 |
Series E -- God’s Laws |
Lesson 14CANAAN DESCRIBEDSPIES VISIT THE PROMISED LAND From Numbers 13 “ “While the people of Israel were camped in the Wilderness of Paran, the Lord instructed Moses to send spies into the Promised Land. Send spies into Canaan, the land I will give to the people of Israel, the Lord said. Send one leader from each tribe.
Moses followed the Lord’s command and sent the following twelve
leaders of the tribes:
These were the twelve tribal leaders which Moses sent to spy on the Promised Land. (About this time Moses began to call Oshea by a new name: Jehoshua or Joshua.) Go up through the Negeb into the hill country, Moses told the spies as he sent them forth. See what the land and the people are like; whether the people are strong or weak, many or few. Find out whether the cities are strongholds or merely camps. Check the land, to see if it is rich or poor and whether or not it has trees. Go without fear. Bring back with you some of the produce of the land. It was during the time of the grape harvest that the spies set out. So the twelve men went into the Promised Land as spies. They went all the way from the Wilderness of Zin to Rehob near Hamath. First they passed through the Negeb as they went northward. They arrived at Hebron, where the descendants of Ahirnan, Shesliai and Talmai were living. These men were giants, descendants of Anak. Hebron, built seven years before Zoan or Tanis in Egypt, was an ancient city at that time. When the spies arrived at a rich valley, which they later named Eshcol, they cut a large branch with a giant cluster of grapes. The cluster was so large that two men had to carry it on a pole between them. They named the place the Valley of Eshcol, which meant “Cluster,” because of the large cluster of grapes they found there. Along with this cluster of grapes, the spies took back some pomegranates and figs with them. The entire expedition took forty days.
At last they returned to the Wilderness of
Paran at Kadesh to report to Moses, Aaron and all the people of Israel. Along
with the report, they showed the people the fruit they had brought back with
them. The land where you sent us is a rich land, as you can see from this fruit,
the spies reported. But the people who live there are mighty and have great
fortified cities. We saw the Anakim, descendants of the giant Anak, living
there. The Amalekites live in the southern part of the land, in the Negeb. To
the north, in the hill country, live the Amorites. The Canaanites live by the
sea and along the Jordan River. The people became frightened because of the
report. But Caleb tried to build up their courage. Let us go at once to conquer
this land! he urged. We can overcome these people and occupy the land. No, we
are not strong enough to conquer these people, the other spies said. They are
mightier than we. The land through which we have gone is a land that devours its
inhabitants. We saw great and mighty men there, as well as giants who are
descended from Anak. They were so mighty that we looked like grasshoppers beside
them. Thus most of the spies brought an unfavourable report to the people.
COMMENTARY
FRUITS OF THE LAND
A visitor to Israel today will notice a
curious little sticker on certain stores and hotels, picturing two men carrying
a branch of grapes between them. This emblem informs all visitors that the
Ministry of Tourism in Israel recommends that particular store or hotel.
Tourists are invited to come and see this country, just as long ago the
Israelite people investigated their future homeland and returned with ripe,
plentiful fruit of all kinds, a sign that the land was prosperous.
CUCUMBER
In the wilderness, the people of Israel
complained often of the cucumbers they had left behind in Egypt. Apparently this
is one food which they had enjoyed while they were slaves in Egypt. In a hot,
dry land, the cucumber would certainly make a refreshing summer treat!
LENTIL
Another popular vegetable for Bible-time
people was the lentil. Lentils grow in pods like peas or beans and are often
used to make soup. These little white beans have more protein than any other
vegetable and are sometimes used in place of meat. Esau sold his birthright for
a bowl of lentil soup
(Genesis 25:34).
BROAD BEAN
Beans also were made into soups or even eaten
raw. The bean that grew in the Promised Land was called a broad bean for it was
long and flat. Its seeds were eaten by people and animals. Today we still enjoy
this and other types of broad beans, especially lima beans and soy beans.
BARLEY
Barley was one of the earliest grains grown.
Unlike wheat, barley makes poor bread; the loaves are heavy and hard to digest.
Even so, in Bible times, farm workers, soldiers and travellers ate barley bread
because it filled them up quickly. Today barley is used more frequently to make
soups or sauces.
ONION
The manna-weary Israelites gratefully
welcomed one tasty vegetable in their new land; the onion. Onions had been a big
part of the average Egyptian workman’s diet. Egyptian onions were famous for
their sweetness. It is no wonder the Israelites welcomed the onions they had
enjoyed during their captivity
(Numbers 11: 5).
POMEGRANATE
Bible-time people probably loved pomegranates
more than any other fruit. The Israelites were overjoyed to see this familiar
blessing in their new land, for back in Egypt the pomegranate had been heartily
enjoyed and even worshiped. This round fruit has a hard red rind that was used
as a medicine or as a dye for tanning leather red. After the juicy seeds inside
were eaten, the rest of the pomegranate was squeezed into juice or spiced wine.
Stuffed cloth pomegranates decorated the hem of the high priest’s robe,
symbolizing fruitfulness.
WINE GRAPE
The Israelite spies must have returned to
camp with a very impressive cluster of grapes as their best sample of the wealth
of the Promised Land. Grapes were so common in Palestine that the Bible tells of
grapevines more than any other plant. Many people and places in Palestine were
named in connection with this fruit. The Israelites ate their grapes raw or
dried (as raisins), boiled into a syrup called “dibs” or made into wine. The
winepress became a symbol of peace, as well as a place to sing happy songs while
crushing and processing grapes.
OLIVE
Like the winepress, the olive tree is a
symbol of peace in Bible lands. The visitor to Israel today will not have to
worry about missing the olive tree. Its gnarled trunk and silver-green leaves
are visible almost everywhere. It is almost impossible to kill an olive tree.
When it is cut down, new sprouts grow from the root of the old stump, spreading
themselves over the face of the stump and several new trees take root where
before there was only one. The olive is used in many ways other than food. Its
oil serves as lamp-fuel, holy oil and as an ingredient in soaps, cosmetics and
medicine.
APRICOT
Although an apricot tastes like a cross
between a peach and a plum, it is actually a fruit all its own. This
oval-shaped, light orange fruit comes from beautiful pink and white flowers.
Some people believe the apricot was the forbidden fruit on the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil. Next to the fig, the apricot is the second most
abundant fruit that grows in Bible lands.
DATE
An ancient Arab saying claims that the palm
tree has as many uses as there are days in the year. This could very well be
true. The date palms mentioned so often in the Bible supplied the people of
Bible lands with everything from nutritious food, beverages, cough medicine and
candy, to rope, pitch for roofs, dishes and even shoes. This fruit tree became a
symbol of triumph and elegance, used for ornaments on buildings and women’s
names. The fronds or leaves, of the palm were carried in parades. The Israelites
celebrated a special palm festival. This festival was a joyous time in the
country named Palestine, which means “land of palms.”
FIG
According to the Jewish proverb, if you were
to “sit down under your own vine and fig tree,” this would mean that you were
living in a time of great peace and prosperity. Fig trees provided welcome shade
in the sunburnt climates of Bible lands. Figs, like dates, were familiar food to
the Israelites, both in Egypt and Israel. They ate them picked from the tree or
pressed into cakes. Figs were often used as a remedy for boils and other skin
diseases.
WALNUT
The walnut tree grows as high as thirty feet
and provides wonderful shade as well as nuts. This tree supplies a rich, dark
wood used to make furniture. A fragrant aroma fills the air when a leaf is
crushed between the fingers. In Bible times, the wrinkled shell of the walnut
was used to make dye or liquor. Walnut oil, pressed from the meat of the nut, is
almost as fine as olive oil and is sometimes used in making soap.
TEST YOURSELF
1.) How many spies did God tell Moses
to send into the promised land?
A)
Forty
B)
Seven
C)
Twelve
D)
Eight
2.) How many spies did Moses actually
send?
A)
Seven
B)
Eight
C)
Forty
D)
Twelve
3.) What was Oshea’s other name?
A)
Ben-Geber
B)
Jeremiah
C)
Jeru-Baal
D)
Joshua
4.) What was being harvested at the
time when the spies went into Canaan?
A)
Plantains
B)
Grapes
C)
Apricots
D)
Star fruit
E)
Barley
F)
Pomegranates
G)
Lemons
5.) What city did the spies visit?
A)
Thebes
B)
Jerusalem
C)
Memphis
D)
Hebron
6.) What kind of people lived in
Hebron?
A)
Midgets
B)
Clock-makers
C)
Giants
D)
Cushites
7.) What does “Eschol” mean?
A)
“Spy”
B)
“Fear”
C)
“Cluster”
D)
“Grape”
8.) How long did the spies’ expedition
last?
A)
Sixty days
B)
Forty Days
C) One
month
D) One
week
9.) Which two spies were the only two
to report that Israel would be able to capture the land?
A)
Joshua and Caleb
B)
Samuel and Brisbane
C)
David and Aaron
D)
Ergo and Murdock
10.) What legume was the key ingredient
in the soup that Esau sold his birthright for?
A)
Lentil
B) Red
bean
C)
Winter bean
D)
Green pea
|