Author: Gary Witcher

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 26-33 we find that, when the 12 return, they are no longer one group but two.
	"The land where you sent us certainly does flow with milk and honey," the first group says.
	"Nevertheless," they continue,  "the people who live in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; and moreover we saw the descendants of Anak there...we are not able to go up against the people, for they are too strong for us."
	The second group, composed of two men named Joshua and Caleb, bring back this report: "We should by all means go up and take possession of it, for we shall overcome it."
	Chapter 14 tells us that the   people decide not to enter the land.
	"If the Lord is pleased with us,” Joshua and Caleb plead, "then He will bring us into this land, and give it to us... Only do not rebel against the Lord; and do not fear the people of the land, for they shall be our prey. Their protection has been removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them."
	But the people still listen to the other group.  So God asks Moses, "How long will this people spurn Me?  And how long will they not believe in Me, despite all the signs which I have performed in their midst?"
	Why do these men return with two different opinions?  There are at least two reasons that are NOT the motives.
	First of all, both groups are present when God leads the Israelites out of Egypt; so all have seen the glory of God and His power. This is pointed out to the people in Numbers 14:22.
Second, both groups have seen the promised land and its glory.  So all know what awaits the people in Canaan.
	What is different enough about the two groups to cause them to return with contrasting reports?  The one-word answer is stated in Hebrews 11:1, "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."  Joshua and Caleb have faith that the other ten lack.
	Where does this kind of faith come from? "So faith comes from hearing," Paul writes in Romans l0:l7,  "and hearing by the word of Christ."
	This faith does not come from the wisdom of man, as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 2:5, "...that your faith should not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God." Romans 1:16 informs us that the Gospel is the power of God.  So we're not surprised to read in John 20:3l, "but these have been written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you might have life in His name."
	1 Corinthians 15:16-17 narrows this idea a little more by noting, "For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ was raised; and if Christ has not been raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins."
	What can we expect to happen to us as a result of our faith?   Let’s look at the 12 scouts and see what happens to them.
	Numbers 14:37 tells us what happens to the ten who lack faith and bring back a bad report: they die of a plague.
	What about Joshua and Caleb?  They are the only adults allowed to enter the promised land.  We read about Caleb as an 85-year-old man in Joshua 14.  Has his faith decreased over the years?  He asks Joshua for some of the most difficult land.  "I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me," he claims in verse 11, "as my strength was then, so my strength is now...” Just   what is that strength?  "Perhaps the Lord will be with me," he explains in the next verse,  "and I shall drive them out as the Lord has spoken."
	What happens to Joshua, the other spy? "Choose for yourselves today whom you will serve," he says to the people in his final address, recorded in Joshua 24:15, "but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord."
	Which group do you want to be identified with?  Do you feel comfortable with the larger group that went with the majority of the people, or do you prefer the small group that depended upon the Lord and His Word?  The choice should not be too difficult when we consider the outcome of the two groups.
	Matthew 26:67 records how a certain group of people treated Jesus before His crucifixion: "Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists, and others slapped Him."
	When Pilate says in Matthew 27:24 that he is innocent of Jesus’ blood, the people are eager to accept the responsibility.  "His blood be on us and on our children," they cry out.
	"And those who were passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads," verses 39,40 state,  "and saying,  ‘You who destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself!  If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.'"
	What a group of people this is!  They spit in Jesus’ face and slap Him, and are glad to be responsible for His death.  They enjoy mocking Him as He hangs on the cross.
	There is another group that we read about in Acts 2:37-41.   Pierced in their hearts because of what they have done, they cry out, "What shall we do?"
	"Repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins," Peter replies, "and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."  Verse 41 tells us that, "those who received his word were baptized; and there were added that day about three thousand souls."
	You have probably already realized something about these two groups of people. They are the same.  But they are so different. What is the difference?
	One of the things that makes the first group different is that they are full of zeal, but it is the wrong kind.   Paul writes in Romans l0:2,3, "I bear them  witness  that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God."
	Another difference is that they are living under two different systems, and therefore they are living under different pressures of different requirements.
	The story is told of a big lumberjack who rushed into the general store one night after an old-time revival meeting.  "Give me an ax, give me a gun, give me a club," he said angrily.  "I'm going to kill that preacher." "What's the matter?" one of the men asked.  "He told me I'm going to hell," the lumberjack explained.
	On the last night of the meeting, the lumberjack rushed in the store.  "Give me some groceries, give me some dry goods, give me anything good to give to that preacher."  "Wait a minute," one of the men replied.  "Is this the same preacher you were wanting to kill?" "Yes" the lumberjack answered, "but tonight he told me how I can be saved."
	This relationship exists to a certain point between the old and new laws.   The old law convicts people of their sins.   The new law tells us how to avoid the punishment for these sins.
	"For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth," Hebrews l0:26 says,  "there no longer  remains  a sacrifice for sins."  Verse 31 makes it clear that it is "a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God."  But verse 39 has something different to say about those who follow the new law: "But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but  of  those who have faith to the preserving of the soul."
	"And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this comes the judgment," Hebrews 9:27,28 points out, "so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time, not to bear sin, to those who eagerly await Him, for salvation."
	Which group best fits your situation? Does sin have such an influence in your life that you feel the frustration experienced by the first group?  Or are you willing to ask as they did and follow the instructions that are given?  Do you have the hope that is talked about in Romans 5:5-l0?
	"For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son," verse l0 notes, "much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life."
	Jesus died for the very people who were abusing Him.  He died to free them from the sin that made them what they were.  The same is true for all of us.  If we will know the truth and follow it, it will make us free.

Unless otherwise noted, "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE(R), (C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977. Used by permission."