. 10:2-3
     Another difference was that they were living under two different systems, and therefore they were living under different pressure of different requirements.
     Story of man who came in after the first meeting and wanted to buy a bat to kill the preacher, and came in after the last meeting and wanted to buy the best gift for the preacher.

Heb. 10:26-31  -  Heb. 10:39
Heb. 9:27      -  Heb. 9:28

Rom. 5:6-10