Sermon
Notebook
Location,
Location, Location - Kadesh Barnea
Deuteronomy 1:19-46
After leaving
What lessons
can we learn from their experience?
Searching out
the land (22-25)
Moses sent 12
spies into the land to find out what things were like. After 40
days they returned and reported that it was a 'good land', just
as God had promised. However, the people would not enter simply
on the basis of what God had said.
In what ways
do we seek reassurance before acting upon God's word?
Rejecting the
land (26-40)
Ten of the
spies cast doubt on conquering the land, because of the strength
of the people and their cities: 'we seemed like grasshoppers in
our own eyes' (Numbers
How easily do
we take God's blessings for granted?
Attacking the
enemy (40-46)
An abortive
attempt to enter the land confirmed God's judgement that the
people could not enter the land, but would wander the wilderness
for a further 38 years. Apart from Caleb and Joshua, only the new
generation (i.e. those under twenty at the time) would inherit
the land.
How are we
encouraging our children and young people to grow in faith?
The lesson of
Kadesh Barnea is clear: faith is not simply believing in spite of
evidence, but obeying in spite of circumstances and consequences.