Bible Reading
Números 13:1-14:9 “The Lord said to Moses, 'Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the people of Israel. From each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a chief among them.' So Moses sent them from the wilderness of Paran, according to the command of the Lord, all of them men who were heads of the people of Israel. And these were their names: From the tribe of Reuben, Shammua the son of Zaccur; from the tribe of Simeon, Shaphat the son of Hori; from the tribe of Judah, Caleb the son of Jephunneh; from the tribe of Issachar, Igal the son of Joseph; from the tribe of Ephraim, Hoshea the son of Nun; from the tribe of Benjamin, Palti the son of Raphu; from the tribe of Zebulun, Gaddiel the son of Sodi; from the tribe of Joseph (that is, from the tribe of Manasseh), Gaddi the son of Susi; from the tribe of Dan, Ammiel the son of Gemalli; from the tribe of Asher, Sethur the son of Michael; from the tribe of Naphtali, Nahbi the son of Vophsi; from the tribe of Gad, Geuel the son of Machi. These were the names of the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land. And Moses called Hoshea the son of Nun Joshua. Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan and said to them, 'Go up into the Negeb and go up into the hill country, and see what the land is, and whether the people who dwell in it are strong or weak, whether they are few or many, and whether the land that they dwell in is good or bad, and whether the cities that they dwell in are camps or strongholds, and whether the land is rich or poor, and whether there are trees in it or not. Be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land.' Now the time was the season of the first ripe grapes. So they went up and spied out the land from the wilderness of Zin to Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. They went up into the Negeb and came to Hebron. Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai, the descendants of Anak, were there. (Hebron was built seven years before Zoan in Egypt.) And they came to the Valley of Eshcol and cut down from there a branch with a single cluster of grapes, and they carried it on a pole between two of them; they also brought some pomegranates and figs. That place was called the Valley of Eshcol, because of the cluster that the people of Israel cut down from there. At the end of forty days they returned from spying out the land. And they came to Moses and Aaron and to all the congregation of the people of Israel in the wilderness of Paran, at Kadesh. They brought back word to them and to all the congregation, and showed them the fruit of the land. And they told him, 'We came to the land to which you sent us. It flows with milk and honey, and this is its fruit. However, the people who dwell in the land are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large. And besides, we saw the descendants of Anak there. The Amalekites dwell in the land of the Negeb. The Hittites, the Jebusites, and the Amorites dwell in the hill country. And the Canaanites dwell by the sea, and along the Jordan.' But Caleb quieted the people before Moses and said, 'Let us go up at once and occupy it, for we are well able to overcome it.' Then the men who had gone up with him said, 'We are not able to go up against the people, for they are stronger than we are.' So they brought to the people of Israel a bad report of the land that they had spied out, saying, 'The land, through which we have gone to spy it out, is a land that devours its inhabitants, and all the people that we saw in it are of great height. And we saw the Nephilim there (the sons of Anak, who come from the Nephilim), and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.' Then all the congregation raised a loud cry, and the people wept that night. And all the people of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron. The whole congregation said to them, 'Would that we had died in the land of Egypt! Or would that we had died in this wilderness! Why is the Lord bringing us into this land, to fall by the sword? Our wives and our little ones will become a prey. Would it not be better for us to go back to Egypt?' And they said to one another, 'Let us choose a leader and go back to Egypt.' Then Moses and Aaron fell on their faces before all the assembly of the congregation of the people of Israel. And Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes and said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, 'The land, which we passed through to spy it out, is an exceedingly good land. If the Lord delights in us, he will bring us into this land and give it to us, a land that flows with milk and honey. Only do not rebel against the Lord. And do not fear the people of the land, for they are bread for us. Their protection is removed from them, and the Lord is with us; do not fear them.”
[04:51]Números 14:24 “But my servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit and has followed me fully, I will bring into the land into which he went, and his descendants shall possess it.”
[35:40]Deuteronomio 1:28 “Where are we going up? Our brothers have made our hearts melt, saying, ‘The people are greater and taller than we. The cities are great and fortified up to heaven. And besides, we have seen the sons of the Anakim there.”
[20:00]Observation questions
- ¿Qué aspectos buenos de la tierra reconocieron los doce espías, y qué obstáculos destacaron diez de ellos?
- ¿Cómo respondió Caleb cuando los otros espías afirmaron que Israel no podía subir contra los habitantes de la tierra? [12:23]
- ¿Qué detalles muestran que el informe de los diez espías pasó de describir un peligro real a exagerar y sacar conclusiones sobre lo que los habitantes pensaban de ellos? [19:20]
- Según Números 14:24, ¿qué distinguía a Caleb de la mayoría del pueblo? [35:40]
Interpretation questions
- Si los gigantes, las ciudades fortificadas y el fruto de la tierra eran reales para todos, ¿por qué el informe de los diez llegó a ser considerado malo? ¿Qué dejaron fuera de su manera de interpretar los hechos? [18:48]
- Deuteronomio dice que el informe de los espías hizo que el corazón del pueblo se derritiera. ¿Cómo pueden las palabras de una persona aumentar el temor o fortalecer la fe de quienes la rodean? [20:00]
- Caleb tuvo “un espíritu diferente” y siguió a Dios de todo corazón. ¿Por qué ese espíritu es más profundo que una personalidad optimista o una actitud naturalmente positiva? [35:44]
- ¿Cómo se puede distinguir entre un riesgo obediente guiado por Dios y una decisión impulsiva o imprudente? ¿Qué lugar tienen la oración, el consejo sabio y la dirección de Dios? [47:59]
Application questions
- ¿Cuál es un “gigante” real que ocupa mucho espacio en tus pensamientos hoy: una enfermedad, una pérdida, una preocupación económica, una relación difícil o un futuro incierto? ¿Cómo cambiaría tu conversación sobre ese asunto si incluyeras claramente a Dios en la mezcla? [37:04]
- El miedo suele crecer cuando se le cede espacio. ¿Qué pensamientos repetitivos, noticias, conversaciones o hábitos están alimentando ansiedad en ti? ¿Qué paso concreto podrías dar esta semana para volver tus ojos a Jesús? [16:05]
- Considera tus conversaciones de esta última semana. ¿Tus palabras han ayudado a otros a confiar más en Dios o han dejado a las personas más desanimadas, ansiosas o críticas? ¿Qué podrías decir de manera diferente? [36:07]
- La fe no niega el dolor ni rechaza la sabiduría; reconoce la realidad y confía en que Dios sigue siendo mayor. En una situación difícil que enfrentas, ¿qué significaría buscar ayuda práctica y, al mismo tiempo, mantener una esperanza firme en Jesús? [23:19]
- Señalar fallas no es un don espiritual. Cuando notas una debilidad en la iglesia, en tu familia o en un ministerio, ¿tu primera respuesta suele ser criticar, retirarte, orar o ayudar? ¿Cómo podrías participar en reparar algo en vez de solamente señalarlo? [45:46]
- ¿Hay un paso de obediencia que has evitado porque parece demasiado grande o porque no puedes controlar el resultado? ¿Con quién podrías orar y buscar consejo para discernir si Dios te está llamando a dar ese paso? [48:04]