Rashi's comment expands upon this concept. Well take a moment to orient ourselves to the passage. When division happens, the devil is tickled because he is fulfilling his mission of killing, stealing and destroying as Jesus mentions in. He turns the Midrash on its head. Note how the ten spies with their bad report turn the heart of the whole nation The land devours its inhabitants! Psalm 78:41, Numbers 13:1-33, Denomination: According to 2 Corinthians 5:7 we walk by faith and not by sight . Were aware of insufficiencies, real and perceived. And now they hear through Moses what God has said. Well make sure you have a Bible. I cant serve the Lord because its too hard. Sometimes in life and in our spirituality we have to understand that nothing worth having comes easy. Perspective matters. He is assured that because of Gods promise, it will be so! They gave Moses this account: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! 22Of these you may eat any kind of locust,katydid, cricket or grasshopper. Exodus 1:7The Israelites were exceedingly fruitful; Numbers 22: A people has come out of Egypt; Please use the following structure: example@domain.com, Send me The Times of Israel Daily Edition. The other groups would have never been as united and their efforts would have failed. Rather it was their preoccupation with how others saw them that was their sin., Lesson number three, young grasshoppers: Worry less about how others see you and more about, Who Are We? They can also fly. He wants the Israelites to enter the land and conquer it, undaunted by the peoples already living there. If thats not your faith, nothing else in this sermon or in this passage makes sense. The fear of the Israelites caused them to have to wander the wilderness for 38 more years. Numbers 13:30Then Calebsilenced the people before Moses and said, We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it. 31But the men who had gone up with him said, We cant attack those people; they are stronger than we are.32And they spread among the Israelites a bad reportabout the land they had explored. The naysayers of the grasshopper mentality will eventually make doubt-casters. Just as surely as there are grasshoppers in the earth there are giants. They looked only at the size of the obstacle and the threat of the enemy instead of fixing their eyes on. read more, Scripture: Father, we thank You that Your ways are good towards us. 22He sits enthronedabove the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. , . As surely as the Israelites eventually will be led into the land, we will be led into another year. Thats not a problem. His perspective is worth looking at as we close. But its also a community effort. We know how to be unbelievers. Some of you might remember the old 1970s television show, Kung Fu which aired from 1972-1975 on ABC. As we do so, I bring you season's greetings. Fear is keeping you from your Promised Land. When they saw the Nepthalim they said they became like grasshoppers. We hear of locust swarms devouring fields and we even see evidence of this in the Bible as one of the plagues. Moses had said: "Be courageous" (13:20). and let me show you a different perspective. The Israelites had a commander in chief that was knowledgeable and had been with God. The Moabites fear that Israel will devour the land: Numbers 22:2Now Balak son of Zipporsaw all that Israel had done to the Amorites,3and Moab was terrified because there were so many people. Its about time to go. We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them." The ten spies up their game. I give a weekly parsha shiur at Beit Moses home for the elderly in Jerusalem. The grasshopper syndrome: "We saw the giantsand we were like grasshoppers in our own sight" (Num. The working title of my next book, co-authored with Micha Price, is 'A Biblical Guide to the Climate Crisis'. Those big people in Canaan did not say to the spies, "Hey, you little fellows look like grasshoppers to us.". Perhaps then I will be able to defeat them and drive them out of the land. Spies Like Us from Stephen Wise Temple on Vimeo. How to live on the mountain while living in the valley. This is the first of three references to carcasses in this passage. I wish that all the, The Amalekites live in the Negev; the Hittites, Jebusites and Amorites live in the hill country; and the Canaanites live near the sea and along the Jordan.. Let him have a spear like a weaver's beam. Almost all other occurrences of the word refer to insects, and indeed, the noun associated with this verb, sheretz, means insect. Your son did something that ? Think about who these people were they had seen God bring plague and hardship on the nation of Egypt and been delivered completely from slavery. Numbers 13:17-33. Have you ever felt overwhelmed and helpless to do anything about it? Assembly Of God. And then, perhaps the most devastating part of all, the ten spies say that when they scouted out the land they came across the Nephilim, the fallen ones, the sons of Anak, the giant. The men said they seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes. They had a grasshopper mentality. Grasshoppers rub their legs together to make chirping sounds. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 2022 Copyright Wesaidgotravel. In my life, in the midst of all those things God has taught me in trial and hardship, theres a common thread that unites all of those things and it is the issue of faith. Have you ever noticed that before? God is with us and not with them. The people are at the edge of an unknown place, a place into which God will lead them. Sermon by Billy Dempsey on December 29, 2019. For whatever reason, they believe the lies that have been imposed on them in some form or another that says, I am not good enough.. Scripture: Numbers 13:32-33 tells us the whole story of the mistakes made just this side of glory but to sum it all up quickly, THEY REFUSED TO HAVE FAITH THAT GOD WAS IN CONTROL.. We despise Him. That is, next to the existing inhabitants of the land, we felt and looked small and inconsequential. For full copyright, reproduction and permission information, please visit the First Presbyterian ChurchCopyright, Reproduction & Permission statement. The master may be blind but he can see many things that the student cannot. With the resoureces of Gods Promise, His Provision and His Presence, Christians can overcome the grasshopper complex. These naysayers doubted the Word of God. But if we, rebel not against the Lord, neither fear ye the people o, Moving Beyond A Grasshopper Complex A naysayer is person that does not believe anything good can come out of the situation. We seemed . God sets the barrier very high. You can read about their long and complex history here and here. Scripture: Judges 7:8-14. Do you hear your own heartbeat? asks the master. Numbers 13:33. And I would call us to examine our hearts today to know that indeed we trust none other save Christ. We see obstacles; we see challenges. The giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, The land that God has described more than once as a land flowing with milk and honey, theyre about to be ushered into that land. They know more about whats ahead of them than we will know whats ahead of us. To start saving items to a SermonFolder, please create an account. The passage says something about our responsibility to one another. A naysayer will allow what is big to become irrationally bigger. . Shaalu Shalom Yerushalayim activists visit the Sumarin family at their home in East Jerusalem, January 2020. All rights reserved. Is God good? Well, I am glad to know you are not a grasshopper, but our Bible story today is about some people who thought they were like grasshoppers. John 3:16, An Easter message about Gods love from John 3:16, Whats Love Got to Do With It? Hes a non-factor. We dont know what the future holds, but we know who holds the future. Leave that bad apple in the bunch long enough and watch what happens. . "I'm No Grasshopper!" Children's Sermon | Sermons4Kids Their only reported action was to pick a bunch of grapes so large that it required two men to carry. In verse 26, we see that the men came back with a report. A couple of months ago, David Strain was preaching through 1 Peter chapter 2 and he preached on the passage where Peter is urging the people of God to crave the pure spiritual milk of the Word. It runs throughout the parsha. 27They gave Moses this account: We went into the land to which you sent us, and it does flow with milk and honey! And over their shoulders they saw the destruction of Pharaohs army as that water that was a wall about them came crashing on those soldiers, after which they saw no more Egyptian army pursuing them. The theme of food and eating is not restricted to the spies report. 28So tell them, As surely as I live,declares theLord, I will do to youthe very thing I heard you say:29In this wilderness your carcasses will fallevery one of you twenty years old or morewho was counted in the censusand who has grumbled against me. Grasshoppers can eat half their body weight in a day. Unbelief operates with an unwillingness to factor God, and most particularly the goodness of God, into our evaluation of circumstances and need. So get Christ today. This is a case of hyperbole. They saw deliverance at the Red Sea through which they crossed on dry ground. His word is infallible. We can love more. While grasshoppers struggle to hear, they have magnified sight. Try, If The Preacher Is Dead, The Sermon Will Be Dead, Chasing The Dream, Preaching Greatness, And Knowing Your Audience. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). My photo. The oft-repeated description of the land as flowing with milk and honey occurs twice in this episode, once in the spies initial report (above), and again in a speech by Joshua (Numbers 14:8). He is Creator, Sustainer, Omnipotent and head over heels in love with you! and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight" (Num. Numbers 13:25-33 Here we see the naysayer seeing the obstacles instead of the Omnipotent. First, I see it demonstrated through naysayers. That person will always say no and have a pessimistic or negative view of the outcome. OVERCOMING THE GRASSHOPPER COMPLEX Erik Weihenmayer is blind, yet on May 25, 2001, he reached the peak of Mt. Copyright 2003-2023 | Outreach, Inc., All rights reserved. Please try again or choose an option below. Print This Post. In verse 29, the report goes into more detail and lists other people groups that had the reputation of also being strong and tall. The fruit the spies show to their fellow Israelites was already mentioned in the brief account of the 40 days they spent touring the land. We live the life of faith as we feed our souls on Gods Word, paying attention to the promises Hes made, and as we see from His dealings with us in the past, our own past, our collective past as a congregation, that He is faithful and true. We can know more. Evangelical/Non-Denominational. 14: 6-15 Incorrect password. What year was this posted? A doubt-caster takes naysaying to a whole new level. Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. All the people we saw there are of great size. We mine Gods Word but we also mine Gods work. We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). i heard this week the true story of a man that got a brand new metal detector. Gods people need to trust Him, needs to learn how to trust Him. 23But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean. Its from that birth that God begins to call us to exercise that daily faith, that daily faith in the work of God, the truth of His Word; daily faith in His presence and in His power. You cannot see, the boy says when he meets the master for the first time. Step On the Grasshoppers! - Wonderful Jesus! How many excuses can we come up with in our Christian walk? Numbers 13:26 They came back to Moses and Aaron and the whole Israelite community at Kadeshin the Desert of Paran. We think Gods thoughts. After an eleven day journey from Sinai, they find themselves here at the wilderness of Paran, Kadesh Barnea. Is it to instigate fear? He is the only hope we have to be right with God, to be reconciled to Him, to be adopted by Him as His sons and daughters. He dug and could not find anything. Notice how the grasshopper mentality is demonstrated. If you would open your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. We can be cynical, we can be untrusting. Charismatic. His master is blind. Trust Christ today. That just makes them a bigger target. We give You thanks. The blind Master Po (Keye Luke) calls his young student "GRASSHOPPER" to "EXPECT THE UNEXPECTED". My last book was 'From Forbidden Fruit to Milk and Honey: A Commentary on Food in the Torah'; proceeds go to Leket, Israel's national food bank. He can preach sermons by the yard . Generation Of Grasshoppers (Num.13) - wordontheglobe.com Hello John. Sitting next to her lemonade stand/office, Lucy prepares to offer her sage advice, They looked at the powerful people instead the power of God Almighty. They walked on dry ground through the Red Sea and were fed manna and quail from heaven, given water from a rock and god had even taken this ragtag bunch of nobodies and made them into a great army defeating armies of other kings. He took it out to a field to try it out for the first time. Theres nothing new under the sun, but still I want to offer what to my knowledge is a fresh perspective on the grasshoppers. They are too many and too large and still, there are giants in the land! While two of the spies, Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh say, We can take the land! Now I see it differently. When they saw the Nepthalim they said they became like "grasshoppers." We want to look at this "grasshopper" complex later in the message. It will be the new year that well think about in this look at Numbers chapter 13. Both seem to be a great source of protein. Imagine how he felt when he realized the signal he was getting was coming from his steel-toed boots. Charlie brown, I read this week of some fears that This report came back and they doubted Gods Word. So, he would dig some more. Matthew 10:18-19. We hear it from the spies. Since then, since the realization of that promise, Hes made abundant promises to His people that have to do with His presence, with our wellbeing, with the bright future Hes planned for all that are His. Edmond Dantes is jailed at the Chateau dIf and his cruel jailor begins his imprisonment with the cycle of beatings and torture. With God at our side, life as a grasshopper in His care is good. Some parents go further. However, the inhabitants are fierce, their cities are well-fortified, and there are even giants there. Power is an amazing tool of deception. 6Now come and put a curseon these people, because they are too powerful for me. In verse 32, we see that the doubt-casters spread the word. I remember as a kid watching the TV series called "KUNG FU" staring David Caradine. In Israel, I've taught Bible at Hebrew University's International School and, currently, in the Department of Biblical Studies at Tel Aviv University, where I am a Teaching Fellow and chair the Academic Steering Committee of the Orit Guardians MA program for Ethiopian Jews. We want to look at this grasshopper complex later in the message. 4The Moabitessaid to the elders of Midian,This horde is going to lick up everythingaround us, as an ox licks up the grass of the field.. To say the above statement was made by elders and leaders commissioned by God to lead His people to their place of rest and destiny is absurd, would be an understatement . When the spies say, and so we were in their eyes as well, the Kotzker replies: Whats with this?!?!? Will He help? And Ive found that the more I trust Him, the more I choose to believe Him, the more I love Him; the more I love Him, the more deeply I want to know Him. Theres no reckoning of confidence in God as they make their report.
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