Onward by Dr. Abidan Shah

ONWARD by Dr. Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson, NC

Introduction: How many of you remember the children’s book “The Little Engine That Could?” My parents got me a copy of it when I was very young. It was one of my favorite books as a child. The story is of a little blue engine that did not have any confidence in himself to pull a train full of toys and food up on the mountain to the little boys and girls on the other side. The Shiny New Engine didn’t have time to help and the Big Strong Engine didn’t want to help. So, the Little Blue Engine thought about all the little boys and girls on the other side of the mountain who were waiting for their toys and food, and decided to give it a shot. He tugged and pulled as he went up the mountain, saying, “I think I can, I think I can, I think I can…” He climbed and climbed, and, at last, he got over the other side, saying, “I thought I could, I thought I could, I thought I could…” Finally, he pulled in to the station, saying, “I made it.” Here’s the point: Some of us are standing on this side of the mountain, saying, “I know I can’t, I know I can’t…” We are terrified to go onward to the other side. What is needed is not “I think I can, I think I can…” What is needed is “I know I can’t but I know God can, I know I can’t but I know God can.”

Numbers 14     36 Now the men whom Moses sent to spy out the land, who returned and made all the congregation complain against him by bringing a bad report of the land, 37those very men who brought the evil report about the land, died by the plague before the LORD. 38 But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh remained alive, of the men who went to spy out the land.”

Context: Last weekend, we learned that 14 months after God freed his people from their slavery in Egypt that he brought them to a place called Kadesh Barnea on the southern end of the Promised Land. God told Moses to send in 12 spies, one from each tribe of Israel. Numbers 13:1 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 2 “Send men to spy out the land of Canaan, which I am giving to the children of Israel; from each tribe of their fathers you shall send a man, every one a leader among them.” These 12 men went into the land for 40 days. Then they returned with their report. Ten of the spies said that the land is indeed wonderful, but the cities are well fortified, the people are big and strong, and the giants are still in the land. And, they added, Numbers 13:33b “…and we were like grasshoppers in our own sight, and so we were in their sight.” What was the result? The people were terrified. Listen to how Moses recounts it in Deuteronomy 1     26 “Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; 27 and you complained (Lit. “rawgan” = murmur, whisper, grumble) in your tents, and said, “Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. What a statement! 28 Where can we go up? Our brethren have discouraged our hearts, (Lit. “mawsas” = caused to melt, intimidate,).

Question: Do your words breathe faith in people or fear? Do you bring out courage in people or cowardice? 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.”

Only 2 men exercised “power, love, and sound mind.” They were Caleb and Joshua. Who were they?

1. Caleb represented the tribe of Judah. There is one more designation given to him other than that he was the “son of Jephunneh.” It is found only 3 times in the Bible, once in Numbers and twice in Joshua. He is called a Kenizzite. Numbers 32:12 “except Caleb the son of Jephunneh, the Kenizzite, and Joshua the son of Nun, for they have wholly followed the LORD.” Who are the Kenizzite? That’s not a Hebrew or even a West Semitic name. We find it mentioned in Genesis 15   18 “…the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying: “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt to the great river, the River Euphrates— 19 the Kenites, the Kenezzites,…” They were a non-Israelite group that came from the desert below Negev. Somehow, they became associated with the tribe of Judah, maybe intermarriage, and were grafted into God’s people!
2. Joshua represented the tribe of Ephraim. What do we know about the tribe of Ephraim? They came from Joseph. If you remember, Joseph had two sons from his Egyptian wife: Manasseh and Ephraim. They were half Egyptians. Nonetheless, they had a good portion in the Promised Land. If later texts are any indication of how the early people of Ephraim behaved, it doesn’t look good for the tribe of Ephraim. Psalm 78:67 “Moreover He rejected the tent of Joseph, And did not choose the tribe of Ephraim.”

What’s the point? You don’t need godly pedigree to understand the heart of God. It doesn’t matter what your family tree looks like. We all have a few nuts hanging on our family tree. My dad came from a Muslim home. Look where God has brought me today!

How did these 2 men respond to the reaction of the people to the 10 spies?

1. They spoke up. Listen to Numbers 13:30 “Then Caleb quieted the people before Moses, and said, ‘Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it.’” You can imagine someone saying, “Look at this Kenezzite trying to get us killed!”

Question: Do you speak up? “Well…I wanted to say something…But, I feel like I’m a nobody.” Don’t misunderstand: I’m not talking about being argumentative or combative or trying to get the last word, or even speaking up for your rights. I’m talking about speaking up for God.

2. They feared God. Listen to Numbers 14:6 “But Joshua the son of Nun and Caleb the son of Jephunneh, who were among those who had spied out the land, tore their clothes.” Why did they tear their clothes? Tearing clothes was a sign of distress. Sometimes, it was a sign of mourning for dead. Unlike the multitude, these two understood the ramifications of failing to obey God and going into the Promised Land.

Question: Do you fear God or do you fear people? Do you fear people more than you fear God? If you fear God, you won’t fear anyone else.

3. They tried to inspire others. Listen to Numbers 14 7 “and they spoke to all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying: ‘The land we passed through to spy out is an exceedingly good land. 8 If the LORD delights in us, then He will bring us into this land and give it to us, “a land which flows with milk and honey.” 9 Only do not rebel against the LORD nor fear the people of the land, for they are our bread”; What does that mean? Earlier inNumbers 13:32, the 10 spies had given a bad report to the children of Israel saying, “The land through which we have gone as spies is a land that devours its inhabitants…” That could mean that the land was barren, wild, filled with plagues, constant wars, or even like Hell. To this, Joshua and Caleb said that the people of the land “are our bread”! Several times the Bible uses that manner of speaking. It means more than just winning over our enemies. It also means that with each victory we become stronger just like with each meal we become stronger. Instead of fearing our enemies/challenges, we should face them, because we get stronger with each victory. Furthermore, “their protection has departed from them, and the LORD is with us. Do not fear them.”

Question: Are you helping others stand up to fears or are you hiding behind your own fears?

Both Caleb and Joshua had a glorious future.

1. Caleb: God said in Numbers 14:24 “But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.” Sure enough, in Joshua 14, Caleb came to Joshua to redeem God’s promise – 10 “And now, behold, the LORD has kept me alive, as He said, these forty-five years, ever since the LORD spoke this word to Moses while Israel wandered in the wilderness; and now, here I am this day, eighty-five years old. 11 As yet I am as strong this day as on the day that Moses sent me; just as my strength was then, so now is my strength for war, both for going out and for coming in. 12 Now therefore, give me this mountain of which the LORD spoke in that day; for you heard in that day how the Anakim were there, and that the cities were great and fortified. It may be that the LORD will be with me, and I shall be able to drive them out as the LORD said.” Caleb got his mountain!
2. Joshua: Listen to Deuteronomy 34:9 “Now Joshua the son of Nun was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him; so the children of Israel heeded him, and did as the LORD had commanded Moses.” Repeatedly, God told him to be strong and of good courage. Then, right before the Jericho campaign, the pre-incarnate Christ came to him in Joshua 5:13 “And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, ‘Are You for us or for our adversaries?’ 14 So He said, ‘No, but as Commander of the army of the LORD I have now come.’ And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, ‘What does my Lord say to His servant?’ 15 Then the Commander of the LORD’S army said to Joshua, ‘Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.’ And Joshua did so.” Joshua saw God! (Revelation 22:8-9)

Matthew 20:16 “So the last will be first, and the first last. For many are called, but few chosen.”

Invitation: What kind of a spirit is in you? Spirit of Fear or the Spirit of God? Only those with the Spirit of God can see God. Only those who can see God can help others see God.

Are you saved? Do you know Christ as your Savior? Without him you cannot have the Spirit of God.